Fruit-growing 



267 



cause the leaves to curl ; hence, to be effective, spraying should 

 be done before the leaves have curled. 



Lea} blister-mite. Of recent years much damage has been 

 done to apple trees by the leaf blister-mite. This is a very 

 small insect that passes the winter in the buds and early in the 

 spring emerges and feeds on the tender foliage when the buds 

 open. The insects are combated by spraying with lime sulfur 

 solution during the dormant season. 



Bud-moth. In the larvae stage the bud-moth is a dirty- 

 white caterpillar about one-fourth inch long that sometimes 

 attacks apple foliage. The 

 larvae spin a web around the 

 leaves just as they are un- 

 folding and eat the foliage. 

 They are combated by the 

 lime sulfur spray. 



Plum curculio. The in- 

 sect known as the plum 

 curculio (Fig. 114) attacks 

 plums, apples, pears, cherries, 

 and peaches. Both sexes 

 puncture the young fruit with 

 their proboscides for the pur- 

 pose of feeding on the pulp 



and the female lays eggs in the punctures. About the puncture 

 she cuts a crescent-shaped hole and this characteristic mark on 

 the fruit can readily be distinguished. The fruits in which the 

 eggs have been laid usually drop by the time they are half- 

 developed, but some remain until they are ripe. When the 

 trees are small, the young insects can be jarred from the tree. 

 A sheet or a device known as the curculio-catcher is placed 

 underneath the tree to catch the insects, after which they are 

 destroyed. When the trees become large this treatment is not 

 effective. The usual sprayings given to orchards for other in- 

 sects tend to keep the curculio in check. 



FIG. 114. Adult curculios on a young 

 peach (enlarged). 



