48 



FRUir INSECTS 



Fig. 49. — Hibernating cases of the cigar- 

 case-bearer. Herrick photo. Enlarged. 



but the curious little cigar-shaped suits in which the caterpillars 



live in May and June are quite conspicuous on the foliage. 



The caterpillar protrudes itself 

 from its case, eats a tiny round 

 hole through the skin of the 

 leaf and then mines out the in- 

 terior tissue as far as it can 

 reach and still retain its case. 

 Thus many small, blotch mines 

 are made which soon turn 



brown, and often whole leaves are thus mined out. About 



September 15, the insect goes into hibernation as a minute, 



half-grown caterpillar in a tiny curved case attached to the 



twigs (Fig. 49). About the middle 



of April, the caterpillars move and 



proceed to eat holes in the opening 



buds, the expanding leave i^ the stems 



of the flowers and fruits and the young 



fruits (Fig. 50). Additions are built 



on to the winter case, but in about a 



month the dark, orange-colored, 



black-headed caterpillar, scarcely J 



of an inch long, deftly makes, by 



mining and cutting out a cigar-shaped 



area of the leaf, its larger cigar-shaped 



case or suit. In the latter part of June 



the caterpillars cease feeding, securely 



fasten the cases to the leaves or 



branches, and in about three weeks 



transform within through light brown 



pupae to the tiny steel-gray moths, with a wing expanse of 



about I of an inch (Fig. 51). The females soon lay minute, 



yellow, pitted eggs among the hairs on the young leaves. 



Hatching in about two weeks, the tiny caterpillars work as 



Fig. 50. — Cigar-case-bearer 

 attached to young pear which 

 also shows several scars made 

 by other case-bearers. 



