ri6 



The following description of this larva was taken on the 20th of May, 1869 : — 

 Length, -i'l inch. Head rather small, flattened, bilobed, pale brownish yellow, darker in 

 colour about the mouth, and with a darlc brown dot on each side. ^ 



The body above is .semitransparent, of a reddish pink colour, fading into lull yel- 

 low on the second and third segments ; anterior portion of second segment smooth and 

 horny looking, and similar in colour to liead. On each segment are a few shining reddish 

 dots — yellowish on the anterior segments — or faintly elevated tubercles, from each of 

 which arises a single, very fine, short, yellowish hair, invisible without a magnifying 

 power. These dots are arranged in imperfect rows, a single one across the third, fourth, 

 and terminal segments, and a more or less perfect double row on the remaining seg- 

 ments. 



The under surface is of a dull whitish colour, becoming faintly reddish on the hin- 

 der segments, with a few shining whitish dots ; those on the fifth, sixth, eleventh, and 

 twelfth segments, being arranged in transverse rows, in continuation of those above. 

 Feet and prolegs yellowsh white, the former faintly tipped with dark browu. It spins a 

 slight silken thread, by means of which it can suspend itself for a time at a short distance 

 from its place of attachment. The specimen described produced the moth on the 8th of 

 July following. 



On the 8th of June, we visited the grounds of Mr. Bishop, and found his strawberry 

 beds badly infested — indeed, almost destroyed — by this pest, along with a leaf-roller, to 

 be presently described. We believe there are two broods of this borer during the year. 

 That which we call the first brood is the one in which the larva passes the winter in a 

 young or'half-grown state, in the crowns and roots of the plants ; while the second brood 

 infests the young runners, soon after the fruiting season is over. The borer eats irregular 

 channels through the crown, sometimes excavating large chambers, at other times merely 

 girdling it in various directions, here and there eating its way to the surface. Whether 

 these various chambers and channels are due to the presence of more worms than one in a 

 single root we were unable to determine with certainty. Most of the cavities contained a 

 moderate-sized soft silky case, which, when opened, appeared nearly full of exuviae. 

 'Jhese cases had served as a place of retreat during winter. Most of the larvie 

 found at this date had eaten their way to the upper part of the crown of the plant, just 

 under the surface, and were found about the centre, with a hole eaten through the sur- 

 face. From the fact that a large number of roots were examined, and although almost 

 everyone was more or less injured, but very few lar-w'e were to be found, we inferred that 

 the probabilities were that the lar\a?, when mature, usually leave the root, and undergo 

 the change to chrysalis, either under the surface of the ground, or amongst rubbish at the 

 surface. One chrysalis only was found, and that was in the cavity of a root. As soon 

 as Mr. Bishop had discovered the destructive character of this pest, he, with commendable 

 caution, refused to sell anymore plants until the insect was subdued, for fear of spreading 

 the evil. He is of opinion that the insect came to him from some part of the United 

 States, with some plants of the Hooker strawberry, as it was in a patch of these, so ob- 

 tained, that he first noticed the insect working. 



Specimens of the larva? got late in the season wintered over, and were examined on 

 the r2th of January following, when they did not appear so plump in body as those 

 examined in July. They appear to spend most of the winter in a torpid state within the 

 silken cases before mentioned. Several were found thus sheltered at this time, and one, 

 whose original abode had been disturbed in the fall, had preparetl ior itself a similar casing 

 within the fold of a strawberry leaf. In this latter instance, the larva seemed quite active, 

 moving itself briskly about whenever touched. 



The chrysalis of this insect is very small, and of the usual dark reddish brown colour. 

 That one which was found on the 8th of June produced the moth on the 12th of July. 



The perfect insect is a very small dark grey moth, which was accurately described by 

 the late Dr. Clemens, in the Proccfidinys af the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, 

 for 1860, page 69, under the name of Anarsia pnmiella, as he at that time supposed it to 

 be distinct from the European insect. AVe quote his description : — " Head and face pale 

 grey ; thorax dark grey. Labial palpi dark fuscous, externally, and pale grey at the end ; 

 terminal joint grey, dusted with dark fuscous. Antenna* grayish, annulated with dark 

 brown. Fore wings grey, dusted with blackish, brown, with a few blackish brown spots 



