166 Pecan-Growing 



mologist to locate. The moth deposits its eggs at the calyx 

 end of the nut, as a rule, and seldom lays more than one 

 egg to the nut. The eggs are at first white with a greenish 

 cast, but about the second day after laying small reddish 

 spots appear on the surface and before hatching the egg 

 turns almost red. The larva, when it emerges from the egg^ 

 is a pinkish-white. It usually bores into the nut at the base 

 and spends the remainder of its existence there. After 

 entering the nut it becomes gray in color. Just before pupat- 

 ing it turns greenish. The pupal stage is passed within the 

 nuts, and before pupating the larva weaves a loose cocoon 

 from whence comes the name nut case-bearer. From this 

 pupa there emerges a moth which starts the next generation. 



The number of generations is largely determined by the 

 supply of pecans. In the years in which there is an abun- 

 dant crop of nuts there are four generations, but if the nut 

 supply is cut short for any reason there may be only one 

 generation and a partial second or only two generations. 



The larvae pass the winter on the limbs of the tree at the 

 base of buds, and as soon as the first warm days of spring 

 come and growth starts they begin feeding at the ends of 

 the limbs on the tender leaflets and growing buds. These 

 larvae complete their growth in this condition and pupate. 

 The moths which issue from these pupae appear from the last 

 of April to the end of May, and the maximum number are 

 issuing from the 8th to the 15th of May. The larvae which 

 come from this first generation of moths attack the nuts 

 when they are about the size of a garden pea, and this is the 

 time when the major damage is done to the crop. The first 

 generation is passed within the nuts, and one larva usually 

 destroys, wholly or partially, several clusters of nuts. The 



