Home › Volumes › Moths › Tineidae Family
Apple-leaf Bucculatrix
The minute moth, a greatly enlarged figure of which is given in the annexed cut, has the habit of denuding the leaves of apple-trees of their parenchyma. While it does not appear to have wrought great destruction generally, nevertheless there are instances on record where it has done much damage in orchards. The larvae have the habit of forming their cocoons in company, attaching them to the twigs in great clusters, as represented in Fig. 251. This fact has led to the recommendation that the trees, when infested, should be lightly pruned all over in the fall, and the twigs carefully collected and burned. As the cocoons are located at the ends of the twigs, this may be a partially effective remedy. Another remedy is to thoroughly spray the trees with coal-oil emulsion or with linseed-oil. The greasy application is said to destroy the pupae in the thin papery cocoons.