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PART

TK D. H. HILL LIBM?/

NORTH C4JOLIIW ST4TE COLLEGE

ENTOMOLOGICAL COLLECTION

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A HANDBOOK

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS

VICTORIA,

WITH NOTES ON THE METHODS TO BE ADOPTED TO CHECK
AND EXTIRPATE THEM.

Prepared by Order of the Victorian Department of Agriculture

BY

C. FRENCH, F.L.S., F.R.H.S.,

Government Entomologist.

PART II.

.Melbourne:

BY AUTHORITY: ROBT. S. BRAIN, GOVERNMENT PRINTER.

189 3. -
Price 2s. 6d.

QLontznts.

Chapter Page

XXI. The Green Peach Aphis ----- 3

XXII. The Black Peach Aphis 9

XXIII. The Plum Curculio 21

XXIV. The Cherry Green-Beetle - - - -27
XXV. The Cottonv-cushion Scale - - - 37

ERRATA.

At the bottom of plates XXX. and XXXI. (opposite pp. 114
and 116), for "C. C. Brittlebank, del.," read "Reproduced from
drawings by A. L. Clement for Messrs. Hachette and Co., Paris."

On page 222 (Index), for "Wright, Allan," read "Wight, R.
Allan."

On page 21, for "Mr. D. Carson," read "Mr. J. Carson"; and
on page 216 (Index), for "Carson, D.," read "Carson, J."

XL. The Strawberry Beetle - - - - - 175

XLI. Fruit and Grain Eating Birds - 181
XLII. Additional List of Materials in use for the Destruction

of Noxious Insects ----- 184

APPENDIX.

Additional Illustrations of Spray-pumps and other
Machines in use for the Destruction of Insects - 187

PREFACE TO PART II.

The second part of "The Handbook of the Destructive
Insects of Victoria" has been prepared on the same
lines indicated in the preface to Part I.

It is hoped that this part will prove a welcome
addition to the library of the "grower," for whose
special benefit the work has, by order of the Victorian
Department of Agriculture, been undertaken. Tech-
nical terms, as before, are used only where considered
absolutely necessary, although, on the suggestion of
some entomological friends, the authorities for most of
the specific names of the insects figured are here given.

To those who have offered suggestions I am greatly
obliged, and whatever useful information I could obtain,
no matter from what source, has been used for the
benefit of those for whom the work is intended, and
this plan will be continued until the end.

C. FRENCH.

Melbourne, 1893.

PLATE XV.

"Green Peach Aphis" (Myzus? sp.).
Fig.

1. Peach branch, showing curl of leaf caused by aphis. Natural

size.

2. Female aphis, winged form. Magnified.

3. Pupa of female. Magnified.

4 and 5. Earlier stages of female. Magnified.

6. Leis conformis (common garden Ladybird). Magnified.
6a. Natural size of Fig. 6.

7. Pupa of Fig. 6. Magnified.

8. Larva of Fig. 6. Magnified.

9 and 9a. Hemerobidae. Parasite on aphis. Slightly enlarged.
10. Hymenopterous parasite on aphis. Natural size.
10a. Magnified specimen of Fig. 10.

.

• to*

DESTEUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTOEIA.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE GREEN PEACH APHIS.

{Myzus sp.)

Order: Hemiptera. Sub-order: Homoptera. Family: Aphididce.

This species is even more dreaded by growers than
the so-called black Peach Aphis, as it appears later in the
season, when the trees are in leaf; and as it curls the
leaves by perforating them with its beak-like rostrum
(see Fig. 1), it renders the labour of spraying much
more difficult, and the chances of destroying the insects
more remote.

The Green Peach Aphis in its habits is much like that
of the black one, but the shape and colour of the insects
in their various stages are different (see Plate XV.).

When the aphides leave the tree, which, as a rule, they
do about the end of November, or even late in December,
according to seasons, locality, &c, the young and perfect
insects also congregate around the base of the roots,
whilst large numbers, after perpetuating their species, die
and are either blown away or eaten by ants or birds.
Ants will carry off dead aphides, but will on no account
attack living ones, on which they are, however, partly
dependent for their sustenance. Immense numbers of the
eggs are deposited in the crevices, crotches, or on other
parts of the tree, only to come forth as soon as favor-
able weather for their operations commences. This is the
case with most aphides, and is the object of attacking them
by spraying when the trees have shed their leaves, and
again just before the swelling of the buds. The rostrum
or beak of the Green Peach Aphis is slightly different to
that of the Black Peach Aphis, being somewhat longer and
narrower in proportion to the rest of the body. The
body of the Green Aphis is broader and more cylindrical

D. H. HlLlAlBRARY
North Carolina State Colleg*

4 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OE VICTORIA:

than those of the Black Aphis which have come under my
notice, and, being green, are not so conspicuous when on
the tree.

On our Plate (Fig. 1) is shown a portion of the branch
of a tree, there not being sufficient room for a figure
illustrating the insects on the roots. This, however, is
shown on the large charts which, by permission of the
Department, I have had prepared for lecturing purposes,
and which may be seen by any one interested at the office
of the Government Entomologist, Exhibition, Melbourne.

With regard to the rostrum of an Aphis, which organ
plays such an important part in the economy of the insect,
Buckton remarks that aphides are wholly suctorial in
their habits, and depend entirely upon the sap of different
plants and trees for nourishment. As the sources of their
food vary, so the rostrum undergoes modification to meet
special requirements. Whilst some genera are furnished
with exceedingly short rostra, others show the organs
produced to an extraordinary length. The most marked
example of this peculiarity may be noticed in Stomaphis
quercus, which seeks its sustenance in the alburnum or
inner bark of the dense trunk of the oak tree. Here the
rostrum is nearly twice the length of the insect, and the
setse or hairs are very much longer. By these piercers the
insect burrows under the hard masses of the cortex, and
produces, by their irritating and inflammatory action, a
plentiful flow of sap. The juices are drawn into the
mouth by a sort of alternating or pumping motion,
analogous to that seen in the honey bee. It may be
interesting to know that, according to Buckton, in by
far the greater number of cases the males and viviparous
females of aphides are provided with four wings, as shown
in Fig. 2, a female, of course highly magnified, the little
cross beneath the figure being about the natural size of
the insect with wings expanded, by which they transport
themselves into other localities, either in search of fresh
food or for the purpose of founding new colonies, and it
is the nervation (nerves), or venation (veins), which ento-
mologists find of such great value in determining or

• • -

THE GREEN PEACH APHIS. 5

subdividing this family into suitable genera ; although,
as Mr. Buckton remarks, that amongst Aphidce caution
is necessary lest the not infrequent abnormal characters
of nervation should mislead us. This information is in-
cluded for the use of any persons who may care to take
up the subject, which will amply repay any one having
sufficient time to devote to so interesting a matter.

Prevention and Remedies.
In our chapter on the Black Peach Aphis some account
of the best methods for dealing with these pests will be
given ; it may, however, be mentioned that the early use
of that useful article the " nicotine whale-oil soap " has
been tried by many persons with great success. When
the first part of this book was offered to the public, it
contained a statement that this soap would probably
prove very useful to growers for spraying purposes, and
these prognostications, I am glad to state, have been
amply verified. The chief difficulty which presents
itself when dealing with the Green Aphis on the branches
is, that the leaves through their being pierced by the
aphides have curled up, thus forming a partially secure
hiding place, and from whence it is exceedingly difficult
to destroy them. It has to be attempted, however, so
we must see to our machinery for spraying, and take
advantage of any improvement whereby our efforts may
be lessened or assisted. Many growers complain, and
not without reason, that the spraying often does as
much damage to the tree as do the aphides themselves.
This statement, however, is only partly true; for if discre-
tion is used whilst spraying, the tree, however tender,
cannot suffer in any great proportion to the damage done
by the aphis pests ; and if done thoroughly and properly,
as before explained and recommended, it cannot possibly
kill the tree, which, unless prompt measures are resorted
to, these pests will eventually do. We may, I think,
fairly and safely take up the position, that with ordinary
intelligence, and a high state of cultivation, in which is
of course included perfect drainage, coupled with such

b DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

assistance and advice as the Entomologist and other
experts of the Department can supply, ought to be the
means of lightening the labours of those, all honour to
them, who have spared neither expense nor trouble, com-
bined with a practical outcome of enthusiasm, to keep
their orchards clean and to present the fruits or other
products in a proper marketable condition to the public,
and, of course, with increased profit to the growers them-
selves. In America a motion has been carried by a very
learned, practical, and influential society, that the man
who has an orchard, farm, or vineyard, and cleaneth it
not, be voted a public nuisance. It is to be hoped that this
stigma will not be long allowed to apply to any grower in
Victoria ; still many of the smaller holdings are at present
simply " breeding nurseries " for pests all and sundry.

On our plate are added figures of the common Lady-
bird, Lets conformis (see Fig. 6), magnified — Fig. 6a
representing the perfect insect in its natural size, and also
on the wing ; whilst in Fig. 7 the pupa, enlarged, is
given ; and in Fig. 8 the curious larva, which is such a
terrible enemy to aphides and many other small pests, is
also shown. In making a careful examination of a group
of aphides with a lens, there may be often noticed a
number of the insects which are dead, with the contents
of their bodies, which have been hollowed or rather sucked
out by the larvae of certain parasites, amongst which are
those of the Hemerobidce, or "Lace-wings" (see Figs.
5 and 9) ; also by minute Hymen opterous insects, four-
winged flies, which deposit their eggs in the body of the
aphides, which they pierce by means of their fine hair-like
ovipositors. The natural size of this little insect is given
m Fig. 10, the enlargement being shown in Fig. 10a.

There are other insects which attack Aphidce, the
larvae of some of the Syrphidce, a two-winged fly,
supporting itself erect by its hinder parts, and, whilst in
this position, it seizes upon any unfortunate aphis which
comes within its reach and devours it at once. This
singular habit on the part of a larva is shown on Plate
XXXV., Fig. 13, Cabbage Aphis.

THE GREEN PEACH APHIS. 7

One remarkable fact about these Peach Aphides, and
which others besides myself have doubtless observed, is
that in some of the old gardens in the city large peach
trees, which may have been planted in the early days of
the colony, would appear, upon a very careful examination,
to be nearly free from blight of any kind, and, as fruit is
occasionally borne, the tree would seem to be healthy.
Here is a problem for our savants to solve. Why are these
trees, which certainly show no signs of superior cultiva-
tion, so clean, whilst others, on highly-cultivated land,
and which are very old trees, are often badly attacked
and killed by these aphides ? Iu this connexion it may be
interesting to note that the soil in the city is generally of
a very stiff and heavy nature, with a firm, hard, and often
stony subsoil, and a knowledge of these facts may help
us to unravel this mystery, and would appear to point to
the heavy tenacious soil as one of the principal causes of
the trees' immunity from insects of this kind. In another
part of the present number an account is given of an
implement by which bisulphide of carbon may be injected
into the soil. This machine is fully explained, and, it is
hoped, may prove as successful as has been represented.
Once we can master the pests at the roots, success as to
the other pests, if carefully attended to, will be sure to
follow.

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE XVI.

" Black Peach Aphis " (Mtzus cerasi. Fabr.).
Fig.

1 1 Branch of peach, showing insects on stem and young leaves.
Natural size.

2. Winged female. Magnified.

3. Wingless female. Magnified.

4. Pupa. Magnified.

5. Winged male. Magnified. (After Buckton.)

6. Winged female, green. Magnified.

7. Rostrum (or beak). Magnified.

C. G#ritiU&an&. -Del .

■

Plat.

THE BLACK PEACH APHIS.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE BLACK PEACH APHIS.

(Myzus cerasi. Fabr.)
Order : Hemiptera. Sub-order : Homoptera. Family : Aphididce.

This is one of the two kinds of Aphis so much dreaded
by growers of peaches throughout the colony. It is an
introduction from Europe, where, according to Buckton,
it does much injury to the cherry orchards in early spring,
when they cluster by thousands under the leaves and dry
them up as if scorched by heat. Fitch, in America,
counted 190 ranged down the mid-rib of one leaf. They
choke and gum up the pores of the leaves by the secre-
tion which they eject from their conicles, or leaf-like
processes. On account of this sweet substance the
affected branches are much visited by ants, of which the
little black one, with a vile smell, and a perfect terror to
housewives, would appear to be the most common here.

To those unacquainted with the appearance of a peach
tree which has been attacked by the Black Aphis, it may
be pointed out that the small branches are mostly bent
downward and otherwise twisted, often assuming a burnt
and blackened appearance. This is a sure sign, and
may be relied upon.

In England, Mr. Wallace states, two swarms usually
occur in the year with a certain interval, one in June
and the other in October. During the latter period the
male makes its appearance. He describes them as
being wholly black, and probably the older specimens are
so coloured.

How long ago it is since the first advent of this pest
into Victoria I am unable to say with any degree of cer-
tainty ; but fruit-growers in this colony will well remember
the time when peaches around Melbourne grew and

10 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

ripened splendidly. Now, what between the aphides,
borers, and " fungus curl," growers are at their wits' end
to know what to do to prevent or remedy all or any of
these serious obstacles to successful peach-growing, at
least in many districts throughout the colony.

In the coloured plates with which Part II., as in
Part I., is illustrated, I have endeavoured to show you the
Black Peach Aphis in many of its stages, and which, it
is hoped, will assist the grower in recognising this pest
at a glance. To many, however, the forms will, unfor-
tunately, be but too familiar.

The Black Peach Aphis makes its appearance when the
tree is bare of leaves, generally about the end of June or
beginning of July. In some districts it will be earlier
and in some later, according to locality and season. In
Castlemaine, for example, Mr. J. Lang informs me that
this pest on badly-affected trees is sometimes prevalent
all the year round, but does most harm when the trees
are in bloom and starting to shoot, completely destroying
the young fruit and foliage, and in some cases destroying
the tree also ; but trees which are not so badly injured
generally recover when the warm weather sets in, towards
the end of November.

Near Melbourne, the Black Peach Aphis, especially in
the Doncaster and neighbouring districts, where it is very
prevalent, usually makes its appearance about the end of
July or early in August, according to Mr. Thiele and
other leading growers, just before the buds begin to open;
so that we may safely believe that this species at any rate
may be visible upon the branches of the tree nearly the
whole year through.

As a rule, however, its disappearance may be said to
date from the time at which the hot winds set in, and it
is a fortunate thing for the grower that those little
pests cannot stand many of our real scorching hot days ;
lout if the weather be cool and moist the insects may
remain on the trees, supposing no steps be taken to
suppress them, until the middle of December, or even
later.

THE BLACK PEACH APHIS. 11

A few years ago but little was known with certainty
as to the life history of these pests. It has now been
well ascertained that the insects are also on the roots of
the tree not far beneath the soil, and are generally to be
found clustering around the base of large roots near the
stem of the tree, and from which, although many of the
insects are in a partially dormant state, the nourishment
necessary for their existence is obtained. The sap, as in
the case of Aphis attacks in general, being sucked up
after the bark of the tree or its roots have been perforated
by the long beak-like rostrum, as shown in Fig. 7, and
which beak, when the insect is at rest, is " tucked up "
beneath the fore part of the body of the insect.

Lintner, in one of his valuable reports on the injurious
insects in the State of New York, has the following remarks
on an Aphis attack on the roots of peach trees, and com-
municated by Mr. Lorin Blodget, of Philadelphia. He
says: — " The injury to the trees was first noticed in the
year 1881, but its cause remained unknown until the
early part of July, 1884, when upon pulling up a seedling
peach tree, beginning to wilt, its stem for an inch below
the surface was found to be crowded with dark-coloured
aphides, numbers of ants being associated with them. In
following up this discovery, of a hundred trees examined
one-half at least were found to be so seriously injured
that they were past recovery, and were accordingly
destroyed. It was doubtful if any of the remainder could
survive the attack. In one instance, some aphides were
discovered above ground upon the succulent shoots, about
a foot long, of a three-year-old tree, which were densely
crowded with them, presenting a singular sight with their
black shiny backs, covered with ants, and with large
flies often upon them. During forty years' growth
of seedling peaches no injury of this character had been
observed before this attack."

When first seen on the branches they are to be found
in clusters just below the bud, and at this period are of
a dark plum colour, semi-transparent, and nearly black,
as shown in Fig. 3; and before assuming the winged

12 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

stages (see Figs. 2, 5, and 6) they ascend the tree, the
shoots of which they cover in vast numbers, drawing off
the sap, so necessary at this period of the tree's existence,
and thus causing the young fruit to wither and fall to the
ground, and the shoots, which have now put forth their
leaves, to assume a sickly appearance, often turning
black at the point as if scorched by the sun.

There has been much speculation amongst growers
and others as to whether the Black and the Green Peach
Aphis are one and the same species. This matter I have
submitted to Mr. Buckton, our best authority on this
group, for his opinion, and he says they are different
species, and I am indebted to that gentleman for the
correct name of the one which we know as the Black
Peach Aphis, the Green one being a distinct species of
the same genus.

In many of the aphides the colour would seem to vary
in a most remarkable manner, so that it is no difficult
matter to fall into an error concerning the names. I
mention this fact as there is a discrepancy between our
plates and those in Mr. Buckton's fine work on British
Aphides, although all in this plate, with the exception of
Fig. 5, have been drawn from nature.

In a former number of the book I have already alluded
to the enormous increase which takes place in this group
of insects, and have also furnished some particulars which
it is perhaps unnecessary to repeat here; and although
such facts, which have been attested to by some of the
best naturalists and observers of the day, may cause us
to wonder at such a formidable array of figures as those
supplied by Bonnet, Reaumur, and others who have so
patiently devoted so much time to such an important
subject, it should also be the means of putting us on
our guard and making us the more determined to check
if at all possible the enormous increase in pests of this
kind.

Having given you a brief account of the habits and
life history of this insect, I must now pass on to what is
perhaps the most important part, viz., how to prevent

THE BLACK PEACH APHIS. 13

their coming; but should they make their appearance
what are the best means to be adopted in getting rid of
them.

Fig. 1, it may be remarked, as the text will explain,
shows a portion of peach branch with insects both winged
and without wings clustering around the stem, and here
the little insects are shown in their natural sizes.

Prevention and Remedies.

We have already stated that the Black Aphis attacks
also the roots of the tree ; this knowledge is, or ought to
be, to us a great assistance and advantage when adopting
measures for prevention and eradication.

In the first place we have to consider the earliest and
best time of the year when the tree should be treated for
this Aphis ; secondly, the easiest and least expensive
methods ; and thirdly, the best materials to be used ; always
bearing in mind that to recommend a remedy which,
owing to its cost, is either impracticable or too expensive,
is but to add to the difficulties under which our orchardists
and others who are engaged in rural pursuits labour.
It is only practical men, who have had to make their
living from the proceeds of their orchards, farms, or vine-
yards, who are able to appreciate the truth of these
remarks, as coming from one who has had some experience
as a grower himself.

Taking it for granted, then, that the two aphides of the
peach live on and breed also on the roots of the tree, the
natural conclusion to which any one must come would be
to first treat the tree whilst in its dormant state, and
immediately before pruning.

Remove carefully the surface soil, using a fork where
necessary ; then take 1 oz. of bluestone (sulphate of
copper), dissolve in two gallons of cold water, being care-
ful that the water is not either salt or even brackish.
Each tree of four or five years old, if vigorous, will take a
couple of gallons at least of this mixture. In removing
the soil from the surface, do not lay bare the roots, as the
soil is only removed so that the mixture may have a more

14 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

direct effect. The mixture ought, if possible, to be
applied from a wooden pail or cask, as it is easier and
does not corrode the sprayer. When the soil has been
watered with this mixture, cover the roots up carefully,
which done, "paint" some lime, sulphur, and soap
mixed around the stem of the tree; gas-lime would be
preferable if spread over soil, and which the rains will
wash in, but this latter must, according to the sound
advice tendered to me by Mr. A. N". Pearson, of our staff,
be exposed for at least three months before using, at any
rate near ordinary fruit trees, and peach trees in particular.
Professor Smith, of the New Jersey Agricultural College,
U.S.A., speaks very highly of the successful use of a
dressing of kainit and nitrate of soda spread on the surface
over the root system, or placed in a trench at the tree at a
distance of two feet from the trunk or stem. In spraying the
trees for aphides, when on the branches, it must be borne in
mind (this piece of advice is tendered for the benefit of
beginners) that the peach is one of the most delicate of
our ordinary fruit trees, so that when spraying or other-
wise treating the tree, either for insect or fungous diseases,
great care should be exercised.

Mr. Dumas, Permanent Secretary of the Academy of
Science of France, recommends as being superior to the
bisulphide of carbon treatment the use of the sulpho-
carbonate of potassium and sodium and of barium as
evaporating less quickly than the bisulphide of carbon,
so useful in applications of this nature.

The sulpho-carbonate of barium decomposes under the
influence of carbonic acid, and evolves, according to M.
Dumas, sulphuretted hydrogen and bisulphide of carbon.
Placed in the ground, by its slow decomposition, it should
prove a powerful insecticide. Sulpho-carbonate of potas-
sium, in addition to its toxic effect, has also a direct
invigorating influence upon the plant.

At the head of the list of the best remedies for spraying
for Peach Aphis would, according to the most overwhelm-
ing testimony from practical growers, coupled with care-
fully-conducted experiments both here and abroad, appear

THE BLACK PEACH APHIS. 15

to be kerosene emulsion ; and it must be remembered
that such preparations as London purple, Paris green,
hellebore, and other poisonous compounds are of little,
if any, use against aphides, since these pests suck the sap
only, and do not, as in the case of the Pear Slug, cater-
pillars, &c, eat the tissue or surface of the leaf; so that
they must be treated with a contact poison, and which
will, if heated, be all the more powerful when applied to
hardy trees. But in the case of peaches it would not be
advisable to have the material more than lukewarm.
When the tree is dormant, however, it can, without
danger, be sprayed on whilst hot, say up to 130 degrees
Fahr.

The resin compound is another most valuable remedy.
In the case of tender trees, however, common washing
soda should be used instead of the more powerful caustic
soda recommended as one of the ingredients against the
hardier scale insects, &c.

The following formula for the kerosene emulsion is
recommended by the New Jersey Agricultural College
Experimental Station, and I have not the slightest doubt
as to its success if properly applied : — Kerosene, 2 gallons ;
water, 1 gallon ; hard soap, ^ lb. Make a suds of the
soap and water, and pour, boiling hot, into the kerosene.
Churn well with a force-pump or a syringe, pumping out
of and into the bucket through a rose nozzle until com-
pletely emulsified. If the mixture is sufficiently hot it will
thicken in from five to ten minutes, and will be, when
cold, of the consistency of butter or of soft soap. For
Peach Aphis, dilute with fifteen parts of water. When
the tree is without leaves, a much stronger proportion can
be used, and the emulsion may then be used with safety
at, say, one part of the emulsion to ten of water. This
can be put on hot, as the remarks above quoted are onlv
intended to apply to spraying trees when the young shoots
are tender, or where the leaves are on the tree.

A friend of mine, who has an orchard in the Dandenong
Ranges, assures me that he holds both kinds of Peach
Aphis in supreme contempt, simply by spraying the trees

16 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

once just after pruning, and once after the fruit has
properly set, with a solution of sulphate of potassium, in
the proportion of 1 oz. to the gallon of water. This
would also be a very cheap, effective, and safe liquid for
applying to the roots of the trees.

One of the good old remedies against peach blight is to
take 1 lb. soft soap, 1 lb. tobacco, to which add 20 gallons
of water ; boil, strain, and spray whilst hot.

Another grower, who has a large peach orchard, sends
me the following formula, with which he assures me he
has entirely mastered the aphides : — Water, 15 gallons;
magic soap, 1\ lbs. ; kerosene, 2 quarts. Slice the soap
into the water, and when boiling add kerosene, stir well
for five minutes, and use whilst hot. This, of course, is
only to be used when the buds have not expanded, or the
young leaves on the tree.

Mr. J. West, one of the best known growers in the
Mooroopna district, declares that he has also mastered the
aphis attacks by the use of the resin compound above.
He prepares it after the manner of our old formula, viz. : —
Common commercial resin, 20 lbs. ; washing soda, 6 lbs. ;
fish-oil, 3 pints, and water to make 100 gallons. Place
the resin and soda in a boiler, adding sufficient water to
cover it. Boil freely when dissolved. Add fish-oil. Boil
all together for about an hour rapidly, adding a little water
occasionally to prevent boiling over. When finished add
the 100 gallons of water. This preparation is specially
useful for both aphides on peach, and is much weaker than
that recommended for scale insects, &c.

These are the principal remedies to be used against this
troublesome pest; and now that we are certain of the
insects also living on the roots, we have a very strong
clue as to how best to prevent, or at least successfully
meet, their attacks.

A few months since I had great hopes that we might
be able to discover something in the way of resistant or of
even blight-proof stocks. A friend of mine having a small
garden in which he has a row of peach trees trained, home
style, against a fence, aspect northerly. I found that he

THE BLACK PEACH APHIS. 17

has the peaches planted alternately, a tree of the " Royal
George " standing between such varieties as " Salway,"
"Early Rivers," &c. The Black Aphis on the latter varieties
was very bad indeed, whilst the "Royal George" (sup-
posing this variety to be true to name) was, so far as I could
discover with the aid of a lens, absolutely free from blight
of any kind. Here, thought I, is a discovery which^on
mentioning it confidentially to my old friends, C. Draper
and Geo. Neilson, caused them to shake their heads
ominously, which, however, only made me the more
determined to follow the matter up further. The trees
were watched carefully, and on the 26th of the present
month, June, 1892, I again visited the trees and found to
my astonishment that the " Royal George " was the only
one of the varieties attacked. I have mentioned this
matter to point out the danger of superficial investiga-
tions of any kind, and more particularly in matters of such
moment to our rural industries.

^ I still hope, however, that something may yet be
discovered, as in the case of the resistant vines and apples,
which, if not actually blight-proof, may be of such a nature
as to help us to keep this and kindred pests in check.

The strictest watch should be kept on all imported
trees, whether peaches or otherwise, and these, before
planted, ought to be thoroughly treated according to the
advice given in Part I. of this handbook. This is a
matter that must be insisted upon, that is if we desire
that the importations of new pests should cease.

Our tiny insect friends, the Ladybirds, should be
protected by every grower throughout the land ; and so
that there may be no mistake as to the kind which needs
to be protected, I have given some figures of same on
Plate XVI. Many of the insectivorous birds, too, are
great destroyers of aphides, and should be carefully
protected from the senseless attacks of the "Pot-shot-
man " and others not so vicious or mischievous, but none
the less dangerous.

opraymg is a work that must be done with intelligence
and care, and as one of our best American writers has

18 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

said, the effect depends on the thoroughness with which
the work is done, not on the amount applied. The object
is to get the thinnest possible layer of material on every
leaf and fruit, and all beyond that is waste.

On a cool calm day spray at any hour. On a hot day
spray during the early morning or late in the afternoon.
Never spray any kind of fruit tree when it is in bloom.
The soundness of this latter advice, re spraying the tree
whilst in bloom, has been contested, but the testimony
in its favour is of such an overwhelming nature that it
cannot, I think, be successfully disputed.

In bringing these few remarks concerning the Black
Peach Aphis to a close, I would here respectfully ask the
kind assistance and co-operation of growers and others
who, by their observations in the field, can be of the
Greatest service to this branch of the Victorian Depart-
ment of Agriculture, by sending from time to time the
results of their experiences, the receipt of which will
greatly add to a more general knowledge of the subject,
and which cannot fail to be of mutual advantage. I
sincerely trust that growers will continue to accord me
their support and active assistance, for the growers and
the entomologist must go hand in hand to obtain the
best results, as the grower is in the field daily and can
tell how things are going on, and, as has been said by a
distinguished economic entomologist, he is an assistant
the entomologist cannot well do without.

C 2

20 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE XVII.
The " Plum Curculio " (Conoteachelus nenuphar. Herbst).

1. Branch of plum tree, showing fruit and weevils, also where fruit

is entered. Natural size.

2. Plum fruit, showing larva inside. Natural size. (After Riley.)

3. Larva. Magnified. (After Riley.)

4. Pupa. Magnified. (After Riley.)

5. Perfect insect. Magnified. (After Riley.)

■ ■ ■'

Plate XVI 1.

THE PLUM CUECULIO. 21

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE PLUM CURCULIO.

( Conotrachelus nenuphar. Herbst.)
Order : Coleoptera. Family : Curculionidce.

The Plum Curculio, which belongs to the great family
of the so-called Weevils, amongst which is Leptops, that
well-known destroyer of apple and other trees in Victoria,
also many others too numerous to mention here.

There is considerable doubt as to whether we have
this pest here or not, but years ago it will be remembered
that one of our best known pioneer amateurs, Mr. D.
Carson, of Kew, submitted specimens of an insect which
he found to be attacking his plums, and which if not
really identical with this species certainly resembles it in
its more important economy. In those days the study of
economic entomology in Australia was, for any practical
purposes, we may safely say little known or but imper-
fectly understood ; so we are in the dark as to the real
culprit then attacking the plums at Kew. As we may,
however, at no distant date have to deal with this much-
dreaded pest, and as we look to such a brilliant future for
the grower of fruits suitable for preserving and export, it
has been thought advisable to include in Part II. a
description of an insect which, in this age of fruit-tree
importation and rapid steam communication, may be with
us at any moment ; so that when we see it, should we be
so unfortunate as to unwittingly introduce it into Victoria,
we may be able at once to recognise it and to take the
necessary steps, which are here recommended by those
who have had to deal with it in America and elsewhere,
for its eradiction.

