INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE AND PEAR 



619 



and blossoms, and eating off the surface of the leaves, so that in 

 some cases orchards have been practically defoliated. The pistol 

 case-bearer seems to be generally distributed over the eastern 

 United States and southern Canada, while the cigar case-bearer 

 is known to occur in Canada from Xova Scotia to British 

 Columbia, in New York, Michigan, Kansas and New Mexico. 

 As both insects are readily carried on nursery stock they are 

 doubtless much more widely distributed than the records indi- 

 cate. 



Life History. The life histories of both species are very similar 



FIG. 474. The cigar case-bearer (Coleophora fletcherella Fernald): a, adult 

 female; b, side view of pupa and upper view of cremaster of same; 

 c, larva; d, egg; e, venation of wings much enlarged. (After Hammar, 

 U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



and have been most interestingly described in detail by the 

 authors cited. The young caterpillars hibernate in their little 

 cases, which are attached to the twigs usually near or upon the 

 buds. 



Those of the pistol case-bearer are about one-eighth inch long 

 and resemble the bark in color. A short time before the leaf- 

 buds burst in the spring, the larva) become active and attack 

 the growing buds, gnawing through the outer cover to feed on 

 the tender tissues beneath. Later they feed on the young 

 leaves, making small holes through the surface and feeding on 

 the soft tissue within in much the same manner as a true leaf- 



