Green Fruit Worms. 581 



first spins out the large suspending silken thread, and then, at 

 the end of this, holding on in some manner (perhaps by its jaws), 

 it proceeds to spin about itself a coarse, loose cradle of the same 

 kind of silk. When secure inside this cradle it lets go its hold 

 from the suspensory thread and spins its soft, dense, fine- 

 threaded cocoon. These cocoons are attached to any part of the 

 tree and the threads which suspends them vary in length from one- 

 half an inch to four inches. From ten days to two weeks (in June) 

 after the grub spins its cocoon the transformation through the 

 pupal to the adult stage takes place. The little four- winged foe 

 then emerges through a round hole made in the end of the cocoon, 

 by deftly gnawing around the lower end and thus detaching a 

 neatly fitting cap. 



The other little enemy of these green fruit worms is about the 

 same size as, and looks something like, the one just described. It 

 also works inside the caterpillars in the same manner, gradually 

 sapping out their life. But instead of undergoing its further 

 transformations in a suspended cocoon, it bores its way out of 

 tlie caterpillar, and crawling beneath its host, it proceeds to 

 fasten the latter down to a leaf with its cocoon. This state of 

 affairs is well shown at (?, in plate 4. The two-thirds grown cat- 

 erpillar is pinioned to the leaf by the cocoon of the grub which 

 caused it to die a lingering death. This little parasitic foe is 

 known to science at Mesochorus agilis. 



Doubtless the efficient work of these little parasitic insects and 

 the birds has been one of the main reasons why these green fruit 

 worms have troubled New York fruit growers only at long in- 

 tervals. 



How TO Combat these Fruit-Eating Caterpillars. 



It is to be hoped that these caterpillars will not often visit our 

 orchards in destructive numbers, for the past season's experience 

 has shown that it is a difficult matter to check their ravages. It 

 would seem at first thought that the pests might be readily killed 

 with a Paris green spray. But several of our correspondents, who 

 have a reputation for thoroughness in spraying and who success- 

 fully check fungi and other insects, reported that all of their 



