428 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



widely distributed, occurring from New England to Minnesota 

 and Colorado, in British Columbia, and probably in the Pacific 

 States. The larva is about two-thirds the size of the imported 

 species, but is uniformly pale-green except the head which is 

 black until the last molt, after which it becomes partly green. 

 One generation of larvae appears in late June and another in 

 August. The cocoons are usually attached to the twigs or 

 leaves of the bushes. The female saw-fly is dull black with dull 

 yellow head, and honey-yellow legs. 



Control. While fruiting the foliage should be dusted or sprayed 

 with hellebore, which is the time-honored remedy for currant- 

 worms. However, before the fruit has set and after it is picked, 

 spraying with arsenicals will be much cheaper and more effective, 

 and as it is often desirable to spray gooseberries for diseases with 

 Bordeaux mixture, by adding arsenate of lead or Paris green 

 to it, the worms may be easily controlled. 



The Currant Span-worm * 



The Currant Span-worm is readily distinguished from the 

 other currant "worms," by being one of the measuring-worms 

 or inch-worms which loop along as shown in Fig. 360. It is not 

 frequently very destructive, but occasionally becomes a pest, 

 more particularly of black currants and gooseberries, throughout 

 the eastern half of the country. The caterpillar is slightly over 

 an inch long when full grown, and of a whitish color with a wide 

 yellow stripe down the back, another along each side, and several 

 black spots on each segment. The under side is white with a 

 slight pinkish tinge, with a broad yellow median stripe, and is also 

 spotted with black. The moth has a wing expanse of about 1J 

 inches, is a pale yellowish color, with several brownish spots, 

 varying in size and sometimes forming one or two irregular bands 

 across the wings. 



Life History. The eggs (Fig. 360a) are laid in midsummer on 

 the twigs of the infested plants and hatch as the bushes come 

 into full leaf the next spring. The caterpillars become full 

 grown in three or four weeks, when they pupate just beneath 

 the surface of the soil, and two or three weeks later the moths 

 emerge. v 



* Cymatophora ribearia Fitch. Family Geometridce. 



