490 MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
most sections where apples are grown. It is also reported from New 
Mexico. This is probably a native species that fed originally on wild 
haws. Although principally a pest of apple, it also attacks pear, 
cherry, hawthorn, plum, and quince. It has a life cycle and habits 
similar to those of C. caryaefoliella. The larvae inflict the most in- 
jury in the spring when they feed on the expanding foliage and later 
eat the flower and fruit stems, as well as making small holes in the 
young fruits. 
The moth of the larch casebearer (Coleophora laricella (Hbn.) ) 
is silvery to grayish brown. It has narrow wings fringed with long 
hairs, with a wing expanse of about 3 inch. The egg@s are reddish 
brown, and upon magnification resemble inverted jelly molds having 
12 to 14 ridges extending from the apex down the sides. The full- 
grown larva is about 34g inch long, with the head, thoracic shield, and 
anal plate black. The case is a part of the mined leaf lined with silk. 
It is ight grayish and shaped somewhat like a cigar. The pupa is 
brown and is formed within the larval case. 
Coleophora laricella is of European origin, and was first recorded 
in the United States in 1886 at Northampton, Mass. It has now 
spread throughout most of the range of larch in the eastern half of the 
United States and Canada. The host plants are American larch 
(often called tamarack or hackmatack) and European larch. 
The adults emerge from the last of May to the first of July, depend- 
ing somewhat on the locality and the season. The eggs are deposited 
promiscuously on the foliage, one or more to a leaf. On hatching, 
the larva bores directly into the leaf, feeds as a miner until Septem- 
ber, and then constructs its case. As cold weather approaches, it pre- 
pares for hibernation by migrating to a twig or branch where it fastens 
the case securely from within. It resumes feeding in April, as soon 
as the foliage begins to develop, and eats the inner portion of the 
leaves, causing them to appear bleached. The larvae attain full 
growth during the latter half of May. The injury is seldom con- 
spicuous in the fall. The greatest devastation is in the spring, when 
the injured foliage shrivels ‘and dries. Serious defoliation retards the 
growth of trees ‘and when it is continued for two or more years it 
causes considerable mortality. 
Some 18 or 20 species of native parasitic Hymenoptera attack the 
larch casebearer in the Northeastern States, but none have ever been 
recorded as abundant enough to bring about appreciable control. In 
some localities birds play an important p part in the control of this 
insect. Between 1932 and 1936 the Bnet of Entomology and Plant 
Quarantine imported parasites of this pest from its native habitat 
in Europe, and these were liberated in infested larch stands in the 
Northeast. Two of the introduced species, Chrysocharis laricinellae 
Ratz. and Bassus pumilis Ratz., have been recovered in the vicinity of 
some of the colonization points in northern New England and New 
York, thus proving their establishment. 
For artificial control apply a dormant spray of lime-sulfur (p. 54) 
early in April before the buds open. (See caution, p. 37.) 
The moth of the elm casebearer (Coleophora limosipennella 
(Dup.) ) is buff colored, with gray markings, and has a wing expanse 
of nearly 14 inch. The larva is dark brown, with the head some- 
what lighter. The larval case is dark brown, about 34 inch in length, 
