THE OBSOLETE-BANDED STRAWBERRY 



LEAF-ROLLER. 



Cac(jecia ohsoletana Walk.* 

 Ordei- Lepidopteka ; family Tortricidae. 



About June 1st, 1900, we were informed bj a telegram tliat an 

 insect was seriously damaging the leaves and young fruit of a straw- 

 berry patch in Westfioid, ]^. Y. We saw the injured plants a few 

 days later, and found the depredator to be one of the .leaf-rolling 

 caterpillars. About half of a field of one-fourth of an acre of straw- 

 berries had been seriously injured, and from one-half to two-thirds 

 of the crop ruined by the insect. Later it was learned that a neigh- 

 bor's strawberries had also suffered from the same pest. Although 

 specimens of the insect were captured in New York over thirty 

 years ago, it has never before been reported as occurring here in 

 injurious numbers. Hence it is a new strawberry j^est in New 

 York, but thus far only Westfield growers have complained of its 

 ravages. It had, however, gained a place in the rogues' gallery of 

 injurious insects in 1883, when it was abundant in some strawberry 

 fields in Illinois. We have succeeded in learning much of the life- 

 story of the insect, and our camera has enabled us to fully illustrate 

 all stages of its life and its work, mostly from life. 



Its work. — -The pictures shown in figure 35 well illustrate the 

 work of this leaf-rolling caterpillar. At h the caterpillar is per- 

 forming the interesting operation of rolling the leaf by spinning 

 silken threads above its body from one side to the other across the 

 midrib and thus gradually drawing the edges of the leaf together; 

 at a is shown two leaves just rolled. Within this protecting roll 



*For synonomy see Trans. Am. Ent. Soc. X., 12 and foot-note; see Forbes' 2d 



111. Rept. (1883), p. 95-6, for all that has been written of the insect's habits and 



life. 



159 



