364 



FRUIT INSECTS 



The Obsolete-banded Strawberry Leaf-roller 

 Ar chips obsoletana Walker 



Occasionally strawberry beds are seriously injured by a small 

 olive-green caterpillar which folds the leaves or webs them 

 together so as to destroy the foliage and 

 prevent the ripening of the fruit. Out- 

 breaks have been reported in Illinois and 

 New York only, but the insect is widely 



Fig. 322.— Pupa of the Fig. 323. — Male (above) and female (below) 



obsolete-banded straw- moths of the obsolete-banded strawberry leaf- 

 berry leaf-roller ( X 5) . roller. 



distributed throughout the eastern United States from Texas 

 to Massachusetts. 



Where or in what stage the insect passes the winter is not 

 known. In May the young caterpillars appear on the leaves, 

 where they feed at first on the underside of the leaves, skeleton- 

 izing small areas ; they first live in a little tube formed by tying 

 the leaf hairs together with silk near a vein. In a few days the 

 caterpillar crawls to the upper surface and begins to fold the 



