igoo The Cornell Reading-Courses 



The second-brood moths begin to appear in New York during the latter 

 part of July and the first of August, but the exact date of emergence 

 differs somewhat with the condition of the weather and the locality. If 

 May and June are cool and backward months, egg laying by the spring 

 brood of moths will be retarded, and consequently a much smaller number 

 of the caterpillars will complete their growth and leave the fruit before 

 the first of August. Since the moths that lay the eggs for the summer 

 brood of caterpillars must come from caterpillars that spin cocoons before 

 August I, under such circumstances this second, or summer, brood is 

 greatly reduced in numbers. On the other hand, a warm May and June 

 will accelerate the activities of the insects of the spring brood, so that 

 a greater number of caterpillars will spin cocoons before August i , thus 

 producing a larger and more important summer brood. 



The time of emergence of the second brood can easily be determined 

 for any given locality by banding a few trees with burlap. A suitable 

 band may be made from a strip from ten to fourteen inches wide, folded 

 once lengthwise, and long enough to reach around the tree and have the 

 ends lap. The ends of the band are held in place by a nail driven lightly 

 into the tree where the ends meet. The bands should be in place by about 

 the first of July in order to get the first caterpillars that leave the fruit. 

 Some of the first-brood larv« will take shelter under these bands and spin 

 cocoons there. From about the middle of July on, these bands should 

 be examined every few days; and when empty cocoons are found, it is an 

 indication that the moths have begun to emerge, and that the 3^oung 

 caterpillars of the second, or summer, brood will be entering the apples 

 in about two weeks, depending, however, somewhat on the weather. 

 This is the only sure method of determining when the second-brood moths 

 are emerging, for the two broods overlap somewhat at times, and thus the 

 first individuals of the second brood are often on the wing before the last 

 of the first-brood moths have disappeared. 



Natural enemies. — The eggs of the codling moth are often destroyed 

 by a tiny wasplike parasite that' deposits its eggs within the egg of the 

 codling moth. The minute larvae that hatch from these eggs devour the 

 contents of the egg of the host, transform to pupse within the eggshell, 

 and finally emerge as adult parasites through a hole in the shell. Four 

 of these parasites have been reared from a single egg. Other parasites 

 attack the larvae and pupae of the codling moth, and it is subject in all 

 stages to the ravages of predaceous insect enemies. In addition to the 

 parasitic and predaceous insect enemies that attack the codling moth in 

 its various stages, birds are efficient agents in holding the pest in check. 

 Over a dozen species feed on it. The downy woodpecker, the nuthatch, and 

 the chickadee destroy great nimibers of the larvae that winter under bark 



