82 
ORCHARD INSECTS. 
garden handy for observation were similarly affected, I examined these 
more closely, and found that the young leaves remained stunted and 
shrivelled, instead of fully expanding, and towards the middle of the 
month all the young shoots, many of them just showing blossom, began 
to droop and wither. As these particular trees had yielded fair crops 
of fruit in previous years, and no apparent reason could be assigned 
for their sickly aspect, I examined some of the withered shoots, and, 
upon cutting them open, found a small larva was present—either 
under the bark, just at the juncture of the young growth with the old 
wood, or in the centre of the shoot, close to the bud, where a small 
hole with a little frass protruding was generally observable on the out¬ 
side. By the end of the month every young shoot had drooped and 
shrivelled, the trees to all appearance being dead; upon then cutting 
open some of the shoots, the larvae were found to have changed to 
chrysalids in the burrows. A quantity of the dead shoots were cut off 
and placed in glass jars with fine gauze coverings, and on June 8th the 
first imago appeared, and proved to be the Hedya ocellana; the moths 
continued to emerge in great numbers up to the 20th of the month, and 
varied in the colour of the fore wings from the usual broad white banded 
form to dull grey and nearly black, with very indistinct markings. 
, “A few days later, and on till nearly the middle 
of July, a considerable number of specimens of another 
moth, the Laxerna atra (one of the Tineina), also 
emerged from the same shoots, but as at the time of 
observation I did not suspect that there was more 
than one species engaged in the attack, no means 
were taken to ascertain whether the habits of the two 
pests were similar. After cutting off and destroying 
all the dead shoots, the trees soon showed signs of 
returning vitality by throwing fresh buds, and the 
Apple twigs from foliage later on appeared fairly healthy; but as no 
which Lavcrna atra f res h blossom was produced, the result of the attack 
was an entire loss of fruit.” 
The caterpillars of the Bud Moth, the “Bed Bud Caterpillars,” 
as, from their reddish tint, they are called in Germany, are mischievous 
both in Germany and North America to various kinds of orchard and 
other trees. 
The moth is especially distinguishable by the broad white band 
somewhat spotted with grey, which, it will be seen, extends across the 
(grey) fore wings from one side to the oilier. The moths are stated to 
come out from the end of May until July, and to lay their eggs on the 
buds, where they remain all the winter. The caterpillars are brown, 
with black heads, and black plate on the back of the next segment, 
“slender and active.” 
