[Contents]CHAPTER LLEAF-ROLLERS“Many of the moths bearing the name of pyralis have a curious habit in their larva state, of rolling up the leaves of trees, or of folding them lengthwise, or of uniting several in the form of a sheath by means of silk threads, so as to make a shelter in which they may nibble away in safety at the interior of their green abode. For this reason they are called leaf-rollers. The one best known, on account of the damage it does, is the grapevine-pyralis.“It is a small moth with yellow wings having the metallic sheen of copper and crossed by brown stripes. Its larva is greenish, bristling with short hairs and having a head of a dark lustrous green color. In August the moth lays its eggs on the vine leaves in little slabs of twenty at most. Hatching takes place in September. At this advanced season of the year caterpillars do not eat; they suspend themselves by a thread and wait for the wind to drive them against the vine or one of its supports. As soon as they get a foothold on the desired object they take refuge in cracks in the bark and fissures in the wood, and there they lie torpid through the winter. At the reawakening of vegetable[364]life and the first pushing forth of the new vine shoots they leave their winter quarters, invade the vines, and entwine with silk threads the young grape clusters and the tender leaves, after which they feed upon them with an appetite sharpened by a fast of five or six months. With such ravenous eaters devastation proceeds apace, and in a few weeks, if the worms are numerous, the most flourishing vine is reduced to a pitiful condition and all hope of a harvest is abandoned. The ravages wrought by this moth between 1835 and 1840 in the vineyards of Bourgogne will long be remembered. Over immense tracts of land, when vintage-time came, there was not a single bunch of grapes to go into the basket. The greedy caterpillars ruined the country.”Strawberry Leaf-rollerStrawberry Leaf-rollera, larva, natural size;b, head and first three joints of body, enlarged;c, moth (cross shows natural size);d, anal shield of larva, enlarged.“Didn’t the people try to get rid of the creatures?” asked Louis.“They tried various methods, but with little success until finally one proved effective, and that the simplest and cheapest of all. Let us note by the way, my little friends, what an advantage it is to be acquainted with the habits of an insect that does us harm. If this moth’s peculiarities had not been studied, if it had not been known that its larvæ hide themselves in the fissures of the vines and the trellises,[365]there to lie torpid all winter, our vineyards might still be suffering from this terrible enemy. This fact being known, the remedy was not far to seek.Leaf-tierLeaf-tiera, larva, natural size;b, segment or joint of larva;c, head and part of body;d, moth (cross shows natural size).“It is this: in winter the vines and trellises are scalded with boiling water, the water being heated over a fire in the middle of the vineyard. “With a coffee-pot about a liter of hot water is poured on each vine so as to reach all the parts where worms may be lurking. Protected by its tough bark, the vine itself does not suffer from this scalding bath, while the caterpillars are completely destroyed. By this method the vineyards of Bourgogne were so entirely rid of the dreaded moth that no further ravages of any account have been reported.”“Couldn’t the moths come back again some time, as many as ever?” asked Jules.“That is hardly possible if at their first appearance the coffee-pot of hot water is brought into play.“The other leaf-rolling moths of this family are of less importance. The leaf-roller of the plum-tree lives first on the blossoms of the tree; later it makes a roll of leaves and lines it with silk. The[366]moth has a large white spot at the tip of each fore wing.“The cherry-tree leaf-roller has about the same habits. Its moth is recognized by two wide oblique stripes of the color of rust on its fore wings. On the pear-tree lives a leaf-roller with a triangular white spot in the middle of each fore wing.”“I don’t remember ever having seen the moths you are telling us about,” said Jules.“They are too small to be noticed by any one who is not on the lookout for them.”“I have often seen the nests of leaf-rolling caterpillars on fruit-trees and bushes and all sorts of plants. There are leaves folded lengthwise so that the edges join and make a sort of tunnel; others are in twos or threes or more; and there are some fastened together in a big bunch, all twisted and ragged, with silk threads holding them together. On opening these nests of leaves and silk I have sometimes found a caterpillar and sometimes a spider.”“Various spiders with too little silk to spin a large web for catching flies make an ambush by bringing the edges of two or three adjacent leaves together. Like the leaf-rolling caterpillars they use silk threads to hold the pieces of their abode in place, but their ultimate object is quite different. The rollers bring the leaves together so as to nibble them in peace, safely hidden away in the shelter thus formed; the spiders bring them together to make a simple abode for themselves and an ambush from[367]which they can pounce upon such insects as come within their reach.”“The spiders that make a nest of leaves joined together do not harm trees?”“I should rather say they are helpful to trees. They are vigilant guardians, always on the watch for flies, gnats, little moths, and other ravagers that would come and infest the trees with their eggs.”[368]