The notes here given are taken from Mathew Cooke's
excellent work on insect pests already alluded to in Part I.

22 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

of this book, the plates being drawn from the admirable
illustrations by Professor Riley, Chief State Entomologist
of the United States, and for the accuracy of the original
plates the name of that gentleman is a sufficient guarantee.

The branch of plum tree, with fruit and small beetles
on same, is from nature, the insects being about the
natural size, as per published descriptions. "Living
in plums, cherries, pears, nectarines, apricots, quinces,
and apples, a yellowish-white footless grub, see Fig. 3,
which undergoes its transformations in the earth." This
is undoubtedly the worst enemy (in America) with which
the fruit-grower has to contend, in fact its operations
have become so extensive that the raising of plums has
become almost entirely abandoned in several sections of
California.

" The female Curculio makes a small hole in the fruit
with her snout (see Fig. 1), then turns around and there-
in deposits a single egg^ after which she gnaws a crescent-
shaped slit around and partially under the egg. This
precaution is probably taken in order to prevent the fruit
from growing over and thus destroying the egg. This
crescent is a pretty sure indication that the fruit upon
which it appears is infested with the Curculio, although
upon apples and similar fruits the growth is so rapid
as to obliterate the growth of the fruit in a short
time.

" Each female is supposed to have a stock of from 50 to
100 eggs, and to deposit from five to ten a day, while
those which appear earlier, begin this work by the middle
of May ; it is continued by others which appears later, so
that the period of egg-laying is extended to a period of
about two months.

" The larva which hatches from the eggs of the Curculio
is a small footless worm, somewhat resembling a maggot,
except that it does not taper so much, and it has a distinct
head. It is of a glossy yellowish-white colour, but par-
takes more of the colour of the fruit which it infests.
There is a lighter line running along each side of the
body, with a row of minute black bristles below, and a

THE PLUM CURCULIO. 23

less distinct one above it. The under part is reddish -
brown, and the head is yellowish or pale brown. When
fully grown, it measures about five lines in length. As
soon as it reaches its full growth the larva deserts the
fruit, which usually falls to the ground before ripening,
and enters the earth to the depth of a few inches, where
it forms a small cell in which to pass the pupa state (see
Fig. 4).

" It remains in the pupa state about three weeks, when
the change to the perfect insect takes place.

"The perfect insect (see Fig. 5, magnified) is about two
lines long, and is of a dark brown colour, variegated with
white, yellow, and black. The snout is rather longer than
the thorax, the latter being uneven. The wing cases have
two black tubercles on them, one on the middle of each
suture ; behind these is a broad band of dull yellow and
white. The thighs have two small teeth on the under-
side.

" This insect lives not only in the fruits mentioned at the
head of this article, but also in the black-knot infesting
plum and cherry trees.

"The perfect beetle feeds not only upon the fruit, but
also upon the leaves, and even the bark of newly-formed
twigs does not escape its attacks.

" The number of broods which this insect produces in
a year is not definitely known, but most authors regard it
as being single brooded.

" The perfect beetles hibernate beneath pieces of wood,
&c, lying upon the ground.

" I am not aware that this insect has, up to date, been
found in California, but as we have received so many in-
jurious insects from the East, it is not improbable that
the Plum Curculio will make its appearance amongst us.
The greatest care should be taken to prevent its importa-
tion on nursery stock from infested districts."

Remedies recommended.
To 1 lb. of whale-oil soap add 4 oz. of flour of sul-
phur, mix thoroughly and dissolve in 12 gallons of water.

24 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

To half a peck of quick-lime add 4 gallons of water, and stir
well together. When fully settled pour off the trans-
parent lime-water, and add to it the soap and sulphur
mixture ; add to the same also, say, 4 gallons of tolerably
strong tobacco water. Apply this mixture, when thus
incorporated, with a garden syringe (or spray pump,
which is vastly the better method — C.F.) to your plum or
other trees, so that the foliage shall be well drenched.
If no rains succeed for three weeks, one application will
be sufficient. Should frequent rains occur the mixture
should be again applied until the stone of the fruit be-
comes hardened, when the season for the Curculio's
ravages is past.

This mixture is good to destroy the slug, caterpillar,
green-fly, thrips, and a host of the enemies of vegetation.
It is my impression that I found the wash stronger than
needed or desirable, and diluted it to a considerable
extent, but how much I cannot remember. The applica-
tion was made by means of a garden engine. As a result
the trees bore a full crop of perfect fruit, while that of my
neighbours was destroyed as usual. Professor C. H.
Dwindle to Mr. Mathew Cooke.

We have here the best remedies which constant
application, combined with practical experience, and for
which our American friends are so justly famous, can
devise, and to which we may add our advice formerly
given as to the absolute necessity of not allowing rubbish
of any kind whatever to accumulate in any orchard. At-
tention to this and other important matters will probably
go a long way towards securing for us at least a partial
immunity from this and other formidable pests of the
farmer, fruit-grower, and vigneron, as well as for what
ought to be of importance to us, viz., our great forest
industry.

Dr. J. H. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York,
in his second report, gives us a good hint which we would
do well to note. He says, " On the ridge, or near Lake
Ontario, ten miles to the northward, the Curculio attack
had been increasing for several years, and was quite

THE PLUM CURCULIO. 25

serious the preceding year. Almost every farm of 100
acres bad from five to twenty acres of apple orchard kept
in permanent pasture, yet but little fruit could survive
the combined attacks of the Codlin Moth, the Canker-
worm, the Curculio, &c, &c, unless stock was kept in
the orchards to feed the grass closely and pick up the
fallen fruit." The excellent plan adopted by careful
growers of picking up all fallen fruit, and either using it
as food for stock or destroying it, is one which cannot be
too highly recommended, knowing as we do that a large
percentage of fruit which has fallen through the attacks
of grubs, contains grubs in some form or other, and is,
as a rule, quite unfit for human consumption.

It is to be hoped that should this pest make its
appearance in Victorian orchards, growers will at once
acquaint the Entomologist of the fact so that he may be
able, by his advice and assistance, to help in its destruction
and eradication.

A word of caution must here be given, as, when advising
that fallen fruit which had been attacked by grubs be
given to stock, it is, of course, to be understood that fruit
of any kind which has been recently sprayed with any
poisonous compound as Paris green, London purple, &c,
must in all cases be excepted, as this should at once be
raked up and destroyed by burning.

26 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE XVIII.

The "Cherry Green Beetle" (Diphucephala colaspidoides.

Gyll).
Fig.

1. Branch of tree with fruit, showing beetles attacking leaves of

tree. Natural size.

2. Larva. Magnified, and natural size in curved line.

3. Perfect insect. Magnified.

Plate Will.

THE CHERRY GREEN BEETLE. 27

CHAPTER XXIV.

THE CHERRY GREEN BEETLE.

(Diphucephala colaspidoides. Gyll.)

Order: Coleoptera. Sub-order: Scarabceidce. Sub-family:
Melanonthidce.

This destructive little pest is a very serious enemy of
the fruit-grower, more especially to those whose orchards
are situate in the so-called heath-grounds, or anywhere
within an easy distance of the sea-coast.

The perfect insect is a handsome beetle of a bright
green colour, which, as it approaches to near the termi-
nation of its existence, sometimes changes to a bronzy
colour ; although, as a rule, this is not a common occur-
rence, at least with the kind now under consideration.

When just emerged from the soil it is about four lines
in length, the body, particularly the under part, being
covered with a sort of fluffv down, which looks not unlike
powder, which, however, seems partly to wear off as age
advances.

This beetle whilst in the larval stage is supposed to do
but little damage, and then only to the roots of native
plants. The larvae lie beneath the soil, a fact which has
been but recently ascertained, myself as well as many
others having previously made several ineffectual attempts
to find out where the grubs really are to be found. It
was formerly supposed that they lived on or in the roots
of the coast tea-tree (Leptosperum Icevigatum) . This
opinion I found, however, to be an erroneous one, as, after
a patient search, I discovered the almost perfect beetle
just emerging from the soil in the moist heathy flats a
few miles from the Caulfield Race-course. The larva or
grub of this beetle is a little longer than the beetle itself.
It has rather large jaws for so small an insect, and is of
a dirty white colour. The beetles, when they emerge

28 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTOEIA :

from the soil, are, as is the case with all beetles, soft in
comparison to what they are when fully developed ; but
a very little time of exposure to the air, especially in
warm weather, helps them to develop and rapidly harden
their wing cases and other parts of their bodies. When
coming up out of the ground for the first time their
motion is very sluggish, but as the sun gains power they
soon become lively and at once take to flight, which they
do in almost incredible numbers. The flight of these
beetles may in all fairness be termed "swarming," as they
rise slowly and very often the air for miles is "thick" with
them.

When they make their appearance in an orchard, and
which is about " cherry time," they make sad havoc, and,
being in such countless multitudes, will strip a good- sized
tree in the course of a very few minutes. How long it
is since this beetle first made its appearance here as an
orchard pest I cannot say ; but I well recollect the great
damage which in the years 1855-8 they did to the trees
in the Cheltenham and other districts near the coast.
Fortunately, however, these beetles will also alight on
native trees, so that by this means orchards sometimes
escape the visitation. With regard to the egg-laying of
this insect, it has not yet, so far as I am aware, been
observed, the supposition, which is a very natural one,
being that the eggs are deposited either in the soil just
beneath the surface, or in the roots of the native shrubs
which abound in heathy districts throughout the colony.
This latter is a very important matter, and has yet to be
cleared up. It is also one in which the assistance, by
observation, of those living on the spot could with
advantage be undertaken, and it would be of great use
and assistance both to the grower as well as to the ento-
mologist in devising means for their prevention. The
genus Diphucephala is confined to Australia, there being
about 23 species known and described in various publi-
cations ; this species would however, seem to be only one of
the genus that visits us in such vast swarms, although
some of those found inland and in the other colonies are

THE CHERRY GREEN BEETLE. 29

fairly numerous. The largest species of this genus,
D. Childrenii, being found in Western Australia, whilst
the smallest is from Northern Queensland and New South
Wales. The present species has a wide range and is not
confined to our colony. It would, however, be of some
interest to know how far the other kinds are destructive
to orchardists.

Prevention and Remedies.

When this pest first makes its appearance, there is no
time to lose, as they swarm into an orchard after the
manner of a horde of locusts. Growers, if they will only
take the trouble, can easily anticipate one of these visits,
as for days previous to the general swarming a few stray
specimens, which have emerged early, may be seen
hovering around, more especially when the day is hot,
bright, and clear. When these "advance agents" are
seen, there is no time to be lost. All hands, children, too,
if there are any old enough to be of use in a garden, must
turn out. If" there be any hawthorn or other green
hedges surrounding the orchard, light fires on the wind-
ward side so as to drive the beetles to the hedges where
they will usually settle for a while without much trouble
to the burners. When they settle, which they will do in
millions, take a torch roughly made and dipped in tar or
resin, fasten this to a long stick, and, when lighted, run
quickly along the hedges, beating gently as you go to cause
the beetles to rise, when enormous numbers will be either
burned outright or so disabled as to be quite harmless.

In burning on hedges an exception must be made in the
case of hedges of prickly acacia, A. armata, as this will
burn as well green as when dry, and on this immense
numbers may be killed by beating with boughs.

One of the old and favorite remedies against the
attacks of this pest is to light fires, and thus smoke them
from the grounds ; this, although fairly effective, is after
all but a half-hearted proceeding, as you simply drive
them into, perhaps, the orchard of a neighbour, and it
does not prevent the egg-laying.

30 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

When they have entered an orchard you must, to cope
with them successfully, be astir at day-break, because
before the sun gains power they are very sluggish and
are easily destroyed. Obtain some old sacks (gunnies
will do as well), cut them open, sprinkle them with
kerosene ; then shake the tree, gently if the fruit be on,
over the bags spread under the tree for the purpose.
When the bags are filled, which if the beetles are as thick
as usual it will take but little time to do, roll them up and
set fire to them. Another very good plan that I have
seen adopted is to have a large copper, in which boiling
water is kept, mounted on a hand-cart; this is to be
wheeled along under the trees, mostly cherries, and the
branches shaken gently over the hot water.

If the day be calm, cloudy, and sultry, vast numbers
of the beetles may be destroyed by simply making a small
fire under the trees, and upon which green boughs or
damp grass could be thrown, as the beetles then usually
drop to the ground, when they can be raked up and de-
stroyed, and if the rake be dipped occasionally in tar or
kerosene, very few of the insects will escape either death
or mutilation. We have said that this insect attacks
cherries when in fruit and nearly ripe. I have never
heard of its attacking the fruit itself, but the leaves of a
cherry, or even a peach or plum, are rapidly stripped
from the tree, and, as a consequence, the fruit, more
especially if it be hot weather, becomes either burned,
scalded, or shrivelled.

This beetle increases very rapidly, and copulates shortly
after leaving the soil. Fortunately for us it is but short-
lived ; it would appear, however, to be on the increase in
many parts of the colony.

In places near the coast it usually appears about
October, often staying until the early part of December,
or in some seasons even until Christmas, when they take
their departure, their dead bodies being strewn over miles
in area, also along the shore.

In the sandy districts of Oakleigh, Mulgrave, Chelten-
ham, &c, it is no unusual thing to see the shrubs for

THE CHEEKY GKEEN BEETLE. 31

miles in extent swarming with these handsome, though
destructive, little insects, their bright-green wing cases
on a sunny day glittering like gems.

The green beetle pest is one that must be stamped out,
and this can only be done by united effort. Those
growers who have suffered from their depredations will
at once see the necessity for immediate action in en-
deavouring to rid the colony of a pest which threatens
every year to become more formidable.

Another matter of congratulation for us is the fact that,
so far as has yet been ascertained, the larvae or grubs do
no damage to growing crops of- any kind. Many other
insects, however, that have hitherto confined their attacks
to our native trees, are now known to have left their
original food plants for the purpose of attacking our
introduced fruit trees, &c, and which furnish more
congenial food for them. We should be on our
guard against a probable increase of this pest, lest the
former indications of indifference — to which many of
our colonists must plead guilty — may be repeated in
this case.

If each grower does but a little, and, with the co-opera-
tion of his neighbour, does this little at the proper time, it
is hoped that what between prompt and concerted action
and other causes, many of our pests, both native and
introduced, may be successfully kept in check.

In the figures accompanying the illustrations to this
chapter, it was found impossible to give an idea of what
a swarm of these beetles are like, but the perfect insects,
on the branch of a cherry tree, at about their natural
size are given. In the other figures the grubs and
the perfect beetle are shown, and are, of course, highly
magnified. Should these pests, it may be observed,
attack trees when not in fruit, a spraying of either
London purple or Paris green, in the proportion as
given for use against other insects, will prove highly
effectual, as this beetle, being essentially a leaf-feeder,
will, when attacking a tree that has been thoroughly
sprayed, be at once destroyed. These remarks will also

32 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

apply to choice shrubs that the owner will no doubt be
anxious to save from the attacks of these and other
leaf-eating insects.

We should also remember that this beetle belongs
to a group including in its ranks the common English
cockchafer, an insect which in the larval stage does
enormous damage to crops, and knowing this we must
use our best endeavours for the purpose of either keeping
it within reasonable bounds or stamping it out altogether.

34 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XIX.

The Cottony-Cushion Scale (Icerta Purchasi. — Maskell).

Fig.

1. Orange branch showing scale in various stages, with larva and

perfect insect of Novius cardinalis (or Australian Ladybird
parasite). Slightly enlarged.

2. Rhizobius beetle found attacking scale. Magnified (natural size

smaller than Novius cardinalis).

3. Larva of Novms cardinalis. Magnified.

4. Pupa of above. Magnified.

5. Perfect insect of above on wing. Slightly enlarged.

6. Perfect insect of Lestophonus Iceryce, on wing. Magnified.

7. Ditto ditto resting. Magnified.

8. Ditto ditto natural size.

9. Hymenopterous parasite on Icerya. Natural size.
9a. Ditto ditto. Magnified.

10. Perfect insect of Novius bellus (Blackburn). Very destructive

to this scale. Magnified. (Natural size somewhat smaller
than Novius cardinalis.)

11. Perfect insect, Novius cardinalis (Mulsant). Magnified.

CC.BnSleba.7ik.Del.

CIrencK. Z/irexit

Plate XIX.

PAA$7U*y. Litfc

D 2

36 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OE VICTORIA.

PLATE XX.

The Cottony-Cushion Scale (Icerya Purchasi. — Maskell).

Fig.

1. Branch of orange showing young Icerya on leaves. Natural

size.

2. Female, upper view. Slightly enlarged.

3. Female, under view, showing eggs. Slightly enlarged.

4. Female, side view. Slightly enlarged.

5 and 6. Young. Magnified (after Maskell).

7. Winged male. Magnified (after Maskell).

8. Antenna of male. Magnified (after Maskell).

9. Antenna of female. Magnified (after Maskell).
10. Male. Slightly Magnified (after Maskell).

Plate XX.

THE COTTONY-CUSHION SCALE. 37

CHAPTER XXV.

THE COTTONY-CUSHION SCALE.

{leery a Purchasii. Maskell.)

Order : Hemiptera. Sub-order : Homoptera. Family : Coccididce.

This insect is the much dreaded cottony-cushion scale
which has made such havoc amongst the orange groves of
California, also at the Cape, and later on in Egypt and
elsewhere.

The female (see Plate XX., Fig. 2), is a dark reddish-
brown cushion-shaped insect, covered with a thin powder
of a whitish yellow colour, with slender filaments, and,
according to Mr. Maskell, who described the insect, is
stationary at gestation, gradually raising itself on its
head, lifting the posterior extremity until nearly perpen-
dicular, filling the space beneath it with thick white
cotton, which gradually extends for some distance behind
it in an elongated white ovisac (egg-bag), longitudinally
corrugated, ovisac often much longer than the insect, and
becoming filled with oval red eggs (see Plate XX., Fig. 3).
Length of female about Jin., reaching sometimes to
nearly Jin. Insect covered all over with numerous fine
hairs. The antennae (horns) have eleven joints, tapering
(see Plate XX., Fig. 9), each joint bearing hairs. Feet
normal. Rostrum not long. Procreation commences
soon after the first formation of the ovisac, the eggs being
ejected into the sac as it grows; ovisac at completion
containing as many as 350 eggs.

The young larva (see Plate XX., Figs. 5 and 6) are
about YTm- long ; dark-red, elongated, flattish, active, and
covered with yellow cottony down. Adult male (see
Plate XX., Figs. 7 and 10) large, the length slightly
varyiog, some specimens reach Jin. ; expanse of wings,
Jin. ; length of antennae, about Jin.

38 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Icerya Purchasii, then, is one of the very worst of the
known scale insects, and is, as Mr. Maskell states, allied
to Icerya sacchari, which damages sugar-cane in the
Mauritius, but differing scientifically from that insect.

There has been some discussion and a great difference
of opinion as to the real native country of this pest, and
I feel quite certain that its real habitat is Australia, and
probably Victoria, as more than thirty years ago it was
as common, if not more so, throughout the colony, and
especially near Melbourne, than it is at the present
moment. Now, as then, it subsists mostly on the branches
of the silver wattle, A. dealbata, especially where those
pretty plants overhang a river.

In the early days, in Victoria at least, no one thought
this pest to be capable of doing such enormous damage
as it has done, to oranges and lemons especially. For
upwards of twenty years specimens of its natural little
enemy, Lestophonus iceryce, have been in the National
Museum collection here, these having been collected by
Mr. W. Kershaw, senior, one of our best collectors and
observers.

The Lestophonus fly, the species named after its host
by Mr. A. Skuse, of the Australian Museum, Sydney, is
a small bluish-black fly (see Plate XIX., Figs. 6, 7, and
8), which makes great havoc amongst the gravid females
especially of the cottony-cushion scale, so much indeed
that anywhere around Melbourne it is often very difficult
to find a perfect specimen of the latter, the great majority
having been attacked by the Lestophonus insect. The
dense bushes of Pittosporum undulatum is a favorite
food plant of Icerya ; still the little fly seems to penetrate
into the darkest and most difficult crannies in the tree,
and the numerous holes from which the flies have escaped
from the body of the Icerya will testify to the destructive
powers of so tiny an insect.

Of late years a small Hymenopterous insect (see Plate
XIX., Figs. 9 and 9a) have been found to attack the
cottony-cushion scale, my friend, Mr. Brittlebank, having
reared the insect from which he made the drawings from

THE COTTONY-CUSHION SCALE. 39

the bodies of female Iceryse. Let us hope that this latter
little fly will be to us as valuable as the Lestophonus has
been. With regard to the so-called Australian Ladybird,
Novius cardinalis, a great deal has been written, especi-
ally in the very valuable American publications ; also in
Australian works, as well as those of other countries. It
is also due to the exertions of the late Frazer Crawford,
and especially to Mr. A. Koebele, who so ably and per-
sistently stuck to the somewhat unthankful and difficult
task of transporting these ladybirds to the United States
and elsewhere, that the valuable orange groves of America
and the Cape of Good Hope have been saved from utter
destruction. Novius cardinalis — we prefer to use the old
name (see Plate XIX., Figs. 5 and 11) — is a small dark-
red and black little beetle, very lively, and covered with
a kind of "bloom," which rubs off on the beetle being
touched. The larvae (see Plate XIX., Fig. 1) on branch
is pinkish and hairy (see also Fig. 3), and is very
voracious, tearing as it does the Icerya to pieces as a
dog would tear a piece of meat. They increase very
rapidly, and when introduced into an orchard where there
is Icerya they soon make themselves quite at home and
devour the scale in all directions. The beetle itself is
also very partial to the Icerya, and they can be seen
racing up and down amongst the branches until they
come to an Icerya, large or small it is all one to the
vedalia, who at once seizes it and kills it.

Another little beetle of the same genus, named by the
Rev. Mr. Blackburn Novius bellus (see Plate XIX.,
Fig. 10), is also a great destroyer of scale, and was sent
to me by Mr. Pye, of Dookie College, Victoria, as
destroying a fluffy scale, which latter I afterwards found
to be Eriococcus multispinus, and which by experiment
I found the little ladybird to destroy in great numbers.
I had no larvse of the latter species of Novius, but the
little beetle would appear to have all the sanguinary
qualities of its colleague, N. cardinalis. A small species
of Rhizobius (see Plate XIX., Fig. 2) I found to be
"polishing off" the scale at a great rate, so that we may

40 DESTEUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

yet be able to add to our Icerya parasites, and probably
those of other scales also. There are several other small
beetles not far removed in general appearance from these
known scale destroyers, one being a small black and
reddish-brown beetle, Cryptolaemus Montrouzeri, a veri-
table little glutton, and one that will tackle scale of many
kinds.

The Novius cardinalis, or so-called Australian Lady-
bird, would, at least in the perfect state, appear to be
somewhat fastidious as to its food. For example, some
were sent to me by my friend Mr. A. Wight, of Paeroa,
New Zealand, and were tried by myself on a number of
different kinds of coccidae, including Eriococcus, Pulvin-
aria, and other kinds unprotected with a shield-like
covering; but although the little beetles would scamper
up and down the twigs on which I had placed the various
scale, they would not tackle them, even after I had
purposely kept them for some days without food, as an
experiment to test their powers on coccids other than
Icerya. It would interest me to be able to ascertain
whether the insects whilst in the larval stage are equally
particular as to their natural food, and the puzzle has
been to many, myself included, as to why the Icerya
could exist and do so much damage in New Zealand, in
some parts of which, Mr. Wight informs me, the Novius
is to be found in enormous numbers. This would appear
to me to be as yet an unsolved problem.

Prevention and Remedies.

We have now to deal with a pest on which all simple
remedies will if tried be comparatively wasted. We have
also to remember that this insect does not confine its
attention to orange and lemon trees, but it will attack
nearly anything and everything, as pine trees, Pitto-
sporums, and many kinds of trees and shrubs ; and it is
astonishing in what a short space of time they will
entirely destroy a Pittosporum hedge, the rapid increase
of an unchecked colony of these insects being something
alarming.

THE COTTONY-CUSHION SCALE. 41

In America they have well nigh exhausted the whole
pharmacopoeia of remedies, including the gas treatment,
as explained in Part I. of this book. We have, however,
a cheap and effective remedy in a timely application of
kerosene emulsion, sprayed on whilst hot, 160° Fahr. ;
and this, if properly done, no cottony-cushion scale can,
for any length of time, withstand.

In former times, the complaints have been that the
material used cools before it reached the tree, but with
the alterations that I have suggested, and of which an
engraving is here given, it is hoped that these objections
will have been permanently overcome. When an isolated
tree is very badly affected, if it be not too valuable
a one, grub it out at once and burn it on the spot.
If it be a valuable plant, thin out as much wood
as possible, burning same as before. Now get your
spraying machine ready, light up, and when heated to,
say, 150° or 160° spray the tree thoroughly, being
careful that no portion of the tree or plant is missed.
Do not wait until the plant begins to send forth its
tender shoots, as in this stage the very hot mixture
may scald the foliage, which in this stage is very
easily affected. If the foliage remains unhurt after
the first spraying, give another dressing in about a
week's time, and the mixture in both cases may be
used at about one part of emulsion to fifteen of
water.

There is a great deal to be considered in making a
good emulsion, otherwise the materials are sure to sepa-
rate, in which case you simply use pure kerosene and
pure water separately, and the wonder then is why the
trees are damaged. This hot mixture should not be used
on tender shoots.

In making an emulsion, use the mineral soap. I have
tried this for spraying myself and find it to answer
admirably, and in this case the emulsion when once
made cannot separate, nor will it, so far as I have ascer-
tained, injure the foliage of the most tender tree. The
emulsion is so perfect that the material adheres to the

42 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

foliage (just what is wanted), and if properly applied will
answer for most purposes. This soap is referred to in
another part of the book.

In perusing the report of the United States Entomo-
logist for the year 1886, which Professor Riley has been
kind enough to send to me, a most complete and exhaus-
tive series of reports are given concerning experiments
which have been made by the clever field agents working
under the direction of Professor Riley, and although the
information thus recorded is practically invaluable to
growers and economic entomologists, for want of space
it cannot well be reproduced in this little volume. We
can, however, gather from the accounts of the experi-
ments made in the United States that the two best
remedies against this pest are (gas-tents excepted) un-
doubtedly Kerosene Emulsion and the Resin Compound.
The above information, which would alone fill a small
volume, should be read by every one having access to
these eminently useful, plain, and practical reports.

When spraying trees against this pest, also against
other coccids, it should be remarked that any material
must be used hot. In kerosene and other resin com-
pounds we have cheap, valuable, and effectual remedies
for most insect pests. Specifics against insect attacks to
be of use for large growers must be cheap and easy of
application, otherwise their use cannot become general.

We should carefully and jealously protect our native
insectivorous birds, although birds do not seem to relish
the coccidse. Endeavour by all the means in our power
to investigate and press into our service all natural para-
sites and enemies to our pests, but while doing this we
should never relax our efforts in the spraying line. The
time has now arrived when to be successful in fighting
insect pests, and manage an orchard on modern prin-
ciples, a good spraying gear ought to be part of the
machinery in every well-ordered farm and on every well-
managed orchard or vineyard throughout the colony.

In Victoria I hope we may not have much to fear from
the attacks of the cottony-cushion scale, as so far it has

THE COTTONY-CUSHION SCALE. 43

given us but comparatively little trouble, still we must
be prepared, as the accursed sparrows render the suc-
cessful introduction of ladybirds here next to an impos-
sibility, these destructive birds being especially fond of
our useful little ladybirds, also of the formerly common
red and black spotted one, Leis conformis, which they
destroy in large numbers. With the increase of
sparrows, therefore, we may, partly through the destruc-
tion of these ladybirds, have the Icerya seriously attack-
ing our orangeries and even other fruit trees, so we must
be ready for any emergency of this kind. Having looked
at the sparrows from most points, I am inclined to think
them the biggest plague, locusts and rabbits excepted,
that we have or ever had in Victoria, and we should lose
no time or spare no expense in ridding the colony of such
a rapidly increasing scourge.

The object in having the double plate in connexion
with this insect is to show the scale with its parasites as
far as possible without giving lengthy descriptions, which
latter, although most excellent, are hardly suitable for a
strictly practical work of this kind, as the coloured plates
it is hoped will supply all that the growers require.

Dr. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York, in his
admirable treatise, says : — "It occurred to Professor
Riley, Chief of the United States Entomological Division,
that the ravages of the Icerya could be stayed if the
natural parasites that had kept it from being a pest in
Australia could be secured, brought to California, pro-
pagated in sufficient numbers, and then turned loose to
seek their prey. After much labour and many disappoint-
ments, a small appropriation was obtained, sufficient to
defray the travelling expenses of two agents of the divi-
sion. They were despatched to Australia, where they were
successful in procuring some of the parasites and pre-
daceous enemies of the Icerya, and in sending them alive
to this country (U.S.A.). They were carefully cared for,
propagated in confinement in large numbers, and then
distributed throughout the infested districts. One of
the imported species, belonging to the family of the

44 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OE VICTORIA:

' ladybird ' (coccinelidce) lias displayed wonderful powers
of multiplication and remarkable fitness for the work
assigned it. From the 514 individuals imported last
winter, in five different sendings, the present progeny
may be numbered by the million."

