268 



FRUIT PESTS 



Chewing Insects. The chewing insects actually eat 

 or chew some portion of the plant. The tent caterpillar 

 eats the foliage, and the " worm" of the codling moth chews 

 the fruit. As a rule, such insects are most easily controlled 

 by poisoning their food. Arsenic is the poison usually 

 used. The most common commercial forms of this poison 

 are Paris green and arsenate of lead. 



Codling Moth. The codling moth, a small grayish- 

 brown moth, attacks apples, pears, and quinces. It causes 



the fruit to ripen 

 prematurely and fall 



f^ W to the ground. This 



Hk insect probably does 



''JM more damage to the 



! IHh* fruit than any other. 



About the time the 

 young fruits are be- 

 ginning to form, the 

 adult insect flies 

 about the orchard 

 laying its eggs. 

 Each egg hatches 

 into a worm that 

 eats its way into 

 the fruit, usually 

 through the calyx, 

 where it lives until mature. The insect leaves the fruit 

 at this time and finds its way to some protected place 

 where it forms a cocoon and later changes to a moth. 



The codling moth is controlled by spraying with arsenate 

 of lead or some other arsenical poison. This should be 

 applied immediately after the petals have fallen so that 



Fig. 143. Time to spray for the codling moth 

 just after the petals have fallen and before the 

 calyx lobes close. 



