Joe Van Vechten, age 17, Williamsport, Penna.

How does a worm get into an apple?

An apple may look firm and solid, with no telltale hole to show that a worm is inside. Yet, with your first bite you come face to face with a black headed, whitish grub. You have every right to feel indignant. But remember, things could have been worse. Your first bite might have revealed only half a worm. This unsavory event is one of the few times when spitting is in order.

The little bandit is the larva of the codling moth and, after you have recovered from the shock of meeting him, you begin to wonder. You will discover his home is near the center of the unblemished apple and the little horror has been stuffing himself on the best part of the apple meat. There seems no way by which he could have reached the center of the apple and yet he obviously did so.

Let's do some detective work and, chances are, you can see for yourself how he committed his crime of breaking and entering. You will need a sharp knife. Remove the worm and slice the apple exactly down the center from stem to calyx. You probably will find a dark brown thread leading from the calyx to ‑the apple bandit’s don. This is the tunnel he fate to burrow himself inside. Once in a great while the codling moth enters by the stalk or some other part of the tipple. But most often it is by the calyx, where his entry is less noticeable.

The adult codling moth is a dainty, brownish colored insect. Her downy wings ,are less than two inches wide. The front wings have a bluish cast and a pair of pale yellow, brown rimmed eyes are painted near the edges. The back wings look like two little bamboo fans. She neither eats nor spoils an apple herself but she is a menace, nevertheless.

This inconspicuous little lady lays her eggs on apple tree leaves. The eggs hatch into tiny grubs who somehow know where baby apples are to be found and how to get there. Each finds his own apple and settles down to dine. He eats his way inside and starts his non‑stop meal. He eats until he grows to be about one inch long. By this time he is fed up with apple or any other kind of food. He leaves his dinner table and crawls to a branch or the trunk of the apple tree. He hides in a cozy niche and goes to sleep. He becomes a pupa. When he awakes he is a full‑grown codling moth, ready to start a new generation of apple worms.

Come fall, all the adults, eggs, pupa and young worms perish. Only a few fat older worms survive the winter by hiding in the crevices of the apple tree bark. Millions of dollars are spent every year to keep down these orchard pests. Yet every year enough of them survive to spoil five to ten percent of the apple crop.