ORCHARD PESTS 75 



eaters or fungi. There are also stem-borers, leaf -cutters 

 and root-eaters. 



Our first example is the Wood Leopard Moth {Zeuzera 

 (Bsculi). It is a handsome creature. It elects to be 

 plain black and white in colour, but in living specimens 

 I have noticed that there is a beautiful shot-blue effect 

 about the black spots, especially when newly-hatched. 

 The female measures about 2| inches across the wings, 

 and appears in the height of summer, remaining close to 

 the tree whilst her smaller mate usually has a jaunt around 

 the lighted lamp-posts preparatory to the celebration of 

 their nuptials. The eggs are laid on the bark, and hatch 

 out into a caterpillar which, as in a few other curious 

 cases with butterflies and moths, has the same colour 

 scheme as in the adult moth. It tunnels into the wood 

 and there feeds throughout the winter. 



This moth is, to an extent, rather maligned. Indeed 

 we have the authority of naturalists like Edward Newman 

 who state that the damage done is never so great as to 

 permanently injure the tree, but that apples with this 

 moth in them have been known to bear even better than 

 trees unaffected. 



Fruit-growers must, however, be guided by their own 

 experience, as conditions are always changing. If a tree 

 should be badly affected a little salt and water poured 

 into the galleries would fetch out the larvae or kill them, 

 and a watch might be kept for the females during July 

 and August. (See Plate 18.) 



Coming to the bark, we have the tiny beetles of the 

 genus Scolytus, belonging to the group of the Xylophagi 

 or Wood-eaters. Of these the commonest is the Fruit 

 Tree Bark Beetle (S.rugulosiis), which affects apple, pear, 

 plum, cherry, peach and other trees. They make tunnels 

 in between the wood and the bark, and are more partial 

 to sickly, decayed trees than healthy ones. The Fruit- 

 Tree Beetle is only | inch in length and shiny black in 

 colour, the larva legless, with yellowish head and brown 