In speaking of the persistent trials that have been
made by various persons to send these little beetles to
the Icerya infested districts, the name of my respected
friend and colleague, Mr. A. Wight, of Paeroa, N.Z.,
must not be omitted.

Judging from the bad way in which some of our plants
here are affected, the good" done by these ladybirds so far
is hardly apparent, and to give the ladybirds a chance
the sparrow must, at any cost, be stamped out.

Mr. W. M. Maskell, F.R.M.S., of New Zealand, whose
very valuable work on the coccidce is too well known to
require any notice from me, gives in his book a most useful
list of the various plants attacked by coccids of different
kinds, at least so far as New Zealand is concerned. Accord-
ing to this list it would appear that the Icerya will tackle
nearly anything and everything, from pine trees to roses,
and even grasses. In Victoria we find them on a great
number of plants, but as a list of these, although eminently
suitable for a scientific work, would be of little use here,
I have omitted to furnish one. This can, however, be
managed should occasion require its being done.

Before closing these remarks concerning this abomin-
able pest, I may mention that when a tree, especially if it
be either an orange or a lemon, is attacked by the Icerya,
it soon assumes a yellow and sickly appearance, and, as a
rule, the " inside " of the tree is most affected. In a bad
case the twigs are covered with a sticky substance.

When such occurs no time should be lost in tackling
the pest, never resting until the tree is thoroughly clean
again, as however few of the scale if left will spread
again in an almost incredibly short time. Do not wait
for this, but tackle the pest at once and keep at it, as
from personal experience I know that even this scale can
be mastered.

THE COTTONY-CUSHION SCALE. 45

Keep your trees in vigorous health, avoid planting any
of the Citrus family either too deep in the soil, too close
together, or in water-logged situations, as trees and plants
of all kinds are, when unhealthy, more liable to be
attacked by insects of most kinds. The more vigorous
the growth of the plant the less will be the trouble of the
grower.

46 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXI.

The "Oleander Scale " (Aspidiotus Nebii. — Bouche).

Fig.

1. Branch of orange, showing scale on stem and leaves. Natural

size.

2. Female scale. Magnified.
2a. Female scale. Natural size.

3. Male scale. Magnified.
3a. Male scale. Natural size.

4. Female scale, showing hole through which parasite has issued.

Magnified.

4a. Natural size of Fig. 4.

5. Female, perfect. Magnified.

6. Male, perfect. Magnified. (After Cooke.)

7. Parasite. Magnified.

C CJfrUtU&tviX. Dei

C '-French.. Dire&ct

['late HI

SartJs * I

THE OLEANDER SCALE. 47

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE OLEANDER SCALE.

(Aspidiotus Nerii. Bouche.)

Order : Hemiptera. Sub-order : Homoptera. Family : Coccididce.

A greyish white, often light greyish brown, scale
insect, with female puparium nearly circular (see Plate
XXL, Fig. 2), flat, diameter about TXT of an inch. Male
puparium oval (see Fig. 3), white or greyish brown, about
TJT of an inch in length. Adult female yellow, peg-top
shaped (see Fig. 5), but almost globular; abdomen ending
in six lobes, of which the two median are the largest;
between and a little beyond the lobes are a number of
scaly serrated extremities, also some scaly but smooth
hairs, &c. Adult male (see Fig. 6) yellow or brownish,
antennae of ten joints, each with several hairs.

As many of the scale insects are often difficult to
recognise from drawings, it has been thought advisable in
such cases to give a short description of each species, the
same having been taken from the work of Mr. Maskell,
and alluded to elsewhere.

This most formidable pest is an introduction from
Europe, where its attacks on oleander bushes particu-
larly are very severe. I have not noticed it on these
plants growing near Melbourne, as in Victoria its prin-
cipal attacks have been made, so far, on native plants and
trees, also on imported trees and shrubs in gardens both
public and private. It occasionally attacks oranges,
lemons, and other members of the Citrus family, and is a
most difficult scale to dislodge or destroy when once a
plant, no matter of what kind, is badly infested with it.

Dr. Cooke, in his valuable work on American Economic
Insects, states that within the last four or five years this
insect has been found on the lemon, plum, cherry, and

48 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

currant, and seems to prefer the fruit of the lemon, and
in many cases infests the skin or peel to such an extent as
to considerably reduce its market value. California, he
says, cannot claim a sole proprietary right to this pest, as
lemons imported from Europe are often offered for sale in
Californian markets which are seriously infested with
this scale.

In Victoria, as has been previously mentioned, this
scale has not, so far as I am aware, done much damage
to fruit trees of any kind ; but, as it is now more common,
Aspidiotus Rossi perhaps excepted, than any other scale
insect of its kind in Victoria, we may at any moment
hear of its tackling orange and other trees, so must be on
the look-out for its coming.

Around Melbourne, in nearly all gardens, especially the
public ones, a large number of trees and shrubs are
literally swarming with these insects, and live fences of
most kinds are in many places quite stunted by their
persistent attacks.

On examining a number of these scales taken from trees
of the Corynocarpus, Pittosporum, and other common garden
shrubs, a large percentage of them I found to be perfectly
riddled by a small parasitic fly (see Fig. 7), which gives an
excellent representation of same. The fly in question
having been drawn from a specimen reared from the body
of a female scale of this species, being almost microscopic
in size. In Fig. 4 is shown a hole, enlarged of course,
from which the minute parasitic insects had escaped.

Should this scale tackle our orchards to any great
extent it is feared that it will be a bad job for the grower.
Though the justly-dreaded " Red Orange Scale " —
A. Aurantii — is principally confined to plants of the
Citrus tribe, this closely-allied pest may be found extend-
ing to over twenty feet up the tree, and would appear to
increase at an alarming rate, so that as long as such
" nurseries " for these and kindred insects are allowed to
remain unchecked and uncared for it will indeed be a
serious and almost hopeless task to attempt to either
successfully cope with or eradicate them.

THE OLEANDER SCALE. 49

Prevention and Remedies.

Owing to careful observation having been made regard-
ing this scale, I have found that early spring, also early
summer, are the times when the young scale are mostly
hatched. Plants, no matter of what kind, if otherwise
healthy and robust, seem to outgrow the attack, however
severe. Hedges of Pittosporum undulatum, also of the
common laurel, have been seen to recover completely
even after the leaves had been so thickly covered with
this particular scale that it was a somewhat difficult
matter to determine what the plants really were, every
leaf both above and below being covered with thick
layers of scales, often overlapping each other like oysters
in an oyster bed.

Another peculiar fact that I have noted concerning
this scale, viz., the so-called " honey-dew " is less
frequent with this species, also A. Rossi, than with many
other kinds, and thus the "soot-fungus" is not often
present, and although the absence of "soot-fungus"
lessens our task as regards spraying, the indications so
constant an accompaniment of most coccidaa are thus
wanting, so we must adopt other measures for the dis-
covery of this insect in its early attacks upon the trees.

One very useful thing in an orchard, vineyard, or farm
is an ordinary wool-classifier's lens, usually about three
or four inches in diameter, and with this a portion of the
tree at least can be scanned over, when the scale, or indeed
other insects also, can be easily detected.

When any scale is found to be on the tree, do not wait,
as is often the case, until the insects have had time to
increase and spread over the tree, and which unless
promptly tackled they assuredly will do, and that in an
incredibly short space of time. Commence at once, and
according to the then state of the plant, no matter of what
kind, spray with either the kerosene emulsion or the resin
compound, as described in another part of the book.
Spraying, when properly carried out, cannot fail to at
least check the increase of any scale, no matter how bad
it may be.

50 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

As to the best means to be adopted for keeping under the
scale on large trees or shrubs in our gardens and public
recreation grounds, it would indeed be a somewhat diffi-
cult task to undertake. Thanks, however, to the enter-
prise of our American friends especially, and others, we
have the gas-tents, spraying machines which will send jets
of liquid for the purpose of destroying insects to a height
of at least 30 feet, which, together with steam sprayers
and a judicious thinning-out of any badly-infested plants,
should render the task by no means an impossible one.

We may some day have to deal with another, I should
say, almost irrepressible pest. I allude to Aspidiotus
Rossi, so named by the late Mr. F. Crawford, of South
Australia. This scale has, so far, kept chiefly to the native
shrubs and trees, but has also already tackled the olive,
cork-oak, and other valuable trees near Melbourne, and
in many places in the country as well. As an instance of
the difficulty in killing this scale, I may cite a case where,
near Brighton Beach, some native plants, notably an
Alyxia, which grow just above high- water mark, are
covered with A. Rossi, and over a portion of these plants
the sea frequently washes. The scale, however, would
appear to be in no way affected by these constant
drenchings with sea water, and, not contented with this
hardy nature, I have discovered and brought under the
notice of Mr. Maskell that it is able to alter its form from
an almost perfect circular shape to that of a long oblong,
so that it can adapt itself to the foliage of a plant,
Ricinocarpus, on whose needle-like leaves one would
hardly expect to find an insect of this kind.

It would appear to be a singular fact that this scale
has not yet attacked our fruit trees, and as any specula-
tion as to this reason would possibly not help us, it will,
however, be well to be on the alert, as to be forewarned
is to be forearmed.

Readers of this part of the book will please observe
that the colour of the scale on leaves as shown on this
plate is somewhat too bright, this having happened in the
lithographing ; otherwise the drawings are correct.

THE OLEANDEB SCALE. .") 1

The common name of this insect, Lemon-peel Scale, is
adapted from Dr. Cooke's work, as in America it would
appear to be known by that name. In Victoria, however,
when it does attack oranges or lemons, it is generally the
leaves and not the fruit that suffer most. It has been
thought advisable to retain the common name of Oleander
Scale, as common names, more especially when not
literally translated, are often not only useless, but abso-
lutely misleading. In Victoria, however, the oleander is,
so far as I am aware, attacked only by the olive scale,
Lecanium Olece, and by an aphis.

52 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXII.

" Red Scale of the Orange " (Aspidiotus Coccineit —
Gennadius).
Fig.

1. Orange branch, showing scale on leaves ami stem. Natural size.

2. Fruit, showing scale. Natural size.

3. Male puparia. Magnified.

4. Female. Magnified.

5. Male, top view. Magnified.
5a. Male, under view. Magnified.

■

Plate XXII.

THE EED SCALE OF ORANGE. 53

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE RED SCALE OF ORANGE.

(Aspidiotus Coccineus. Gennadius.)

Order : Hemiptera. Sub-order : Homoptera. Family : Coccididce.

Female puparium really dirty-white, but seemingly
yellowish-brown from the colour of the insect beneath ;
sometimes dark-brown ; circular, flat, diameter about
yy inch.

Male puparmm (see Plate XXII. , Fig. 3) much smaller,
rather oval.

Adult female (see Fig. 4) yellow, becoming brown at
last ; peg-topped shaped, but the abdominal segment is
comparatively so small, and is so much overlapped by the
others, that the insect looks almost globular. Length
about t1- inch. Abdomen ending in six lobes.

Adult male (see Figs. 5 and 5a) very small, brown or
yellow in colour. Antennae ten joints. Thorax short
and thick. Wings oval, about as long as the body.
Legs hairy.

The above descriptions are abbreviated from Maskell,
for reasons before stated.

The well-known Red Scale, so commonly to be found
attacking oranges and lemons in many districts through-
out Victoria. This species will probably be better known
as A. Aurantii, Maskell, although Mr. Maskell has adopted
the name by Gennadius in preference to his own, and has
stated his reasons for having done so. Professor Corn-
stock has named it A. Citri, which is certainly a most
appropriate name, as in Victoria at least it seldom attacks
plants other than those of the Citrus family.

This insect, Mr. Maskell says, is European, and has
been introduced into New Zealand from Australia. It is

54 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

exceedingly destructive to orange and lemon groves in
America and Australia. Professor Comstock (Report of
the Entomologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, 1880,
p. 295) records an instance in Australia where a grove of
33 acres, which in 1872 produced a rental of £1,800,
fetched in 1878 only £120, on account of the ravages of
this insect.

In the very useful list published by Mr. Maskell we
find no mention of this species having attacked any plants
or trees but the orange and lemon. This is identical
with our experience in Victoria, for I have frequently
seen orange trees which were very badly infested with
this scale growing amongst shrubs of various kinds, and
on no occasion have I observed such to be visited by the
Eed Scale as described above. Dr. M. Cooke (late Chief
Executive Horticultural Officer of California), however,
tells us that in California it has been found on grape
vines and on the foliage of walnut trees, but gives it as
his opinion (always a valuable one) that but little damage
will be done to these plants by this pest.

This insect, in common with others of this group,
increases very rapidly, and Dr. Cooke remarks that it is
thought by some writers that the females of this species
are viviparous. " I have," Dr. Cooke says, " watched
the female insect ovipositing, and immediately examined
the egg or sac under a microscope, using a high power,
and could not detect any appendages ; however, in 24
hours I noticed the presence of antennae and legs. The
insect produces from two to four of these eggs or sacs in
24 hours, and the number produced by each female is
from 20 to 43 ; the latter is the highest number I have
found."

In Queensland Mr. Tryon, in his valuable book, states
that this scale, in the southern part of Queensland, also
attacks and kills the mulberry trees. I have seen other
kinds of scale on the mulberry trees here, but certainly
not this species.

When this pest attacks a tree it may be easily detected
by the dirty and sticky nature of the branches of the tree,

THE RED SCALE OF ORANGE. 55

and for a general description of which I cannot do
better than quote Mr. Tryon, who says — "It occurs
equally on trunk, branches, leaves, and fruit. Everv
accessible spot on the bark of infested trees is at times
occupied by it, a complete incrustation being thus
formed.

" Oranges, if the scale has settled upon them in any
quantity, after gathering become disgustingly black with
its dead and discoloured remains. Previous to their
ripening their natural bright-green colour gives place to
a pale yellow, their growth is retarded, they do not reach
their full size, and they may even fall from the tree.
When the leaves are attacked by them they exhibit con-
spicuous yellow-green spots, the centres of which are
occupied by the scale insects themselves, and either the
assimilating power of the foliage is much diminished, or
worse, the leaves are shed, and by both of these events is
the health of the tree considerably impaired. When on
the bark itself their presence is not quite so conspicuous,
owing to a certain harmony of colour being maintained,
but the injury which they occasion when in this situation
is none the less."

The Red Orange Scale then is one of the worst and
most troublesome of our imported pests, as it increases
with great rapidity, and spreads itself over large areas in
a short space of time. Any attempt at isolation, there-
fore, except it be done in a systematic and practical
manner, will most likely prove a failure. It is readily
carried from one orchard to another by means of grafts,
cuttings, and by birds, &c, also by the wholesale distri-
bution of infested fruit, which same may be seen exposed
for sale in the fruit shops in Melbourne and elsewhere,
and this without any attempt at concealment. The rapid
spread of this plague need not therefore be wondered at.
Unless some stringent measures are introduced for the
purpose of arresting this broadcast distribution, it is
greatly to be feared that our efforts to keep this pest in
subjection must either be greatly handicapped or rendered
comparatively futile.

56 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

Prevention and Remedies.

A very important matter is the methods of preventing
the spread of scale insects, and Professor Comstock has
some very wholesome and useful advice on this subject,
which for the benefit of growers we venture to quote in
the professor's own words : —

" In planting an orchard choose as isolated a spot as
practicable, so as to be able to control as fully as possible
the conditions upon which the introduction of pests
depends. If isolation cannot be obtained, an effort should
be made to induce the owners of neighbouring orchards
to join in the determination to grow clean fruit. The
greatest care should be used in the purchase of trees and
in the importation of buds. Before planting, thoroughly
wash all such trees with some substance, as a strong
solution of soap, which will destroy insects without
injury to the trees; buds and scions brought from other
orchards should be treated in the same way before using.
The fact that trees or scions appear free from pests
should not deter one from using the utmost precaution,
for the untrained eye would fail to detect the early stages
of these insects. Do not visit infested orchards unneces-
sarily, and above all things do not carry home specimens
of scale insects as curiosities. The trees should be
watched carefully, and if one is ever found to be infested
it should be destroyed at once. Remember that no better
investment can be made than to burn such a tree, and
that no other time is so good for doing it as the day it is
first found to be infested. The system of exchange of
fruit boxes which is practised in some markets, notably
in San Francisco, is a very dangerous one. Each shipper
should have his boxes marked, and insist on not receiving
boxes belonging to other shippers, and in any case when
boxes are sent to a market where fruit from infested
orchards is received they should be scalded on their
return. This precaution will tend to check the spread
of the codlin moth and other pests as well as scale
insects."

THE BED SCALE OF ORANGE. 57

When an orange or lemon tree assumes a sickly appear-
ance, and in warm weather is swarming with little black
ants, look to the tree at once, and upon a very cursory
examination it will be found to be suffering" from the
attacks of this or some other scale. If of an orange-red
colour it will doubtless be this pest. If the plants are
small it will be a comparatively easy matter, with the
aid of a good spray pump, to clean them, but it must
be done thoroughly to be at all effective. Thin out
as many branches as possible and burn them at once.
If the tree be in fruit, and the latter found to be affected
also, take the fruit off at once and either clean by
washing in a tub of soft soapsuds or destroy it, as the
case may be. Then procure the emulsion or the resin
compound before mentioned, and give the whole tree a
thorough spraying with the hot mixture previously
alluded to. Having clone this, get some lime with a little
sulphur and soft soap added, and with a brush wash
thoroughly the stem and larger branches of the tree. If
any shrubs are in the way, so as to prevent a free circu-
lation of air into and around the tree, remove them if
possible, as orange and lemon trees in particular require
plenty of room and free space to grow in, that is, if they
are to grow well. Keep the tree as vigorous as possible,
and do not be contented with one or two sprayings, or
even more if found necessary, because when this scale
makes its appearance it usually " comes to stay," as our
American friends say, and is by no means an enemy to
be either despised or treated lightly.

In the drier districts of Victoria especially this scale
would seem to flourish most alarmingly, but by adopting
the precaution here given growers will, we hoj)e, be able
to deal with it effectually. To do this co-operation must
be resorted to, as pests of most kinds, if neglected, soon
spread from place to place, when the task of attempting
to exterminate them becomes no doubt a most formidable
one.

Amongst other supposed remedies against insect pests,
all and sundry, is one in which I must confess to have no

58 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

faith. It consists in boring a hole in the centre of the
stem of the tree and plugging it with either sulphur or
corrosive sublimate. I have, to please an old grower who
was very sanguine as to its efficacy, tried this for myself,
with the result which I had expected, viz., that the tree
after eighteen months has elapsed is just as bad as ever.
This recalls to my mind a remark by Professor Comstock,
who states it is claimed that the sulphur will be taken
up by the sap and carried to every part of the tree,
thus reaching and destroying every insect pest that
infests it. Apparently no account is taken of the
important facts that the sulphur is usually placed far
inside of the cambium layer, and consequently where
there is but little or any circulation of the sap, and that,
as sulphur is insoluble in water, it would not be taken
up by the sap even under the most favorable circum-
stances.

So far we have not been able to discover any parasite,
at least in insects, which we could fairly look to to
exterminate this scale. From some experiments which I
have made, it was found that the Novius, which has
worked such havoc amongst the Icerya, would not attack
this Red Scale. The other little insects also, as Crypto-
lamius, &c, &c, seem to make but little impression on
this scale, at least in Victoria.

In America they are making most praiseworthy attempts
to introduce parasites of this kind, but from private
letters which I have received from that country it would
appear that but poor results have so far been attained.
Professor Riley, in some of his valuable publications, has
given the names of several insects which he hopes to be
able to use as auxiliaries in such cases, and our old friend
Mr. Koebele is equally sanguine. We can only wish
them every success, and they can rely upon the assistance
of all Australian economic entomologists.

Mr. Tryon, in his book, mentions a fungus — Microcera
coccophila (Des?n.) — and remarks —

" This fungus, which really lives at the expense of the
Aspidiotus coccineus or Reel Scale of Orange, is usually

THE RED SCALE OF ORANGE. 59

regarded as a pest itself. Its fungus nature is not even
suspected, indeed, it is even looked upon as a coccus
insect, and designated the scarlet scale. The following is
its mode of occurrence and characteristic appearance : —
When orange trees are infested with the " Red Scale," and
especially when their branches also are black with the
fumagine consequent on the presence also of the Lecanium
olece, there may be observed small irregular rose-red
bodies. These are especially noticeable on the blackened
boughs. But when in this position, but more especially
when situate on the leaves, it will be seen that these
are closely connected with the present scale insects. In
fact, they are small conical tufts, which emerge often to
the number of three or four from the margin of the
" scales," or wrhen the scales themselves are concealed by
the growth of the fumagine, these tufts appear to arise
erect and stalked immediately from the boughs indepen-
dent of such origin. Microscopical examination shows
that the tufts are composed of minute nearly simple
threads matted together, and that these threads terminate
in narrow and sharp-pointed low crescent-shaped bodies,
which are the spores of the fungus. This fungus is well
known in Europe as the Coccus microcera, and has pre-
viously been noticed in this colony (Queensland) by Mr.
F. M. Bailey, on a species of Coccus which infests the
lemon. It is shortly described in the Synopsis of Queens-
land Flora of that author, and more fully by Mr. C.
Cooke, who illustrates the species by means of a figure
representative of its appearance when highly magnified.

Mr. Worthington Smith also alludes to this fungus, in
his book on the Diseases of Field, Crop, and Garden, as
being a parasite of Cocci. I am not aware of the
existence of this fungus in Victoria, but probably our
Vegetable Pathologist may know of it, and, if so, his aid
will be sought, supposing that he considers this fungus to
be any way valuable as an auxiliary in keeping down this
and possibly other scale insects also. Fungus and insect
enemies to these coccid pests are doubtless valuable, but
for our own part we must adhere to our former opinion

60 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

as to the greatly superior value of spraying, more
especially before and again shortly after the young scale
are hatched, as by close attention to these matters we may
reasonably hope to accomplish a great deal towards the
extermination of insect pests, at least of most kinds.

As we have so many good observers in Victoria, these
could be a great service to both grower and entomologist,
and also to the Vegetable Pathologist, Mr. McAlpine, if
they would from time to time forward any notes bearing
on the natural enemies of pests of any kind, either insect
or fungous.

62 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXIII.

Orange Moth (Hydrusa ? sp.).
Fig.

1. Orange twig. Natural size.

2. Perfect insect, female. Natural size.

3. Perfect insect, male. Natural size.

4. Perfect insect, female, side view. Natural size.

5. Caterpillar. Natural size.

6. Caterpillar, partly enclosed by ichneumon cocoons. Natural size.

7. Ichneumon (parasite). Natural size.

8. Enlargement of Fig. 7.

9. Pupa. Natural size.

10. Pupa of moth in cocoon. Natural size.

■

xxm

THE ORANGE MOTH. 63

CHAPTER XXVIII.

THE ORANGE MOTH.

(Hydrusa sp.)

Order : Lepidoptera. Section : Heterocera.

This handsome but destructive moth is to us in Victoria
a comparative stranger, at any rate so far as attacking
fruit trees is concerned, the year 1891 being the first and
only time that I have received the caterpillars from any
of my numerous correspondents.

The larva of this moth (see Plate XXIIL, Fig. 5) is
black, and the upper part of its body especially is
covered with fine hairs. The colour of the moth is light-
orange with black markings (size as shown in Figs. 2, 3,
and 4). The pupa is light-brown, and is enclosed in a
sort of silky web which is attached (see Fig. 10) to the
twigs of the tree on which the larvae feed. (As the figures
of this moth and its life history are given in the natural
sizes it will be unnecessary to further describe them.)

The eggs, which we have not seen, are probably
deposited on the leaves of the orange tree, as the cater-
pillars when they were sent from one of the north-east
districts of Victoria were very small and dark coloured.
The piece of orange tree (see Fig. 1) on which the larvae
were sent was thickly covered with these little black and
hairy caterpillars, and the foliage of the tree had suffered
severely from their ravages. On trying to rear the larvae,
about 30 or 40 in number, I found I had reckoned without
my host, for out of these I managed to rear only six
specimens owing to the larvae, even in so young a stage,
having been pierced by a small hymenopterous fly (see
Fig. 7), and many of which had hatched in the box, the
cocoons thickly infesting certain of the larvae when the

64 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OE VICTORIA.

latter attained their full size (as shown in Fig. 6). This
fly, which is closely related to the Ichneumonidce, would
appear to work great destruction amongst these grubs,
and the fact that I have not received another specimen
for so long a time almost convinces me that the flies
have simply either destroyed the whole of the caterpillars
in the part of the colony from whence the grubs were
sent or have so reduced their numbers as to render their
attacks comparatively harmless.

The genus Hydrusa contains some very pretty insects
which, fortunately for the orange growers, are somewhat
rare in Victoria.

In Fig. 8 the fly parasite of the orange-moth grub is
given in a highly magnified form.

Prevention and Remedies.

In case an orange tree should be attacked by the larvae
of this moth, and the same remarks will answer for the
treatment of most of the leaf-feeding caterpillars, lose no
time. If the fruit on the tree be any size use kerosene
emulsion as a spray, but if the fruit be off the tree or
very young, a spraying of either weak Paris green or
white hellebore will be all that is necessary, and with
ordinary care these two latter solutions may be used with
perfect safety, and without the slightest risk of danger to
the fruit or consumer. Whilst on this subject, I may be
permitted to quote from the evidence given by Mr= J.
Fletcher before the Select Standing Committee of the
House of Commons, Canada, Session of 1892. Let us see
what Mr. Fletcher has to say on this subject, so im-
portant not only to growers but to the general public
also.

Mr. Fletcher says : — " The subject of spraying with
arsenites is one that has gained very much importance
lately through the ridiculous and utterly absurd state-
ments made throughout the world in newspapers. It was
first stated by an obscure London horticultural journal —
but when vou read the article vou saw at once that the

THE ORANGE MOTH. 65

object was to get a little cheap advertising — that all
American apples were saturated with arsenic. This state-
ment was reproduced in many newspapers, and, as the
original paper which started the falsehood, in a later issue,
gloated over the fact that these articles were copied all
over the world, the paper thus showed its hand — it
wanted to get cheap advertising. The statement is absurd
that any apple or other living vegetable tissue can be
saturated with arsenic, from the fact that the poison is so
exceedingly corrosive that before any vegetable could
become saturated, even if this were possible, it would be
destroyed before the poison could penetrate. The only
su owstion of truth in regard to this statement is that we
do spray our orchards with Paris green, which is an aceto-
arsenite of copper. But that is not arsenic ; it is an
arsenical compound containing about 45 per cent, of
soluble arsenic ; but it must be remembered that this is
not the same by any means as arsenic, which is soluble,
while Paris green is almost insoluble ; so it is not at all
like putting on our trees a mixture containing 45 per
cent, of soluble arsenic. It is only an insoluble compound
which, by the special treatment recommended, never can
and never does get into the fruit. Then, besides this,
it is applied at the small rate of 1 lb. to 200 gallons
or more of water. This quantity of water is sufficient
to spray a great many trees — a tree of ordinary size
takes from one to three gallons — and these trees bear
many hundreds of apples, and thousands of leaves, so
that there would be only a very minute quantity of poison
on each fruit. Even supposing soluble arsenic were used,
and every apple were covered with it, none could get into
the apples. At the time apple trees are sprayed the fruit
is very small, indeed hardly formed, and is then protected
from anything falling on it by a thick covering of down
and the spreading lobes of the calyx. In spraying, the
liquid is applied as a very fine mist ; most of this foils
on the foliage ; but some — a minute quantity — falls into
the open calyx, where the eggs of the codlin moth are
laid. It is an infinitesimal quantity, yet is sufficient to

66 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

destroy the insect if it be there, as frequent experiments
have shown us. I cannot imagine anything more absurd,
however, than the idea that there could be any arsenic in
the apples which had been sprayed, as soon as the flowers
had dropped, with Paris green. In the first place, the
quantity of poison is so small it is practically insoluble,
and above all it is not at all adhesive, so that directly the
small amount of moisture in it which is sprayed on to the
trees has evaporated it is a dry powder. Even supposing
you put it on as thickly as you could all over the fruit,
the natural expansion of the apple in growth would
disseminate it and force it off the surface ; the frequent
rains we get during the summer, and the frequent winds,
all help to remove it, and we know that it is entirely
gone, as proved by experiment, long before the harvest-
ing of the fruit takes place. Yet these articles appeared,
and our own papers copied them and commented upon
them. Now, this is where the injury comes in ; spraying
with arsenites is the remedy we have been trying for
years to persuade the farmers to adopt in order to protect
themselves from a great and unnecessary loss. I claim, by
application of this one remedy for the apple- worm, that a
saving of at least 75 per cent, can be made in the quantity
and quality of the fruit. Such articles raise a doubt as
to the advisability of using what is a good and safe
remedy. We are told : ' Paris green is poison, and
therefore is dangerous.' Of course it is poison, otherwise
it would not do the work we use it for, but the statement
as to the danger of poison getting into the apples is
absurd because impossible. The quantity used is so
small that the elements to which it is exposed would
destroy or remove it long before it could penetrate a
growing apple. Through the kindness of Mr. Woolver-
ton, the editor of the Canadian Horticulturist, I pro-
cured some apples that had been sprayed twice, and had
them analyzed most carefully by the chemist of the farm,
who took very great care to analyze them all by a process
by which, if there had been even one fifty-thousandth part
of a grain of arsenic in them, it could have been detected.

