25 



jagged opening and gets into a third beriy, closing the point of entry 

 as carcfull^^ as before. By this time the season is pretty well advanced, 

 the fruit is of good size, and, soon after the worm starts feeding, the 

 newly infested berry begins to turn red. To the ordinar}'^ observer 

 the fruit is lipening nicely, if early; but the grower knows better and 

 realizes that ever}^ such specimen is lost to him. Not unusually the 

 worm completes its growth in this berrj^, but if it does not it eats into 

 a fourth. This time it makes no attempt to seal up its point of entry; 

 very often it spins together a little cluster of berries, eating from one 

 into the other and ruining all of them. Full growth comes, as a rule, in 

 late August or early September, just before picking time; then the cater- 

 pillar leaves the berry and in the sand at the base of the plants spins 

 a rather close silken cocoon, in which it passes the winter. But quite 

 frequently the worms do not get their full growth at picking time, 

 and emerge from the berries after they are harvested and in the cran- 

 berry house. These delayed forms make their way to anj'^ crevice or 

 other shelter that they can find and there spin up for the winter rest. 



At this time the worm is rather more than half an inch in length, of 

 a bright-green color, with a variably marked reddish tinge on the back. 

 The head is a little narrower than the first body segment and is of a 

 more yellowish color, except the mouth, which is brown. The body 

 segments are transversely wrinkled, clothed with a few sparse, rather 

 long hairs. As a whole, this is decidedly the stoutest of those occur- 

 ring on the bog as injurious species. 



The full-grown caterpillars winter in their silken cocoons, which 

 the}^ make b}'^ first rolling in the sand, gluing the particles together 

 with saliva, and then spinning their web inside of the rough casing so 

 formed. Pupation begins toward the middle of April with specimens 

 that have been dry during the winter, but probably not much before 

 the end of May or early Juno on the bogs. The pupa is brown, rather 

 chunk}', and of the same general form as in the species already described. 



Remedial measures. — Winter fiowage is not fatal to these insects, and 

 covering the bogs with water at any time after the winter cocoon has 

 been formed would probably be inefi'ective. Nevertheless, as already 

 indicated, water-covered bogs are less troubled, and it is probable that 

 the earlier the water is put on in the fall the more efi'ective this practice 

 will be. 



Indications are that if a bog can be safely submerged for forty-eight 

 hours between August 10 and 15, just before the worms reach their 

 full growth, the great majority will be killed off. Sound berries cov- 

 ered for that length of time will not come to harm if the water can be 

 put on and drawn off rapidly enough to avoid scalding. Fruits not 

 quite so far advanced may be covered for even a longer time without 

 injur}', but there is always a risk which the grower should fully con- 

 sider before he acts. The vines should be completely covered before 

 the sun beats upon them high enough to warm the water, the covering 



