26 



ON THE CODLIN MOTH, fCARPOCAPSA 

 POMONELLAj 

 By His Honor Mr. Justice Dobson. 

 [Read 11th April, 1876.] 

 For some years past the apple orchards in the northern 

 parts of this colony have almost ceased to be productive. 

 Every grower of apples there knows how liable his fruit is 

 to be worm-eaten ; he finds basketsful of windfalls even 

 in the calmest weather, and he is aware that the cause of 

 the loss is a small grub which has fed upon the pulp of the 

 fruit. The ravages of this insect are not wholly confined 

 to the apple, but have in some cases extended to crops of 

 pears. This grub has made its appearance in some of the 

 gardens in the vicinity of Hobart Town ; it is said to have 

 been observed here three years ago, and up to the present 

 time it has not been the cause of loss to any serious extent 

 in the Southern orchards. The history of these grubs, and 

 how and when they get into the apple may not be 

 generally known. The grub precisely answers in description, 

 and in the mischief it does amongst the apple orchards, to 

 the Codlin grub of England and America, and although it 

 is impossible at this season of the year to obtain the moth 

 there can be little doubt that it is, if not identical with, at 

 least most closely allied to the Codlin Moth, and I have for 

 the purposes of this paper assumed it to be so. The grub 

 is the larva of the Codlin Moth, " Carpocapsa pomonella " 

 of some entomologists, but " Tinea pomonella,^ " Pyralis 

 pomona," and " Tortrix pomoniana " of others. The Moth 

 is about three-quarters of an inch in expanse ; its fore wings 

 are ashy brown, the hind wings are a reddish brown, tinged 

 with yellow. The moth lays its eggs in the eyes of the 

 young apples — one e^^ in each apple — by inserting its long 

 ovipositor between the divisions of the calyx. As soon as 

 the egg is hatched, the little grub gnaws a hole in the 

 crown of the apple^ and soon buries itself in the substance. 

 The grub itself is of a dirty- white colour, with a brown 

 head varied with darkish-brown marks. The body is 

 slightly hairy : the first segment after the head is whitish, 

 with minute brown spots ; the other segments are of a pale 

 colour, with aboat eight small tubercles on each. Each of 

 the anterior segments is furnished with a pair of legs ; and 

 there are a pair of feet at the extremity of the body. In 

 its early state it is of a dirty-reddish colour. The grub 

 chiefly feeds upon the pulpy parts of the apple. When it 