THE ORANGE MOTH. 67

He found there was not a trace of arsenic. Yet these
people write such nonsense and spread it all over the
world, and some foolish people, without taking the trouble
to think, believe them. Our apples are perfectly safe as
food. They have been tested by a chemical analysis that
cannot fail, and this analysis is backed up by the common
sense of any one who examines the matter. Many
analyses have been done with great care, and show there
is not the slightest danger in the use of Paris green, as
directed by entomologists. It is important for all to know
this and understand why it it so, when people say they
won't use Paris green because they injure the crop.
That is all nonsense. The only injury spraying could do
would be by destroying the leaves, if it were used too
strong. If the leaves of a tree are destroyed it cannot
produce any fruit."

In England, also on the continent, the old-fashioned
and excellent practice adopted by growers of painting
their trees with sulphur and lime is still carried out, and
while we advocate the use of Paris green as being much
superior, we have no desire to condemn a practice so
largely used by the practical growers of England and
elsewhere. Lime and sulphur your trees by all means,
but unless your neighbours do the same the grub will
have the largest share of your apples and pears.

To those growers who may wish to paint their trees to
destroy the grubs of the codlin moth, &c, I may add the
receipt for preparing the mixture, as given in the
Australasian, as follows : — Take of sulphur and lime
each 6 lbs., to be boiled till all the sulphur is dissolved,
and a clean brown liquid, four gallons in amount, remains.
This should be diluted by mixing 60 quarts of water with
one quart of the sulphur and lime solution. This is not
only good against caterpillars, which may be hybernating
in the crevices of the trees, but is also useful against
borers, white ants, &c, &c. In the case of plants of the
citrus family generally this would be partly impractic-
able, the branches being prickly and twiggy, still it could
be done on the tree up as far as where the branches meet

F 2

68 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

the stem, as is ofteu done in the case of treating for
peach aphis, &c.

As this new pest of the orange is happily of rare
occurrence, we may not be much troubled with it, but
being an indigenous moth we can hardly expect to get rid
of it altogether. Now, however, that we know something
of its habits and life-history we may be able to at once
recognise it from the figures on the plate, and take steps
for its eradication.

70 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE XXIV.

The Orange Aphis (Siphonophora ? sp.).

Fig.

1. Branch of orange, showing insects on stem. Natural size.

2. Wingless female. Magnified.

3. Winged female. Magnified.

4. Pupa. Magnified,
o. Pupa. Magnified.

6. Pupa, early stage. Magnified.

Plate XXIV.

THE ORANGE APHIS. 71

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE ORANGE APHIS.

( Sip lion op hora f sp . )
Order : Hemiptera. Sub-order : Homoptera. Family : Aphidce.

A small dark-coloured species of aphis, not unlike in
general appearance that of the so-called " Black Aphis of
the Peach."

The viviparous wingless female (see Plate XXIV.,
Fig. 2) is often brown, sometimes of a dark-green colour,
shorter and broader than many species of this group,
nearly all of which are more or less destructive to the
orchardist, and sometimes to the farmer also.

The pupae are of various colours, often greyish or dark
olive-green (see Figs. 4, 5, and 6, which have been
enlarged and drawn from nature). The winged female
(see Fig. 3) is of a dark leaden grey colour, with fine
wings, on the upper pan of which are faint orange-coloured
markings.

On Fig. 1 will be seen a portion of orange stem, where
the aphides (natural size) are depicted in the act of swarm-
ing up towards the end of the shoot, which they attack,
and which, if not attended to, will soon wither, turn
blackish, and die off.

In January last, I received specimens of this pest from
many parts of the colony, where it is said to be doing
much damage to the oranges and lemons, more especially
to the young shoots, twigs, and buds of these plants, and
in the case of severe attacks the tree, no doubt, suffers
greatly.

In Queensland and New South Wales they have, ac-
cording to Messrs. Tryon and Olliff, attacking their
oranges, lemons, &c, an aphis under the name of Siph-
onophora citrifolii. I have not seen this species, but

72 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

from what I can learn ours would appear to be different,
excepting in habits, to the above introduced American
species.

This species of orange aphis has not, so far as I am
aware, yet spread far throughout the colony, and with
a little care and watchfulness we may yet be able to keep
it within reasonable limits, where it may be the easier
dealt with.

Prevention and Remedies.

In another part of the book, I have endeavoured to
point out the absolute necessity, if an orangery is to be a
success, of selecting suitable soil, position, light, and last,
but not least, good drainage, shallow planting, and plenty
of room each way between the trees, and in very exposed
situations a good breakwind of some suitable material
— avoid prickly acacia or whitethorn shelters to an
orchard — is oftentimes a necessity.

When the trees are planted out and commencing to
start into growth, watch them carefully, and on the least
sign of either aphides or scale lose no time, but tackle it
at once, always bearing in mind that a very few scales if
left upon a tree unheeded may stock, in a single season,
the whole orchard with their abominable progeny.

It has also been pointed out that a good spray pump
and gear (none of your toy pumps) should be part of the
stock-in-trade of every orchardist who wants to grow
good fruit and make it pay. Slovenly orchards may last
for a time, but the day of reckoning must and will come ;
but, unfortunately, the neglected orchard may in the
meanwhile be the nursery or depot from which orchards,
whose owners try to keep clean, receive a constant supply
of noxious insects all and sundry, and thus their praise-
worthy efforts are rendered futile. I feel more and more
convinced of the necessity of some means by which care-
less growers could be reached and compelled to take
reasonable action in keeping their orchards clear of insect
pests as well for their own good as for that of their
more deserving neighbours.

THE ORANGE APHIS. 73

When the orangery is well established it will he safe
to go over it with a spraying apparatus and a weak
kerosene emulsion, say, one part of the emulsion to 25 of
water will he quite sufficient for the first dressing. This
should, of course, be done either on a dull (not wet) day,
or in the cool of the evening. The expense is incon-
siderable, and it will pay to do it. In spraying with any
material one must always be guided by common sense.
We know that a young and tender shoot is more liable to
injury than is a branch of the last }Tear's growth. Buds
are also easily damaged, so that when spraying with a
material of a given strength is recommended it is supposed
and hoped that the grower to whom the information is
supplied will use some discretion, and take into considera-
tion the condition of the plant at time of spraying.

It is a fact well known to both growers and economic
entomologists that certain fruits, even varieties of one
race, as apples, pears, &c, will not require or stand
spraying with a like proportion of any given material.
This must be determined by the experience of the grower,
who has the facilities which to the entomologist are often
unattainable.

These remarks will apply generally, but particularly
in the case of peaches, plums, &c, also to oranges and
other members of the citrus family, so that a little care
is all that will be necessary to insure success in the
spraying line.

Should the trees be badly affected a stronger dose of
the emulsion must be used, and of late years we have two
preparations, one by Messrs. Garrick, the other by Messrs.
Martin ; that of the latter firm, of London and Melbourne,
would appear to be eminently useful, being both safe
and effective. The materials here mentioned are some-
what of a novelty, and when they can be made and
disposed of at a cheap rate they will in all probability be
largely used amongst orchardists, who want something
both cheap, practical, safe, and handy.

Kerosene emulsion is very distasteful to the Aphis family,
and the good old tobacco and soft-soap remedy has both

74 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

the merits of cheapness and effectiveness, and is also
perfectly safe. The resin compound is also a splendid
remedy for both aphides and scale, and should be largely
used as occasion requires.

It is, so far as I am aware, not yet ascertained whether
this pest of the orange also attacks the roots, as does the
peach aphides, woolly aphides, &c, but I think it is not at
all unlikely that it does do so.

In treating the orange for aphides on the roots, sup-
posing them to exist there, we must be very careful, as
most members of the citrus family are very susceptible to
damage if their roots are disturbed, and on no account
must the soil be opened out and the roots bared, as one
could safely do with the apple, pear, plum, &c.

If the roots are found to be attacked the best plan
would probably be to adopt the carbon treatment in a
similar manner as is practised in Bordeaux and other large
French vine-growing centres, a plate of the machine for
which, I may again remark, is to be found at the end of
the present part of the book.

The orange aphis is one which, if promptly and per-
sistently tackled, should not cause us much alarm. Thin
out the branches where possible, burn up all affected ones,,
and thoroughly spray the rest. Do not wait for the
parasites to come around and help you, although they are
valuable auxiliaries. Keep the sprayer and scarifier
going, and your orchard will repay you for the extra
trouble taken.

76 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE XXV.

The " Case Mqth of the Orange " (Metura elongata.

Saunders).
Fig.

1. Branch of tree, showing leaf eaten by larva.

2. Larva in case. Natural size.

3. Perfect male. Natui*al size.

4. Pupa (male). Natural size.

5. Larva taken from case. Natural size.

6. Perfect female. Natural size.

7. Eggs. Natural size.

CJBrittlebu

Plate XXV.

TroeH. i

CASE-MOTH OF THE ORANGE. 77

CHAPTER XXX.

CASE-MOTH OF THE ORANGE.

{Met ura elongata. Saunders.)

Order : Lepidoptera. Section : Heterocera. Family : Psychidce.

This is the well-known large stick-case-moth of our
colonists. In structure and in its habits the females of
this group are, as Professor McCoy remarks, amongst the
most abnormal and singular of all lepidopterous insects.
The female (Fig. 6) is a thick, smooth, naked, fleshy,
grub-like creature, totally destitute of wings, and having
only rudimentary traces of legs, antennae, or eyes. These
apterous (wingless) females, which state is attributed by
some to disuse, according to the above-named gentleman,
never leave the case in which they dwelt whilst in the
larval state; but, after meeting the males at the lower
aperture of the case, commence to bring forth the young
in myriads ; these latter, escaping in crowds, let themselves
down, each by a silk thread spun from the lower lip, until
they reach a twig or leaf, and then immediately begin to
construct each a separate case of tough silk and extraneous
materials, such as particles of bark, &c, to protect it
during the period of its larval existence.

I must here express some doubts as to the correctness
of the assertion that the female never leaves the case, as
good observers have noticed that these do occasionally
leave the case, but only for a very short period, and for
the purpose of mating with the male. With regard to
eo-o-lavmo;, I cannot say for certain whether egos are

Co J C" i /• i • i l

deposited by the females of these insects or not; but the
bodies of the females contain vast numbers of eggs, and
on our plate we have figured a small cluster of same, as
explained elsewhere.

The larval sacks or cases (see Fig. 2) are open at each
end, the male caterpillar coming sufficiently out of the

78 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

anterior aperture to use its three pairs of thoracic legs for
locomotion when feeding. It usually fixes a part of the
edge of the aperture by fibres of silk temporarily to the
twig it is on, so that, if alarmed, it can suddenly withdraw
completely within the case, when it remains hanging with
the apertures so completely closed that, if the nature of
the object was not known, it would never be suspected to
contain a large, vigorous, and voracious larva.

The male (see Fig. 3) is a singularly shaped and rapid
flying moth, and it is, unless reared from the pupa (see
Fig. 4), very difficult to obtain a perfect specimen of, as it
flies so aimlessly about that it is at once damaged and
injured, and thus falls an easy prey to ants.

Professor McCoy doubts whether any eggs of this
curious insect have ever been found, but at Fig. 7 we give
an illustration of a small cluster of eggs found in the body
of a female. These eggs were given to me by Mr. Spry,
who is an excellent observer, and on whose responsibility
the little egg-cluster is figured.

The males may be captured by placing some of the
females under a large perforated box, or a meat cover will
suffice for the purpose, as the males are thus attracted to
the female, when they may be taken and transported to
the chloroform bottle, preparatory to pinning out in the
cabinet.

The young larvae of these curious creatures are,
whilst in the early stages, very minute. I well remember
a circumstance which happened some years ago. I had
a box containing a number of the stick-nests of this moth,
and these I placed for safety on a shelf at about ten feet
from the floor. One evening I was busily engaged in
arranging some insects in my cabinet, when, on acci-
dentally looking upwards, I noticed a number of long
silky threads reaching from the shelf to the floor. I was
quite amazed, and could not divine the source of so
singular a phenomenon, until it occurred to me to mount
the steps and look at my box, and there to my astonish-
ment I found a constant stream downwards of these
little grubs, which were then so minute as to be hardly

CASE-MOTH OF THE ORANGE. 7!)

perceptible. I then obtained a glass-stoppered bottle and
held it direetlv under the descending larvae, when in
a lew minutes I had it filled with a material not unlike
the finest webs of a spider. This is a most singular part
in the economy of this insect, as the young larvae at
once begin to spin cases for themselves and commence to
eat quite voraciously.

Our drawings will sufficiently explain the insect in
many of its stages, these having been taken from nature.
The colour of the perfect male, however, is brighter and
hardly as dark as that given on our plate, and which
fault has occurred in the lithograjdiic printing. Another
well-known but smaller species is the Entometa ignobilu
having a much shorter, rougher, and less tapering case or
nest, but which is almost equally destructive, although I
have never vet found it attacking; oranges.

It may be remarked that the male cases of these
insects are much smaller than those of the female.

Prevention and Remedies.

We have here an insect, the larva of which will attack
quite a number of plants, amongst which may be mentioned
oranges, lemons, quinces, vines, and especially the Abies
group of the Coniferae, also shrubs innumerable.

Growers of trees will have noticed them to be
occasionally swarming with little clusters of leaf-like
substances, which are constantly on the move. If they
be examined carefully, it will be seen that the moving
objects are these insects in their early stages, and even
when so small it is surprising the amount of damage they
will do in a very short space of time, and if they be kept
and fed on green leaves they increase in size with great
rapidity. A few of these insects, when nearly full-grown,
will strip a good-sized tree of its leaves in a very short time.

On plum trees, even when deciduous, the young of
these case caterpillars are very destructive as they " ring-
bark " both the large and small branches of the tree, even
extending their operation to the smallest twigs, being
especially severe on stems of fruit buds. When the

80 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

tree is in leaf and fruit, both are often bitten off and
destroyed. In the earlier stages of its existence this case-
gnib is very difficult of detection, as the little brownish
nests or cases seem to be stuck on to the branches at right
angles, and by the uninitiated may often be mistaken for
some of the smaller spurs of the tree. In small gardens
a boy with a bucket, in which a little kerosene and soap
is placed, can go over a large number of small trees in a
day ; all that is required for this work being active hands
and quick eyes for detection. The above remarks will
also apply to cherries and other deciduous fruit trees,
should such be attacked by this pest.

In a garden near St. Kilda is a very large quince tree
which has been stripped and totally destroyed by the
larva? of this moth. Hand-picking had been resorted to,
but next day there appeared to be nearly as many as ever.

Last year I received from several growers vines which
were fairly covered with these singular little moving
nests, and from which the heads of the grubs were, for
the purpose of feeding, protruding.

In the Exhibition grounds, and also elsewhere near
Melbourne, a large number of valuable trees have been
killed by these pests, and when we consider the immense
number of young ones which one full-grown female can
bring forth, and how ravenous are their appetites, it will
be easily seen where the vast numbers of these suspended
nests infesting our trees come from.

The larva? of all this class of moths subsist on the
epidermis (or fleshy covering of the leaves), so that a
clue has thus been obtained as to how to deal with them
without going to the trouble, often adopted in small
gardens, of hand-picking.

When any tree, which is not either in flower or in fruit,
is affected by these case-grubs, take some Paris green
(Blundell's preparation is the most useful), and to every
pound add 100 to 160 gallons of water, according to the
state and vigour of the tree about to be treated. If your
holding be an extensive one, obtain a good powerful
spray pump, and with this give the infested trees, and

CASE-MOTH OF THE ORANGE. 81

others growing near also, a good spraying. If this be
properly done the poison, with the addition of a handful
of flour, will adhere to the whole surface of the plant
treated, thereby killing all the grubs which are feeding
upon the tissues of the leaves. One trial or two at most
will convince any one as to the efficacy of this treatment
for insects of this class.

When vines and very young trees are attacked, and
the foliage of which is tender, reduce the strength of the
mixture to, say, 1 part to 200 gallons of water. Repeat
this dose for a couple of times, say at an interval of four
or five days. When the garden is small, hand-picking
may be resorted to, although this is a tedious and often
costly method. A similar result may be obtained by the
use of the so-called White Hellebore, Veratrum album,
if the following directions are carried out: — 1 lb. White
Hellebore; 2 lbs. soft soap; handful of flour. Mix all
together, let stand for one hour, then add 35 gallons of
water, and spray as directed.

It will be understood, of course, that both these spraying
materials, the former especially, are poisonous, so that
care and precaution must be taken against accident, but
with ordinary care they may both be used with perfect
safety both to the tree and fruit.

A very curious matter connected with these stick-nests
has just been brought under my notice, viz., that at a
good elevation, on the branches of some Eucalypti growing
in the Cheltenham district, a large number of the
suspended cases have been found to have been split or
rather torn open whilst in that position. How this could
have happened is a puzzle to me, as it is somewhat of a
difficult matter to tear open the cases even where they
are removed from the tree, and most birds would appear
to be unable to tear them open, especially when in a
suspended position.

This is a singular enigma that we must try to solve, as
there may be an enemy to these insects, which up to the
present time has escaped our observation, and which may
be turned to some good account.

82 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

Many of the Ichneumons and other flies are very
destructive to these " stick caterpillars," some of them
being of good size, whilst others are almost microscopic,
and may be bred from either the cocoons of the Metura
or Entometa by any one who may care to investigate
these interesting and useful matters for themselves.

To those of my readers who may have leisure for
making experiments with artificially reared parasites, I
may mention that all that is necessary is a small box, say,
12 inches square, with perforated zinc sides, glass front,
and door at back, and in this box the larvae, chrysalides,
and cocoons of various insects could be enclosed. The
food-plant, which, if possible, should be a natural one,
should be placed with its stem in a small jar of wet sand
or water for the purpose of preserving its freshness, and
a small circular piece of tin or stout paste-board placed
over the top of the jar would prevent a possibility of
the grubs falling into the water from above and being
drowned.

The glass front will enable any one to watch for the
parasites which escape from the specimens enclosed for the
purpose, and these can then be captured and preserved,
care being taken to properly and correctly note time of
emergence, &c.

This rearing process is not only useful, but highly
instructive, and may be the means of making important
discoveries, useful alike to the grower and to the
naturalist.

G 2

84 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE XXVI.

Lemon Scale (Mttilaspis citricola. — Packard).
Fig.

1. Branch of lemon tree, showing young scale on leaf. Natural size,

2. Fruit, showing scale. Natural size.

3. Female scale. Magnified.

4. Female scale, under view, showing eggs. Magnified.

5. Male scale, upper view. Magnified. (After Cooke.)

6. Winged male. Enlarged. (After Cooke.)

7. Larva. Enlarged. (After Cooke.)

>,

>

*■

1

Plate XXVI.

THE LEMON LEAF AND PEEL SCALE. 85

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE LEMON LEAF AND PEEL SCALE.

(Mytilaspis Citricola. Packard.)
Order : Hemiptera. Section : Homoptera. Family : Coccididce.

We now come to a scale insect which in some countries
would appear to do a lot of damage, but in Victoria it is,
so far, mostly confined to the fruit of lemons which are
imported from Italy and other parts of Southern Europe.
Dr. Cooke, to whose works we are indebted for much
information concerning scales of economic interest, de-
scribes this species as "an elongated slightly-curved scale
insect infesting citrus trees," and also remarks that in
America it is not a rare occurrence to find it on
oranges, &c, which are imported from Europe, Australia,
and Tahiti, and offered for sale on fruit stands throughout
the States.

This scale in general appearance is, when seen on the
skin of imported lemons, much like the well-known
Mussel-scale of the apple, M. pomorum, but is darker in
colour and more curved in shape (see Plate XXVI., Fig. 2).
So far as I am aware or can ascertain here it seldom
attacks the tree itself, and if it does do so the damage
done is not serious. Fig. 1 of our plate shows a portion
of lemon branch, on the underside of some of the leaves
of which are young insects of this coccid, and on Figs. 3,
4, 5, 6, and 7 the insects in their various stages are shown
as explained on the page opposite to the plate.

In America this is often called the purple scale, and,
according to that invaluable publication Insect Life,
kindly forwarded to me regularly by Professor Riley, the
fruit-growers of California are very much disturbed over
the importation of fruit trees from the State of Florida,
and the May, 1892, number of the Rural Californian is

86 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

largely occupied with discussions of the probable damage
which will be done by these pests, and the necessity for a
rigid quarantine against the wholesale introduction of the
same.

During the last few years there has been quite a
number of lemons imported from the South European
countries, notably from Italy and Portugal, and so far as
my experience goes the greater portion of these are badly
infested with this scale, and by the red scale of America
and elsewhere. If lemons or even oranges infested by this
scale have been sent from Australia to America, they
have certainly not been grown in Victoria, and it seems
unfair that Australia as a whole should be charged with
exporting scale-affected fruit into the United States or
elsewhere.

As an instance of how scale or other insect pests may
be inadvertently introduced into any country I may cite
an instance which happened during our last Melbourne
Exhibition of 1888, when orange trees in tubs were sent
over from New South Wales for the decoration of their
court. On these small trees I found Icerya Purchasi,
Mytalaspis citricola, and M. Gloveri, the latter species
being quite new to Victoria. These trees were at my
request specially treated by spraying, &c, and are now
perfectly clean and healthy.

With regard to the introduction of the scale on imported
lemons it has been pointed out to me that the paper in
which the lemons so sent out are enclosed is specially
prepared, and that it would be unlikely that the scales
would reach here alive. I cannot vouch for the accuracy
of this statement, but the scale on lemons which I have
purchased from the fruit shops in Melbourne, and which
are covered with the scale, have proved upon careful
examination to have been all dead. This experiment,
however, is hardly conclusive, and great care should be
taken that all imported fruit suspected of being infested
by disease of any kind should, before landing, be subjected
to fumigation or other treatment which would destroy
both the insects and their eggs if anv. We have too.

THE LEMON LEAF AND PEEL SCALE. 87

many pests of our owil without importing these, and it
is to the interest of every grower to bring about some
permanent protection to themselves against inroads of
this kind.

Prevention and Remedies.

As this scale is fortunately not as yet common in
Victoria we should pay great attention, as remarked above,
to a systematic inspection of all imported lemons, oranges,
limes, and other members of the citrus family, both trees
and fruit. As the wrappers may not always be specially
prepared, and the fruit finds its way into many places
in the colony, it behoves us to be on the alert to meet
the danger of spreading this, to us, comparatively new
pest broadcast throughout the colony.

When a tree or its fruit or both are found to be
attacked, thin out as much wood as is consistent with the
proper development of the plant. Having burnt the
primings set to work with the sprayer, using the resin
compound, instructions about which are mentioned in
various parts of this number of the book, also in Part I.
As the use of the arsenical preparation of Paris green is
comparatively new to us here, and as bee-keepers have
complained that bees have been poisoned through sipping
the nectar from the flowers of trees which have been
poisoned by spraying, I thought it might be of interest to
persons engaged in that important ' industry — agriculture
— to furnish them with some information sent to me by
my friend Mr. J. Fletcher, the clever chief of the Ento-
mological Department of Canada, so that we may be able
to avail ourselves of the experiences of a gentleman who
has done a vast amount of good work in economic ento-
mology throughout the British North American posses-
sions and elsewhere in combating a very serious evil
should such really exist.

Mr. Fletcher says — "Apiarists claim that fruit-growers
have been spraying their trees whilst in blossom, and their
bees have been poisoned by gathering the poisoned nectar.
Of course the practice of spraying trees while in blossom

88 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

is quite wrong, and should be stopped with a firm hand
for all considerations. The horticulturist is liable to
injure his fruit directly, and if it be true that the bees are
poisoned, he not only injures the bee-keepers, but also
destroys his best friends. Bees are known to perform
such an important part in the fertilization of many
flowers that advanced fruit-growers keep bees in their
orchards for that very purpose. We all know that the
quantity of blossom on fruit trees in the spring cannot be
taken as an index of the quantity of the crops that will
be gathered, unless there be at that time sunny weather,
so that the bees and other insects may visit the flowers
and fertilize them. Botanists have discovered that it is
far more advantageous for flowers of a plant to be ferti-
lized by pollen taken from other flowers, and this is
carried so far that nature herself provides, in many
flowers, means by which fertilization by their own pollen
is impossible. In some plants we find male and female
flowers ; these may be either on different plants altogether
or on different branches of the same plant. Again, in
cases where the flowers are perfect, and contain both
male and female organs, we may find that these may
mature at different times, so that when the female organ,
the pistil, is ready to receive the fertilized pollen, the
anthers of its own flower may have already shed their
pollen, or vice versa. Charles Darwin, the great physiolo-
gist, summed up his observations on this subject in the
trite generalization that ' nature abhors self-fertilization.'
Although in some cases self-fertilization may be possible,
it is not so in all, and it is probably better in all plants
that the pistil be fertilized by pollen from other plants.
Now, with regard to bees being poisoned by gathering
honey from flowers which have been sprayed with Paris
green, although I do not know of any actual experiments
having been tried, from what I have lately read on the
matter I think it is quite possible that they can be
poisoned, and if so we may just as well recognise it at
once. Some enthusiasts go too far, some saying it cannot
be done, whilst others say it can. What we want, however,

THE LEMON LEAF AND PEEL SCALE. 89

arc facts ascertained by careful observation. Bee-
keepers claim that they know of actual instances, when
bee-hives have been located near orchards which have
been sprayed during the time the trees were in flower,
and that the bees have been found poisoned. A writer
in a late number of the American Bee Journal claimed
that the Paris green could be plainly seen in the bees'
bodies. This last statement, however, I think must
surely have been an exaggeration, although it is probably
the case that they may have been poisoned either by the
nectar or by drinking the water from the sprayed leaves.
It was also claimed that the honey stored away in the
comb was poisonous ; but this last statement will require
far more proof than has yet been brought forward.
Honey, as it occurs in the comb, is an altogether different
thins: from the nectar of flowers. Before it becomes
honey it has to be partly digested by bees, and is not
honey at all when in the flowers. The bees suck up the
nectar and elaborate it into honey. I am under the
impression that before they could turn poisoned nectar
into honey the}7 would be killed by the poison. Another
safeguard is this : At the time fruit-trees are in flower,
although the trees might be poisoned, if some careless
fruit-grower were to spray at that time, it would be very
unlikely that poison would get into the honey we eat.
The honey stored away in the honey-comb is only the
surplus. At the time when spraying is done, early in
the season, bee-keepers tell me that the bees use the
honey they collect then almost entirely as food for their
brood, and the honey we steal from them afterwards is
only the food which they have laid up for themselves for
use during the winter ; or, in other words, there is no
surplus honey, apiarists say, at the time of the year when
fruit trees are in flower. I believe that bees have been
found, and Professor Cook, of Michigan, a high authority
on bees, states that larva3 have been found poisoned
through partaking of this poisonous food. This is the
whole thing, and the question came up for discussion
before a committee of the Ontario Legislature, when I

90 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

was asked by the provincial Minister of Agriculture to go
to Toronto and give evidence before the committee. The
question that was put to me was this : ' Is there any
practical or scientific reason why this Act to prevent the
spraying of trees whilst in blossom should not pass ? '
I could not think of any reasonable objection, for spray-
ing when the trees are in flower is quite unnecessary and
is very inadvisable, because if, as the apiarists claim, their
bees are poisoned if Paris green be applied when the
trees are in bloom, and I maintain you do more harm
than good by destroying the pistils of the flowers. Why do
bees visit flowers ? To get honey, and nature provides
this so as to attract insects at the time when they can be
of most use in fertilizing the flowers. Directly the pistil
is fertilized no more honey is developed, it is no more
use to the plant. If we wait for spraying until the flowers
drop off, there is no danger of poisoning the bees, because
they do not then visit the trees. There is nothing to
take them there ; but by spraying the trees after the
flowers drop we do destroy the little caterpillar which
hatches from an egg laid by the codlin-moth in the calyx,
and the small quantity of Paris green which we recom-
mend— one pound to 200 gallons of water — is sufficient
to kill the larvae, and as a consequent we get a return
from our labour in 75 per cent, more fruit than we should
otherwise have had."

The remarks as given above only tend to confirm the
opinion held by the writer of this book, viz., that it is
inadvisable, and it may be even dangerous, to spray a
fruit tree of any kind whilst in bloom. Wait until the
blossom has fallen ; then, also before the buds make their
appearance, is the time for spraying. If we are to be
successful with our spraying we must depend much more
than we have hitherto done on winter and early spring
spraying.

In a recent publication received by me from America
it is stated that in large orangeries the use of the gas-
tents, as described in Part I. of this book, has nearly
superseded the system of spraying. But in Australia, at

THE LEMON LEAF AND PEEL SCALE. 91

present at least, it is to be feared that the high price of
labour and cost of material would likelv be against the
tent system being extensively used, more especially in
large orchards.

92 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE XXVII.

The "Apple-root Borer" (Leptops Hopei. — Fahrs).

Fig.