[Contents]CHAPTER LLEAF-ROLLERS“Many of the moths bearing the name of pyralis have a curious habit in their larva state, of rolling up the leaves of trees, or of folding them lengthwise, or of uniting several in the form of a sheath by means of silk threads, so as to make a shelter in which they may nibble away in safety at the interior of their green abode. For this reason they are called leaf-rollers. The one best known, on account of the damage it does, is the grapevine-pyralis.“It is a small moth with yellow wings having the metallic sheen of copper and crossed by brown stripes. Its larva is greenish, bristling with short hairs and having a head of a dark lustrous green color. In August the moth lays its eggs on the vine leaves in little slabs of twenty at most. Hatching takes place in September. At this advanced season of the year caterpillars do not eat; they suspend themselves by a thread and wait for the wind to drive them against the vine or one of its supports. As soon as they get a foothold on the desired object they take refuge in cracks in the bark and fissures in the wood, and there they lie torpid through the winter. At the reawakening of vegetable[364]life and the first pushing forth of the new vine shoots they leave their winter quarters, invade the vines, and entwine with silk threads the young grape clusters and the tender leaves, after which they feed upon them with an appetite sharpened by a fast of five or six months. With such ravenous eaters devastation proceeds apace, and in a few weeks, if the worms are numerous, the most flourishing vine is reduced to a pitiful condition and all hope of a harvest is abandoned. The ravages wrought by this moth between 1835 and 1840 in the vineyards of Bourgogne will long be remembered. Over immense tracts of land, when vintage-time came, there was not a single bunch of grapes to go into the basket. The greedy caterpillars ruined the country.”Strawberry Leaf-rollerStrawberry Leaf-rollera, larva, natural size;b, head and first three joints of body, enlarged;c, moth (cross shows natural size);d, anal shield of larva, enlarged.“Didn’t the people try to get rid of the creatures?” asked Louis.“They tried various methods, but with little success until finally one proved effective, and that the simplest and cheapest of all. Let us note by the way, my little friends, what an advantage it is to be acquainted with the habits of an insect that does us harm. If this moth’s peculiarities had not been studied, if it had not been known that its larvæ hide themselves in the fissures of the vines and the trellises,[365]there to lie torpid all winter, our vineyards might still be suffering from this terrible enemy. This fact being known, the remedy was not far to seek.Leaf-tierLeaf-tiera, larva, natural size;b, segment or joint of larva;c, head and part of body;d, moth (cross shows natural size).“It is this: in winter the vines and trellises are scalded with boiling water, the water being heated over a fire in the middle of the vineyard. “With a coffee-pot about a liter of hot water is poured on each vine so as to reach all the parts where worms may be lurking. Protected by its tough bark, the vine itself does not suffer from this scalding bath, while the caterpillars are completely destroyed. By this method the vineyards of Bourgogne were so entirely rid of the dreaded moth that no further ravages of any account have been reported.”“Couldn’t the moths come back again some time, as many as ever?” asked Jules.“That is hardly possible if at their first appearance the coffee-pot of hot water is brought into play.“The other leaf-rolling moths of this family are of less importance. The leaf-roller of the plum-tree lives first on the blossoms of the tree; later it makes a roll of leaves and lines it with silk. The[366]moth has a large white spot at the tip of each fore wing.“The cherry-tree leaf-roller has about the same habits. Its moth is recognized by two wide oblique stripes of the color of rust on its fore wings. On the pear-tree lives a leaf-roller with a triangular white spot in the middle of each fore wing.”“I don’t remember ever having seen the moths you are telling us about,” said Jules.“They are too small to be noticed by any one who is not on the lookout for them.”“I have often seen the nests of leaf-rolling caterpillars on fruit-trees and bushes and all sorts of plants. There are leaves folded lengthwise so that the edges join and make a sort of tunnel; others are in twos or threes or more; and there are some fastened together in a big bunch, all twisted and ragged, with silk threads holding them together. On opening these nests of leaves and silk I have sometimes found a caterpillar and sometimes a spider.”“Various spiders with too little silk to spin a large web for catching flies make an ambush by bringing the edges of two or three adjacent leaves together. Like the leaf-rolling caterpillars they use silk threads to hold the pieces of their abode in place, but their ultimate object is quite different. The rollers bring the leaves together so as to nibble them in peace, safely hidden away in the shelter thus formed; the spiders bring them together to make a simple abode for themselves and an ambush from[367]which they can pounce upon such insects as come within their reach.”“The spiders that make a nest of leaves joined together do not harm trees?”“I should rather say they are helpful to trees. They are vigilant guardians, always on the watch for flies, gnats, little moths, and other ravagers that would come and infest the trees with their eggs.”[368]
CHAPTER LLEAF-ROLLERS
