58 



CIRCULAR 2 7 0, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS 



The partly grown dark-brown larvae of the budmoth pass the winter 

 in small silken nests, or hibernacula, attached to the twigs, often in a 

 crevice or crotch. These nests are made of pieces of leaves or bark 

 held together with silk and are difficult to find on the trees. The 



larvae leave them in 

 April, or whenever the 

 buds begin to swell ap- 

 preciably, and burrow 

 into the expanding 

 buds and into the ter- 

 minal shoots, feeding 

 from the inside. Nests 

 of silk are formed in 

 the opening leaves, 

 and as the foliage sur- 

 rounding them dries 

 the larvae go outside 

 to eat leaves or blos- 

 soms, retiring to the 

 nests when not feed- 

 ing. These webbed 

 nests are often the 

 first indication of the 

 presence of the in- 

 sects. The larvae be- 

 come full-grown in 

 June or early in July, 

 when they are olive- 

 brown with black 

 heads (fig. 66, A). 

 They transform to 

 pupae in the nests of 

 webbed leases, and 

 the moths appear 

 about 3 weeks later. 



Figure 65. — Bushy terminal growth of prune caused -Lhese & r e somewhat 

 by budmoth injury. smaller than codling 



moths, ashy gray, 

 with a cream-white band across both wings (fig. 66, B). The flat- 

 tened eggs, similar to those of the codling moth, are deposited on the 

 leaves and hatch in a week or so. The young larvae feed on the 

 leaves, protecting themselves with silk, and often eat small holes in 

 the fruit. In the fall these larvae build the hibernacula in which they 

 spend the winter. There is only one generation a year. 



CONTROL 



A spray of lead arsenate, 3 pounds to 100 gallons of water, should 

 be applied just as the tips of the leaves are pushing out of the buds. 

 If the infestation is serious, a second application may be made a week 

 or 10 days later. 



