New York Agricultural Experiment Station. 461 



commonly known as the pistol-oase-bearer and the cigar-case- 

 bearer. They are called case-bearers because the caterpillars 

 construct cases for themselves which they carry on their backs 

 and which serve as protection to the owners. 



The Pistol-Case-Bearer. 

 Coleophora malivordla Eiley. 



This insect should receive the careful attention of both nursery- 

 men and fruit growers as it is becoming a very serious pest. It 

 is especially injurious to the apple and pear and is known to 

 attack the quince. The principal injury is done to the buds and 

 expanding leaves. The young caterpillars construct pistol- 

 shaped cases soon after hatching. They hibernate in these and 

 during the winter the cases may be seen attached to the twigs, 

 as shown at Plate XXIV, fig. 4. The case-bearers are more no- 

 ticeable during the spring or early summer as their cases are 

 much larger and their injurious work more apparent. This 

 insect is discussed in detail in Bulletin No. 122 of this Station. 



The pistol-case-bearer is probably distributed over a consider- 

 able area in the eastern states. It is especially injurious in the 

 apple orchards of western New York. The writer has observed 

 it in seriously injurious numbers in some of the large orchards 

 in Orleans, Monroe, Wayne, Ontario and Seneca counties. 



Cigar-Case-Bearer. 

 Coleophora fletcherella Fernald. 

 A closely allied species is the cigar-case-bearer. The case of 

 the mature caterpillar resembles a miniature cigar, hence the 

 name. The writer has not observed this species in the nursery 

 as frequently as the other, but it is well known as a serious pest 

 in the apple orchards, especially in the western part of the State. 

 The hibernating case-bearers of this species are not as easily de- 

 tected as those of the other. Their cases are smaller, usually a 

 little lighter colored and bent in the shape of a crescent moon. 

 They are usually found close beside the winter buds or partially 

 hidden in a fold in the bark or the angle made by a branching 

 tvvig. It is as widely distributed as the former species and is 

 found on the same food plants. 



