Sept. 1896.] 



INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGI. 



153 



INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGI. 



The Cherry Moth {Argyresthia nitidella). 



In the beginning of May it is often noticed that the small 

 cherries look unhealthy just after the fruit has " set," and that 

 later on many fall off. If these fallen cherries are closely 

 examined, in many cases a hole will be found evidently caused 

 by some insect. In the spring of this year so many complaints 

 were received of the unhealthy state of cherry trees that inves- 

 tigation was made, and it was seen that there was a very small 

 maggot, or larva, in a large per-centage of the fruitlets, which 

 were about the size of a small grain of wheat, and still had on 

 the floral envelopes, or " caps." 



The crop was very greatly reduced in consequence of this attack, 

 the effects of which are very frequently attributed to weather 

 influences, or to the failure of the blossoms to " set " properly, 

 from some unexplained cause or other. The intensity of the 

 attack was shown by the shortness of the crop, and the cause 

 was indicated by the quantities of moths seen flying round the 

 cherry trees in the latter part of June and the beginning of 

 July. 



Life History. 



The moth belongs to the Argyresthidce, the ninth family of 

 the Tineina, according to Mr. Stainton's classification. It is 

 5 J lines across the wings. The fore- wings are light brown with 

 white or cream-coloured inner margins. In the middle there is 

 a fascia of a deeper brown colour which terminates in the tip 

 of the wings. This is typical of Argyresthia nitidella, as 

 Stainton shows. Argyresthia ephippella, which is remarkably 

 like A. nitidella, has a dark brown fascia also, but this ter- 

 minates at the costa. However, A. ephippella is supposed to feed 

 on the cherry and A. nitidella upon the hawthorn, and it is 

 curious to find that in this case the habit appears to have been 

 reversed. When at rest, the position of the moth is such that 

 it seems almost to be resting upon its head. The moth places 

 its eggs on the shoots of the cherry trees, near the flower 

 buds, where they remain during the winter, and the caterpillars 

 come from the eggs and crawl to the flowers just as the fruit is 

 forming. 



The caterpillar has 16 feet, and the three first pairs of claw feet 

 are brown. The head is brown ; the body is lightish green, 

 becoming greyish later on, and the first segment is light brown. 

 The caterpillar gets into the tiny cherry, in which it is curled up 



