tlfeD-BUD CAtfeRPILLAR. ^1 



of this moth hred by Mr. Doeg, of Evesham, from larvae taken in 

 Easpberry shoots at Charlton, belonging to Mr. John Swift. On the 

 6th of May, Mr. Wise wrote me, " We have picked off every shoot 

 which was affected." 



On the 30th of April Mr. Speir, writing fi-om Newton Farm, 

 Newton, near Glasgow, observed: — " On my Easpberry canes to-day, 

 I came on a large number of small scarlet maggots on almost every 

 other cane. They are about three- sixteenths of an inch long, and one- 

 twentieth thick. It has a black head and a small black spot on its 

 tail, but otherwise is all bright red. Up until a couple of days ago, 

 we have had no mild weather since February, much less warm weather, 

 and it is only within that time that the buds have swelled any. Most 

 of these maggots I found crawling on the canes, but quite a number 

 were just emerging from the buds, and on cutting off a number of buds, 

 I found either a burrow from the base to the apex, or a maggot in the 

 base, in a great many of them." 



The above observation of Mr. Speir's, regarding the fact of maggots 

 being emerging from the buds is very important practically, as showing 

 the successive injuries which are caused by one caterpillar, and this is 

 fully confirmed by the following note sent me by Mr. Wise on the 6th 

 of May :— 



"I am much obliged to you for sending your Eeport for 1883. I 

 do not agree with Mr. Weir, on page 67, when he states ' that in no 

 case were the caterpillars found to leave the bud which had been 

 attacked, each caterpillar only destroying one shoot.' I have found in 

 cases where there are two shoots the caterpillar has been in one and 

 left it, and evidently gone into the next, for in the next I have 

 found it." 



On May 7th the Eev. W. P. Paterson, writing from The Manse, 

 Crieff, N.B., forwarded me specimens of the red maggots with black 

 heads, and mark on next segment, and at tail, of the Ijampronia 

 rubiella. The buds on the pieces of cane accompanying were not 

 nearly so far advanced in growth as those sent from Toddington, and 

 in one instance I found the red caterpillar well down at the bottom of 

 the bud as described below. Mr. Paterson, after mentioning severe 

 injury from some kind of insect attack which in the previous year 

 reduced the yield of an acre of " rasps " from ^£40 to £8, further 

 observed : — '* On examining the plantation to-day, I find most of the 

 buds eaten like specimen (1), in which, in a few cases, a red maggot 

 (specimen 2) was found snugly ensconced at the root of the bud. I 

 suspect that the crop is again destroyed." 



Somewhat later on Mr. Paterson favoured me with the following 

 further communication, which is well worth study, regarding the point 

 alluded to in above observations. Mr. Paterson remarked : — •* On 



