44 



more commonly after the worm has escaped. The larvse which leave the apples while still 

 on the trees, either crawl down the branches to the trunk of the tree, or otherwise let them- 

 selves down by a fine silken thread, which they spin at will, to the ground ; in either case, 

 the greater portion of them take refuge under the rough loose bark on the trunk of the tree, 

 and there spin their cocoons. The second brord of moths appear from about the twentieth 

 to the last of July. We have taken them on the wing ;it night as early as the nineteenth, 

 but specimens confined in breeding boxes, have not, as a rule, made their appearance until 

 about the end of the month. In the winged state they seldom live more than a few days, and 

 in this brief space they pair, and the female deposits her eggs for the second brood of larvae, 

 and, for this purpose, wisely shows a preference for the later apples. The codling moth also 

 attacks the pear, in some localities, most disastrously for the crop; the fruit, however, seldrm 

 falls to the ground until some time after the worm has left. 



Dr. Wm. Le Baron, State Kntnmologist, of Illinois, has devoted much time and atten- 

 tion to the study of the history and habits of this insect, and has published in his last annual 

 report an excellent paper on this subject. Mr. Riley, of St. Louis, has also made observations 

 and experiments on this same insect, which corroborate those of Or. I>e Baron, these are re- 

 ferred to in the fifth and sixth annual reports on the noxious, beneficial and other insects of ' 

 the State of Missouri ; from both these sources we shall glean and make free use of such facts 

 as we think will interest our readers. 



The number of eggs each moth is capable of laying will, probably, average not less than 

 fifty, but these are not all matured at once, but may be found, by careful dissection of the 

 body of the moth, in various stages of development. Hence they must be deposited succes- 

 sively, the period probably extending over a week or more. 



Remedies. 



This is an all important matter in which, in this instance, man must rely chiefly on his 

 own efibrts, for although, doubtless, a large number of the worms and chrysalids are annually 

 destroyed by birds, and another limited portion by parasitic insects, still from the advantage- 

 ous shelter afforded them by the apple, and the fact of their movements after leaving it being 

 mostly in the night time, the codling worm enjoys much immunity from natural foes. 



Dr. Le Baron divides this practical portion of the subject, as far as man's work is con- 

 cerned, into four heads, and here we cannot do better than quote from his excellent 

 paper : — 



" 1st. Destroying the insects in their winter quarters. 



" 2nd. Picking the wormy apples from the trees. 



" .3rd. Gathering the wormy apples from the ground, or letting swine and sheep have 

 the range of the orchard. 



" 4tb. Entrapping the worms in bands and other contrivances." 



1st. Destroying the insects in their icinter qtmrtei's. — When we consider that each fe- 

 male moth is capable of laying fifty eggs or more, and that every worm of the first brood 

 ruins an apple, we can see the importance of destroying these insects before they leave their 

 winter quarters. We have already mentioned that in the state of nature, these worms pass 

 the winter in cocoons, concealed under the bark, or in the crevices of apple trees. The sum- 

 mer brcod of worms, which remain but two weeks in the pupa state, sometimes content them- 

 selves with a very slight protection, but it is the nature of the insect to seek deep conceal- 

 ment, and the instinct of the second brood, which is to survive the winter, leads them to 

 search for the deepest ])rotection they can find. We, therefore, rarely find them under shal- 

 low and loose scales of bark, but very often in deep cracks and crevices, partially embedding 

 themselves in the .substance of the wood or bark. Any superficial .scraping of the trees, or 

 whitewashing, or other outward applications would not, therefore, be likely to reach many of 

 them ; and inasmuch as they may be hidden upon any part of the trunk or large branches, 

 any attempt to discover them with the intention of digging them out would, evidently, be im- 

 practicable ; but at the j)oint where we become powerless the woodpeckers come to our :iid. 

 In their search for just such hidden worms as these, those busy foragers unite business with 

 pleasure, and all throuiih the wintry day the sharp rattle of their beaks may often be heard in 

 the orchard, as with ear intent and sharpened beak, and appetite not less sharp, they pursue 

 their hidden prey with unerring and fatal precision. 



