STRAWBERRY INSECTS 385 



active in the bright sunhght, and when flying are easily mistaken 

 for wasps. The female is said to deposit her egg on the straw- 

 berry crown at the base of the leaves. The caterpillar burrows 

 into the crown, at first feeding near the surface,. but later eats 

 out the whole interior of the main root, thus killing the plant. 

 It hibernates in the nearly full-grown condition, completes its 

 growth the following spring and pupates in the upper part of its 

 burrow in a slight silken cocoon into which are incorporated 

 bits of frass. When ready to transform to the adult, the pupa 

 works itself part way out of the cocoon, and on the escape of the 

 moth the empty pupal skin is left projecting from the opening 

 of the burrow. There is only one brood a year. 



Remedial measures. 



Throughout its development the larva, feeding on the interior 

 of the crown, is out of reach of poisons. No better remedy has 

 been suggested than to pull up and burn infested plants before 

 the moths emerge. Strawberry beds which are to be abandoned 

 should be plowed under after harvesting the last crop, and not 

 left as breeding places for the moths. Observations in Cali- 

 fornia indicate that a large percentage of the borers can be killed 

 by submerging the beds for four or five days in winter or early 

 spring. This method may be found of value in irrigated dis- 

 tricts. 



References 



Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 35, pp. 13-17. 1898. 

 Chittenden, Bur. Ent. BuU. 23, pp. 85-90. 1900. 



Strawberry crown-miner. 



A small lepidopterous caterpillar has been occasionally re- 

 ported in Illinois and Canada as injuring the strawberry by 

 mining the crown. This insect has been considered as identical 

 with the peach-twig borer (Anarsia lineatella Zeller), but is 

 probably a distinct species. The life history of this insect has 

 not been fully worked out. The reddish-pink caterpillar about 

 2c 



