THE INSECT RECORD FOR 1 9OO 



15 



In May the Imported Currant Borer^ was found to be 

 abundant in currant bushes at Durham. This is a small whit- 

 ish larva that burrows up and down the stems of currants, 

 weakening them so that they are checked in growth, and 

 appear stunted and unhealthy. The borer hatches from eggs 

 deposited singly on the young stems near the buds, early in 

 summer, by a beau- 

 tiful, clear-winged, 

 wasp-like moth, with 

 a bluish black body, 

 and three golden yel- 

 low transverse bands 

 across the abdomen. 

 The egg hatches a 

 few days after it is 

 laid into a small larva 

 that gnaws through 

 the stem to the cen- 

 ter, where it feeds on 

 the pith. It contin- 

 ues so to do all sum- 

 mer, making a bur- 

 row several inches 

 long. When full 

 grown the larva eats 

 nearly through the 

 stem wall, leaving 

 only the membra- 

 nous outer bark, and Fig 5.— Nest of Tent Caterpillar riddled by 



changes to a chr3'salis 



within the burrow. When the chrysalis is ready to transform 

 it wriggles partially out of this opening, bursting through the 

 thin bark. It then rests half way out, its skin splits open in 

 front, and the moth crawls out, leaving a mere shell behind. 

 The moth expands and dries its wings, and then flies away. 

 In southern New Hampshire these moths appear early in 

 June, the specimens under observation coming out from 

 June 6 to 10. There is but one brood a year. The best rem- 



^Sesia tipuliformis Linne. 