“Many of the moths bearing the name of pyralis have a curious habit in their larva state, of rolling up the leaves of trees, or of folding them lengthwise, or of uniting several in the form of a sheath by means of silk threads, so as to make a shelter in which they may nibble away in safety at the interior of their green abode. For this reason they are called leaf-rollers. The one best known, on account of the damage it does, is the grapevine-pyralis.“It is a small moth with yellow wings having the metallic sheen of copper and crossed by brown stripes. Its larva is greenish, bristling with short hairs and having a head of a dark lustrous green color. In August the moth lays its eggs on the vine leaves in little slabs of twenty at most. Hatching takes place in September. At this advanced season of the year caterpillars do not eat; they suspend themselves by a thread and wait for the wind to drive them against the vine or one of its supports. As soon as they get a foothold on the desired object they take refuge in cracks in the bark and fissures in the wood, and there they lie torpid through the winter. At the reawakening of vegetable[364]life and the first pushing forth of the new vine shoots they leave their winter quarters, invade the vines, and entwine with silk threads the young grape clusters and the tender leaves, after which they feed upon them with an appetite sharpened by a fast of five or six months. With such ravenous eaters devastation proceeds apace, and in a few weeks, if the worms are numerous, the most flourishing vine is reduced to a pitiful condition and all hope of a harvest is abandoned. The ravages wrought by this moth between 1835 and 1840 in the vineyards of Bourgogne will long be remembered. Over immense tracts of land, when vintage-time came, there was not a single bunch of grapes to go into the basket. The greedy caterpillars ruined the country.”Strawberry Leaf-rollerStrawberry Leaf-rollera, larva, natural size;b, head and first three joints of body, enlarged;c, moth (cross shows natural size);d, anal shield of larva, enlarged.“Didn’t the people try to get rid of the creatures?” asked Louis.“They tried various methods, but with little success until finally one proved effective, and that the simplest and cheapest of all. Let us note by the way, my little friends, what an advantage it is to be acquainted with the habits of an insect that does us harm. If this moth’s peculiarities had not been studied, if it had not been known that its larvæ hide themselves in the fissures of the vines and the trellises,[365]there to lie torpid all winter, our vineyards might still be suffering from this terrible enemy. This fact being known, the remedy was not far to seek.Leaf-tierLeaf-tiera, larva, natural size;b, segment or joint of larva;c, head and part of body;d, moth (cross shows natural size).“It is this: in winter the vines and trellises are scalded with boiling water, the water being heated over a fire in the middle of the vineyard. “With a coffee-pot about a liter of hot water is poured on each vine so as to reach all the parts where worms may be lurking. Protected by its tough bark, the vine itself does not suffer from this scalding bath, while the caterpillars are completely destroyed. By this method the vineyards of Bourgogne were so entirely rid of the dreaded moth that no further ravages of any account have been reported.”“Couldn’t the moths come back again some time, as many as ever?” asked Jules.“That is hardly possible if at their first appearance the coffee-pot of hot water is brought into play.“The other leaf-rolling moths of this family are of less importance. The leaf-roller of the plum-tree lives first on the blossoms of the tree; later it makes a roll of leaves and lines it with silk. The[366]moth has a large white spot at the tip of each fore wing.“The cherry-tree leaf-roller has about the same habits. Its moth is recognized by two wide oblique stripes of the color of rust on its fore wings. On the pear-tree lives a leaf-roller with a triangular white spot in the middle of each fore wing.”“I don’t remember ever having seen the moths you are telling us about,” said Jules.“They are too small to be noticed by any one who is not on the lookout for them.”“I have often seen the nests of leaf-rolling caterpillars on fruit-trees and bushes and all sorts of plants. There are leaves folded lengthwise so that the edges join and make a sort of tunnel; others are in twos or threes or more; and there are some fastened together in a big bunch, all twisted and ragged, with silk threads holding them together. On opening these nests of leaves and silk I have sometimes found a caterpillar and sometimes a spider.”“Various spiders with too little silk to spin a large web for catching flies make an ambush by bringing the edges of two or three adjacent leaves together. Like the leaf-rolling caterpillars they use silk threads to hold the pieces of their abode in place, but their ultimate object is quite different. The rollers bring the leaves together so as to nibble them in peace, safely hidden away in the shelter thus formed; the spiders bring them together to make a simple abode for themselves and an ambush from[367]which they can pounce upon such insects as come within their reach.”“The spiders that make a nest of leaves joined together do not harm trees?”“I should rather say they are helpful to trees. They are vigilant guardians, always on the watch for flies, gnats, little moths, and other ravagers that would come and infest the trees with their eggs.”[368]
“Many of the moths bearing the name of pyralis have a curious habit in their larva state, of rolling up the leaves of trees, or of folding them lengthwise, or of uniting several in the form of a sheath by means of silk threads, so as to make a shelter in which they may nibble away in safety at the interior of their green abode. For this reason they are called leaf-rollers. The one best known, on account of the damage it does, is the grapevine-pyralis.
