238 



INJURIOUS IlNfSECTS 



THE GRAPE-BERRY MOTH. 

 (Penthina vitivorana, Packard.) 



The Grape-berry Moth is an illustration of the well- 

 known fact that an insect may suddenly appear in many 

 different parts of the country where it had not been 

 known before, for previous to 1878 no account of it had 

 been published, and it was entirely unknown to science. 

 It had however been noticed m several localities in Ohio, 

 Illinois, and Missouri, for three or four years, but never 

 so abundant as in 1878. In that year it was common in 

 Missouri, in Illinois, and ruined about fifty per cent, of 

 the grapes around Cleveland, Ohio. It has also appeared 

 in Pennsylvania, and may appear at any time where 

 grapes are grown. 



Its natural history may be given as follows: About the 

 1st of July, the grapes that are attacked by the worms 

 begin to show a discolored spot at the point where the 

 worm entered, (fig. 145, c). Upon opening such a grape, 

 the inmate, which is at this time very small and white, 

 with a cinnamon-colored head, will be found at the end 

 of a winding channel. It continues to feed on the pulp 

 of the fruit, and upon reaching the seeds, generally eats 

 out their interior. As it matures it becomes darker, be- 

 ing either of an olive-green or dark-brown color, with a 

 honey-yellow head, and if one grape is not sufficient, it 

 fastens the already ruined grape to an adjoining one, by 

 means of silken threads, and proceeds to burrow in it as 

 it did in the first. When full grown it presents the ap- 

 pearance of figure 145, J, and is exceedingly active. As 

 soon as the grape is touched the worm will wriggle out 

 of it, and rapidly let itself to the ground, by means of 

 its ever-ready silken thread, unless care be taken to pre- 

 vent its so doing. The cocoon is often formed on the 



