Insects Injurious to the Apple. 



33 



the outside of the tent or along the branches. They are somewhat 

 timid and fall to the ground on the tree being shaken, but soon 

 crawl back to the foliage again. 



Maturity is reached from the middle of June to the end of July, 

 when they disperse and spin cocoons of loose pale silk ; mixed with 

 it are a number of hairs and a yellowish powder. 



The cocoons may be spun singly amongst the leaves, or on 

 fences, etc., or, as seen in Fig. 20, a mass of them together. In the 

 cocoon the larva changes to a dark brown pupa, from which the moth 

 hatches in two or three weeks. 



The food plants are very varied, such as oak, elm, hawthorn and 

 roses being their favourites, 

 besides the fruit trees men- 

 tioned. 



PREVENTION AND REMEDIES. 



Many of the egg bands are 

 naturally cut off by pruning, 

 and these of course should be 

 burnt. As the egg bands are 

 readily seen, it would be 

 advisable after an attack of 

 Lackey Moth to go over the 

 plantation and see that all of 

 them are destroyed in winter. 

 Spraying with arsenical washes 

 has been found of great bene- 

 fit, and the early destruction 

 of tents should always be 

 seen to. For this we can use 



long-handled pruners, and care should be taken to see that all the 

 caterpillars are destroyed. Where large trees are attacked and 

 spraying is not possible, an excellent plan is to have the larvae 

 shaken down. Thick grease bands placed around the trunks of the 

 trees will stop those which are not killed on the ground from 

 ascending again. 



NATURAL ENEMIES. 



No insect parasites are of any value in checking the Lackey 

 Moth. Of birds the only one that seems to feed upon the caterpillars 

 is the Cuckoo, which is well known to feed on hairy larvse. 



D 



[F. Edenden. 



FIG. 20. COCOOXS OF LACKEY MOTHS AND JUST 

 HATCHED ADULTS. 



