130 NEW ZEALAND NATURE-STUDY BOOK 
then its numbers have greatly increased until now there 
are but few places which are free from its ravages. The 
amount of injury it does to apples and pears is very great 
indeed—fruit worth many thousands of pounds being 
destroyed every year. 
General Description. The moth is rarely seen, for it 
is small and dull in colour and does not fly about in the 
daytime. It measures across the wings about three-quarters 
of an inch and the length of its body is a little more than 
half an inch. In colour it is a greyish brown, the fore- 
wings having oval bronzed patches at their extremities, 
Fig. 88.—(a) The Caterpillar of the Codlin Moth resting behind the bark of 
an apple tree, and preparing for Pupa stage; (b) the Pupa stage; (c) the 
Codlin Moth flying and at rest. 
and the hinder pair being dark. During the day when 
resting it is seldom noticed, for its colour is almost identical 
with the bark of the tree to which it clings. 
It is first seen towards the end of October or beginning 
of November as soon as the apple and pear trees begin to 
blossom. 
Life History. Hach moth lays from fifty to one 
hundred eggs placing one at a time upon some particular. 
spot. The place chosen is usually the crown of the apple 
shortly after the fruit is formed. The egg, however, which 
is white and about the size of a pin’s head, may be laid on 
any part of the fruit, or even on the leaf. 
