April, '14] HERRICK: OVIPOSITIOX OF TWO APPLE PESTS 189 



THE OVIPOSITION OF TWO APPLE PESTS 



By Glenn W. Herrick, Ithaca, N. Y. 



The Green Fruit Worm, Xylina antennata 



For the past two seasons the green fruit worms have been prominent 

 among the insect pests of apples, pears, and, in some instances, sour 

 cherries. In 1896 they were also abundant in western New York 

 and caused considerable injury. At that time, Professor Slingerland 

 made observations on the injuries, distribution, habits, and life histories 

 of the three species concerned.^ He surmised that the moths depos- 

 ited their eggs in the spring. It is stated in a newspaper article that 

 appeared in the South that the eggs are deposited in the spring on the 

 undersides of the leaves. So far as the writer is aware the eggs of 

 Xylina antennata have not been described or figured. 



In the spring of 1913 several battered specimens of Xylina antennata 

 were brought to the writer from Holley, N. Y. The moths were re- 

 ported as occurring in abundance in an apple and pear orchard. . We 

 immediately wrote and requested that more specimens be sent and on 

 March 22 four fine fresh moths were received in good condition. It 

 was amazing that they had been able to pass the winter so well pre- 

 served. It is, of course, possible that these moths had transformed 

 from overwintering pupae, but hardly probable considering the early 

 date at which they appeared. 



These moths were placed in a breeding jar in the insectary with 

 some apple branches that had been brought into the house early and 

 were just coming into leaf. Some moistened sugar in a shallow dish 

 was set in the cage where the moths could find access to it. On March 

 23 several eggs were deposited on the branches. They were laid sepa- 

 rately in the scars of the branch (Fig. 16), particularly in the leaf scars 

 of last year's terminal buds. 



The egg is whitish or flesh-colored and inclined to pinkish. It is 

 circular, somewhat dome-shaped but much flattened on top. The 

 base is flat and the sides are ridged and grooved. There are apparently 

 eleven primary ribs converging toward the micropyle with usually 

 two secondary ribs between each pair of the primaries. In general 

 appearance, the egg is remarkably like that of the cotton leaf-worm 

 moth. In diameter the eggs range from .55 to .65 mm. The vertical 

 diameter is somewhat less. By March 25 the eggs had turned much 

 darker and were more pinkish in hue. They gradually grew darker 

 and hatched on April 1. The incubation period then, under the con- 

 ditions in the insectary, was nine days. 



We have said that the eggs were deposited in the leaf scars on the 



1 Bull. 123, Cornell Univ. Agri. Expt. Stat. 1896. 



