THE CODLING MOTH IN MASSACHUSETTS 63 



Control 

 Natural Enemies. 



Two species of tiny hyinenopterous parasites,* wliich live tiie greater part 

 of their life in the body of the codling moth larvae, have been reared in 

 Massachusetts. Neither of these is sufficiently abundant, however, to be of 

 economic importance. Spiders, ants, and various beetles also destroy many 

 larvae while they are migrating from the fruit, and, in some cases, after they 

 have spun cocoons. The most active enemies of this pest are birds. Wood- 

 peckers and nuthatches collect large numbers of larvae from their wintering 

 cocoons, while other insectivorous species capture many of the "worms" 

 during the summer. 



Unfavorable weather conditions also provide a natural check on the in- 

 crease of this pest. Severe winter weather, particularly sudden changes 

 from moderate to extreme cold, has been observed to kill at least 10 per 

 cent of the wintering larvae, and approximately 2 per cent of them succumb 

 in a normal winter. Cold, damp weather during moth activity greatly 

 decreases the number of eggs laid. 



Control Methods Other Than Spraying. 



There are several operations other than spraying which reduce the damage 

 caused by the codling moth. They cannot be substituted for careful spray- 

 ing but are very helpful to any fruit grower who has difficulty in controlling 

 this pest. 



Thinning. In thinning, remove and destroy all womiy ajjples and break 

 clusters so that no fruits will touch each other. This kills many worms 

 and eliminates the protection offered by two adjacent apples which is so de- 

 sirable to young codling moth larvae when entering the fruit. Destroy 

 the wormy apples rather than leave them on the ground. Feeding to hogs, 

 burning, or burying under at least a foot of packed soil will do this. Pick- 

 ing bags are convenient receptacles for carrying them. Some fruit growers 

 find it profitable to pay a premium for wormy apples at thinning time. 



Banding Trees. The habit of codling moth larvae of spinning cocoons 

 under bark and in crevices has led to the use of cloth band traps. In pre- 

 paring the trees for banding, scrape all loose bark from the trunk and fill 

 cracks and holes. A triangular box scraper or sharpened hoe is good for 

 this work, and if it is done in the winter many hibernating worms will be 

 killed. The bands are preferably made of burlap cut in strips about twelve 

 inches wide and folded once lengthwise, being slightly longer than necessary 

 to extend around the trunk. The bands are placed around the tree at a 

 convenient height below the large branches, and held in place by two finish- 

 ing nails which are driven into the trunk and forced through the top and 

 bottom of the overlapping ends of the band. To trap the summer brood 

 of worms, put the bands in place July 1 and kill the worms and pupae 

 under them every eight days until September. To trap the overwintering 

 worms only, put the bands in place about August 15 and kill the worms 



*Ascogaster carpocapsae (Vier.) 

 Olypta vari/pes Cress. 