1. Branch of apple tree with perfect insects, showing female drawing

edges of leaves together and depositing eggs. Natural size.

2. Larva. Slightly enlarged.

3. Pupa. Natural size.

4. Eggs on leaves, showing also silky covering to same.

5. Showing damage to apple-tree root by tunnelling.

CCJSrUff*&anA, J)el

SuTvds Jt/ffioutfj-.

THE APPLE-ROOT BORER. !)3

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE APPLE-ROOT BORER.

(Leptops Hopei. Schwnh.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Curculionidce.

We now come to one of the most destructive and
serious insect pests of the colony. The "Apple-root
Borer" belongs, as stated in Part I. of this Handbook,
to the great family of the weevils, and is one of the
largest and best known of the Victorian species. It is,
so far as I am aware, indigenous to Australia, and was
described more than fifty years since by that great
entomologist and specialist in this family, Schcenherr.
More than fifty species of this genus have been described
in various scientific publications as being found in the
Australian colonies.

As this insect has been so recently described as a
destroyer of apple trees, &c, it is considered unnecessary
to do more than simply state some additional facts
bearing upon matters of importance which have lately
been noticed, and which must, of necessity, prove of
great value and assistance to fruit-growers and others
interested.

In Victoria, as has been previously remarked, this
insect is fairly common, but it is only lately, and after its
habits had been accurately noted, that its occurrence in
such large numbers, judging from its apparently rapid
rate of increase, has been observed.

At page 72 of the Handbook (Part I.) it is stated as
my opinion that I suspected the female to deposit her
eggs beneath the soil, and near the stem of the tree.
Since then, however, and owing to observations made at
my request by Mr. Geo. Powell, a fruit-grower at
Castlemaine, in our colony, who has been good enough to

94 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

watch the case for me, it has been discovered that the
female beetle (see Fig. 4) ascends the brandies of the
tree, having come forth from the soil at night, and, with
her legs, folds the leaves of the tree together, fastening
them with a glutinous secretion, then depositing her eggs,
to the number of 40 or 50, in the manner as shown in the
plate, holding the folds of the leaf together until it sticks.
In some of these artificially closed leaves the very young
grubs have been taken, and these descend to the ground
and there ensconce themselves in the cracks or crevices in
the roots, descending either vertically or horizontally as
the case may be, when they at once commence to tunnel
into the roots. The sap is thus drawn from the tree at a
time when it is most required.

Having tested this matter of depositing the eggs in
the closed leaves for myself, I can vouch for the accuracy
of these facts as formerly ascertained by Mr. Powell.

These insects, unfortunately, do not confine themselves
to attacking apple trees. They have been found to be as
severe on pears as apples, and cherry trees are also
greatly injured and often killed by them.

Of all the many serious insect pests with which growers
of apples in Victoria have to contend this beetle may be
fairly set down as the most formidable. In former years
it was known, as a rule, to frequent wattles (Acacias
decurrens and ?nollissima), but on these trees I am not
aware, nor can I learn from experienced observers, that
it attacked the roots, and it would appear to have done
but little damage to these trees, being most commonly
found on the young wattles of from 6 to 10 feet high.
Fortunately for the grower this beetle cannot fly, so that
it cannot be spread broadcast as is the case with many
other pests of the orchard, farm, and vineyard. The
larva, pupa, perfect insect, and root section are also
figured at page 70 of Part I. of this Handbook, but as the
lithographing is hardly up to expectation it has been
considered advisable to reproduce it in Part II., together
with the egg-laying process, &c, the illustrations here
given being absolutely life-like.

THE APPLE-ROOT BOEEE. 95

There will, however, be no occasion to again describe
this species in its various stages of existence, but as the
discovery is of such great importance to growers it has
been decided to have a brief notice of it in No. VI. of
the Agricultural Department's publications Guides to
Growers, lately issued, so that any one interested might
not be kept waiting until the publication of Part II. of
this book.

As showing: the large numbers of these beetles which
may now be found by a careful search, it may be
mentioned that no less than 1,600 of the perfect insects
have been found in one orchard within a very few months,
and when we consider that a large proportion of these
beetles have proved to be females, and each one of them
deposits such a number of eggs, it will be at once seen
with what a dangerous foe we have to deal.

A few months since, having learned of the very serious
condition of the apple trees in many of the orchards
around Doncaster and other places near Melbourne, I
paid a visit to the former district, and, in one of the best
kept orchards that I have seen in the colony, I found that
a large number of the trees, as had been noticed by other
growers, also through the medium of the public press,
were in a very bad state. The tops of the apple, pear,
and cherry trees having commenced to die off, the top
branches showing the first indication of the presence of
some insidious foe attacking the roots of the tree, and
having had some experience with trees in the Geelong
and other districts in which the trees seemed to be
similarly affected, I at once came to the conclusion that
the same culprit was at work in these orchards also. I
now find that my surmise has proved to be correct, as
Mr. Thiele, proprietor of one of the orchards referred to,
has just written me to say that, in digging up some of
the apple and other trees, he found all the roots which
were within 8 inches of the surface to be perfectly
sound, and, from a casual examination, would appear to
have nothing wTrong with them, but as soon as the roots
took a "dip" downwards they were eaten more or less to

96 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

the depth of about 2 or even 3 feet from the surface.
In some soils they may go deeper, in others shallower,
hut where these were taken out the soil was very firm
below the trees.

Mr. Thiele has also sent me round pieces or balls of
the clayey loam taken from near the tree, and from which
the head of the perfect female can be seen protruding,
and in a similar position the larva also. This convinces
me more than ever that suffocation, combined with judi-
cious root-pruning, are the best means to be adopted
for their extermination when below ground.

To growers, the fact of seeing one's trees dying off one
after another, from no apparent cause, is no doubt most
discouraging; but now that we have a better knowledge
of the economy and life-history of this insect we may
reasonably hope to be able, by increased vigilance in
picking off and burning the infected leaves between
which the eggs are deposited — and which, after any one
has once seen the illustrations, they will have no diffi-
culty whatever in recognising both the insects and the
appearance of the leaves on which the eggs, oval in shape,
white in colour, and covered with a white silky film (as
shown in Fig. 4), are deposited — to cope with the evil.
Having in view these facts, which have been so recently
brought to light regarding the life-history of the beetle,
and the somewhat singular circumstances of their having
left their natural food, and, unfortunately for us, adapted
themselves to our introduced fruits, should cause us to
seriously consider whether the assistance of the Forest
Branch of the Mines Department should not be invited to
co-operate with this branch of the Agricultural Depart-
ment, also with growers in the event of any serious
inroads of native insects taking place — that is, where
forest or wattle reserves are in close proximity to either
orchards or vineyards. This could, it is thought, be
partly accomplished by obtaining permission from the
former Department to destroy any native tree which, on
examination, was found to be badly infested with noxious
insects of any kind, and which, as in the case of this

THE APPLE-ROOT BORER. 97

weevil, would be likely to spread, as well in the interests
of the timber and wattle-bark industry as for the farmers
and fruit-growers themselves.

As an example of the serious damage caused by these
weevils, Mr. King, the well-known orchardist of Geelong,
informs me that from the years 1868 to 1878 he had to
root up and destroy no less than thirteen acres of hue
trees, most of which had been in fidl bearing. Mr. Powell
also states that in his orchard, a few miles out of Castle-
maine, a large percentage of his trees are dying off from
the top downwards, and also remarks that in his dis-
trict the beetles come out of the ground just before the
buds begin to swell, laying their eggs in October and
November, and by December seem to have disappeared
altogether. Nearer Melbourne, however, the beetles are
to be found much later on in the summer, and, in many
cases, all the year round.

Prevention and Remedies.

When the leaves are on the tree, look very carefully
for those that are sticking together. Pick them all off,
and destroy by burning. If the fruit be on the tree
shake the branches gently over and into a sheet. When
the fruit has been gathered, a much more severe shaking-
can be resorted to, and which, if done carefully, cannot
fail to dislodge large numbers of the perfect beetles, and
possibly many of the young grubs also ; and as the beetles
are sluggish in their movements, often feigning death, it will
be no difficult matter to destroy them either by burning
or scalding water, as the whole family are, as a rule, most
tenacious of life and not easily destroyed when captured,
excepting, of course, by the means above mentioned.

The carbon process, as explained in Part I., together
with such improvements as are given in another portion
of this part of the book, should be persevered with.
Great care must be exercised when replanting an orchard,
supposing the affected trees to have been grubbed out,
and in this case the land should be thoroughly treated
with gas-lime before replanting, as the grubs may, by the

98 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

process of grubbing out, be detached from the roots, and
will doubtless exist for a long time in the soil. All
affected parts of the tree, both root and branch, should be
at once destroyed by burning, and, if possible, in the
holes from which the trees have been extracted.

The somewhat hasty plan of rooting up affected trees is
to be deprecated, as with a little care and exercise of judg-
ment many trees, even if badly affected by disease of most
kinds, may be restored to health and bearing again, and in
the case of this weevil scourge in particular, too much stress
cannot be laid upon the value of preventive measures.

As this insect, whilst in the perfect or beetle state, is
now known to feed upon the foliage of the tree, spraying,
if the fruit on the tree is not either ripe or ripening, must
be resorted to. To do this, use Paris green, Blundell's
paste preparation, in the proportion of 1 lb. to 200 gallons
of water. This should be applied with a spray-pump —
not a syringe, which distributes the material too unequally,
and also wastes a deal of it during the operation. If your
cherry trees are infested, wait until your crop is gathered,
then spray at once, and in the case of apples and pears it
will be found a most advantageous precaution.

Root pruning is also highly to be recommended.

Where wattle trees especially are growing near an
orchard, these should be carefully examined for the per-
fect specimens of this beetle ; and the writer of these notes
is one who does not approve of the hasty and so-called
heroic measures so often recommended to fruit-growers
and others whose trees are affected by blight. Keep your
orchard clean and well looked after. Away with all
prickly-acacia hedges, which are but breeding places for
noxious insects of many kinds, to say nothing of harbors
for rabbits, sparrows, hares, and other pests of the farmer
and fruit-grower in the colonies. The whitethorn, so
justly prized for its beauty and utility, is, when not very
carefully kept, a great harborer of the dread mussel-
scale, &c. It would seem almost " heretical " for me to
say it, but a good substantial barbed-wire fence is, un-
doubtedly, in nine cases out of ten, in the long run by far

THE APPLE-ROOT BOPER. 99

the cheapest and best fence by which any orchard can be
surrounded. If shelter must be provided, let it be done
in a practical and intelligent manner, always remembering
when planting shelter trees to choose such as will be both
ornamental and at the same time profitable. It is not
part of my duty to recommend any particular plant or
tree for this purpose, but this information can always be
obtained on application to the Secretary of the Victorian
Department of Agriculture, Avhose officers are always, in
matters of this kind, at the service of growers who may
require their advice and assistance.

H 2

100 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXVIII.

The Vine Moth (Agarista glycine. — Lewin).

Fig.
1. Branch of vine, showing caterpillars on leaf and stem. Natural
size.

2 and 2a. Perfect insects, on wing. Natural size.

3. Pupa. Natural size.

4, Perfect insect at rest.

C. Bntllebank. del.

C. French. Direx1
Plate XXVIII.

Troedel* O lath

THE VINE MOTH. 101

CHAPTER XXXIII.

THE VINE MOTH.

(Agarista glycine. Lewin.)

Order: Lepidoptera. Section: Heterocera. Family: Ayaristidce.

This moth, whilst in the larval stage, is one of the
vigneron's greatest enemies.

The eggs, which are deposited on vine stakes and on
the vine, and possibly on other small plants as well, are
small, but can be plainly seen with the naked eye.

Professor McCoy, in one of his valuable "Decades,"
states that there are two or three broods in a year (I
fancy there are the latter number at least), as the changes
from the egg to the larva and from this to the pupa and
perfect insect take but a comparatively short time. We
can always reckon on their first appearance when the vine
comes into leaf, near Melbourne, towards October; but,
in some localities, either earlier or later, according to
situation and elevation.

The first brood generally make their appearance about,
as is stated, October, and, after a few weeks, enter the
pupa state about the beginning of December, the moth
coming out about the end of December, while the larvae
descended into the earth, formed their earth-covered
cocoons beneath the surface at the end of March, and,
according to the same writer, the perfect insect came out
on the 18th of May. It will thus be seen how rapidly
these insects increase, as the female is known to lay a
large number of eggs, and these in turn are hatched very
quickly, when they at once commence to tackle the vine
leaves, as shown at Fig. 1, feeding and increasing in size
with more than usual rapidity.

The moth, however, may often be seen long before the
vines are hi leaf, and Dr. Morrison, of East Melbourne,

102 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OE VICTORIA :

has just brought me (16th July, 1892) one that had
hatched from the pupa, but was deformed, and would, of
course, fall to the ground, and most likely be devoured
by ants.

When the larvae are newly hatched they are of a dark
greenish-black colour ; but, as they increase in size, the
colouring becomes very beautiful, the shades of green,
yellow, and black being admirably blended, and this,
together with the red marks just behind the head, adds
greatly to the appearance of the caterpillar. Scattered
over the body of the caterpillars are numerous little white
hairs, which the lithographer informs me he could not well
produce on the plate here attached.

The pupa (see Fig. 3) is oval, somewhat sharpened
at one end, and this is enclosed in a thin crust of soil.
(The figure on our plate is not at all good, having been
injured in the printing.) The perfect moth is a very
handsome insect (see Figs. 2 and 2a, natural size). The
wings are black, or nearly so, with yellowish-white mark-
ings. The posterior end of the abdomen terminates in a
sort of orange buff-coloured tuft, which greatly adds to
its beauty (see Figs. 2 and 2a). When the caterpillars
of this moth make their appearance they are, as I have
said before, very small, but very voracious. In the course
of a day or two they change greatly in size and colour.
When full grown, about the size shown at Fig. 1, they are
terribly destructive to vines. They strip the leaves as
completely as if done with a pair of scissors, commencing
from the outside of the leaf and eating towards the mid-
rib, which is often left standing quite bare. In the case
of young shoots, the full-grown grub will sometimes make
a clean sweep of these as well, and with young vines a
bad attack from these pests will not infrequently kill the
plant altogether.

In connexion with this particular Vine Moth it may be
observed that this is but another instance, unfortunately
not an uncommon one, of an insect forsaking its native
food for something winch is no doubt easier eaten and
much more palatable.

THE VINE MOTH. 103

The specific name, as given by Lewin, is derived from
a twining plant, Glycine, which grows in and around
Sydney, also in many other parts of New South Wales ;
hut within a good distance of Melbourne we have but one
species of this plant, viz., Glycine clandestine.-, a slender
lavender-blue flowered twiner, which at any time one may
see for themselves.

How long this moth has been in Victoria, or whether
it is indigenous, I am not prepared to say, but I can well
remember having seen it near Melbourne in the early part
of 1855, but I believe it was here much earlier than that,
and certainly there were no plants of the New South
Wales species of Glycine then growing near Melbourne,
so that it was evidently not confined to any one particular
food plant. Professor McCoy, however, tells us that
before the introduction of the Vine Moth into Victoria,
the larvae fed on a species of Gnaphalium, one of the
common "everlasting" flowers, but for our purpose this,
of course, matters very little.

The flight of the Vine Moth is somewhat heavy,
and it may be easily captured by means of a roughly-
made net. They are gregarious, and the perfect insect
may often be found in vast numbers hovering over
the flowers of many kinds well known in gardens.
After careful observation I could not detect the female
in the act of depositing her eggs upon any plants other
than vines.

Prevention and Remedies.

Catch or damage as many of the perfect moths as
possible, this to prevent egg-laying. If the moths are
but injured in any way so that they cannot fly, they soon
fall a prey to the numerous ants, which are always on the
look-out for disabled insects of any kind, and butterflies
and moths in particular. When ants come across a
moth which has been damaged so much as to impede its
flight, you will see them trotting around the helpless
insect until it would appear that they had made up the
minds as to how their prey was to be tackled. This

104 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

accomplished in many cases, particularly with heavy
beetles which have been injured and are either lying
helplessly on their backs or trying to roll over and over,
by the ant first proceeding to gnaw off the feet of the
insect attacked. Having done this they next bite off the
palpi, little appendages near the jaws, generally finishing
up by severing the segment which joins the body and
thorax together, and sucking out the juices from inside
the body. Lepidoptera, when too heavy to drag away, are
bitten up into portable pieces in the same manner. It is
quite certain that if a moth of any kind is bruised so that
it cannot fly, eggs thus deposited will not come to anything.
This fact should be remembered, for after all it is better
to prevent this egg-laying, if at all possible, than to be
compelled to deal with the hosts of young grubs which
are certain to be hatched from the vines on which the
eggs have been deposited.

Where stakes are used for vines, they must be carefully
seen to, as the eggs are often deposited in crevices of any
stake having a rugged exterior. A good washing with
lime, sulphur, and soap mixed is of great advantage when
cleaning up the vineyard.

Should the moths have deposited their eggs in spite
of the above precautions, hand picking must be re-
sorted to, although in a large vineyard this plan is
too expensive to be generally adopted. The hand or
knapsack spraying machine comes in well here, and a
light spraying of Paris green, say, 1 lb. to 200 gallons
of water would, if carefully carried out, destroy every
caterpillar which ate the leaf or portion of it, if the
plant had been carefully and thoroughly sprayed. The
under part of the leaf can best be reached by using a bent
nozzle. Hellebore, if dusted over the leaves, is also good.

In spraying for these caterpillars, be careful that the
liquid is forced up well from below, as the larva3 are
principally to be found feeding upon the lower edges of
the leaves, and doubtless get on the back of the leaf for
purpose of shelter, and possibly as a means of escaping
detection.

THE VINE MOTH. 105

The caterpillars of this Vine Moth are very numerous,
and no sooner is a plant to all intents and purposes
cleared of the caterpillars than lo ! the next morning the
plague would appear to he as had as ever. Do not he
discouraged, this will not last long, for if persevered in for
a season, we must with the aid of birds and other natural
enemies, together with our own individual exertions and
co-operation of our neighbours, keep this pest in sub-
jection. In small places, the somewhat original, though
old, plan of clipping the caterpillars in halves with a sharp
pair of scissors is not to be despised, and by this simple
method vast numbers of the caterpillars can be destroyed,
and which, if alloAved to remain unmolested, would strip
a small vineyard in no time.

Many persons imagine that the caterpillars of the Vine
Moth do but little damage, exceptiug that they eat the
leaves. This is only a portion of the harm done, because
the vines when stripped of their leaves are thrown back
in growth, and if in fruit, the latter becoming quite
unprotected, frequently failing as a consequence to
reach maturity, and shrivelling up as they grow on the
plant.

Amongst the natural enemies of this species of Vine
Moth are the two well-known birds, commonly called the
bronze-cuckoo and pallid-cuckoo respectively. These
birds, which are included in our list, are very fond of
caterpillars generally, but particularly those of the Vine
Moth ; the singular fact being that although many of our
domestic birds will hardly touch this caterpillar, these
two cuckoos would appear to be singularly fond of them,
and destroy enormous numbers.

Bronze cuckoos which for scientific purposes have been
killed, upon examination of their stomachs, were found
to be crammed with caterpillars of the Vine Moth under
notice.

Another very useful ally to the vigneron is a small
light-brown plant-bug, Cuspicona, which has a very
powerful proboscis, with which it pierces the larvae, and

106 DESTKUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

the juices of the body are then sucked out. These little
wood-bugs are not altogether desirable friends, however,
as they smell vilely, more especially whilst in the larval
stages, and are not at all particular in their choice of
food, more especially when such fruits as strawberries,
raspberries, &c, are in season. I am informed, however,
by an old Bendigonian, Mr. Carolin, that some of his
neighbours are preserving this bug as a means of assist-
ance to them in keeping down the ravages of this
beautiful but destructive caterpillar. In the first part of my
book I mentioned that I was inclined to pin more faith in
the judicious use of the various insecticides than to the
chance of our natural parasites helping us to clear off
pests. I must now confess to the feeling of a greater
desire to foster and protect such parasites as can be
proved to be destructive to our garden pests, both native
and introduced. When we consider what has already
been accomplished by my friend and fellow worker, Mr.
A. Koebele, in America, through the introduction of the
little Ladybird (Novius) for the purpose of destroying
the dread cottony cushion scale, Icerya Purchasi, we can-
not overlook the fact of the utility of insect parasites if
judiciously introduced ; but this in our colony would be
well-nigh impossible, at least at present, as in such matters
it would require a large staff, also field workers, in-
spectors, &c, with all the machinery necessary to carry
out a large department. I must then partially adhere to
my former statement, that well-regulated spraying and
other means herein recommended are mostly preferable
to any other methods for keeping insect pests in subjec-
tion.

The Vine Moth is one of our oldest enemies. We must
pay strict attention to the destruction of the first horde
of moths, remembering that by destroying these we
largely check the increase at the outset. There are
other methods for keeping off this pest, such as enclosing
the vines under muslin covers ; this, although a good
plan, is of course, unworkable in a vineyard, where time
is money.

THE VINE MOTH. 107

In concluding these notes on the Vine Moth, it may be
pointed out that we have two other, though more un-
common, species of Agarisfa, but on comparing these
latter moths with the figure on our plate the difference will
at once be recognised.

The large species of this genus, A. CasuarincB, rare, is
found in some parts of the colony, and so far as we know
is perfectly harmless to introduced plants.

108 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXIX.

The " Silver-striped Vine Moth " (Chjerocampa celerio.

Stephens).

Fig.

1. Branch of vine showing caterpillars. Natural size.

2. Perfect insect, on wing. Natural size.

3. Perfect insect, at rest. Natural size.

4. Pupa. Natural size.

C. 3nnLebank.de! .

G. French. Direxit.
Plate XXIX.

Troedel & C? Lith

THE SILVER-STRIPED VINE MOTH. ] 09

CHAPTER XXXIV.

THE SILVER-STRIPED VINE MOTH.

{Chcerocampa celerio. Linn.)

Order : Lepidoptera. Section : Heterocera. Family : Sphingidce.

Very beautiful night-flying moths, the larvae of which do
great damage to vines by stripping them of their leaves.

This pest is probably an introduction from Europe, or
it may be also indigenous. Be this as it may, this species
is no doubt identical with the well-known " Celery Hawk
Moth," of Europe, a species largely distributed through-
out the world.

As will be seen from our plate, the moth is about 3 or
4 inches across the wings when expanded. The larva, or
caterpillar, is a very formidable-looking creature, some-
times greenish and often brown in colour; the eleventh
segment of the body has a sort of horn-shaped projection,
as shown at Fig. 1, and which many people imagine to be
placed near the head of the caterpillar instead of near the
"tail;" and this description I have many times received
from growers when sending specimens for identification.

The pupa is brownish in colour, and may be found on
or amongst leaves below the vine, and in some cases just
below the surface of any loose soil. The natural size is
given at Fig. 4. I have not seen the eggs of this moth,
but strongly suspect them to be deposited on the vines
themselves.

Some years ago there appeared to be quite a conster-
nation concerning some wonderfully-formed caterpillar
attacking vines. This caterpillar was stated by some to
have a huge horn above its head, two large eyes on its
back, and when touched would "spring" at the intruder.
On interviewing this "monster" among pests, however,
I found it to be nothing more nor less than the larva of

110 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OE VICTORIA:

one of our hawk moths; these, I need hardly remind
you, being quite harmless to human beings or domestic
animals.

When these larvae are numerous, which luckily is not
often the case, one of them will strip a vine in less time
than it would take six caterpillars of the common viae
moth to do, the quantity that they can get through being
enormous.

In Australia we have about twelve species of this genus,
many of these being very large and handsome. We have
another large species in Victoria, C. erotus, also attack-
ing the vine, and this will be figured in Part III. of the
Handbook, our plates of the latter insect not being ready.
The Sphingidce are nocturnal in their habits, and about
dusk may be seen hovering around flowering plants in our
gardens. They fly very rapidly and make a whirring
noise with their wings.

In many parts of Victoria, also near Melbourne, there
is to be found a small cinnamon-brown coloured hawk
moth, C. scrofa. This is a most interesting species, but
does but little harm, and, being a great beauty, is much
sought after by collectors of Lepidoptera.

To those who care to rear specimens of this family for
themselves, it may be mentioned that the perfect speci-
mens should never be taken in the hand whilst alive, as
the somewhat conical-shaped and partly cylindrical body
is difficult to hold between the thumb and finger. If
specimens are wanted in a state of perfection, they must
be reared from the chrysalides ; these latter should be
placed upon some grassy turf, and kept in an airy light
place until the perfect insects appear, when they should
be chloroformed and at once pinned, and if stuffed with
camphorated cotton wool or plaster of Paris are all the
better.

Upon examining one of these moths it will be observed
that they have a long spiral tongue, which they insert into
the tube of a flower much the same as a humming-bird
does with its long and slender bill, the honey being thus
extracted.

THE SILVER-STRIPED VINE MOTH. Ill

Prevention and Remedies.

This is a pest which I am disposed to think need not
cause our vignerons much apprehension, as they are
fortunately not numerous, and, being large, are easily seen
and destroyed.

When a vine is found to have had its leaves badly torn
and jagged, as if they had been cut with blunt scissors,
look under the plant, when black droppings about three
times the size of an ordinary onion seed may be seen, this
being a sure indication of the presence of one or more of
these large caterpillars.

In some cases the whole of a vine on a trellis or
verandah will be found to have been stripped of its
leaves during the night. It is therefore necessary to look
carefully before retiring to rest ; an ordinary lantern and
a pair of good sharp scissors being all that is required
for this somewhat cruel but effective means of protecting
the vines, and getting rid of the culprits.

The larvae of most hawk moths travel somewhat rapidly,
and are active in their movements. Few people who
are unaccustomed to the work would care to handle one
of the splendidly-coloured larvae of our largest and finest
Australian species of the family, Ccequosa triangularis,
because when taken in hand these huge grubs lash out
right and left, and to the uninitiated must appear very
formidable animals to tackle.

When the caterpillars have stripped one vine, they
often travel along the ground and pass by several vines
before ascending another plant to resume the attack.
Their motive in thus acting has not, to my knowledge,
been satisfactorily explained.

When leaves of the vine have become fairly firm, spray
with a weak solution of one of the arsenites, as for the
common vine moth. This must be done, however, before
the berries are of any size.

Hand-picking, together with the use of the scissors, is
after all the best method of dealing with a pest of this
kind. The larvae, pupae, and perfect insects are easily

112 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

injured, so that the chances of their doing much damage
would, by the adoption of the simple means recommended
above, be reduced to a minimum.

In forwarding at any time living larvae to the entomolo-
gist, they should be packed in a tin box with perforated
sides, and in which some grass, green but not damp,
should be placed. Any of the hawk moths, either in the
larval or pupa stages, would be acceptable, such being
required for the Museum of Economic Entomology now
in contemplation.

114 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXX.

Phylloxera, or Grape Louse of the Vine (Phylloxera
vastatrix. — planchon).
Fig.

1. Egg recently laid.

2. Egg near hatching.

3. Hatching of young phylloxera.

4. Larva at the first stage.

5. Larva at the second stage.

6 and 7. Third age, ripper and under side.
8. Female of the galls, a little longer than the preceding one.
9 and 10. Pupas, above and below, a little longer the female apter.
11 and 12. Winged female, above and below.

13. Male.

14. Impregnated female.

15. Egg from which the male proceeds.

16. Egg from which the female proceeds.

Note. — All the above figures are highly magnified, and have been
drawn from the illustrations issued by Hachette and Co., Paris.

Plate XXX.

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 117

CHAPTER XXXV.

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE.

(Phylloxera vastatrix. Planchon.)

Order : Hemiptera. Sub-order : Homoptera. Family : Aphides.

The aerial apterous or wingless female of this most ter-
rible scourge to the vignerons of Europe, America, and
elsewhere, has, according to Mr. Buckton, from whose
fine work the scientific descriptions here given have been
taken, "a body nearly circular, flask-shaped, drawn out
at the tail, which ends in a short and truncated ovipositor.
Colour amber-yellow, fuscous or ferruginous ; spotted
from the numerous eggs which fill the body cavity. Head
and tail-ends slightly browner. Eyes black, and very
small. Antenna? short and very fine, three jointed, the
last being much the longest. Legs very small, scarcely
protruding beyond the body. Rostrum about one-fourth
the length of the body.

" This insect is the immediate produce of the true ovum,
which was laid in the autumn by the sexed female. Her
history, after exclusion from the eggs, is probably some-
what different according to the climate, and perhaps the
character of the vine on which it occurs.

" The aerial (above ground) forms are rare in the colder
climates, but they increase in frequency as we go south-
wards or cross into America. Where the aerial forms
occur, the foundress punctures the leaves in such a manner
that the swelling masses close over and finally entomb
her. The leaves become studded over the surface (and
particularly near the edges) with gall-like masses, many
of which are pedunculate. Each foundress appears to
form a single gall, within which she lays hundreds, or even
thousands, of yellow egg-like bodies. This oviposition
continues through the summer, after which operation she
dies.

