24 



If burning' is resorted to, it should be done as earl}" in the season as 

 possible and should be extended far enoug-h to cover the entire infested 

 portion of the bog. 



INSECTS THAT ATTACK THE FKUIT. 

 THE CRANBERRY FRUIT WORM. 



{Miiieola Tdcc'niil Riley.) 



This is another species that is nuich more injurious in Massachusetts 

 than in New Jerse}^ though it is by no means unknown in the latter 

 State, and in some seasons and localities does considerable damage. 

 As a rule, bogs that can not be rellowed and high and sandy bogs suffer 

 more. 



The adult moth (fig. 10) appears on bogs in ordinary seasons about 

 the middle of July, when the ])erries are setting or have already set. 

 It is probable that the moths remain on the bogs for a period of at 



least a month, as indicated b}' the 

 very unequal development of the 

 worms that are found in the berries 

 in early September. 



The moth, with wings expanded, 

 measures about three-fourths of an 

 inch and is of a glistening ash-gray, 

 mottled with white and blackish. 

 The forewings are narrower than the 

 hind wings, which are more smoky 

 gra}^ in color and have no markings. 

 It is a shy species, not easily started during the day, and flies with a 

 darting motion for quite long distances. It is not generally recog- 

 nized, therefore, even by growers who annually lose heavily by it. 

 When at rest the wings are folded close to the body, and on a cran- 

 berry stem, where it usuall}^ rests head down, it is not readily seen 

 even by an experienced eye. 



The eggs are laid on the young berry, preferably in the calyx, just 

 beneath one of the lobes, but the}^ may be on any part of the berr}" and 

 possibly on the leaves as well. They ai"e verj^ slightly convex, almost 

 flat, round in outline, pale yellowish in color, and so soft that they 

 adapt themselves readil}' to any inequalities of surface. The worms 

 emerge in about five days, and fora da}" or two feed on the outer side 

 of the berr}". Then each worm enters a berry, eats out the seed cham- 

 ber, and migrates to another. The vacated berr}^ turns red, shrivels 

 up, and eventually drops. The worm, on entering its new home, care- 

 fully closes the opening behind it with a web of fine silk, so dense that 

 it is sometimes difiicult to see where the hole was made. In this sec- 

 ond berry it becomes half grown, then works out through a lar^e 



178 



k /^ 



Fig. 10.— Cranberry fruit worm; a, berry, show- 

 ing egg; &, c, egg; d, larva; e,f, pupa; g. co 

 coon; h, moth — all enlarged (after Riley). 



