452 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



The Strawberry Leaf-roller * 



Where leaves are found folded together, many of them being 

 dry and brown, the small green caterpillars found feeding within 

 the folds are probably those of the Strawberry Leaf -roller. It 

 is a European insect, though it is not injurious there, and the 

 first record of injury in this country was made by Dr. C. V. Riley 

 in 1869, who stated that in one place in Missouri it destroyed 

 ten acres so completely as to not leave enough plants to set a 

 half acre. " Since that time," says Dr. J. B. Smith, " the insect 

 has been frequently mentioned as injurious in many parts of the 

 country, but rarely is it troublesome for more than a year or two 



FIG. 323. The strawberry leaf-roller moth (Ancylis comptana Frohl.) 

 enlarged. (After J. B. Smith.) 



in succession. It is always inclined to be local and its ravages 

 do not often extend over wide areas." 



Life History. The moths appear in the strawberry fields 

 during early May in New Jersey and commence to lay eggs, the 

 moths being found in the fields for about a month. The eggs are 

 laid on the under surface of the half-grown leaves. They are 

 broadly oval or round, much flattened, of a pale green color and 

 about one-fiftieth inch in diameter. They are laid in the fine 

 netting of the leaf, in which they are seen with great difficulty. 

 The larvae hatch in from five to seven days. The young cater- 

 pillar feeds on the upper surface of the leaf for a day or two, eating 

 into and along the midrib to weaken it. The young larva is at 



* Ancylis comptana Frohl. Family Tortricidoe. See J. B. Smith, Bulletins 

 149 and 225, N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. 



