88 



Insect Pests. 



being the bird-cherry (Primus padus) and euonymus. It has 

 been sent to me on more than one occasion from cultivated cherries 

 in Kent and also from apple. Whitehead (3) says it is the species 

 most usually met with in the north of England. H. paddla often 

 does much harm to hawthorn hedges, frequently quite defoliating 

 them. In Italy it attacks the plum, being known as " tignola del 

 pruno " ; in .France, cherry, plum and grapes. It also attacks the 

 cherry in England. 



The apple pest {H. malinella) was most troublesome in 1865, 

 1877 and 1880. Whole orchards were entirely devastated in the 

 two first-named years, the foliage being as bare as in midwinter. 

 Such an attack not only ruins the year's crop, but so harms the trees 

 that they do not bear crops for some subsequent seasons. 



LlFE-HlSTORY AXD HABITS. 



The life-history seems to have been confused in describing this 

 pest with that of H. paddla (2). The fact that the same species was 



thought to attack both haw- 

 thorn and apple probably is 

 the cause of this. 



The apple species (1) is 

 smaller than that found on 

 the hawthorn, measuring 

 about 17 mm. ; the head is 

 white and. also the palpi ; 

 the thorax is snowy-white 

 with black spots, as also 

 are the fore wings, which 

 have about twenty small 

 black spots, the cilia a 

 similar colour to the wings ; 

 posterior wings grey, the 

 fringe uniformly grey, thus 

 differing from H. paddla, 

 in which the fringe of the 

 posterior wings is pale grey 

 or white with grey apex. 

 It is found widely over 

 England, and Carpenter records it from Ireland. 



The moth appears in July and August. The earliest record I have of 

 it is the 4th of July and the latest the 10th of August. Whitehead (3) 

 says " they appear towards the end of June." I have never observed 



[F. Edenden. 



FIG. 78. LITTLE APPLE ERMINE (H. malinella). 

 A, cocoons in leaf nest ; B, adult. 



