APPLE PESTS. 



// 



on them. When fully fed they let themselves down 

 to the ground by silken threads, burying themselves in 

 the earth, finally emerging as moths in October and 

 November. The larvt^? of the Great Winter Moth are one 

 and a quarter inches long, chestnutdjrown in colour, with 

 yellow under .sides. They also form their bodies into loops, 

 and act and feed similarly to those of the Winter Moth. 

 As to the March Moth, this usually lays its eggs in March 

 in bands round the shoots. Each female wingless moth is 

 said to lay as many as five hundred eggs. In due course 

 " looper " caterpillars of a whitish or greenish colour 

 appear, and set to work to aid the other larvae in their 

 nefarious business of devouring the foliage. 



GREAT BRIXDLED BEAUTY MOTH (PHIGALIA 



A. the male; B. the lehiale moth. 



v.. 

 PILOSARIA) 



liEMEDiES. — (1) We have already explained that the 

 females are wingless, and that they have to crawl up the 

 trees to lay their eggs. Experience, therefore, has shown 

 that it is the business of the fruit-grower to prevent the 

 females ascending the trees, and this is done by a process 

 known as grease-banding. This consists of surrounding 

 the trunk near the crutch with wide bands (tw^elve inches 

 or more) of grease-proof paper, such as is used by grocers, 

 and securing this tightly by three strands of twine — one 

 at the bottom, one in the middle, and one at the top. 

 This done, smear the paper with cart grease free from 

 tar. The bands must be fixed early in October, and kept 

 on practically all the year, renewing them in October. 



