ORCHARD PESTS 89 



at times to the canes. It is a pretty little moth, belong- 

 ing to the vast group of the Tineina, still insufficiently 

 known, and measures nearly | inch across the wings, 

 which are Ught brown with yellow spots in the case of 

 the forewings, the hinder ones having a pale fringe. The 

 caterpillar is red with a black head and a black spot on 

 the first segment. The pupa is reddish-yellow. 



Eggs are laid on the flowers in the spring. The cater- 

 pillars, which are slow of growth, hibernate durmg the 

 winter. They then make up for their long fast, com- 

 mencing in real earnest the ensuing season, eating into 

 the buds at the base and so preventing the flowers from 

 opening. The larvse then scoop out a hole in the pith 

 of the cane and there pupate. 



As the caterpillars hibernate just below the surface of 

 the ground, poultry would be useful for a certain time, 

 but deep forking or even the use of the Canterbury hoe 

 will bury them too deep to get out again. In bad cases 

 the canes can be cut off and burnt, after which soot and 

 hme should be worked into the soil. (See Plate 19.) 



An insect closely connected with the foregoing is the 

 Shoot and Fruit Moth {Incurvaria capitella) which is 

 inimical to red and black currants. In this case the 

 plants are attacked by the larvse in their youth on the 

 fruits, and when older they make their way into the shoots. 

 The moth measures about ^ inch across, the fore-wings 

 being dark purplish brown Avith pale yellow spots, 

 and the hind wings are purple grey. The caterpillar is 

 Hght red or greenish-yeUow, and hibernates hke the last 

 example- The eggs are laid in the fruit during May and 

 June, and the larvae as stated do not complete their 

 development until the following spring. 



A wash of caustic soda in winter is recommended, but 

 hand-picking and burning of infested drooping shoots 

 should be constantly done. The Blue Tit is one of our 

 allies in dealing -with this pest, as it accounts for numbers 

 of the hibernating larvse. (See Plate 20.) 



