Insects, etc., Injurious to Currants. 



205 



(probably the time is variable) a minute white larva comes forth, 

 devours its egg-shell, bores its way into the pith, often first working 

 its way into a tender side-shoot of old bushes. This small shoot 

 soon dies and falls off, and in many cases leaves behind a small hole 

 in the stem, or the bud dies in a similar way. On reaching the pith 

 the larva works both upwards and downwards, but in all the damaged 

 shoots I have examined the white larva has had its head pointing 

 upwards. 



In this position the caterpillar remains during the winter. The 

 larva is creamy-white, the head chestnut-brown and very shiny, and 

 which when retracted into the first segment shows through it, giving 

 the segment a dark appearance ; the remaining segments have each 

 two pairs of oval shiny wart-like markings on the dorsal surface ; the 

 anal segment is yellowish-brown with four large hairs ; the other seg- 

 ment has two pairs of hairs, except the first, which has three ; the 

 third segment from the tail has two black spots on the posterior edge 

 of the dorsum ; the spiracles are black ; legs brown, and the prolegs 

 have black edges. 



The larvae commence to pupate in April. jMorris (3) states that 

 they may remain in the larval state till May. 



The pupa is chestnut-brown ; the posterior edges of the segments 

 have a number of spines on the dorsal surface, 

 and the head is rather prolonged in front. 



Before the imago emerges, the pupa forces its 

 way partly out of the hole formed by the larva. 



The emergence usually takes place in the 

 early morning. The general signs of the presence 

 of this insect in a plantation are as follows : — 



(i) In early summer the dying -off of the 

 shoots, smallness of the leaves and the 

 fruit. 

 (ii) In winter one may detect the holes into 

 the shoots referred to ; these are about 

 \ inch across, and a quantity of " frass " 

 may often be seen around this hole, 

 (iii) On cutting open a dead shoot tlie white 



larva may be found within during the '" •'•'■'"• 



winter and early spring. (Natma 



Prevention. 

 All that can be done as far as our present knowledge goes is to go 

 carefully over the bushes, in plantations where the attack occurs, and 



JURllANT CLKARWING 



