28 



THE REPORT OF THE 



No. 19^^ 



ous damage was done ; at Walkerton, Mr. Sherrington reported few insect 

 pests; Mr. L. Woolverton, at Grimbsy, says that the season is remark- 

 ably free from insect pests; Mr. A. W. Peart, of Burlington, mentions 

 only the Curculio; Mr. Caston, of Craighurst, reports very few insects; Mr. 

 Jones, of Maitland, mentions the Codling Moth as doing some injury, and 

 states that very few insects were in evidence this season; Mr. M. Pettit, of 

 Winona, reports the Curculio as being very bad; and Mr. Hilborn, of 

 Leamington, had trouble with the Cherry Aphis and Peach Borers. 



Fig. 5. Apple-leaf Sewer (magnified). 



The Apple-Leaf Sewer (Phoxopteris nuheculana, Clem.) (Fig. 5), one 

 of the Leaf-Eollers, was quite abundant, and did cosiderable damage i^'i 

 some orchards near Winona. In the' orchards of Jos. Tweddle, Fruitland, 

 which I visited, the lower leaves were practically free from this insect, but 

 they were very prevalent in the topmost leaves. The owner informed me 

 that before the trees were carefully and systematically sprayed nearly 

 every leaf was infested, and he attributed the presence of the Sewer in the 

 topmost leaves to the fact that it was almost impossible to treat properly 

 the upper twigs of the very large trees. 



The caterpillars (Fig. 5a) are about two-thirds of an inch in length 

 when the leaves fall in autumn. In color they range from green to green- 

 ish yellow. There are two rows of light-colored spots beside the middle 

 line of the back, and one or two along each side, each spot provided with 

 a hair. Its head and shield of next segment are yellow. 



The leaves are folded by using the silk threads which the caterpillar 

 spins as draw-threads. The edges of the leaf are soon drawn together, 

 which, when glued, form a hollow case. (Fig. 56.) Within this case the 

 caterpillar feeds upon the green tissue. Leaves frequently give indications 

 of being tied or folded over at different times, according to growth of larva. 

 Mr. Tweddle, always a careful orchardist and a strong believer in cleanli- 

 ness about an orchard, believes that he can control this insect by thorough 

 spraying in the summer with arsenite of lime. 



The life history appears to be as follows: The winter is passed in the 

 folded leaf as a larva; in early spring the larva transforms to a chrysalis, 

 and in May the adult moths appear. Soon after, or in early June, the eggs 

 are laid on the leaves, and caterpillars appear in a few days. Small folds 

 are first observed, which do not involve the whole leaf, but finally the entire 

 leaf is folded over. There is, thus, but one brood per year. 



In the Fruitland district, the first brood of the Codling Moth was not 

 so destructive as the second, although it damaged the Yellow Harvest, 

 Astrachan, Duchess, and St. Lawrence varieties. The second brood of 

 larvae was abundant in August, and damaged the Baldwins and Greenings. 



In other districts the Codling Moth was not very destructive. 



