INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY 419 



Life History. The moths appear in June and deposit their 

 small globular, brown eggs in the axils of the leaves next the 

 canes, or under scales or in cracks of the canes. The young 

 caterpillars bore into the pith of the canes, which they tunnel out, 

 and are about half grown by winter, when they descend to the 

 bottom of the burrows and hibernate. In the spring they con- 

 tinue their work and become full grown by May. The full- 

 grown larva is slightly over one-half inch long, of a yellowish 

 color, with brown head, and with numerous small tubercles over 

 the body. It cuts a hole through the side of the burrow, which 

 it closes with small chippings, and then transforms to the pupa. 

 When the moth is ready to emerge the pupa wriggles itself partly 

 out of the burrow by means of the strong spines on the abdomen, 

 and the moth comes forth. Affected canes can be recognized 

 by the dwarfed and yellow foliage and the general unhealthy 

 appearance of the plant, and if not removed will usually die during 

 the season. 



Control. The only method of control is to keep all the old 

 wood removed and to cut out and burn all affected canes in fall 

 or early spring, whenever the injury may best be detected. 



The Currant-stem Girdler * 



In late spring, after the young currant-shoots have reached 

 a growth of several inches, two or three inches of the tips some- 

 times wilt, and fall over and hang suspended or drop to the ground. 

 If examination shows that the tip has been girdled by several 

 sharp cuts, it is probably the work of the Currant-stem Girdler. 

 It is a native insect which was first described from Massachusetts, 

 and has also been found injurious in Rhode Island, Canada, Ohio 

 and Michigan, but has been most troublesome in New York. 

 It has also been noted as a pest of willow and poplar in Mary- 

 land, and of basket willow in Kentucky, Indiana, and Ohio, so 

 that it is doubtless quite generally distributed. The adult insect 

 is a slender saw-fly with shining black body and light brownish 

 legs, shown natural size in Fig. 353a. The male is smaller and 

 has a brownish-yellow abdomen, while in the female the first 



* J anus integer Norton. .Family Tenthredinidce. See Slingerland, Bul- 

 letin 126, Cornell Univ. Agr. Exp. Sta. ; F. H. Chittenden, Bulletin No 46 

 Bureau of Forestry, pp. 68-70. 