118 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

" These galls are round, fleshy, and corrugated. They
often number 100 or more upon a single leaf. A vine
which is much infected soon becomes sickly. The leaves
show distortion, turn yellow or brown, and during their
decay yield a faint and unpleasant odour. The stock
becomes stunted, and if the roots be uncovered they will
be found (especially as regards fibrils) swelled into small
blebs and tubercles. These are the result of the attacks
of the young phylloxera, which, after their development
on the leaf and escape from the gall, have descended into
the Ground and commenced their subterranean existence.

" These creatures are so numerous that the roots when
turned up often appear dusted with yellow grains. In
this condition they produce the greatest destruction to
the European vines. In America the aerial form appears
to produce the greatest evil.

" Subterranean apterous female. — These apterous larvae
are smaller than the fundatrix and are amber-yellow, with
an olive stain towards the head and vent. In later genera-
tions the forms are more flask-like and colour ferruginous.
During their life underground they oviposit. One speci-
men, however, on dissection contained only eight eggs,
but this number is not constant. The egg-like bodies
are of a pale yellow colour and shining. When the larger
roots are attacked the cortex is loosened ; it rots and
scales off under the irritation of the insects. When the
small fibres are affected, swellings and nodules mark the
injury done.

" Professor Riley states that this root modification of
phylloxera passes through five or six generations, which
fact will account for the various forms and sizes seen
simultaneously crowding the roots of the plants. The
American forms appear to be more tuberculate than those
I have been able to examine through M. Lichtenstein's
courtesy.

"About the month of July many of these underground
forms pass into nymphs and come to the surface, where
they develop wings, and then they fly to distant vineyards
to carry on the invasion. In America, during August,

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 119

they swarm in thousands. A quart pot of earth contain-
ing infested roots will for three weeks yield a dozen of
these alate (winged) forms daily, each of which contains
one, two, up to eight egg-like bodies of different sizes,
which are deposited sometimes under the leaf, and some-
times in the fissures of the bark. This winged insect is
the " Pupifer " of Lichtenstein, and furnishes through the
above pseudova the true males and females.

" Winged (jpseudo) female. — Body greenish-yellow, fusi-
form. Abdomen tapering towards the apex. Head
broad ; eyes large and red. Antennae rather short, third
joint much the longest, strongly ringed, and apparently
without any marked tubercle. Wings carried pentwise,
membrane hyaline and very delicate. Cubitus broad and
yellow. Stigma very faint. The three nervures pale
yellow.

" The only specimen I have examined contained one
single large eggy measuring 0'015 of an inch. The
identity of species of these aerial and subterraneous
insects is now too well known to require comment beyond
the fact that Professors Riley, Balbiani, and Cornu have
all proved that the two kinds may be compelled by artifice
to change their habitats. The apterous larvae taken from
the roots, however, show much disinclination to feed on
the leaves, and probably they never would raise the galls.

" Professor Balbiani has shown that the appearance of
the winged insect is not necessary to complete the cycle
of life. In this case, when a recurrence to the male
becomes necessary, an apterous form must yield the eggs
which give rise to the sexes, just as it occurs in the case
of Phylloxera punctata.

" The American phylloxera appears to have as many as
six different periods for egg-laying ; but the European
insect, from Lichtenstein's observations, would appear to
have fewer. The root-feeding larvae undergo a hyberna-
tion, during which time they shrivel up without losing
vitality. In April they wake up, become supple and
inflated from the imbibition of sap, and then it is that the
chemical insecticides have the greatest activity upon
them.

120 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

" Extreme cold does not affect the ova of insects much.
M. Girard points out that the eggs of the silkworm will
bear a cold of 25° C. in their passage over the mountains
of Japan, and that the caterpillars may be frozen, "so as
to ring like metal on a marble slab," and yet after a slow
thawing they will come to life and feed like others. The
fond hopes that cold would destroy the hybernating egg
of phylloxera cannot therefore be realized.

" Balbiani states that the winged females deposit their
pseudova amidst the down on the under-side of the leaf;
and Riley says that this is the common habit of the
American species. The insect, however, will drop them
on the bark, or stem, or indeed almost anywhere.

" The Male and Female. — These perfect sexes were,
I believe, first discovered by M. Lichtenstein, and after-
wards by Professor Riley in America. They are exceed-
ingly small, and have no true mouth parts. A small
eminence is the sole representative of the buccal organs.

" The Apterous (Wingless) Male. — This minute insect
is pale ferruginous yellow and cycloid ; flat, testudinate,
with a very small head furnished with small black eyes.
Thorax proper there is none ; the abdomen is coarsely
ringed and corrugated ; legs short, with obtuse tarsi and
very minute claws. The male is so small that it may be
easily overlooked.

" The Sexed Female is much of the colour of the male,
but is larger. The abdominal cavity contains a single
egg, which is the true ovum. The female delivers herself
of it about the fourth day after she is hatched, and this
without any real necessity of concourse with the male.
Whether such eggs are barren it does not appear (see
Riley, Eighth Report, p. 159). The true ovum is larger
than all the preceding pseudova. It is yellow at first,
but soon afterwards it becomes olive in colour, with a
rough exterior. Its survival through the winter in the
crevices of the bark has been substantiated by Balbiani
and M. Lichtenstein, and there is no doubt that the foun-
dation (the first form issuing from the fecundated egg) is
the produce of the same, just as with other aphides.

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 121

" It has been stated that the phylloxera keeps below the
soil in dry weather, but ascends the stocks in the wet
season (Villedieu).

" M. Lichtenstein lays much importance on the fact that
the males and females remain for several days after they
have been deposited by the winged insect in certain delicate
membranes, which at one time he regarded as cocoons.

" I gather from his remarks that when two winged gene-
rations appear in phylloxera, the first produces a rostrated
progeny, and the last a non-rostrated. If the vine phyl-
loxera shows but one alate generation it furnishes the
non-rostrated sexes in the autumn. He warns all investi-
gators against the confusion likelv to arise bv confounding
an alate insect with its later winded successor.

" If there be no aerial forms in a cycle the foundress
descends at once to the roots and no galls appear on the
leaves."

Prevention and Remedies.

In the history of the world there has been no more
deadly enemy to the vigneron of Europe, America, and
elsewhere than the much dreaded hosts of this tiny but
destructive little insect. Few indeed have been so well
worked out by enthusiastic scientists, who, recognising
the enormous amount of damage done, and the benefits to
be derived from a careful study of the life-history of the
pest, have given to the world the results of their labours
both scientific and practical. To enumerate all the names
of those who stand in the first rank as observers of the
habits of this insect would be perhaps out of place here,
but the names of M. Lichtenstein, Professors Riley, Cornu,
Balbiani, Planchon, Buckton, Villedieu, and others
cannot be overlooked, nor can their untiring efforts to
combat this dire pest be forgotten.

Baron von Mueller in his work on " Select Plants for
Industrial Culture and Naturalization in Extra-tropical
Countries" one of the most valuable books which has seen
the light in Australia, speaks of the phylloxera as follows : —

"As is well known the grape vine is subject to the
attacks of various insect and fungous pests. The most

122 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

destructive by far being the insect called Phylloxera
vastatrix. None of the remedies hitherto suggested seem
to have proved really effective, or they are not of suffi-
ciently easy and cheap application, and the phylloxera
thus is still rapidly on the increase in Europe. According
to latest accounts most vineyards of France were affected,
and the disease is also spreading in Italy, Spain, Germany,
Austria, Hungary, Algeria, Syria, and South Africa.

" The most effectual method of combating this enemy
in France has been found in grafting the ordinary grape-
vine on stocks of several American species of Vitis. It
may be worthy of trial how far the grape-vine can be
grafted on such other species not American as may not
be attacked by the phylloxera. Professor Monnier, of
Geneva, has introduced the very exhaustive sulphurous
anhydrous-acid gas against the phylloxera. The cultiva-
tion of insecticidal plants to check the ingress of the
phylloxera should be more extensively tried, as such
plants might ward off the insect, at all events in its wing-
less state. Dr. Herman Behr, the well-known American
entomologist, suggests for the mitigation of this plague
the ignition of wood near vineyards, when the insects are
on the wing, as all such insects seek fire and succumb in
them, the attraction to the fire light being greatest when
the sky is overcast, or when the nights are without moon-
light. Dr. Leacock, in Madeira, applies a coating of a
sticky solution of resin in oil of turpentine advantageously
to the roots of the vines affected by phylloxera. Dr.
Clemm extols an application of easily decomposed car-
bonates or sulphides to the soil with subsequent addi-
tion of any diluted acid, whereby the suffocating carbonic-
acid gas or the sulphuret of hydrogen is formed and
liberated, the resulting salts in their turn to invigorate
and nourish the suffering plant (Dr. S. Krause). Suc-
cessive broods of phylloxera maintained their vitality on
remnants of vine roots for six years and more. Inundation
to the depth of a few inches for about a month, when that
is practicable, completely suffocates the phylloxera, but
renders the vine for a time much less productive. In

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 123

sandy soil this dreadful insect is retarded in its develop-
ment, action, and progress. Bisulphide of carbon has
proved an efficient remedy; this fluid is introduced into
the soil by a peculiar injector, or through porous sub-
stances (decayed wood) saturated with the bisulphide, the
cost of this operation being, in France, £3 10s. to £4 per
acre annually (Planchon, David, Marian, Robart).

" Dressing with sulpho-carbonate of potassium is still
more efficacious and less dangerous, but involves an
annual expenditure of about £8 per acre (W. T. Dyer).
Sand might be dug in at the roots of vines, which may be
in imminent danger of becoming a prey to phylloxera.
Recently it has been insisted on by Mr. Bauer, of San
Francisco, that it would be best to put minute quantities
of mercury and chalk near the roots of vines affected
with phylloxera, a measure which deserves every con-
sideration, as the particles of quicksilver would only very
gradually be dissolved and long remain stationary ; and
we know that metal in its solutions to be the most power-
ftd antiseptic, a dilution of 1 part of bichloride of mercury
in 5,000 parts of water proving strong enough for surgical
purposes.

" The Phylloxera vastatrLv and also its ova succumb at
a heat of 113° F. (Cousanon and Solomon), and thus by a
careful heating of the soil the insect and its eggs may be
destroyed without hurting the plant dangerously."

Fortunately for Victorian vignerons, this pest, owing
to the prompt and heroic measures which the Govern-
ment of the day insisted upon, is believed to have been
thoroughly stamped out, at least we sincerely trust that
such is the case. Should this scourge again make its
appearance in our vineyards, it is hoped that the very
plain and concise account of the life-history of the insect,
as given by Mr. Buckton and other eminent authorities,
will enable the vigneron to at once recognise the insect,
should he be called upon to again face such a calamity;
and as the coloured plates are all that can be desired,
having been adapted from the beautiful drawings issued

124 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

by M. Hachette and Co., of Paris, and mostly verified
by microscopically mounted specimens kindly lent to
me by Mr. J. Bosisto, C.M.G., M.P., of Melbourne,
and, as colonial entomologists have had but little
immediate experience with this pest, it has been thought
advisable to furnish to growers the results,- in a partly
collected form, of what has been written and done in other
countries, this information being greatly scattered, and
much of it jDrobably inaccessible to any but our leading
vignerons. It is hoped that should the phylloxera ever
show itself here again, growers will combine as they would
against a common enemy against this great scourge and
drawback to the enormous interests of the great wine
industry of Victoria.

The information here given has been taken from the
most reliable sources, so that its accuracy may be depended
upon. To go on quoting the observations and remarks as
contained in a large number of valuable works bearing
specially upon the subject of phylloxera and its ravages,
would take up the space of a half-dozen good-sized
volumes, so that, as it would be well-nigh impossible to
supply the whole of this valuable information in detail, it
may be remarked that any person requiring additional
information thereon may obtain it in the various European,
American, and other reports ; also from those of Victoria
and other colonies, including New Zealand. I am greatly
indebted to Dr. Kirk for sending me a copy of his very
valuable little work on phylloxera, and from which, as I
know it will be acceptable to vignerons generally, I have
taken the liberty of quoting freely.

Dr. Kirk says : — " The reports {Report of J. H. Wheeler,
Chief Executive Viticultural Health Officer to the Board
of State, California, Viticultural Commissioners, 1887)
of the commission issued heretofore concerning this pest,
and the best remedies for its extermination which we have
urged for adoption, are more than ever confirmed at the
time of writing. As proof of this I am able to give the
following, which I translate from the report of the
Commission Superieure du Phylloxera of France for

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 125

1887, representing as it does the results of unlimited
experiments and long years of practical work." The
struggle against the phylloxera goes on by submersion,
insecticides, and by replanting with American vines in
the following proportion :— Nm„ber of acres treated_

1887 1885

Submersion ... ... 66,662 50,847

Sulphide of carbon ...165,512 101,462

Sulpho-carbonate ... 22,050 13,067

Americau vines ...416,292 188,205

It may thus be seen that great preference is shown for
resistant vines, the acreage rising in two years from
188,205 acres to the enormous figures of 416,292 acres.
The answers to the question so often put to me by vine-
growers, "Are resistant vines a success ? " We have pub-
lished advice on the subject continuously, but there does
not exist to-day in the whole state 2,000 acres of resistant
vines. Those resistants which have been properly selected,
planted, and cared for are to-day monuments of success,
but they are too few to save us from the growing ravages
of this pest.

It will be noted in the above that the use of carbon-
bisulphide has largely increased in France ; that the use
of sulpho-carbonates, because of the great expense
attached, has grown less popular. The number of vine-
yards is nearly constant, because of the special natural
requirements of this process.

California vineyardists can point with pride and assur-
ance to the planting of grafted resistant vines belonging
to Mr. Julius Dressel, of Sonoma, when, in the midst of
ravaging phylloxera, and on soil of very moderate worth,
a magnificent yield of choice varieties has already been
secured by this means. Others have been similarly
successful in growing and grafting resistant vines ; but I
have, as yet, found no other test so severe in its nature as
that conducted at Mr. Dressel's vineyard. Mr. Dressel
states that he is perfectly satisfied with the "riparia" as
a grafting stock, easy to root, and sufficiently vigorous in
his soil to supply any vigorous growing variety. The

126 DESTKUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTOKIA :

"Lenoir" has been growing rapidly in favour in California,
because of its rapid development and easy grafting. It
proves difficult to root, but is preferred over the "riparia"
and some others, because it furnishes a wine suitable for
blending as a direct producer. But grafting is both ex-
pensive and slow, and, in fact, the value of carrying on any
warfare may be somewhat altered by the present depressed
condition of the wine-making industry and the popularity
and improved value of other branches of agriculture.

A very practical series of conclusions have been arrived
at by the California State Viticultural Commissioners,
1882-83 and 1883-84, as under :—

We have learned sufficiently already to be able to
make public certain conclusions, viz. : —

First. — That the ravages of the Phylloxera do not
threaten rapid destruction of vineyards in this State.

Second. — That, by using wise precautions in disinfect-
ing cuttings before planting, and avoiding the use of
rooted vines from infected districts, new plantations may
be made with little danger of infection, except in the
direction of prevailing summer winds that blow from
diseased places.

Third. — That whenever infection is discovered in a
vineyard, prompt action in substituting resistant stocks
for those diseased will not only check the evil, but will
result in such a gradual reconstitution of the vines that
the extra expense and losses will not be severely felt by
the proprietors.

Fourth. — That in all cases of new plantations in the
direction of known contagion, only resistant stocks should
be planted.

Fifth. — That fear of future trouble from this pest may
be avoided in any case by planting resistant stocks, even
though present infection is not feared.

Sixth. — That grafting upon resistant stocks may be
easily accomplished without extraordinary expenses, and
that the cost is more than compensated for by the in-
creased vigour and fruitfulness of the vineyards so treated.

Seventh. — That, in substituting resistant stocks of
those diseased, efforts should be made to eradicate as

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 127

carefully as possible the insects already accumulated on
the roots that cannot be removed, or that are grafted. This
is important as a means of removing danger from the
vicinity of the vines not affected, or of reducing the force
of the invasions, and a protection to the young roots of
the resistant stocks, which, while they resist, may be, in a
measure, checked in growth by the efforts of the insects
to maintain their position. The bisulphide of carbon and
the sulpho-carbonate of potassium are the best known
remedies for disinfecting diseased spots.

Eighth. — That although submersion of infected spots
may preserve a vineyard whenever practicable if practised
annually after the disease is known to exist in it, yet the
simplest and cheapest remedy, even where the land is
level and water plentiful, will be found in using resistant
vines as substitutes, this being a permanent defence.

Ninth. — That all vine growers should commence by
experimenting at once with the best known resistant
stocks in limited numbers, so as to determine, in case of
fleed, which varieties will flourish best in their soils, and
to afford themselves and their workmen the opportunity
to learn by practice the simple art of grafting."

A very interesting and useful chapter, in tabulated
form, I have taken from Dr. Kirk's book, as the infor-
mation ought to be extremely valuable to those about to
plant resistant stocks. Dr. Kirk says : — " Early in the
study of the subject it was found that the nature of the
soil had a very marked influence on the success of the
different sorts named as stocks. The subject has now
been fullv investigated in France, and the latest researches
are formulated by the Experimental School at Montpellier
in the statement quoted below, which will be of interest
as giving the various classes of soils, together with the
American vines best adapted to each : —

1. New, deep, fertile, soil : — Riparia (tomentous and
glabrous), *Jacquiez, Solonis, Viala, Taylor and Cunning-
ham.

* According to experiments which have been made by the Agricultural
Society of Herault, as quoted in the Cape Agricultural Journal, it baa been
decided that the " Jacquiez " is not suited for a graft bearer, but on its own roots
no exception need be taken as to growth.

128 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

2. Deep soils, somewhat strong, not wet : — Jacquiez,
Riparia, Solonis, Cunningham, Viala, and Taylor.

3. Deep soils of medium consistency, new, and not dry
in summer : — Eiparia, Jacquiez, Solonis, Viala, Taylor,
and Black-July.

4. Light pebbly soils, deep, well drained, and not too
dry in summer : — Jacquiez, Eiparia (wild), Taylor, and
Rupestris.

5. Calcareous soils, with subsoil shallow or granitic : —
Solonis, Rupestris.

6. Argillaceous soils, white or grey : — Cunningham.

7. Argillaceous soils, deep, and very wet, V. cinerea.

8. Deep, sandy, fertile soils : — Riparia (wild), Solonis,
Jacquiez, Cunningham, Black-July, Rupestris.

9. Light pebbly soils, dry and barren: — Rupestris,
York, Madeira, Riparia (wild).

10. Deep soils with a tufa base, and salt lands : — Solonis.

11. Soils formed of debris of tufa, but not sufficiently
deep : — Taylor.

12. Ferruginous soils, containing red pebbles of silica,
deep, and somewhat strong, well drained, but fresh in
summer: — All the varieties indicated, and in addition
Herbemont, Clinton, Cynthiana, Marion, Concord, and
Herman.

The valuable kerosene emulsion is also spoken very
highly of as a remedy against underground insects which
at least in America is superior to the other insecticides
before alluded to. " Diluted only by two or three times
its volume of water, this emulsion has no injurious effect
upon the roots of vines (being really beneficial), but
destroys the Phylloxera, and what is still more important,
kills the eggs even when in weak solution." — C. V. Riley.

Some very practical advice on this subject of phylloxera
has been tendered by M. Sabate, of the Societe Nationale
d? Agriculture de France, and which, for the benefit of
readers of this part of the book, I have had translated and
copied as follows : —

" It is not necessary to discuss the existence of phylloxera ; its habits
and ravages are well enough known for me to dispense with any

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 129

explanations. But I would simply express with emphasis the great
necessity for saving the vines in all of the provinces. Regarding that
which has been said of the winter eggs, it is certain that if it were
possible to take action in all of the provinces at the same time, the
phylloxera would be completely destroyed and all the vines, whether
American or European, would not be liable to fatal injuries.

" To preserve a vine from phylloxera, it is necessary to have some
preventive treatment.

" The winter eggs must be destroyed. If they are not destroyed, the
generations produced must be destroyed. To do the above is" neither
long, difficult, or costly. The annual barking of the vine-stalks should
be done during the winter, when vegetable growth is at a stand-still —
work not nearly so long as one would suppose, when a stem has been
barked once. Annually, also, one should sprinkle the vine at its first
vegetation, when the leaves have attained the diameter of three or four
centimetres, with finely-powdered lime, thrown with a pair of bellows
during the night dews. The caustic action of the lime is so strong
and so instantaneous that one may see immediately the dead of the
young phylloxera, freshly hatched, spread above and under the leaves.

" Any small insect, not only the caterpillars of two centimetres in
length, and also the larger snails, provided they have not their live
part completely covered by their shell, are instantaneously destroyed.
The lime so spread will not allow the growth of any other vegetation;
then the vine need fear absolutely no danger.

" I have practised the barking since 1874 and the liming since 1877.
These two operations are made annually, and constitute the preventive
treatment. This is an extra dressing (or mode) of 10 to 12 francs per
hectare. When a vine carries the phylloxera on its roots, whether it
be European or American, it is necessary to relieve them of it quickly,
or it will succumb to the attacks. The lesser cures are well enough
known and experimental ; here are the most useful and efficacious : —

" 1. The submersion. This is always efficacious, if the under-soil
permits — if it is drainable, and if the water is abundant enough to
cover entirely the whole surface of the vine, to submerge it during four
days in the month. If the water is not fertilized, if it is not slimy, a
manure might prove profitable. When the subsoil is compact and
hard to drain, submersion is fatal to the vine.

" 2. Sulpho-carbonate of potassium, when its application is possible,
is the best of insecticides, because it brings to the vine a thickness (or
strength) of vegetation of sufficient recompense.

" 3. Sulphur of carbon, much as has been said against it, is also an
excellent insecticide. It becomes almost a necessity for the strengthen-
ing of the vegetable growth.

"Never inject a solution into damp soil, especially in clayey (argilla-
ceous) soils, because the diffusion of the poisonous gases has no effect
beyond the sides of the hole made by the injector ; the best time for
injecting the solution is during the months preceding the dormant stage
of vegetation, which varies, of course, with the climates.

130 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

"In the Bordeaux district the best time is from the loth of Novem-
ber to the 15th of February, if the state of the soil is suitable, if it is
not too damp, or if a long spell of rain is expected, following after the
operation.

" The following is an estimate of the cost of these two operations
reckoned at per hectare (2^ acres) : —

"300 francs (say £12) for the sulphur of carbon.

" 500 francs (say £20) for the sulpho-carbonate of potassium.

" I have experimented with another iusecticide, of which much has
been said, the sulpho-carbonate of calcium, and not costing so much ;
but I have not used it sufficiently myself to be able to recommend it.

"As in all circumstances and for all things, one must not be carried
away with enthusiasm for a certain cause, as none can be regarded as
perfect ; you will not get the absolute destruction of phylloxera by sub-
mersion, or by sulpho-carbonate of potassium, or by sulphur of carbon ;
the phylloxera, Avhich each year after the respective applications,
whether in winter or spring, furnish the new re-invasions in June, July,
or August, by the hatching of winter eggs, if these winter eggs have
not been destroyed in time.

" My conclusion is that two operations are necessary, absolutely
indispensable, to work advantageously against the phylloxera — the pre-
ventive treatment at once, and always, and the curative treatment to
follow."

The following practical instructions on the treatment
by sulphide of carbon are by Messieurs Marion, Conanon,
and Gastine (France), and which I have extracted from
Dr. Kirk's work : —

" 1 . Doses of Sulphide of Carbon. — This is a transparent liquid, with-
out colour, and extremely inflammable. It vapourizes rapidly, and
under certain conditions is explosive. It must therefore be manipulated
with many precautions. Besides, the odour is so strong and so charac-
teristic that the least quantity of vapour shows itself.

" When sulphide of carbon is introduced into the soil it vapourizes in
mixing with the air contained in the particles of the soil, and these
vapours have enough force to penetrate far from the point where they
first took place, meanwhile destroying any insects which they meet.
Scientific experiments, the result of which have been confirmed by many
observers, have enabled the range of these vapours to be determined
according to the doses employed, the duration of their persistence in the
soil, and their relative insecticide-power. These data, and those con-
cerning the resistance of the vine itself to various doses, have regulated
the rules of application of sulphide of carbon to phylloxerated vines.

" The quantities of sulphide of carbon which should be employed per
acre vary according to the depth and the state of permeability of the
soil. No account need be taken of the state of the vine, as to whether
it is old or young, vigorous or enfeebled, in determining the doses to be

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 131

used. In every ease the object is to attack the insect at the roots, and
to obtain as complete an insecticide effect as possible. For this it is
indispensable that the whole mass of the soil should be impregnated, as
completely, uniformly, and rapidly as possible, by the vapours of the
sulphide, sufficient to render the atmosphere underground unrespirable by
the insect. The dose is the same for killing one or thousands of
phylloxera, so that the viticulturist must not make the doses any
different for a field in which he supposes that there only exist very few
insects than for one which is entirely invaded. The diminution of
doses can only have the effect of employing uselessly a product which
can only have a sufficient insecticide energy if used in proper quantities.

" The minimum of sulphide to employ is 20 grammes per square metre,
or 200 kilogrammes per hectare (i.e., \oz. to lOf square feet, or, say,
Yiblbs. per acre). Less than this quantity, even under the most
favorable conditions of the soil, will not insure proper treatment. It
is even desirable in soils of an average depth, to increase the dose to
240 or to 250 kilogrammes. This is the dose, in fact, which answers
best in the majority of vineyards ; and for deep soils one ought not to
hesitate to increase the dose even to 300 kilogrammes, say 6 cwt.,
per hectare (2\ acres). The reason will be easily understood for this
augmentation, since the object is to impregnate a greater depth of soil
occupied by the roots and by the parasites.

" In the determination of the proper dos© of sulphide of carbon,
account must be taken not only of the depth of the soil, but also of the
permeability both of it and of the subsoil in which the roots penetrate.
Light and permeable soils contain more air than others, so that in order
to impregnate them completely with toxical vapours a higher dose of in-
secticide is necessary. On the other hand, some subsoils are more
favorable to a uniform distribution of these vapours. When the soil
is at once permeable and deep, and the subsoil is one in which the roots
penetrate easily, the maximum doses of sulphide ought to be applied.
Vines submitted to too feeble a treatment remain each year under the
influence of the parasite, which is not sufficiently attacked.

" 2. Distribution of Sulphide of Carbon. — Sulphide is applied by
divers instruments — by Pal-injectors or by traction injectors. The
Pal-injectors distribute the sulphide by small doses, injected in holes
which are regularly made in the soil; the traction injectors distribute
the insecticide in furrows traced by the ploughshare.

" The soil of a vineyard is occupied entirely by roots, which cross each
other and form a continuous network, even where the vines are planted
in lines, leaving between them large spaces reserved for other cultiva-
tion. It is therefore necessary to inject the sulphide uniformly through-
out the soil; and the doses must be calculated proportionately to t lie
whole surface of the vineyard, whatever may be the method of planta-
tion, and whatever may be the age of the vines.

u When, as is most often done, the treatment is by the Pal-injector,
the disposition of the holes of injection should vary with the different
modes of plantation, because the lines of vines serve as an indication

K 2

132 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

for the distribution of the holes. They are placed at equal distances
one from the other, in regular alternation as on a chessboard, so as to
produce a uniform impregnation of the soil. The number of holes of
injection must never be less than two per square metre (10f square
feet). With less holes in that surface, the diffusion of the insecticide
vapours cannot be insured, even in very permeable soils. In general,
an augmentation of the number of holes, and a proportionate reduction
in each, favours a good saturation of the soil. When the soil is not
deep it is indispensable to augment the number of holes, to compensate
the waste of vapours towards the atmosphere. The same argument is
necessary for soils that are only slightly permeable. In general an
average of three holes per square metre represents the most convenient
disposition ; but in the case of compact soils there should be four holes
to the same surface. The depth of the holes of injection ought to be
twenty-five to thirty centimetres (10 inches to 12 inches). The holes
must be carefully covered over.

" The dose for each hole ought to vary according to the number of
the holes and according to the quantity of sulphide which is to be dis-
tributed per hectare (about 2§ac). Suppose, for example, that 240 kilo-
grammes (500 lbs.) are to be employed per hectare, and that three
holes are to be made per square metre ; then the injector must be regu-
lated so as to give a dose of eight grammes (•§• oz.) at each stroke of
the piston. It is always necessary to verify during the work whether
the action of the injector is quite regular, and to take care that the
apparatus is in a condition to ensure accurate action.

" The principles which regulate the application of sxdphide of carbon
by traction injectors are the same. In that case the distribution of the
insecticide takes place by the regular displacement of the farrows
traced along the vines. These lines of distribution ought not to be
distant more than one metre from each other.

" With this mode of application of the sulphide it would not be
possible to attain, without injuring the roots, a depth of from twenty-
five to thirty centimetres (10 to 12 inches), at which depth the sulphide
is to be deposited. It is not possible to descend with traction injectors
below fifteen to eighteen centimetres ; it is therefore necessary to
compensate the more rapid waste of vapours by an augmentation of
the dose to about 25 to 30 per cent, over the quantities above indicated.
This waste is, of course, diminished by taking care to make the return
of the soil over the lines of injection as complete as possible. It may be
taken for granted that any want of success in the regeneration or the
maintenance of a vineyard will follow whenever traction injectors have
been employed without taking these precautions.

