Raspberry Moth. 



6r 



pillar is ensconced ; or there are evident signs that a cater- 

 pillar has been there, feeding upon the heart of the bud, and 

 destroying its vitality ; or a chrysalis may be found at the 

 base of the cavity in the pith of the stem. Westwood 

 described this infestation in 1853, and said: — "The 

 attack of the insect involves the destruction of those 

 numerous berries which would have been formed from the 

 buds, and thus, where the insects are numerous, not only is 

 the crop destroyed, but the growth of the shoots for the 

 following year's crop must also be affected/' In some cases 

 not only has this effect on the next year's crop been noticed, 

 but some of the worst infested canes have been killed out- 

 right. In large plantations of raspberry canes it often 

 happens that this infestation has acquired serious proportions 

 before it is understood. The decay of the canes is attributed 

 to weather or unkind soil, and it spreads rapidly unchecked.. 



The moth is a very pretty insect, of a light brown 

 colour, having a series of yellow spots as of burnished gold 

 upon its forewings, which are of shining brown* The under 

 wings are rather lighter coloured, having pale fringes. It 

 is not quite half an inch across the wings, and it is about the 

 fourth of an inch long. Towards the end of May, or in the 

 beginning of June, the moch may be seen flying round the 

 raspberry canes and laying eggs, which are white and round, 

 in the flowers. The caterpillar comes from the egg in about 

 five days, and works its way into the white cone-shaped 

 receptacle on which the fruit is formed. It does not feed 

 upon the fruit, nor at all at this stage, as has been ascer- 

 tained by Dr. Chapman, but leaves the receptacle of the fruit 

 and goes down to the earth. Mr. Stainton says that it hiber- 

 nates without feeding, and no traces of feeding could be 

 found, either in the receptacle or in the fruit in which it was 

 ensconced. It remains in a small white, flat cocoon of silk 

 during the winter. When spring comes, it crawls up the 

 canes and gets into a bud and feeds upon it. Sometimes it 

 moves on to another bud if it has exhausted the food supply 

 of the first. After feeding for about fifteen days, it scoops 

 out a hole in the pith at the base of the bud, and turns into 



* Stainton's " Manual of Butterflies and Moths." Volume II., page 296. 



