CHAPTER XI - 



CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 



Commercially the most important insect pests of the cur- 

 rant and gooseberry are the imported currant worm, the San 

 Jose scale and the currant plant-louse. 



The Imported Currant Borer 

 Sesia tipuliformis Clerck 



This destructive European currant-borer was introduced 

 into this country some time before 1826, and is now widely dis- 

 tributed throughout North America; it also occurs in Asia, 

 AustraHa and New Zealand. The caterpillars burrow (Fig. 

 298) in the smaller canes and eat out the pith for a distance of 

 several inches, causing the branch to die. While not often a 

 serious pest this insect has been known to become so abundant 

 in certain gardens that the raising of currants was abandoned 

 for a time. 



The beautiful, clear-winged moths (Fig. 300) appear in June 

 and may be found flying rapidly about the plants or resting on 

 the leaves. The female moth has an expanse of about f inch ; 

 the wings are transparent, with a border of golden purple and 

 a bar of the same color across the fore wing ; the body is purplish 

 black with three narrow bands of yellow on the abdomen in the 

 female and four in the male. 



The female moth deposits her brown, almost globular eggs 

 singly on the bark. The young larvae bore into the stem and 

 then burrow up or down, through the pith, killing the cane. 



339 



