58 



The Apple Leaf Skeletonizer. 

 {Pempelia hammondi, Riley.) 

 Order Lepidoptera. Family Pyralid^. 



c 3 a 



Fig. 3. Pempcha hammondi, Riley, a, larva, natural size; 6, one of middle segments of larva, 

 •magnified; o, head and first three segments, dorsal view; c?, adult moth. 



[A brownish or greenish larva one half inch long, with scat- 

 tered hairs, which spins a web on the upper surface of the leaf and 

 eats the parenchyma, giving the foliage a scorched appearance.] 



This insect is one of the most destructive species with which 

 the nurseryman has to contend, nearly rivaling in the extent and 

 seriousness of its injuries that species which I think must h^ad 

 the list of leaf -eating nursery pests— the lesser apple leaf roller 

 (Teras minuta). It seems very generally distributed throughout 

 Illinois, having been observed durmg the past season doing seri- 

 ous injury to apph^-trees, both in the orchard and nursery, in 

 McLean, Champaign, and Marion counties. It was first reported 

 from this State a quarter of a century ago, and does not as yet 

 seem to have become destructively numerous either in the Eastern 

 •or far Western States. 



