192 THE MINIATURE ERUIT GARDEN 



for these pupae in tlie same way as for the gooseberry 

 sawfly. The sawfly may be caught by shaking the trees 

 over a sheet. 



Wasps {Vespa vulga/ris) cause no little damage by 

 eating the plums, pears, apples, &c. Their nests 

 should be found, tar poured down the hole, and a spit 

 6f earth put over the mouth, after dark when they 

 are all at home. The combs should be dug out about a 

 day or so afterwards and destroyed. 



Ants climb up peach and nectarine trees when in 

 bloom, and eat off the anthers of the flowers. A broad 

 band of chalk, renewed at intervals, drawn round the 

 stem of the tree, stops them from gettiag up, as the 

 crumbling chalk affords them no foothold. 



III. Lepidoptera (Moths). 



The Currant Glearwing {Sesia tipuliformis). The 

 larvae of this moth live inside the shoots of the currant, 

 feeding on the pith and thus injuring them, and causing 

 the leaves to die. They are whitish, with a darker 

 dorsal line, and a pale-brown head. The perfect 

 insect much resembles a gnat. The span of the wings 

 is under an inch. Both wings are transparent, and 

 tinged with yellow towards the margin, which is black; 

 there is a central orange-black spot on the forewings. 

 The head is black, the thorax black with a yellow 

 stripe on each side, and abdomen black with three 

 yellowish rings. It is to be seen in June. Withered 

 shoots, noticed on the bushes in the summer, should be 

 cut off and burnt, if the larvae or their galleries have 



