UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



i jfci DEPARTMENT BULLETIN No. 1303 LU 



Washington, D. C. ▼ 



April, 1925 



THE PECAN NUT CASE-BEARER' 



By John B. Gill, Associate Entomologist, Fruit Insect Investigations, Bureau of 



Entomology 



CONTENTS 



Introduction. 1 



History 1 



Distribution 2 



Food plants 2 



Character of injury 3 



Description 3 



Egg 3 



Larva 4 



Pupa 4 



Adult 4 



Page 



Seasonal history and habits 4 



Adult and egg stages 5 



Larva stage.. 8 



Pupa stage. 8 



Number of generations 11 



Parasitic insects 11 



Control measures 11 



Literature cited 12 



INTRODUCTION 



For a number of years the Bureau of Entomology maintained a 

 field laboratory in the southeastern portion of the pecan belt at 

 Monticello, Fla., for the investigation of the biology and habits of 

 pecan insects and to determine the most effective control measures 

 tor the more important species under orchard conditions. The results 

 of the greater portion of these investigations have been published 

 (4, 5), 2 but as a part of this work this bulletin brings together the 

 results of a rather detailed study of the life history of the pecan nut 

 case-bearer (Acrobasis Tiebescella Hulst), an insect which is now recog- 

 nized as a most formidable enemy of the pecan because of its nut- 

 feeding habits. 



HISTORY 



The pecan nut case-bearer was first described by Hulst (7) in 1890 

 under the name of Acrobasis Tiebescella. In 1893 Ragonot (9) treated 

 this species, and in 1901 it was listed and figured by Hampson (6), but 

 the figure given is a poor reproduction of the moth. Dyar's "List of 

 North American Lepidoptera" (1) contains this species, the distribu- 

 tion being given as New Jersey, Texas, Illinois, and Wisconsin. In 

 1902 E. P. Stiles (11) gave an account of injury in west-central Texas 

 caused by what he called the pecan huskworm, but doubtless duo to 

 Acrobasis liebescella and a closely related species, A. caryivorella Rag. 



1 Acrobarlt hebetcella Hulst; order Lepidopterrt , family Pyralidac. 

 '' Reference is made by number f italic; l.o " Literature Cited," p. 12. 



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