10 BULLETIN NO. 4, DIVISION OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



" Fire Worm" (Anchylopera vacciniana Pack.) and the "Berry Worm" 

 they have in common, and these are the most generally destructive in- 

 sects. The most important of these is — 



THE VINE WORM OR FIRE WORM. 



{Anchylopera vacciniana Pack.) 



This insect, the "Vine Worm," of Massachusetts, and "Fire Worm" or 

 New Jersey, is in its perfect state a moth or miller, expanding less than 

 half an inch, of a dark ash color, the fore wings being paler, dusted with 

 brown and reddish scales, with white, narrow bands on the costa, alter- 

 nating with broader, yellowish-brown bands, five of which are distinctly 

 larger than the others ; from four of them irregular, indistinct lines or 

 bands cross the wing ; the first is situated just beyond the inner third 

 of the wing and is sometimes, entirely and often partially obsolete, 

 the portion nearest to the inner margin being usually distinct, while 

 toward the costa it becomes obsolete. The second line is the largest 

 and is distinctly bent once near the middle of the wing; the angle is 

 rather darker than the rest of the band. The third line is oblique and 

 becomes faint and sometimes obsolete before reaching the inner angle, 

 and is forked on the costa. The fourth line is short, apical and diffuse. 

 The apex of the wing is dark-brown and is acute and somewhat pro- 

 duced, while the margin below is somewhat excised. The secondaries 

 are uniformly dark or smoky brown. 



There are two broods of this insect; the first appears early in June 

 and continues throughout the month, and the second appears the mid- 

 dle of July and continues to the middle of August. Stragglers are 

 found from the end of May to the end of August, or even later. 



The larva, when full grown, is slightly less than half an inch in length, 

 of a rather dark- green color with a black, corneous head and collar; it is 

 rather slender, very sparsely hairy, the hair being placed on small tu- 

 bercles, and the head is not narrower than the middle of the body. 

 The chrysalis is slender, the body being contracted at the base of the 

 abdomen, on the rings of which are dorsal rows of spines. 



On May 22, 1 visited Dr. Brakeley's bog, and obtained some larvae about 

 half grown from a small space which had not been flowed during the 

 winter ; May 23 one of the larvos began to spin a slight cocoon, closed 

 at both ends; May 25 it changed to a chrysalis, three-eighths of an inch 

 in length and of a reddish-yellow color. June 2 the imago appeared. 



At the time of my first visit to Dr. Brakeley's bog the water had not 

 yet been entirely withdrawn, though the higher portions had been dry 

 for nearly ten days. In those places where the water had just receded 

 I found a large number of eggs of this insect. The egg is about O^™" 1 

 in diameter, of a waxy-yellow color, very flat or lentil-shaped, and 

 closely attached to the leaf; in fact, it most nearly resembled a fly-speck. 

 Further up, where the water had been off some time, I found young 



