1908.] Insect, Fungus, and other Pests. 



433 



length, the body being dark brown in colour and bearing three 

 pairs of yellow spots, certain of the abdominal segments 

 being bright yellow. The wings are transparent, with borders 

 of rusty red. The caterpillars are dirty white in colour and 

 bear sixteen legs, the head being reddish brown. Eggs are 

 laid by the moths in July in cracks in the bark, the caterpillars 

 hatching in July and August. After passing two winters 

 in galleries in the timber they pupate in May of the third year, 

 the moths appearing in June and July. According to Schlich, 

 the larva prefers trees under twenty years of age, but may 

 infest older trees. The caterpillars are chiefly injurious in 

 nurseries and avenues. 



Mining Moth in Apple Leaves. — Specimens of apple leaves 

 from Westbury (Wilts) were infested by the small Tineid moth, 

 Lyonetia clerkella, L. The eggs are laid on the leaves, 

 typically a single one to a leaf. A winding mine is made by 

 the caterpillar in the mesophyll of the leaf, and if the leaf is 

 held up to the light the tiny caterpillar may be seen, with the 

 aid of a lens, at the end of the mine. There are several broods 

 in the year. If at all practicable — i.e., if the mines are not on 

 many trees or out of reach — the affected leaves should be 

 hand-picked and burnt. 



Raspberry leaves from near Chesterfield were infested by 

 mining caterpillars, and in this case also the affected leaves 

 must be removed and burnt. Where attack is feared spraying 

 with paraffin emulsion might be tried as a deterrent against 

 egg-laying by the moths. 



A caterpillar very closely resembling a twig was taken from 

 a rose tree near Chingford and forwarded to the Board. It 

 proved to be the larva of the common Swallow Tail Moth 

 (Uropteryx sambucaria, L.), an insect that is not usually very 

 troublesome. 



Other moth pests received were the Pith Moth (Laverna atra), 

 on apple specimens from Swanage (see Leaflet No. 90) ; cater- 

 pillar of the Eyed Hawk Moth (Smerinthus ocellatus) from 

 Sittingbourne (see Journal, July, 1908, p. 213). A severe attack 

 by Winter Moth caterpillars was reported from Southwell. 



Beetles. — Beetle on Willows. — Specimens of willow were 

 sent from Wetherby, the wood of which was found to be 

 tunnelled by the grubs of the beetle Cryptorrhynchus lapathi, L. 



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