1890. J 217 



at the end of May. Tlie imago appears in July, and flies gently over the (ops of 

 the birches at dusk. It is a local and a sluggish insect, and I believe we have two 

 species mixed together in our cabinets under the name of transitana. — Chas. Fenn, 

 Eversden House, Burnt Ash Hill, Lee, S.E. : July, 1890. 



Ctenopseustis obliquana, Wlk., destructive in New Zealand. — A few weeks since, 

 I received from Mr. W. W. Smith, of East Belt, Ashburton, New Zealand, a speci- 

 men of a Tortrix, which had been quite recently discovered to be destructive to 

 apricots in that country. The subject seems to have been introduced to the public 

 by a notice in the " Akaroa Mail," to the following efPect : — " Hitherto we have 

 always believed that the apricot was the one tree in Akaroa that escaped insect pests, 

 but we were disillusionized yesterday, when Mr. A. R. Munro brought us some fruit 

 literally riddled by a very active caterpillar almost equal in agility to a chesse 

 jumper, springing a considerable distance when touched. The caterpillars extracted 

 in our presence from the fruit were of two colours, green and yellow, but may have 

 been the same insect in difPerent stages of growth, the green appearing ready to spin. 

 The tree affected is four years old, and has always been healthy, making a great 

 growth of wood every year, and this season has been covered with fruit. Not a 

 single ripe apricot, however, has been picked from it this season without containing 

 one or more of these pests. — January 2Sth, 1890." 



To this Mr. Smith adds, in the " Ashburton (N. Z.) Guardian :" — " This cater- 

 pillar has appeared this year at Ashburton ; unfortunately, all are full-fed. Their 

 colour is pale green ; they are exceedingly nimble in their habits, wriggling quickly 

 off the fruit or hand at the slightest touch. I have not obtained any in the younger 

 or ' yellow ' stage. It appears to enter the fruit near the stalk, which is perhaps 

 the most convenient place for the moth to deposit its eggs. In one instance the 

 caterpillar had bored or eaten its way once round the stone of the fruit, and 

 had returned to the stalk, where I found it in the act of weaving its cocoon. Besides 

 gnawing through the pulp, it sometimes eats large patches of the skin before entering 

 the pulp. When matui-ed, the specimens I possess were 10 lines in length. I can- 

 not say definitely whether all the fruit affected by these caterpillars drops prematurely 

 or not, but I am inclined to think it does, as I have obtained nearly all by giving the 

 branches a quick, but not heavy, tap with the hand, which caused the fruit to drop 

 from the tree." 



In writing to me, Mr. Smith says that two of the moths — one of which he sent 

 on — emerged in 35 and 37 days respectively. It appears that the apricot was intro- 

 duced into New Zealand thirty-eight years ago, and that hitherto it has flourished 

 and fruited abundantly, without being attacked by any specially injurious insect ; 

 and Mr. Smith very naturally supposes the pest to be an introduced one, and wishes 

 to know to what part of the world they are indebted for it. Mr. Edward Meyrick, 

 who has done such extensive and valuable work among the Micro-Lepidoptera of 

 New Zealand, identifies it, however, as one of the forms of Ctenopseustis obliquana, 

 Wlk., a common and variable species in that country, but not known elsewhere. He 

 also says that its larva is polyphagous, but especially attached to Leptospermum, a 

 common myrtaceous shrub. This new development in its tastes is to be regretted. 

 — Chas. G-. Barrett, 3'J, Linden Grove, Nunhead : June \'6th, 1890. 



