INSECTS AND PLANTS 75 



the codling moth abounds, there are two broods in each 

 year ; when this is the case, the majority of eggs of the 

 first brood are laid on the upper surface of the leaves, 

 whilst the greater number of the second-brood eggs are to 

 be found on the fruit. The number of the eggs laid by 

 each female moth is a debatable point, but they probably 

 average about thirty-five, deposited over a period of four 

 or five days. After about ten days, under favourable cir- 

 cumstances, the larvae emerge. 



At first they are semi-transparent and whitish in colour, 

 marked with regularly arranged rows of dark spots, from 

 which a few hairs arise. Their heads are large, black, and 

 shiny. When they attain their full growth, the caterpillars 

 measure nearly three-quarters of an inch in length, and, on 

 their dorsal surface, at any rate, have changed to a pinkish 

 colour. The spots, which were conspicuous when they first 

 emerged from the eggs, are now a little darker than the 

 body, their heads are brown and armed with conspicuous 

 mandibles, whilst below the lower lip may be seen the 

 spinneret from which silk is drawn. Of the five pairs of 

 fleshy legs, the first four pairs are provided with circles 

 of minute hooks, and the last pair have semicircles of hooks. 

 When the larvae are hatched on the leaves, they probably 

 feed, for a time, on the leaf tissues, though the point is one 

 that requires further observation ; at any rate, the majority 

 eventually reach the fruit, which they enter, for the most 

 part, by way of the calyx, and sometimes near the stalk, or 

 where there is a scar, or even where two fruits touch one 

 another. 



The second generation, which, as we have stated, mostly 

 come into the world on the surface of the apple, enter the 

 fruit at the side ; in fact, they may often be seen crawling 

 rapidly about the fruit, seeking for some rough spot, or, 

 better still, a scar. The reason for this eager search is that 

 the caterpillar's jaws can make little impression on the 

 smooth apple skin. To help in bringing about this con- 



