Some Insects of tuk Apple and Their Contkol 1747 



some leaf-eating caterpillars 



A great variety of caterpillars feed on apple leaves, but of 

 special importance in most frnit regions in New York aro certain 

 species, as the casebearers, bud moth and some leaf rollers. 



THE CASEBEARERS, BUD MOTH AND LEAF ROLLERS 



Tho pistol casebearer and the cigar casebearer are frequently 

 troublesome in apple orchards. The life histories are very similar. 

 The young caterpillars of the pistol casebearer live over winter 

 in the little pistol-shaped cases of silk which are attached by one 

 end to the twigs, usually near and sometimes on the buds. These 

 cases measure about one-eighth of an inch in length and resemble 

 the bark in color. Early in spring, a short time before the leaf 

 buds burst, the hibernating casebearers become active. They attack 

 the growing buds, gnawing the outer covering to feed on the 

 tender tissues beneath. Later in the season they feed upon the 

 interior tissues of the leaf in the same manner as a leaf miner. 

 The larvae reach maturity and cease feeding about the middle of 

 June, and moths appear in July. These deposit eggs from which 

 larvae hatch. They feed upon the foliage in late smumer and 

 with the approach of winter attach their cases to the twigs. 



The larva of the bud moth hibernates over winter under a tiny 

 shelter on the young wood and in the spring it attacks the open- 

 ing buds. Later, when the leaves and blossoms unfold, it seeks 

 the clusters, forming a retreat in the webbed leaves. By reason 

 of its destructiveness to buds and blossoms the bud moth is, during 

 some seasons, a serious pest. The caterpillar is darkish red in 

 color and pupates in June. The moth makes its appearance about 

 ten days later and soon afterward eggs are deposited for the next 

 year's brood. From these eggs caterpillars hatch which feed on 

 the leaves till fall, when they seek sheltered retreats for the winter. 



The leaf-rollers are very destructive to fruit trees during some 

 seasons because of their work on blossoms, young fruits and 

 foliage. The oblique-banded leaf-roller attacks the young apples 

 as soon as they set and continues feeding upon them until the 

 fruit attains nearly an inch in diameter. They eat large round 

 holes, sometimes extending to or even beyond the core. The larva 

 of the fruit-tree leaf-roller appears as the buds are bursting and 