" 3. Conditions of the Soil Favorable to Treatment. — The treat-
ment ought never to be applied after ploughing or digging, because
when the soil is lifted the vapours of the sulphide escape towards the
atmosphere without producing their proper effect ; and for the same
reason it is necessary to wait about fifteen days after treatment before
any cultivation of the land.

THE PHYLLOXERA, OR GRAPE LOUSE OF THE VINE. 133

" "When the soil is either very wet or very dry the treatment ought
to be delayed.

" The most favorable conditions for treatment to ensure the best
distribution of the vapours of sulphide, and their persistence in the
soil are those of a soil slightly humid, permeable, but close on the
surface, and forming a crust after the action of rain. In these cases
excellent results can be obtained, even in strong soils, which are the
most difficult to defend. In light and permeable soils the treatment
can be effected at any time of year.

"It is essential not to leave the vines long under the influence of an
attack of phylloxera. To obtain good results the invasion ought to be
treated at once, and before the vines show any enfeeblement. The
vineyard must be treated in its totality, it would be useless to inject the
sulphide only where spots are seen ; and the treatment must be renewed
every year.

" In the southern vineyards of France the extreme dryness of the soil
and the great development of shoots at the beginning of summer are an
obstacle to operations during that season, and the treatment in autumn,
winter, or spring is the easiest and most efficacious. On the other hand,
in most of the other viticultural regions, the rains of autumn and winter
frequently prevent the work, and it is easier in spring or summer.
Summer treatment, instead of being only done once, requires two appli-
cations, succeeding each other at an interval of from four to six days,
half the dose being employed each time which would have been injected
by a single treatment. The advantage of reiterated treatment is, that
it maintains during a longer time the parasites under the action of the
toxical vapours. It is, therefore, essential that the interval between the
first and second injection should be short.

" 4. Manuring. — The vine, like every other plant, requires manures to
replace in the soil the elements which the crop takes away. Ordinary
manures are sufficient for vines Avhich have not been already greatly
attacked by the phylloxera, and when the insecticide treatment is
adopted without delay; but when the roots have been already partly
destroyed by the parasite, reparatory and supplementary manuring is
imperatively required, so as to favour a rapid re-constitution. Experi-
ence has shown that the applications of sulphide of carbon, if made
with care, method, and persistence, bring back enfeebled vines into
complete production, and maintain in full value vineyards which have
been treated immediately on the appearance of the phylloxera."

About the phylloxera, its ravages, prevention, and
remedial measures, &c., growers can hardly have too
much information, so that although this chapter may
appear a lengthy one, it is hoped that the great importance
of the subject will be considered sufficient justification
for the inclusion of these valuable, and often difficult to
obtain, extracts and opinions of the best authorities, no

134 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

matter from what country or source through which such
information has been obtained. By way of illustration it
may be pointed out how unprepared we were when the
unfortunate outbreak of phylloxera at Fyansford, in 1875,
took place. Although we were handicapped from want
of a practical acquaintance with the life-history of the
insect, the prompt and effective measures then taken for
its suppression are too well known to need repetition here.
It is to be hoped that the fears entertained by some
persons as to the probability of another invasion of this
scourge may prove to be groundless.

To be in the position to resist the attacks of any com-
mon enemy we must be prepared first with a possible
means of resistance, and secondly, should the first fail,
with methods by which the attack, if made, may be
attended with the least possible danger. When the dread
phylloxera makes its appearance, it comes as our Ameri-
can friends put it, to stay, so that no measures, however
stringent, can be too severe, and when we know that
the insects have been found on roots which have been left
in the soil for six years, it will be easily seen with what a
persistent and dreadful scourge we have to deal.

136 DKSTKUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXXII.

The " White Ant " (Termes Australis. — Hagk.n).
Fig.

1. Portion of orange root attacked by White Ants, showing insects

at work and damage done. Natural size.

2. Portion of vine stem attacked by White Ants, showing insects at

work and damage done. Natural size.

3. Section of orange root destroyed by White Ants. Natural size.

4. Section of vine root, showing damage done by White Ants.

Natural size.

5. Male, with wings folded. Natural size.

6. Male, with wings extended. Natural size.

7. Worker. Natural size.

8. Soldier. Natural size.

9. Queen. Natural size.

10. Head of " Soldier White Ant," showing the powerful jaws.
Magnified.

.'an* Dti

■

THE VICTORIAN WHITE ANT. 137

CHAPTER XXXVI.

THE VICTORIAN WHITE ANT.

(Termes Australis. Hag en.)
Order : Neuroptera. Family : Termitidce.

The so-called White Ant, which in reality has no affinity
whatever to the true ants, the latter belonging to a different
order (Hymenoptera), and in many respects also differing
in economy from those of the latter insects.

The White Ant is a small yellowish-white and soft-
bodied insect, which, however, to the ordinary observer, is
in general appearance not unlike an ant, and may easily
be mistaken for such.

In Victoria these insects are of small size, ranging
from 3 to 4 lines in length ; the wings being from about
8 to 10 lines, the tropical species being of a much
larger size.

Of these singular insects there are a number of dif-
ferent species, as many as 41 having been given in the
British Museum catalogue, published in 1852, as being
in the collection of that noole institution, and but little
difference, comparatively speaking, has been observed
regarding their economy.

The late lamented H. W. Bates, so well known as a
naturalist and traveller in the tropics, observes, " that each
species of Termites consists of several distinct orders or
castes, which live together, and constitute populous organ-
ized communities. They inhabit structures known as
' Termitaria,' consisting of mounds or hillocks, some of
which in the tropical species are from 5 to 15 feet
high, and are formed of particles of earth worked into a
material as hard as stone. The ' Termitarium ' has no
external aperture for ingress or egress, as far as can be
seen, the entrance being placed at some distance, and
connected with the central building by means of covered

138 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

ways and galleries. Each Termitariura is composed of a
vast number of chambers and irregular intercommunicat-
ing galleries, built up with particles of earth or vegetable
matter, cemented together with the saliva of the insects."
A family of workers consists of a "king" and "queen,"
of the workers, and of the soldiers. Our Fig. 9 shows the
wingless queen, and in Figs. 5 and 6 the winged insects
in different positions. Figs. 7 and 8 show the wingless
" worker " and " soldier " respectively.

According to the researches of Lespes, Bates, and Fritz
Muller, the workers and soldiers amongst the Termites
are not sterile females, but modified larvae, which belong
to both sexes, and are arrested in their development, or,
rarely, males and females in which the reproductive
organs are rudimentary. Fritz Muller has also discovered
that, in addition to the winged males and females which
are periodically produced in great numbers, there exists
in some, if not in all, of the species, a second set of
males and females which are destitute of wings. These
complementary males and females never leave the termi-
tary in which they are born, and they may take the place
of the winged males and females whenever a community
fails to secure a royal couple at the proper period. The
royal couple are the parents of the colony, and are always
kept together, closely guarded by a detachment of workers
in a large chamber in the heart of the hive, surrounded
by much stronger walls than the outer cells. They are
both wingless, and are immensely larger than the other
workers and soldiers.

The queen, when in her chamber, is always found in
a gravid (egg-laying) condition, her abdomen enormously
distended with eggs, which, as fast as they come forth,
are conveyed by a relay of workers, in their mouths, from
the royal chamber to cells dispersed through the hive.

At the beginning of the rainy season (this of course
refers to tropical countries) a number of winged males
and females are produced, which, when they arrive at
maturity, leave the hive and fly abroad. They then
shed their wings (a special provision for this existing in a

THE VICTORIAN WHITE ANT.

139

natural seam running across the root of the wing and
dividing the nervures) and pair, and then become the
kings and queens of future colonies.

The workers and soldiers are distinct from the moment
of their emergence from the egg, and they do not acquire
their special characteristics in consequence of any differ-
ent food or treatment. Both are wingless, and they
differ solely in the formation of the head. Fig. 10 shows
a head magnified of the "soldier form" of our White Ant.
The duties of the workers are to build, make covered
roads, nurse the young brood from the egg upwards, take
care of the king and queen (who are the progenitors of
the whole colony), and secure the exit of the males and
females when they acquire wings and fly out to pair and
disseminate the race. The duties of the soldiers are to
defend the community from all attacks which may be
made upon its peace, for which purpose the mandibles
(jaws) are greatly developed.

It is most remarkable that both the workers and
soldiers amongst these strange insects are mostly without
eyes, and, as Mr. Woods remarks, are "blind soldiers
directing the blind workers by some system of signalling
which we cannot understand."

In proportion to the workers the soldiers are very few
in numbers, scarcely more than 1 per cent.

Like the queen bee the female White Ant has but the
one business in life, namely, to lay eggs, which she does
perpetually, their numbers being counted not by tens of
thousands but by millions.

I have thus given you the results of some of the
observations made by celebrated naturalists as to the
habits of these wonderful little creatures.

There are many other matters connected with their
economy, but our space will not permit of much ^ more
information in this direction. To those of us who, in the
summer time, have travelled in the country districts,
especially in the warmer and drier portions of the colony
the sight on a sultry summer's evening of myriads of
these little flimsy-winged insects flying in dense clouds,

140 DESTKUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

often coming into the houses and covering the walls,
ceiling, &c, and not infrequently extinguishing our
candles or other lights, is by no means an uncommon one.
These, then, are the winged forms of the White Ant, and
this swarming, which is familiarly known as pairing, takes
place with the same insect but once, as the insects cast
their wings, and those which escape from the attacks of
birds, &c, usually descend into the ground, being then, of
course, in a wingless state.

The White Ant is known to be one of the most
troublesome of insects, destroying, as it does, timbers,
furniture, books, cloth, boxes, boots, and many other
articles too numerous to mention here; but it is only of
late years, so far as I am aware, that we in Victoria can
add to its enormities that of the destruction of vines,
apples, and other fruit trees.

A few years ago Mr. Knight, our fruit expert, brought
for my inspection some pieces of orange trees, root
portion (see Fig. 1), also some vines (see Fig. 2), the
plants of which had been destroyed by these little pests.
This was my first experience of White Ants attacking
and destroying fruit trees and vines.

The method of working of the White Ant is always
most insidious, as there is seldom any outward indication
to be perceived of the destruction that is taking place
within the object attacked.

Take, for example, a fruit tree attacked by White Ants,
and the tree will appear to be growing fairly well, when
gradually the bark changes colour and assumes a
yellowish and sickly appearance, and I am informed by a
friend who has made many practical observations, living
as he does, in a dry district much infested by these pests,
that plants raised from seeds are less liable to attack than
those which have been either grafted or budded.

I am, at present, not prepared to express an opinion
upon this somewhat remarkable statement, although
some of our growers doubtless have had experience
in this matter, and for any further information bearing

THE VICTORIAN WHITE ANT. 141

upon this subject I would be greatly obliged. It may,
however, arise partly through a defective union when
grafting, in which case the traces would remain, forming
a commencing point on which the first attack would in
all probability be made.

It has also been found that "red deal" is less liable to
attack than the "white deal" and kindred timbers.

In the dry country, so often composed of "box forests,"
as the ruling tree vegetation, the White Ants are particu-
larly numerous, although in the moister districts of
Gippsland and elsewhere, it is no uncommon sight to see
the decayed earth-habitations of these insects extending
for 20 feet up the trunks of our large Eucalypti, or
so-called gum trees. In the drier districts the total
collapse of a dwelling is of no unusual occurrence.

The White Ant, unfortunately, is very easy of intro-
duction ; and Mr. Morris, of Kew Gardens, London,
informs us that a North African and South European
species, Termes lucifugus, was introduced into France
at about the end of the last century, and has now spread
almost everywhere at La Rockelle. Many public and
private institutions there are in a dangerous condition,
and at the Prefecture the wooden beams have had to
be replaced by iron ones. They have destroyed part
of the archives, and it is found useless to attempt to
grow certain plants in the garden, as geraniums, &c,
as the ants consume the interior of the stalk. It
has been found almost impossible to destroy or get
rid of them. Dr. Miiller also remarked that they had
proved very destructive to vines in certain parts of
France.

This bit of information should cause us to be on our
guard against the probable introduction from Queensland
of some of the larger and more formidable species which
may be readily introduced in logs of timber and like
commodities.

The above, then, will furnish some idea of the life-
history and habits of this but too well-known pest, the

142 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

economy of which would appear to differ but little from
the larger species which are mostly confined to the
tropics.

Prevention and Remedies.

In the drier parts of the colony many of the orchards
and vineyards are surrounded by the well-known " box
forests," the dead trees of which in particular furnish
unlimited breeding places for the White Ant.

When an orchard or vineyard is about to be formed,
great care must be exercised to see that as many as
possible of the roots of the newly-grubbed trees are
taken away or burned on the spot, as it is here where a
deal of the mischief takes place, the insects being in the
dead wood of grubbed trees, and these, if left in the soil,
will furnish excellent breeding places, and from which
the newly-planted trees will receive, probably, their first
infection.

This is a matter of the very first importance, and should
be strictly carried out, as by such precautions much of
the damage caused by these pests may be either averted
or at least greatly lessened.

It has been found that trees, if they have escaped the
attack for the first two or three years of their growth,
usually either resist the attacks or escape altogether, so
it is in the earlier stages of the tree's existence that we
must concentrate our efforts if we are to succeed in com-
bating this most destructive enemy of the vigneron and
orchardist.

Before the trees are planted they should be submerged
for a short time in a solution of either tar-impregnated
water, as recommended for other trees, or Quibell's mix-
ture ; proportions, 1 to 30, which has been proved to be
an excellent dip, as the smell of tar in any form is not
only of a lasting nature, but is particularly obnoxious to
insect life of all kinds.

THE VICTQBIAN WHITE ANT. 143

Growers must not wait until their trees show indications
of being attacked, and it is safe to treat them at least twice
in a year until the time before specified shall have been
reached, when, in accordance with former experiences, the
dangerous period will have passed over.

In treating trees in which the White Ants are supposed
to be concealed, the soil should be earthed up around the
stem to a height of, say, 4 inches above the soil. Form
the soil into a basin-like hollow on top, and into this pour
a small quantity of the material, about a small bucketful
to a dozen three-year-old trees. When the stuff (which
in the case of QuibelPs mixture should be used at, say,
one part of the mixture to fifteen of water, less if the tree
be naturally tender, or less robust than other varieties of
the same fruits) has soaked into the soil, which in most
cases will happen in a few minutes, cover up the soil in
which the mixture has been placed, and the first dressing
is then done with.

When young vines have to be dealt with, the quantity
used for each plant must be, of course, lessened to about
two-thirds of the quantity applied to apples and like trees,
and the proportions may also be altered to, say, 1 in 20.

In parts of the colony where the White Ants are
troublesome, books and other valuables of a like material
should be kept in tin boxes, and in receptacles in the lids
of which carbolic acid on a sponge or wadding should be
kept, as the smell from this preparation is greatly disliked
by insects.

It would seem to have been a very wise precaution on
the part of our Government that they now insist on the
timbers used in the erection of public buildings in the
drier parts of the colony being specially treated with the
"Preservative oil." This oil may be purchased in Mel-
bourne at Is. 6d. per gallon, each case containing eight
gallons of the mixture. It is hoped that with these
precautions, faithfully and intelligently carried out, to-
gether with the natural decrease in the remains of our

144 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

ring-barked forests, more especially where such are in
close proximity to our orchards or vineyards, we may be
able to combat this pest successfully.

With regard to the "ants" which shed their wings and
take to the soil, we may be assured of this fact, that when
the trees in an orchard are well looked after and treated,
the White Ant will never obtain a permanent foothold, as
in the latter stages they have many enemies, more
especially amongst the insectivorous birds, and also
amongst ants and predatory insects of many kinds. Keep
a sharp look-out for any indications of this pest amongst
trees, and with the disappearance of that antiquated
though very useful article, the log-fence, many of our
pests will no doubt be greatly reduced, or altogether
disappear.

146 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE XXXIII.

"Potato Moth" (Lita solanella. — Boisd.).
Fig.

1. Moth. Magnified.

Ia. Moth. Natural size.

2. Pupa. Magnified.

3. Head and first three segments of larva, upper side. Magnified.
3a. Head and first three segments of larva, under side. Magnified.

4. Potato sliced to show effects of attack hy larva? of Moth. Natural

size.

5. Larva. Natural size.

6. Fore-leg, Moth.

7. Hind-leg, Moth.

Plate XXXIII.

THE POTATO MOTH. 14 7

CHAPTER XXXVII.

THE POTATO MOTH.

{Lita solanella. Boisd.)

Order : Lepidoptera. Group : Tineina. Family : Gelechidce.

In this little moth the potato-grower of many countries
has in all probability his very worst insect enemy, not
excepting, perhaps, the Colorado beetle itself.

The perfect insect is a small, narrow, brown and grey
moth, about seven lines across the wings when expanded
(see Fig. 1a).

The larva is of a pinkish colour, size as given at Fig. 5,
slightly enlarged.

Although there exists much difference of opinion as to
how the tubers of the potato are first attacked, I must
agree entirely with M. Ragouet, of Paris (as quoted by
Mr. Meyrick), that "the eggs are laid on the young shoots
of the plant ; that the larvae, as soon as hatched, eat into
the root stock and descend until they reach a tuber; and
that they remain in this, eating galleries completely
through its substance, during the remainder of their
larval existence." The larva?, Mr. Meyrick goes on to
say, pupated within their galleries, which they closed
with silk. These descriptions agree entirely with the
results of my own observations and that of practical
growers who have taken the trouble to work the matter
out for themselves.

Mr, O. Tepper, of Adelaide, a good observer and an
old friend, gives it as his opinion that the female moth
deposits her eggs in the stem just above the ground,
thereby bearing out in all the more important details the
observations of M. Ragouet, alluded to above.

It has been stated that the insect is not in the potato
while the latter is in the ground, and from these remarks

148 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OE VICTORIA:

we may reasonably infer that the moth is supposed to
deposit her eggs also on the potato after being dug.
This may or may not be the case, but it is not at all
improbable that while in the pit, if exposed, the moths
may deposit eggs in the eyes of the tubers, and the
young grubs, when hatched, would at once be able to eat
their way into the potato. One thing seems perfectly
clear, viz., that it is an almost impossible task for such a
minute and fragile moth to descend into the earth, more
especially when we find that the harder the soil, no
matter how rich, the damage done is often greater than
when the crop is grown on poorer and more sandy soil.
Of course, where fissures occur in the soil, the moth
might easily descend below ground. Again, I have
received the haulms or stalks of the potato which have
been tunnelled by some caterpillar from a foot above
ground right down into the tuber.

About two years since several settlers in the rich
Brandy Creek district of South Gippsland sent me
samples of potatoes that had been attacked by the cater-
pillar of this moth, and from which our Fig. 4 has been
taken. This tuber had been cut through in about equal
parts, each part containing no less than sixteen and
thirteen larvae respectively. These people complained
more of the potatoes having been destroyed while in the
pit or raised mound — a fact that could be easily accounted
for by finding many of the tubers to be swarming with
grubs, and from which in due time the little moths would
appear.

Mr. R. Lucas, of Ensay, Victoria, an old farmer and a
very keen observer, is quite positive about the eggs
being deposited on the stalk of the potato; in fact, he
goes so far as to declare that he has seen the moth
thus depositing her eggs. I have not been so fortunate
as this, but I have found the grub in the stalk, and as
it was working downwards only, it must necessarily
have come from above ; at least such are the conclusions
at which I have arrived after a careful consideration of
the facts.

THE POTATO MOTH. 149

In dealing with a pest of this kind, we must at once
admit the great value of a thoroughly exhaustive study of
matters connected with life-histories of insects, and this
can only be done by those having time or being on the
spot. It is here, therefore, we see more than anywhere
the great value of " Field Agents " — entomologists whose
duties lie exclusively in visiting infested districts, and who
endeavour by every means in their power to fully
investigate and report on facts connected with the life-
history, parasites, &c, of any particular pest that may
make its appearance. Such institutions practically exist
only in America, where they have both means, popula-
tion, and resources to carry on what is really a most
necessary and useful although sometimes costly series
of observations. How much can be done in this direc-
tion has been amply proved by the visit of my friend
and fellow-worker, Mr. A. Koebele, to Australia, and
whose valuable services have been recognised by the
growers of the United States, and over whose Entomo-
logical Department Professor Riley so ably and admirably
presides.

The history of the cottony cushion-scale in America,
the damage caused by its ravages, and the introduction of
its natural enemy, the Australian Ladybird {Novius
cardinalis), are now matters of history, and furnishes
one of many practical illustrations of the value of an
Entomological Department in any country where fruit-
growing plays an important part in the every-day life of
a portion of its people.

But to return to the potato moth and its habits. It
may again be stated that the greatest importance is
attached to any discovery that can shed additional light
upon the life-history of this most serious pest. The
damage done to our potato crops in Victoria alone is
almost beyond calculation ; but knowing now fairly well
where and how the eggs are deposited, should be of great
assistance to growers and others when devising means for
its destruction, more especially whilst the insect is in its
earlier stages.

150 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

According to Boisduval, as quoted by Meyrick and
alluded to by Tryon, in certain districts of Algiers, during
a single season, three-fourths of the potato crop was
destroyed by this pest, and Mr. Tepper, of Adelaide, says
— "As far as my continued observation goes, the insect
causes now (1891), in its immature form of the caterpillar
or grub, the destruction of hundreds of tons of potatoes
every year by boring them, and thereby inducing putridity."
Again, that these moths occur in other situations less
confined than the entomologist's hatching-case was gleaned
latterly from the information a farmer gave to me when
speaking on the subject. He said that — " He had several
bags of potatoes of his own production, and quite healthy
when dug, placed in his store-room, where they were left
undisturbed for a considerable time. When he at last
came to open a bag for use, quite a swarm of little moths
greeted the event, and to his surprise he found the tubers
spoiled by the grubs to a great extent."

So far as can be ascertained, there is no record of the
natural home of this pest ; but Mr. Meyrick remarks —
"It does not seem to have been noticed in the home of the
potato (America), and it is therefore perhaps more likely
that it naturally feeds on some species of Solanum in the
inland regions of Africa, and has spread thence on a
congenial food plant being brought to meet it."

We have thus seen how much opinions differ as to the
mode of attack practised by these moths, and Mr. G.
Searle, in replying to questions as quoted by Mr. Tryon,
states : — " I am perfectly sure that the insect is not in
the potato while this is in the ground. We are almost
daily using potatoes which were all dug at one time,
immediately picked up, and placed in a dry-goods cask, in
which straw was placed between each layer of tubers.
The cask is covered up by a corn bag, and, with the
exception of a few near the top of it, none are affected by
the moth." In Tasmania it was " invariably found that
the moth attacks the roots. The uppermost potatoes —
those that are nearest the surface — are of course more
easily reached ; nor is it by any means a difficult matter

THE POTATO MOTH. 151

for the insects to penetrate to the depth of 3 or 4
inches where the soil is open, uncompressed, or lumpy.
Not a single case of an infested stalk has yet been
detected, but constant and numberless have been the
instances in which, when uncovering the potatoes at the
depths just indicated, moths have been dislodged and
flown uninjured away." It has thus been, we may say,
fairly shown that there still exists some doubt, which
ought, in the interests of growers, to be cleared up as soon
as possible, as to whether the depositing of the eggs is
alone confined to the stalks of the potato, or whether the
tuber is also attacked while below or above ground, as
a correct knowledge of these facts, which have been
attested to by so many good observers, would be of the
greatest value in helping us to devise some speedy and
direct method of attacking the enemy in its earlier stages,
and thus prevent the egg-laying.

In Queensland, as lately reported by Mr. Tryon, this
moth has also been found attacking the tobacco plant.
We must, therefore, be on the look-out, as tobacco plan-
tations in Victoria may also be in danger of a similar
visitation.

Prevention and Remedies.

In the first place we must try to get rid of the motlis
themselves, and to accomplish this we should use the
knowledge already possessed. As we are certain of
this insect being a night-flyer, the first plan, then, that
suggests itself is undoubtedly that of some cheap and
effective lamp. In this connexion I may mention a letter
which I have received from Mr. R. Lucas, who suggests
the following : — " My plan is simple, homely, and at hand
at all times, without the cost of a shilling. All that is
required is a common tin soup-plate, with a clay wick-
holder, to burn fat, with a short wick an inch in diameter,
made of any cotton stuff. The wickholder should not be
higher than the rim of the plate, and made to stand in the
plate in its four lower corners, to enable the fat to gain
access to the wick. The fat is best made hot at the first

152 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

lighting of the lamp, and the burning wick heats the clay
wickholder and keeps the fat in a liquid state. The moths
fly to the light, drop into the hot fat, and are destroyed.
The lamps require lighting about dusk in the evening."

That these moths will be attracted by a light I have
myself proved, so that I feel quite justified in quoting
the experiences of Mr. Lucas, as above.

Here we have a remedy which may be termed a pre-
ventive one, and is one that growers can, without any
outlay worth mentioning, use for themselves, as, should
it be foimd that the moths can descend into the soil,
they will in most cases be able to as readily ascend.

If the egg-laying is confined to the stems or young
shoots, as supposed by Mr. Tepper and many other of our
best observers, the " lamp " plan will answer all the same,
and probably better.

The next point to be considered is, how to treat the
tubers supposing the grubs to have already got at them ?
This would appear to be a most difficult matter, and prob-
ably the best advice that can be given would be to keep
your lands as clear from weeds and rubbish as possible.
Use none but " clean sets," which, to be on the safe
side, might be planted at a greater depth than usual. Pay
great attention to deep and careful earthing, and, after
digging, get the tubers off the ground and bag as soon as
possible. When in the pit keep them well turned over, and
be careful to destroy any badly-infested tuber, as from
these the moths will hatch, only to commence their depre-
dations in another place. Lime, if judiciously used when
the potatoes are in the pits, has a good effect. Seed
potatoes should be carefully examined before planting
out. After the crop has been dug, more especially on
land where the moths are known to exist, if at all possible,
a good dressing of gas-lime, at the rate of, say 30 bushels
per acre, would be of much benefit. This must, how-
ever, as advised by our chemist, Mr. A. N. Pearson, be
exposed for some weeks to the air before using. Air-
slaked lime, if well harrowed in before planting the
" sets," has been tried and found to be of very great use,

THE POTATO MOTH. 153

and a change of soil has also its advantages. Mr. Tepper
suggests also that the tubers, prior to storing, should
be washed clean and bathed in some solution which might
be distasteful to moths or their progeny, and mentions
the use of weak salt or sulphuric acid solutions. Mr.
Tryon, however, thinks that alum would be more suitable,
and I am inclined to agree with him in this respect.

It is to be feared, however, that in a country where
potatoes are often sold at so low a figure, the latter
methods, as proposed by the gentleman referred to, would
be somewhat too expensive for general use. Still, for
those tubers which are intended for seed purposes, it
might be earned out with advantage by those having
facilities for doing so.

In this age of wonderful discoveries it would not be too
much to expect or at least hope that resistant kinds of
potatoes may yet become general, in which case many of
our troubles with these pests at least will be removed.

The slush-lamp system should have a good trial, and
must be placed in a growing crop (Mr. Lucas thinks
when in flower), also amongst the pits in which the tubers
are usually stored.

The failure, even if only partial, of our potato crops is
a serious matter for any community ; so that in helping
each other with advice, and the results of our experiences,
we may be able to considerably reduce the damage done
by this widespread and destructive little insect ; and the
same remark will apply all through. We must have, in
addition to our own experiences, the co-operation of
growers themselves.

The use of the tarred canvas frame would also be of
great advantage, as immense numbers of moths of many
kinds may be captured by its adoption. Take some light
battens (soft wood is the lightest and best for the purpose),
cut them into 5-ft. lengths, fasten together at the
corners, and on this frame, to which should be attached
a long handle, stretch some stout calico or light canvas,
the latter being the more desirable. Smear the underside
of the canvas with tar, which must be put on cold, and

154 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

without having been heated. With this machine go
through amongst your growing crops, also amongst pits,
bagged potatoes. If this canvas frame be judiciously used
a vast number of moths can be destroyed. This plan has
been found to answer well in the case of the cabbage
moth, but in treating for the latter, the plants should first
be struck with a bunch of twigs to cause the moths to
rise. One trial of this plan will be sufficient to convince
any reasonable person of its efficacy.

Before closing these remarks on this pest, it is advised,
where at all practicable — and there really seems to be no
insuperable obstacle to this being carried out — that the
lands on which the potatoes are planted be so arranged
that a machine, such as the Strawsonizer or the one
invented by Mr. Pearson, could be used for the purpose
of distributing tar or other cheap insecticides in a liquid
form, such as before described. It is well known that tar
in any form is particularly obnoxious to insects of most
kinds, and by a timely application of such the moths may
be prevented from depositing their eggs.

Any of the introduced Solance, such as the " Sodom
apple," nightshade and others, should be rooted up and
destroyed by burning, these being not only breeding
plants for many of the smaller moths, but, when the fruits
are eaten, are most injurious to children, also to stock, and
should never be allowed to grow within miles of either
farms, orchards, vineyards, or gardens of any sort.

If tobacco plants should be attacked, a light spraying
of White Hellebore, mixed in the proportion as given
elsewhere in this part of the book, would be effectual in
destroying the grubs on any infested plants.

The introduction of noxious and often poisonous weeds
into these colonies has been a real calamity, as in several
cases the advent of destructive insects into Victoria may
be traced to their agency.

156 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

PLATE XXXIV.

