CHAPTER XXII 

 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY. 



The Imported Currant-borer * 



ONE of the worst pests of the currant and gooseberry is the 

 borer, which tunnels out the canes and where abundant frequently 

 kills the plants. It is a European insect which has spread to 



FIG. 352. The imported currant-borer (Sesia tipuliformis Clerck): moth, 

 larva, and empty pupal skin left protruding from burrow. (After 

 Lugger.) 



all parts of this country where these fruits are grown. The 

 adult is one of the clear-winged moths and with the larva is very 

 similar in appearance and habits to the raspberry root-borer 

 The moth is about one-half inch long with a wing-expanse of 

 three-quarters inch. The body is black with a steel-blue lustre, 

 with a bright yellow band around the neck and three yellow 

 bands across the abdomen, which bears a large tuft of long scales 

 at the tip. The wings are clear except for a margin of blackish 

 scales and a band across the fore-wings about one-third from 

 the tip. 



* Sesia tipuliformis Clerck. Family Sesiidce. See Lugger, 1st Report- 

 Minn. State Entomologist, p. 184. 



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