“It is a small moth with yellow wings having the metallic sheen of copper and crossed by brown stripes. Its larva is greenish, bristling with short hairs and having a head of a dark lustrous green color. In August the moth lays its eggs on the vine leaves in little slabs of twenty at most. Hatching takes place in September. At this advanced season of the year caterpillars do not eat; they suspend themselves by a thread and wait for the wind to drive them against the vine or one of its supports. As soon as they get a foothold on the desired object they take refuge in cracks in the bark and fissures in the wood, and there they lie torpid through the winter. At the reawakening of vegetable[364]life and the first pushing forth of the new vine shoots they leave their winter quarters, invade the vines, and entwine with silk threads the young grape clusters and the tender leaves, after which they feed upon them with an appetite sharpened by a fast of five or six months. With such ravenous eaters devastation proceeds apace, and in a few weeks, if the worms are numerous, the most flourishing vine is reduced to a pitiful condition and all hope of a harvest is abandoned. The ravages wrought by this moth between 1835 and 1840 in the vineyards of Bourgogne will long be remembered. Over immense tracts of land, when vintage-time came, there was not a single bunch of grapes to go into the basket. The greedy caterpillars ruined the country.”
Strawberry Leaf-rollerStrawberry Leaf-rollera, larva, natural size;b, head and first three joints of body, enlarged;c, moth (cross shows natural size);d, anal shield of larva, enlarged.
Strawberry Leaf-roller
a, larva, natural size;b, head and first three joints of body, enlarged;c, moth (cross shows natural size);d, anal shield of larva, enlarged.
“Didn’t the people try to get rid of the creatures?” asked Louis.
“They tried various methods, but with little success until finally one proved effective, and that the simplest and cheapest of all. Let us note by the way, my little friends, what an advantage it is to be acquainted with the habits of an insect that does us harm. If this moth’s peculiarities had not been studied, if it had not been known that its larvæ hide themselves in the fissures of the vines and the trellises,[365]there to lie torpid all winter, our vineyards might still be suffering from this terrible enemy. This fact being known, the remedy was not far to seek.
Leaf-tierLeaf-tiera, larva, natural size;b, segment or joint of larva;c, head and part of body;d, moth (cross shows natural size).
Leaf-tier
a, larva, natural size;b, segment or joint of larva;c, head and part of body;d, moth (cross shows natural size).
“It is this: in winter the vines and trellises are scalded with boiling water, the water being heated over a fire in the middle of the vineyard. “With a coffee-pot about a liter of hot water is poured on each vine so as to reach all the parts where worms may be lurking. Protected by its tough bark, the vine itself does not suffer from this scalding bath, while the caterpillars are completely destroyed. By this method the vineyards of Bourgogne were so entirely rid of the dreaded moth that no further ravages of any account have been reported.”
“Couldn’t the moths come back again some time, as many as ever?” asked Jules.
“That is hardly possible if at their first appearance the coffee-pot of hot water is brought into play.
“The other leaf-rolling moths of this family are of less importance. The leaf-roller of the plum-tree lives first on the blossoms of the tree; later it makes a roll of leaves and lines it with silk. The[366]moth has a large white spot at the tip of each fore wing.
“The cherry-tree leaf-roller has about the same habits. Its moth is recognized by two wide oblique stripes of the color of rust on its fore wings. On the pear-tree lives a leaf-roller with a triangular white spot in the middle of each fore wing.”
“I don’t remember ever having seen the moths you are telling us about,” said Jules.
“They are too small to be noticed by any one who is not on the lookout for them.”
“I have often seen the nests of leaf-rolling caterpillars on fruit-trees and bushes and all sorts of plants. There are leaves folded lengthwise so that the edges join and make a sort of tunnel; others are in twos or threes or more; and there are some fastened together in a big bunch, all twisted and ragged, with silk threads holding them together. On opening these nests of leaves and silk I have sometimes found a caterpillar and sometimes a spider.”
“Various spiders with too little silk to spin a large web for catching flies make an ambush by bringing the edges of two or three adjacent leaves together. Like the leaf-rolling caterpillars they use silk threads to hold the pieces of their abode in place, but their ultimate object is quite different. The rollers bring the leaves together so as to nibble them in peace, safely hidden away in the shelter thus formed; the spiders bring them together to make a simple abode for themselves and an ambush from[367]which they can pounce upon such insects as come within their reach.”
“The spiders that make a nest of leaves joined together do not harm trees?”
“I should rather say they are helpful to trees. They are vigilant guardians, always on the watch for flies, gnats, little moths, and other ravagers that would come and infest the trees with their eggs.”[368]