I lO 



the case of fallen fruit the larv^ make their way back to 

 the trees and crawl up the trunk. In either case when 

 the trunk is reached they spni cocoons among loose bark, 

 moss or lichens, and there remani dormant until the fol- 

 lowing spring, when the}' turn to the pupa and shortly 

 afterwards give rise to the next generation of Aloths. In 

 a few instances two broods have been noticed to occur in 

 one year. Ihe attacks of this Insect cause the fruit to 

 fall prematurely or decay rapidy when stored. As a 

 remedial measure all loose bark, moss, etc., should be 

 scraped ofl' the trunks, and artificial shelters in the form 

 of one or miore bands cf loose straw or old sacking should 

 be tied round the trees, not very far from the ground. It 

 is safest to do this in June, and the bands can be examined 

 at leisure during the v.'inter and burnt. Bv this means 

 large numbers of the cocoons containing the larv^ are 

 often destroA'ecl. Fallen apples should be cleared away 

 as soon as possible. Lofts and rooms utilised for storage 

 should be v\-ell swept out, and the walls, floors, shelves, 

 and vrmclow frames lime-washed. In severe attacks spray- 

 ing the fruit-bearuig portions of the trees with arsenate 

 of lead is advisable, and should be carried out a few davs 

 after the petals have fallen. The larv^ have to eat the 

 coating of this mixture in order to make their way into the 

 calyx, and are poisoned thereby, it the application has been 

 successful. 



The order Hymenoptera is characterised by the presence 

 of (i) tvro pairs of transparent vun^s provided with rela- 

 tively few veins. '2) biting and sucking mouth organs, and 

 ;3) com^plete metam.orphosis. The Sawflies are the onlv 

 group that directly concerns us, and they may be easily 

 separated from, other H}.mienoptera b}' the absence of a 

 '''' v\'aist/' or constriction of the body. The Gooseberry 

 Sawfly '}seiiiai::s ribesiv (4), (10'^, is very destructive to 

 red currants and gooseberries, but seldom harms black 

 currants. The perfect Insects appear m April and I\ia}/; 

 they have yellow bodies marked veith black, and measure 

 abo'ut fin. 'in wing expanse. The eggs are laid in neat 

 rows along the veins on the undersides of the leaves of 

 the host plant. They hatch into bluish-green caterpillars 

 spotted with black, and also marked laterally with blue 

 and yellow. Unlike 3.Ioth caterpillars they possess ten 

 oairs'of feet, and when fully grovai measure about fm. 

 long. The bushes may be very quickly stripped of their 



