The New International Encyclopædia/Railroad Worm

RAILROAD WORM. A popular name in New England for the apple-maggot, the larva of a trypetid fly (Trypeta pomonella), given because it spread along the lines of the railroads. It is a native of the Northern United States and Canada, extending south along the Appalachian Mountains. The larva is a footless maggot, which lives in the pulp of the apple and tunnels it with winding channels, making here and there discolored excavations about the size of a pea. When ready to transform, the maggot leaves the apple, falls to the ground, and beneath the surface enters the pupal state, in which condition it remains until the middle of the following summer, when the perfect fly escapes. The fly is shining black with a rust-red head and legs, and whitish wings with dusky bands. The eggs are inserted into the flesh of the apple and frequently fruit is attacked which has previously been perforated by the codling moth. Thin-skinned summer and fall apples are preferred by it to the winter varieties.