61 



Description. A dull Saw fly. The general shape and 

 appearance of the adult may be seen from Fig 2. In colour 

 it is reddish yellow, with the top of the head, the thorax be- 

 tween the wings and the upper side of the abdomen, black. 

 It measures about inch in length and about g inch in spread 

 of wings. 



Larva. The form of the larva is shown in Fig. 3. In 

 colour it is usually white or cream, but, according to Theobald, 

 pink specimens sometimes occur. When first hatched the 

 head is black and there is also a black plate over the anal 

 (or " tail ") segment, but later the head becomes light brown 

 and the tail plate greyish. There are ten pairs of legs and 

 this character may be used to distinguish the Sawfly larva, 

 from that of the Codling Moth. In Sawfly larvae it will be 

 found that there are three pairs of true legs directly behind the 

 head, which are followed by seven pairs of " sucker" legs 

 including the- clasper-like pair at the tail. The Codling Moth 

 larva also possesses the three pairs of true legs but there are 

 only five pairs of sucker legs. The general appearance also 

 of the Sawfly larva differs from that of the Codling Moth and! 

 when the two larvae have once been definitely identified by the 

 character given above they will afterwards be known at a 

 glance. 



Cocoon. The larva pupates in the ground in a yellowish 

 silken cocoon to which grains of earth are attached. 



Life-History. The adult Sawflies leave the cocoons at 

 the end of April and in May, appearing during the period in 

 which the apple is in flower. They may then be found on 

 bright days sitting on the blossoms. The eggs are laid on the 

 iipwer bel6w the calyx, one egg only being placed on each 

 blossom. After a period varying from a week to a fortnight 

 the egg hatches and the young larva burrows into the develop- 

 ing fruitlet and eats out a large cavity in the interior (Fig. la). 

 This cavity communicates with the exterior by means of a 

 small hole through which wet frass exudes, thus indicating the 

 attacked fruitlets (Fig. 1). The larva may require more than 

 one fruit for its support and it may, therefore, leave the 

 original fruit on which the egg was laid and crawl away to 

 attack others. After from four to six weeks the larva is full 

 fed and it then leaves the tree and spins a cocoon in the soil 

 at a depth varying f rom 1 to 4 inches. The attacked fruits seldom 

 grow to any size, and the majority usually fall off in July. 

 Some of the larvae remain in the fruits until they fall, but most 

 have become full fed and have left before then. The pupae 

 normally remain until the following spring before the adults 

 emerge, though occasionally there is said to be a small second 

 brood in July. 



Nature of Damage. The actual loss in fruit is too 

 obvious to need further remark, but a note may be given as to 



