The Brookhaven leader., 1883-03-08
0niay Moths.


accompanied the cultivated apple &c
every part of the known world where II
Is grown. The apple worm is the cat
erpillar of small grayish moth. the
fore-wings of which are of brownish
color, crossed by numerous gray and
brown lines. with an oval dark brown
spot near the hinder angle infinitely
edged with bright copper color. The
head and thorax are gay. the hinder
wings and abdomen yellowish brown.
The moths appear in the Northern
States about the first of June in lower
ATTITUDES somewhat earl or. The fe'
males drop an egg in the calyx oil
blossom end of the fruit: IN about .
week 1t reaches the core, where it feed:
for about n month, seldom longer.
When fully grown the caterpillar is oil
pink sh OF flesh color, and, if the APP
pie be cut open, may be seen in some
one of its bu rows, from VIII Ii IT quick.
" escapes. If not disturbed it will
bore hole from the center of the fri
tc the surface, escaping either before OF
after it has fallen to the ground, which
usually happens soon aztec the caterpil'
lar has reached the core. becoming
what is usually called a windfall. The
caterpillar after rea hing the ground
crawls away into some sheltered place,
usually in the cracks o the same tree
upon the fruit OF which it has been
feeding. and there spins thin cocoon.
in which its pupa remains few weeks
or months. depending upon the season
in which they have appeared, for 1t Is
now settled that in some sections there
are two broods of this insect in a sea-
son. The first Or spring brood pass
through their four stages, egg. larva,
pupa and image. the latter cOpulate, and
the females deposit eggs on fruit late
in the season, the caterpillar
produced there rom being Matched
in the winter varieties from
which many do not escape until the APP
pies are Ealrclel and Sent to market.
or stored away in cellars. The cocoons
or silken cases, containing the pupR.
are often found attached 10 the cmptlcd
barrels, or hidden away in ir"it rooms
or cellars. These are from the second
brood. For q long time it was sup
posed that the catcrpil ar spent it, en-
tire larva cr.od IN tEn frui! where n
the egg was deposited, but several OBJ
servers, independently OF each other.
have detected il passing from one ap,
pie To another. One OF the most care
lul students of the habits of this insect,
Mr.. S. b Peck. OF Muskcgon. Mich,
writes on this pc mt as follows:
Experiments Lave been made by my.
self and others with the following re-
suits: The Larvae have repeatedly been
placed in contact with sound apples,
and soon found inside; they enter more
readily VIII shut rom the light. Some
twenty infected apples taken from the
tee have be IL placed in box with
few sound ones, when, after an interval
of day or two, the sound ones have
been occupied by the Larvae. A nearly
lul-grown larya has been shut up with
a sound apple. one and a quarter inches
IN diameter, and in less than twenty
four hours was found inside with the
whole core demo. ished, showing that it
does not take fellow long TO use up
specimen. A larva was also discovered
IN its passage from one apple 10 an
other, the two beng in contact, and
several cases have occurred where a
passage between apples in contact has
evidently been ale by one occupant.
The observations and experiments
thus related have been confined to the
Early part OF the season and to the first
BROOD OF larv,r, not suppOsing that the
emig alton continued after the fruit
vas yearly ripe: but il is now ascer-
lainel that they do cmigrate after the
truit has been gathered and stored.
Now, these discoveries and investiga-
ions are not merely 10 crafty curiosity,
out the. open a new and more sue, ess-
full mode of warfare; for. il true, the
tally picking of the infected fruit and
is destruction is at sncc ,uGg1sted rs
he most efficient rem, DIV, and we may
nave hopes that with til 5 and the band
ape system we must bo able to save u
portion of Our crop. if not eventually
o run out this insidious pest.
The banda c system referred to
above. is the one most generally used
or destroying the cod ing moth[ 1t
consists in winding about the stem of
he tree, a few feet from the ground.
some kind of soft cloth. The caterpil-
ais t1ldJ ldNC llblll vi Will lAC
'ruit as they ascend the tree in search
II n safe place in which to spin their CO.
ICONS find here one apparently adapted
or their own purpo G, preferable even
o the cracks in the bark of the tree,
md Immediately commence their
work. These bands can be readily ex-
ahmed every few days, and all cater
,.llar- and pupe found under them east
Y destroyed. Old rags and pieces of
ack,ng or ropes may be used tOr bands.
ONE pre- er ropes OF hay to anything
Use, because by moving them up and
'nvn an tn stem the pun;e and eater
the bands from the tree.
Several traps of complicated form
have been invented, and one at least
has been patented, but the simple band
is cheaper and more effective.
Another method of determination is
by hanging under the trees wide
mouthed jars or bottles, in which a
mixture of molasses, vinegar and water,
in proportion of one, two and four re-
spectively, over which light is sus-
pended. The moth flies mostly at night,
is attracted by the light, baited by the
mixture, and finally drowned in num-
bers surprising to those who have never
tried il.
Still another plan, recommended by
Mr.. j. S. Woodward at a meeting of
the Horticultural Society of Western
New York, is to spray a the trees in
the orchard with solution made by
disSolving a tablespoonful of Paris
green in barrel OF water, to be APP
piled when the apples are about the
size of cherries. or when the worm is