Insects Injurious to the Pc)tato and Appue 597 



yellowish above and greenish on the belly. The head is 

 black, with a white line in front. Quite a nnmber of insects 

 prey upon the cut worms and so help to keep them 

 in check ; birds, chickens, turkeys, tfec, also prove a 

 great help in their destruction. A very minute moth 

 with long, slender wings, has proved destructive to 

 apple trees in New York. It is called Buccidatrix 

 pomifoliella, Clem. The larva feeds on the leaves of 

 apple trees. It is about " one-half an inch long, of 

 a dark green color, with the joints swollen so as to look 

 like a series of beads, with a small head held horizontally, 

 and with sparse, short hairs over the body. It has ten false 

 and six true legs." [Riley.) The cocoon is " ribbed longi- 

 tudinally," of a " dirty white " color. The moth is of the 

 same dingy white color, or grayish with brown markings. 

 It is only .12 inch long, and .3 inch across the ex- 

 panded wings. The cocoons are grouped, it may be in 

 large numbers, over the branches of trees, sometimes wholly 

 covering small twigs. Riley says that kerosene or linseed 

 oil washed over the infested branches will prevent this insect 

 from doiuff damage. I do not know that this moth has ever 

 appeared in Vermont, but I know of no reason why it 

 should not be found here ; and the fact that it occurs in an 

 adjoining State sliould warn us to keep watch for indications 

 of its presence. 



The greatest enemies of our apple trees belong to the 

 Lepidoptera, but there are some formidable foes among the 

 Coleoptera or beetles. Among these insects the Curculios 

 are only too old acquaintances of fruit raisers. One of these 

 attacks the apple. It is a smaller insect than the plum cur- 



