ro8 



brood of the larvae. The eggs of the Small Cabbage 

 Butterfly are laid singly and, consequently, their detection 

 and destruction is too laborious to be worth while. 

 Insecticides are of very little value against these two 

 species. Among Moths, the larvae of the common Currant 

 Moth Abraxas grossulariatd) (4) are very destructive in 

 that they defoliate currants and gooseberries. The Moth 

 is conspicuously spotted with black on a white ground, 

 and is on the wing during July and August. The larva 

 is similarly conspicuous, being deeply spotted with black 

 on an ochreous- white ground, with an orange coloured line 

 along each side. It is prevalent at the end of the summer 

 and hibernates during the winter among dead leaves, in 

 chinks of walls, under bark, etc. During the spring it 

 recommences feeding and turns to the pupa in May or 

 June. The pronounced colouration of this larva renders 

 hand picking a very easy and effective measure. In exten- 

 sive infestations spraying with lead arsenate at the end 

 of the summer kills large numbers of the young larvae 

 through poisoning their food. If they are still abundant 

 during the following spring the operation should be 

 repeated. Since lead arsenate is a poison it must not be 

 applied later than four weeks before the fruit is to be 

 gathered. The grower will do best to utilise Swift's 

 arsenate paste rather than prepare his own compound. 

 From 8 to loozs. of the paste mixed in 10 gallons of 

 soft water is a suitable strength; weaker solutions, how- 

 ever, are often equally effective. The Winter Moth 

 (Ckeimatobia brumata) (4) does immense damage to the 

 foliage of apple, pear, plum and cherry trees and is univer- 

 sally common in this country. The male is a thin-bodied 

 brown Moth, measuring ijin. across the expanded wings. 

 The female is wingless and spider-like in appearance. 

 The Insect occurs from October until the beginning of 

 January, the eggs are laid on or near the bases of the 

 buds, and the green larvae belong to the type commonly 

 known as " loopers." They commence feeding upon the 

 leaf buds, and then the flower buds, which they spin 

 together with the leaves to form shelters. Later on they 

 attack the foliage and even the fruit. During June they 

 are fully fed and pass to the soil, where they change to 

 the chrysalis a few inches below the surface. The most 

 effective measure is "grease banding" the trees. Strips 

 of grease-proof paper, 6 to 8 inches wide, and sufficiently 



