27 J I December, 



TERAS CONTAMINANA : AN UNEXPECTED APRICOT-PEST. 

 BY CHAS. G. BARRETT, F.E.S. 



In the latter part of last May I received from the Rev. H. S. 

 Gorham, of Shirley Warren, Southampton, a partially grown apricot 

 fruit of about an inch diameter, into which a deep hole had been eaten 

 by a Tortrix larva, also sent, with a similar larva found feeding on the 

 apricot leaves. Mr. Gorham explained that he had received them from 

 a gardener, who had discovered the mischief in progress among his 

 apricots, and was anxious to identify his enemy. I noted a description 

 of these larvae — though they looked familiar — they were quite alike, 

 and I fully subscribed to an opinion put forward by Mr. Gorham that 

 they would produce nothing more unusual than Tortrix ribeana. 



" Larva active and lively ; bright pea-green, slightly paler at the sides, and with 

 the wrinkled lateral fold rather pale ; incisions of segments also very narrowly paler ; 

 dorsal vessel deeper green ; dorsal line very slender, but expanding toward the 

 hinder end ; spots shining, but not otherwise distinguishable, with single rather long 

 hairs; head dull chestnut-brown, labrum whitish, jaws blackish ; dorsal plate light 

 brown, tinged with green ; anal plate of the bright green ground-colour ; legs 

 black ; prolegs green." 



Both larvae seemed equally to relish the unripe apricot while it 

 remained fresh, and both very soon spun exceedingly tight cocoons, and 

 therein assumed the pupa state. But, much to my surprise, July and 

 August passed without the production of the perfect insects, and also 

 a part of September, and then appeared two Teras contaminana. This, 

 I confess, was a surprise. Teras contaminana, as a larva, is most 

 familiar on leaves of hawthorn, blackthorn, and all manner of fruit 

 trees, but never in my experience feeding on the fruit ; and always of 

 a more yellow-green colour, and flatter shape, so that very little 

 resemblance appeared in the present larvae, and I can only suppose 

 that the more succulent food to which they had taken rendered them 

 more plump and of a brighter green. Possibly the heat of the weather 

 caused some dryness in the apricot leaves, and induced the larvae to 

 penetrate the more juicy fruit, but this is not, I feel sure, a confirmed 

 habit, and there is reason to hope that the gardeners are not subjected 

 to the attacks of a nev^"^ permanent pest. Pupae sent from the same 

 trees to Mr. Gorham produced Tortrix pyrastrann {Podana), hut there 

 seems to be no evidence that these had fed as larvse on the fruit. 



39, Linden Grove, Nunhead, SE. : 

 October, 1895. 



