128 Bulletin 142. 



In devising any method for combating an insect foe, the first thing 

 that should be considered is, in what stage or when is it the most vul- 

 nerable to attack ? Recommendations for fighting the codhng-moth 

 include schemes for reaching it in all stages and under all sorts of 

 conditions. Most writers have considered that the insect is not so 

 easily gotten at in either of the shorter stages of its life, that is, in the 

 moth, egg, or pupal stages, therefore most of the remedial suggestions 

 are directed toward the destruction of it in the caterpillar stage, in 

 which it spends the greater part of its life. 



IV/iaf Can be Do?ie Against the Moths? 



" Rusticus " said in 1833 that one could drive away the moths in June 

 by making a smoking fire of weeds under valuable trees. This is possible, 

 but hardly probable, and not often practicable. In 1839 Freyer suggested 

 that the best way is to hunt out the moths on the trunk and leaves and 

 kill them. He must have been joking, for we have never yet been able 

 to get sight of the moth on a tree. Ratzeburg condemned the method the 

 next year. 



The insect-catching properties of the flowers of the different species of 

 Physianthus have long been known, and there has been considerable 

 discussion over the claim made by some that many codling-moths were 

 caught in these flowers. It was proposed to train these vines up the 

 trunks of apple-trees, surmising that the flowers by capturing the moths 

 would thus protect the crop. Conclusive evidence has been recorded to 

 show that these flowers have no attractions for codling-moths. 



The fact that many different kinds of moths are often attracted to 

 lights or to alluring baits in large numbers has led many to believe 

 that the codling-moth could also be lured in sufficient numbers to 

 make it pay to build fires or to place trap-lanterns in an orchard, or 

 to hang sweetened or other baits of various kinds in the trees. Many 

 experiments have been tried along this line by such reliable observers 

 as Riley, Cook and Atkins, and so few codling-moths Nvere captured 

 as to conclusively show the entire futility of attempting to check the 

 pest in this way. Many collectors of insects also report very few 

 captures of the moth at their lures or at lights. Most of the reported 



