311 GOOSEBERR-y. 



The female Sawfly appears about April, and lays licr eggs 

 on or beside the largest veins beneath the Gooseberry leaves. 

 The grubs hatch in about a week, and begin feeding on the 

 leaf on which they are placed, which they soon pierce full of 

 small holes. "Thus they go on feeding and changing their 

 successive sldns as they increase in size, until they are three- 

 fourths of an inch long, when they are seen scattered round 

 the edges of a partly demolished leaf, holding by their fore 

 legs with their tails turned up, or lying on one side. 



"" At this time they are dull pale " (or bluish) " green. The 

 first ring behind the head, and also the last ring but one, are 

 deep yellow ; the head, feet, tail, and some dots on each 

 segment, are black. When full-grown they cast their skins 

 for the last time, becoming of a uniform pale green, excepting 

 the spaces behind the head and near the tail, which retain 

 their yellow tint, and there are also two little black dots on 

 the head ; the rest of the black spots are moulted off." 



The caterpillars, as mentioned at p. 311, may be known 

 from those of the Gooseberry Moth by having a larger number 

 of sucker-feet ; they have a pair of sharp horny feet on each 

 of the three segments next to the head ; the fourth segment 

 is footless, but the following six segments are each furnished 

 with ''sucker-feet,'" or "pro-legs," like short fleshy legs, and 

 there is a similar pair at the end of the tail, known as the 

 " caudal pro-leg," making twenty feet in all. 



After the operation of casting the skin they rest awhile, and 

 then crawl down the stem of the bush or drop from a bough, 

 and at once begin to bury themselves. When deep enough, 

 which may be two or more inches, according to the nature of 

 the soil, they form a yellow-brown cocoon of a gummy 

 secretion, in which they turn to chrysalids. From this the 

 Sawfly comes out in about three weeks during summer ; in 

 the case of the late broods the grub remains unchanged in the 

 cocoon during winter, and does not turn to the chrysalis till 

 spring, in time for the Gooseberry Sawfly to make its 

 appearance as the Gooseberry and Currant bushes are coming 

 into leaf. 



The male Sawfly (figured p. 313) is about half an inch in the 

 expanse of the wings, the female rather more ; the head and 

 body between the wings are ochre-colour or yellow, variously 

 marked with black ; abdomen yellow or orange ; legs yellow, 

 with brown or l)lack tips to the feet and hinder shanks : horns 

 brown or black. The four wings are transparent and 

 iridescent.* 



* See "Goosebeny and Currant Sawfly," by Ruricola. 'Gardeners' 

 Chronicle,' vol. i., p. 548. 