The "Cabbage Moth" (Plutella cruciferarum. — Zeller1).

Fig.

1 . Leaf of cabbage, showing larvae and pupae, also damage done to

leaf. Natural size.

2. Moths. Natural size.

3. Larva suspended by silken thread. Natural size.

4. Larva. Magnified.

5. Moth. Magnified.

6. Ichneumon (parasite). Magnified.

7. Ichneumon (parasite). Natural size.

Plate XXXIV.

THE CABBAGE MOTH. 157

CHAPTER XXXVIII.

THE CABBAGE MOTH.

(Plutella cruciferarum. Zell.)
Order: Lepidoptera. Section: Heterocera. Group: Tineina.

This very destructive pest is one that causes an
immense amount of damage, and amongst market
gardeners throughout many parts ot the world the losses
occasioned through the attacks of these insects are
enormous.

The " Cabbage Moth," " Diamond-back Moth," and
u Green Worm of Cabbage " are one and the same
insect.

This is an insect on which a good deal has been
written, and a vast amount of useful and valuable infor-
mation published, the latest being a very able report
prepared by Mr. Charles Whitehead, F.L.S., for the
Intelligence Department of the Board of Agriculture,
London, 1891, and from which I have taken the liberty of
quoting freely, the author having kindly presented me
with a copy of said report.

This little moth, the natural size of which is given in
Fig. 2, is of a light greyish-brown colour, the secondary
or inferior wings, as we will call them, being grey,
fringed, and to the ordinary observer would appear to
be very ragged and flimsy.

When these moths, which are remarkably active, are
at rest, their wings are closed very tightly, and at their
termination turn up a little, so that this particular species
cannot easily be mistaken for any other kind. This rule,
however, does not always hold good, as there are a few
other kinds whose wings turn up in a somewhat similar
manner. When an infested plant, cabbage, or whatever
it may be is touched, the little brutes fly up in clouds,

158 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

and having been thus disturbed, come from under the
leaves, where they usually lie concealed.

The eggs of this insect, which are of a dirty white
colour, are deposited in large numbers on the leaves of
cabbages, and, in Europe, on turnips and other plants of
the same natural order. They may also be found
deposited on the sides of crates in which cabbages and
cauliflowers are packed for shipment. This latter is a
constant and fertile source of danger in the way of
carrying pests to and fro from one place to another, and
thus destructive insects are distributed broadcast through-
out the civilized world.

When the young are hatched from the eggs they
commence to eat the young leaves. According to Mr.
Whitehead and others, the caterpillar stage is supposed
to last from twenty to twenty-eight days. Curtis, in his
Farm Insects, states that in the case of chrysalides kept
in cases the period was very irregular, ranging from ten
to seventeen days. My own specimens were hatched in
fifteen days.

The caterpillar, when fully developed, is less than
half-an-inch in length, green in colour, very active,
wriggling about in a very erratic manner. When dis-
turbed they spin a silken thread (see Fig. 3) and rapidly
descend, or rather drop to the ground, and on reaching
it commence to crawl quickly away.

The chrysalides, which adhere mostly to the under-
neath parts of the leaves of cabbage, are enclosed in little
woolly cocoons of a dirty white colour, and are often
very numerous, and, as Mr. Whitehead remarks, stripped
of the cocoon, is white or yellowish white.

Our Fig. 4 gives an enlargement of this caterpillar ;
at Fig. 5 an enlargement of the moth ; and at Fig. 1 a
leaf of cabbage showing larvae at work, cocoons attached,
and holes which the caterpillars have been eating.

With regard to the number of broods, we are, I am
afraid, very much in the dark, especially in the colonies,
as we cannot be guided altogether by information
gained, however carefully, in cooler countries. Climatic

THE CABBAGE MOTK. 159

conditions often effect great changes and important
departures from those in places where seasons of great
regularity are known to exist. Cnrtis, who appears to
have given this matter some attention, states that "in this
country (England) there seems to be a succession of
broods from midsummer until the approach of winter."
Taschenberg, however, agrees with Miss Omerod, that
there are only two broods or generations ; and heavy
rains, it has been observed, both here and in the old
country, would seem to be unfavorable to their develop-
ment. All the reports, according to Mr. Whitehead,
agree in stating that when the heavy rains come the
caterpillars cease work. This, however, does not apply
to temperate Australia.

This destructive little moth would appear to be very
widely distributed, and, according to Mr. Meyrick, the
well-known authority on this important group of moths
(as quoted by Mr. Tryon), is found throughout the
whole world, from Greenland to New Zealand, and, from
reliable sources, would appear to be the sole representa-
tive of the Lepidoptera in Spitzbergen.

In Victoria, for years past, the public have hardly been
able to get a decent cabbage or even cauliflower, which,
owing to the attacks of this pest, have been in a large
number of cases unfit for human consumption. Clean
and wash them as you will, the dirty little grubs will
occasionally turn up just as one imagines that he has, at
last, got hold of a clean vegetable.

It has been stated by writers that the outer leaves are
the ones most affected. This is true ; but I have frequently
seen fine cabbages, and in the very centre of the heart the
grubs, if carefully looked for, could be detected. The
cocoons, however, are nearly always confined to the
outer leaves, where, with the assistance of that disgusting
insect, the cabbage aphis, the whole plant often becomes
partially decomposed, and has a most offensive smell.

From what has been observed of the habits of this pot
in Victoria, I think we may safely say that the gardens
lying within an easy distance of the sea-coast are the

160 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

most liable to the more severe forms of attack. In places
where the soil is heavy and stiff, the insect appears to
make less headway ; at least such is my own experience,
as well as that of many large growers who have given
some consideration to the matter.

Prevention and Remedies.

To be thorough in dealing with a pest of this kind we
must commence with the young cabbage or cauliflower
plants whilst in the seed beds, and again before being
finally planted out into permanent positions.

To those who are acquainted with nursery work, it will
be unnecessary to point out the great damage that the
caterpillars of this moth do to the young plants grown for
culinary purposes. It is no uncommon sight to see whole
beds containing tens of thousands of these plants riddled
by the caterpillars, giving them the appearance of having
been shot at. These plants usually develop into dried-
up and stunted " stuff," which no practical man would
think of planting out for a successful crop.

Amongst the many remedies suggested for treating the
young plants whilst in the seed-beds is one mentioned in
that excellent and well-known publication — the English
Gardeners' Chronicle. It would appear to be one of the
cheapest and most effectual, and having tried it myself,
I can bear testimony as to its efficacy. This plan is to
simply take 1 lb. of coal-tar and boil it in a couple of
gallons of water, and, when boiling, dilute in the proportion
of two gallons of the liquid, as taken from the boiler, with
100 gallons of fresh water. If at all brackish it should
not be used for this purpose. Having diluted it, it should
be well stirred, so that the water may become impregnated
with the tar flavour. Water with a fine rose watering-pot
the beds in which the plants are growing ; tar in any
form being very obnoxious to insects in general and small
grubs in particular.

A weak kerosene emulsion, say 1 part of emulsion to
25 or 30 of water, is just as effectual, though, of course,
more expensive.

THE CABBAGE .MOTH. ll',l

Before applying the tar-water or the emulsion, as the
case may be, care must be taken that the plants are not
previously disturbed, otherwise many of the grubs may
temporarily absent themselves only to crawl up the stems
again after the danger has passed.

Give the plants a thorough watering (the rose to do the
work properly must be a fine one) ; spraying is of course
the best system, and after having gone through the beds,
water with the same material a narrow space around the
beds, as the larvae which have fallen to the ground will be
on the look-out for a chance to escape, but will seldom
attempt to cross the line of tar-impregnated surface of
soil, where they will soon die.

Before planting, the bundles of young plants should be
submerged in a decoction of weak tobacco-water, to which
a little soft-soap and tar water could with advantage
be added. In this they should remain for fully an hour,
when they could be dipped into clean water, and planted
out into the positions in which they are to remain until
required for market.

Our plants may now be supposed to have been set out
where they are to remain, and an occasional spraying
would be the best, and in the end cheapest, for which
purpose the Strawsonizer, or the admirable machine
invented by the chemist to this department, Mr. A. N.
Pearson, could be used. I feel sure that if such measures
as these were adopted, the losses occasioned by the
cabbage-worm pest in Victoria would be greatly reduced.

In cabbages, we know by the experience of some of
our old and successful growers, there is a small fortune.
A knowledge of this, therefore, should make us the more
determined to adopt any reasonable precautions that can
be easily carried out, taking the expense, of course, into
serious consideration.

The cabbage aphis also cannot stand the smell of tar,
so we can fight these two destructive pests at the same
time and by almost the same methods.

When the cabbages are large, too large for the spraying
material to reach the caterpillars or cocoons, which are

162 DESTEUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTOEIA :

under the leaves, as has been stated previously, other
means must be resorted to. In this matter I cannot do
better than quote Mr. Whitehead, who, after taking
evidence from leading growers in England and other
portions of the United Kingdom, has come to the fol-
lowing conclusions : — " With respect to remedies adopted
against this enemy, the application of the mixture of soot
and lime is shown to be the best that was tried. If this
is put on in good time with the Strawsonizer, adjusted for
this purpose, which blows the pungent substance with
great force and equal distribution over every part of
the plant, it appears from the experiments made at
Alnwick that it would effectually clear off the caterpillars.
Paraffine, quassia, and carbolic acid solutions, from Mr.
Hornsby's accounts, would also be efficacious to some
extent. Brushing off the caterpillars by means of boughs
fastened to horse-hoes proved to be a good practice,
especially where the hoes were followed by other hoes or
scufflers to bury or kill the caterpillars. Nitrate of
soda and other stimulants were found of use in forcing
the growth of infested plants, according to the evidence
of many reports."

Miss Omerod, my respected correspondent, to whom
I am indebted for a copy of her valuable little book on
the Injurious Insects of South Africa, mentions a plan often
adopted in the latter country, of placing a line covered
with molasses or other sticky substances around the
beds. This, however, would appear to be too costly and
difficult in larger places or for general use; but it is a
plan that might succeed admirably in small gardens.

We have here some of the best remedies, which have
been proved trustworthy. So we must bestir ourselves,
as it is hardly creditable to growers that so many of our
favorite vegetables should be offered for sale in such bad
and probably unwholesome condition.

I would here again urge upon growers the necessity
for taking care of our best insectivorous birds, as they
are most valuable auxiliaries when fighting insect pests of
most kinds.

THE CABBAGE MOTH. 1C3

The parasites of the cabbage moth are many, and at
Figs. 6 and 7 is shown one that works great havoc on
the larvae and cocoons of these moths. They are small
black wasp-like flies, belonging to the Ichneumon tribe,
and at any time these useful little insects may be seen
hovering over or walking quickly about amongst the
leaves of the plant. The female deposits her eggs in the
larva?, sometimes in the cocoons of the moth.

Curtis, iu his Farm Insects, states that out of seventeen
cocoons five moths only hatched, whilst the remaining
twelve produced parasites, as figured in his book.

Another gentleman, Mr. Arkle, in a paper in the
Entomologist, observes : — " Before considering what the
agriculturist can effect in necessarv war against this
insect pest, it is interesting to observe what nature
provides for its suppression. Probably no living creature
has a harder time of it than the ' Diamond-back/ At least
one-half of my larvae, especially those from Yorkshire
and Durham, Avere infested by the deadly k Ichneumon.'"

As to how for this pest is distributed throughout
Australia, or the amount of damage done, I cannot sav;
but in Victoria, at least, I know that it must be enormous.
\Ye must tackle this pest; so the sooner we set about it
the better it will be, not only for the grower but for the
local consumer, to say nothing of the great export trade
from our colony to New South Wales and elsewhere.

It may here be remarked that an illustration of the
machine invented by Mr. Pearson, and alluded to above,
is given at the end of this part of the book ; that of the
Strawsonizer beins; in Part I.

164 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXXV.

The " Cabbage Aphis " (Aphis brassice. — Li.vx.eus).
Fig.

1. Flower stalk of cabbage, showing Blight (Aphis). Natural size.

2. Winged female. Magnified.

3. Wingless female. Magnified.

4. Pupa of winged female. Magnified.

5. 6, and 7. Various stages of the Aphis. Magnified.

8. Ichneumon (parasite). Magnified.

9. Eggs of Hemerobida? (parasite). Natural size.

10. Larva of Hemerobidas. Slightly enlarged.

10a. Larva of Hemerobidae, with covering of skins. Natural size.

11. Cocoon of Hemerobidae. Natural size.

12. Hemerobidas (perfect insect). Slightly enlarged.

13. Larva of Syrphus? sp., waiting to catch an Aphis for the purpose

of sucking out its contents. Natural size.

(The little lines below figures are meant to represent the natural size of the insects.)

XXXV

THE CABBAGE APHIS. 165

CHAPTER XXXIX.

THE CABBAGE APHIS.

(Aphis brassicce. Linn.)

Order: Hemiptera. Sub-order: Honroptera. Family: Aphididce.

The Cabbage Aphis, better known as Cabbage Blight,
is unfortunately too well known to need any lengthy de-
scription here ; and, as has been done all along, and will
be continued to the end of the book, we rely more upon
the plates with which the parts are illustrated than on
leugthy descriptions, which in illustrated works of this
kind would seem hardly necessary.

This pest, which has existed in Victoria since the very
early days of the colony, is undoubtedly an importation
from Europe ; but how and by what means it has been
introduced here, I, of course, cannot say. It may have
reached us through the agency of some plants which
were so commonly imported in Wardian-cases (boxes
covered with glass), in which plants of many kinds
were sent from England and elsewhere in a growing
condition.

At Fig. 3 we show an enlarged drawing of a wingless
female, which in many cases is covered with a mealy coat
very much after the manner of the woolly-blight of the
apple, the cornicles being, as shown on plate, short and
nearly black. Our Fig. 2 represents a winged male, higl i \y
magnified, whilst the insects in their earlier stages are
shown as per explanation.

The body of the insect is usually green, but varies in
shade to a bluish green, often nearly grey.

In the year 1857 Mr. Sydney Gibbons, of this city,
published a very interesting and well-written article, with

166 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

illustrations, of this pest, and as this gentleman has
presented the volume in which the article appears to me,
I am able to quote freely from it with mutual advantage,
I hope, to myself as well as to growers.

" The aphis, although active in feeding — and more
voracious in its way hardly could creature be — is in every
other respect singularly torpid. In the feeding state it
scarcely moves from the leaf on which it was hatched,
but only crawls slowly forward to a new position when it
has exhausted the nutriment from the place on which it
stood. It thrusts its rostrum or beak into the leaf, pene-
trating the skin, and then sucks away the juices until
none remain. It is careless alike of enemies and the
change of weather. There it feeds unawed by the fate
of its companions, and regardless alike of sunshine, storm,
or predatory foes.

"Its body is soft and unprotected, and, so far from
making any nest, it does not even seek the natural shelter
which the leaves might afford. An aphis will almost
submit to destruction rather than desist from eating. We
attempted to dislodge one with a fine hair pencil while so
engaged, but it merely wriggled and slewed round upon
its rostrum as upon a pivot, to get its body out of the
way, and continued sucking in sullen perseverance. The
larva when hatched from the egg by warmth of spring,
soon attains its fidl size, and passes without change
of form into the pupa stage (see Fig. 4), which is
the pupa of a winged female. It is then viviparous,
and produces within a few days of its birth six or
eight small insects like itself. This process is repeated
through the summer, until at the close of the season,
the last generation assumes the image or perfect state
with wings.

" Up to this time all the aphides have been productive
females, only attaining the pupa state ; but the winged
insects are of both sexes, and only appear at long intervals,
usually from nine to eleven generations ; but the pupae
have been preserved for a still longer time without the
change taking place. This peculiar mode of propagation

THE CABBAGE APHIS. 1G7

has beeu called by Professor Owen, of London, ' Partheno-
genesis.' Various experiments have been made by some
naturalists to observe the transformation of the aphides,
and to test the accuracy of their first impressions concern-
ing their propagation. Barjin found that the aphides of
the rose and poppy produced young without having paired.
The experiments of Bonnet, as already mentioned in a
previous chapter of this part of the book, are particularly
interesting. He watched for the production of a young
aphis from a mother without wings, that is from a fertile
pupa ; he then placed it on a leafy branch of the plant to
which it belonged, having first ascertained that the twig
selected was totallv free from blight. He then fixed the
branch with the insect in a glass tube inserted in a pot of
garden mould, so covered over with a bell-glass as to
prevent the possibility of any intrusion. The single in-
sect was thus completely isolated, but provided with means
of life. He then carefully watched his young nursling,
and examined it at short intervals of time with a lens.
He found that it gradually increased in size, and by the
time that it had attained its full dimensions had changed
its skin no less than four times. On the twelfth day of its
imprisonment it produced a living duplicate of itself, and
in the three weeks following brought forth no fewer than
95 vouno; ones. Bonnet afterwards found that from nine
to eleven generations were produced without pairing,
and his observations were confirmed by the experiments
of Lyonnet and Duvan.

" A single female (usino; the last word single in both
senses) might thus in one season be the parent of the
astonishing number of a hundred and fifty millions,
assuming the descent to consist of nine generations, and
each individual to have eight in family, and all to do well.
For the first family will number eight ; the second eight
times eight, plus the former ; the third eight times eight
times eight, with the same addition ; and so on until
figures refuse to express the result and the mind (ails t<>
form an idea of the vast multitude. About the ninth or
tenth generation this remarkable fecundity becomes

168 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

exhausted, and not until then do the males appear. This
does not occur until the end of the season, when the per-
fect insects pair and produce eggs for the next year."

The eggs are laid chiefly in crevices and folds of the
leaves, and in the sheltered spots afforded by the footstalk.

As many of the plants on which the aphis feeds are
annuals, there would be risk of the particular races
becoming extinct. Gilbert White, in his evergreen and
charming Natural History of Selborne, tells us that —
" About three o'clock in the afternoon of the day (1st
August), which was very hot, the people of this village
were surprised by a shower of aphides. Those that were
walking in the streets at that juncture found themselves
covered with these insects, which settled on the hedges
and gardens, blackening all the vegetables whereon they
alighted. My annuals were quite discoloured with them,
and the stalks of a bed of onions were quite coated over
for six days after. These armies were then, no doubt,
in a state of emigration, and shifting their quarters, and
might have come, as far as we know, from the great hop
plantations of Kent or Sussex, the wind being all day in
the easterly quarter."

Numerous instances of the extraordinary rapidity with
which these little pests increase might be quoted, but the
above will suffice for our purpose, as showing with what
a formidable foe we have to deal.

In the great market-gardening district of Brighton and
neighbourhood, it is, in the summer-time, not at all
pleasant to walk through the cabbage fields, as when the
plants are badly attacked putrefaction takes place, and in
such cases renders the smell almost unbearable, the
plants themselves presenting a soft and flabby appearance,
and being in many cases totally unfit for human con-
sumption. The cabbage moth is bad enough, but this
pest is much more disgusting, and even more difficult to
get rid of when once fairly established.

The aphides are of great antiquity, and Buckton, in his
fine work on the British Aphides, gives illustrations of
many fossil kinds, whose preserved forms have remained

THE CABBAGE APHIS. 169

embedded in the geological formation in which they are
found from time immemorial. How such delicate crea-
tures as these are could have been thus embedded and
their forms preserved is almost beyond human ken.
It is often imagined that damage done by aphides consists
solely in their having sucked or abstracted the juices of
the plants which they have attacked. This is partly true ;
but in the case of aphides attacking peaches or other
trees, it will be noticed that the bark is covered with a
sticky substance, alluded to when treating of the peach
aphis, &c. This sugary secretion closes up the breathing
spores of the plant, and greatly assists in the ultimate
destruction of the plant attacked. Similarly is the case
of the soot-fungus, which is attendant upon many of the
CoccidcB or scale insects ; but in the latter case we must
get rid of the scale, as the soot-fungus, having lost its
host, rapidly disappears.

Our Fig. 1 shows a flower stalk of cabbage with aphides,
which, together with the figures of the insects themselves,
have all been drawn from nature.

Prevention and Remedies.

Before planting out, every bundle of cabbage plants
should be dipped, roots and all, in warm soapsuds, using
a little soft-soap with the ordinary kind of yellow soap ;
the presence of caustic soda in the soap rendering the
suds more deadly to insect life in general, but particularly
to those kinds having soft bodies. Tobacco water is also
an old and well-tried remedy.

After the plants have been in the suds for say fifteen
minutes or so, take them out and rinse in clean water
before planting into permanent positions. When the
plant has fairly started into growth, which should, of
course, be encouraged by all available means, give an
occasional sprinkling with tar- water, as recommended for
cabbage worms.

When a cabbage is found to be so badlv attacked as to
be useless, dig it out, not merely pull it up, and burn it at
once. If the plant be pulled up, a large number of the

170 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

aphides will be left in the soil, which, when sufficiently
developed, will, of course, at once tackle the newly " set-
out" plants. A great deal is to be gained by a properly-
prepared soil for the reception of the plants. Where
possible, changes of crops should be frequently made,
and in this connexion the use of gas-lime is hiffhlv
recommended by those who have tried it for themselves.
The various fertilizers should be used whenever practic-
able, as the freer the growth in any plant the less liable
it will be to disease of most kinds.

In the good old days of market gardening at Brighton
and neighbourhood, the growers used to make holes
around the stems of the cabbages, into which they
poured the liquid from the manure heaps, mixed with
soapsuds. This excellent though old-fashioned practice
no doubt helped to destroy the aphides on the roots of the
cabbages and cauliflowers, which, owing to these attacks,
were even in the early days often in a very bad state.

The keeping of flocks of young ducks, chickens, and
especially turkeys, is an old but a well-tried and most
effectual plan, as the number of insects of all kinds which
these young poultry will devour is enormous. The
Silver-gull is another useful bird, which no one who
has any pretensions to be a consistent and practical
grower should be without. These beautiful birds are
always at work, and are especially fond of insects,
snails, &c, and other garden pests. They may be
purchased alive in the Melbourne market at about
2s. 6d. per pair.

Amongst the best insect enemies of aphides are un-
doubtedly the often despised and badly-abused Lady-
birds, an illustration of which, together with its larva, is
given in another part of the present number of the book.
The Ladybird deposits its eggs, which are of cylindrical
form, and of a stone or dun colour, under the leaves of
the tree. The larvae or grubs are of a leaden colour,
with orange marks at intervals. They are soon hatched,
and at once spread themselves over the neighbouring

THE CABBAGE APHIS. 171

plants. They then commence the business of hunting
for their natural food, and continue it through their
different stages.

The larva of the Ladybird, if viewed through a power-
ful lens, is a singularly repulsive-looking creature, the
jaws being long and powerful. Curtis, in his well-known
Farm Insects, thus graphically describes their method
of feeding : — " Their method of attacking the aphides is
curious. I have seen one of the latter struggling while
this little insect-alligator threw his fore-legs about it, and
was greatly amused at the skill exhibited; for, fearing
that the aphis might escape, it gradually slid along to
the wings, which were closed, and immediately began to
bite them, so that in a short time they were useless, being
matted together. It then returned in triumph to the side
of its helpless victim, and, seizing the thorax firmly in its
grasp, it ate into the side, coolly putting one of its hind
legs over those of the aphis, whose convulsive throbs
annoyed its relentless enemy."

The Ladybirds are more useful, however, on fruit tre s,
as they can the easier hide from sparrows, which brutes
are, unfortunately, very partial to these useful little
insects.

Many Ladybirds are destroyed by the unthinking popu-
lation, or else from a want of knowledge as to their
usefulness to growers in any clime and in any country.

The so-called Syrphid flies, alluded to previously, are
great destroyers of aphides. This fly has a proboscis not
unlike that of a meat-fly, the proboscis, which is pointed,
being terminated by two large lips, and enclosing the
sucker in a groove. The larva is soft, and mostly yellow.
Its body is divided by rings (see Fig. 13), and tapers in
form, the anterior position being the narrowest, and thus,
according to Mr. Gibbons, one of our very best micro-
scopists, it attacks its aphis prey. It crawls along with ease
and tolerable rapidity, but frecmently attaches itself to a
leaf by a glutinous substance, which it has the power of
secreting. It then turns itself backward and forward,
surveying the country until it meets with an aphis. It

172 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

then quickly thrusts its dart into the victim, and com-
pletely buries its head in the body, and instantly sucks up
all the juices, and devours all but the skin, which it throws
aside. Buckton, in his invaluable book on the British
aphides, has a most interesting chapter on this subject.
Our drawings have been taken from nature.

The Hemerobidw, often called lace-wings, whilst in the
larval stage, are great enemies of aphides. The eggs of
this delicate though rapacious insect are deposited on the
stalks of cabbages and on the twigs of trees (see Fig. 9).
The larvae (see Fig. 10) are of a pinkish-brown colour,
and destroy vast numbers of aphides, the mandibles
or jaws being, as in the case of those of the Ladybird,
very powerful for so small an insect. The perfect insect,
enlarged, is given at Fig. 12.

If we wish to keep these pests in subjection we must
use such precautions as common sense will dictate. It is
of no use sitting down in apparent contentment while the
mischief is all the while spreading.

An artificial remedy must, as I have before remarked,
be cheap to be really valuable to the grower, and for such
we must always be on the look-out.

All land, whether there be a crop or no crop, should be
cleared, and any blighted plants burned at once. All
that is required is constant vigilance coupled with united
action. Nature, in the shape of the many small parasites,
as Ichneumons, &c, will help us, and the difference
between the intelligent and careful grower and the care-
less and slovenly one must be, to quote the great
Charles Darwin, the "survival of the fittest."

i 74 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

PLATE XXXVI.

The Straavberry Beetle (Rhinaria pkrdix. — Pascoe).

Fig.

1. Strawberry plant with beetles on leaf stalks. Natural size.

2. Larva of beetle. Magnified.

3. Pupae of beetles ; upper, under, and size view. Magnified.

4. Perfect beetle. Magnified.

5. Section of crown of strawberry plant, showing method of larva

attacking same. Natural size.

6. Portions of leaf stalks, showing where they have been tunnelled

by the insects. Natural size.

£

THE STRAWBERRY BEETLE. 1 7.")

CHAPTER XL.

THE STRAWBERRY BEETLE.

(Hhinaria perdiw. PascoeS)

Order: Coleoptera. Family: Curculionir/tB.

This very serious insect enemy of the strawberry
grower, and, in some cases, to the grower of raspberries
also, is a somewhat pretty beetle of a drab colour, with
black and white markings, and belonging to the great
family of the so-called weevils.

The perfect beetle (see Plate XXXVL, Fig. 1), on leaf
stalks of strawberry plant is about ^in. in length, and
like many of this group seems somewhat bulky for the
length of the insect. It was described by Mr. Pascoe, an
eminent English worker on this family, in the year 1873,
from specimens which had been sent to him from Victoria,
but around Melbourne this beetle has been known for
many years prior to its being named by the gentleman
here mentioned.

The larvae (see Figs. 2 and 5) are yellowish-white
grubs, a trifle larger than the one shown in the section
of strawberry plant in Fig. 5.

The pupae (Fig. 3) have the peculiar mummy-like
appearance common to most beetles before changing into
the perfect or beetle stage.

The eggs, about which we at present know but very
little, are supposed to be deposited by the female in the
crown of the plant, but of this we are as yet not quite
certain.

This beetle, unlike many of its brethren of the -■■.uur
family, has wings, which for the grower is unfortunate, ;is
it can doubtless fly for a considerable distance, and is
thus the better able to spread from orchard to orchard.

176 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

With regard to the hatching of the eggs the time is
uncertain, although, as Mr. Thiele, one of the leading
growers, remarks, the grubs are very small in the month
of February, a statement that would naturally lead to the
conclusion that the eggs may be deposited in January, or
even earlier.

The beetles usually make their first appearance in
November, although climatic and other conditions may
cause a change even here. They are most plentiful in
December, and may be found until the early part of Feb-
ruary. Mr. Thiele also informs me that he first noticed
these beetles in his orchard at Doncaster in 1875, though
he had seen them at Hawthorn three years earlier.
Specimens of the same insect are, however, in the Howitt
collection of insects now at the Biological School, Mel-
bourne University, which are labelled so far back as
1857, so that probably some of the early growers of
strawberries had suffered from a pest the nature of which
they were unaware.

In December these insects are reported to do the most
mischief, as they destroy both the flower and even the leaf
stalks by tunnelling, as shown in Fig. 6, often destroy-
ing the whole of the crop of fruit. The most serious
damage, however, is done to the plant, which it often kills
outright, the larvae eating a large hole in the crown or
centre of the plant, see Fig. 5, which soon decays and
rots away.

It will thus be seen that we have to deal with a pest
which in two stages of its existence is injurious. In the
larval form it destroys the centre of the plant, and in the
perfect stage it effectually prevents the plant from bearing
either flowers or fruit.

When strawberry grounds are newly laid down and
planted, it is, as a rule, not long before the young plants
are found out by the beetles, the eggs deposited, and the
work of destruction is fairly commenced.

As to what natural food this insect lived upon before
the introduction of strawberries into Victoria we are, un-
fortunately, in the dark, but from what we know of a

THE STRAWBERRY BEETLE. 177

closely allied species, the strawberry beetle may have
lived and bred in the substance of some of the more suc-
culent of our native plants, but this is, of course, merely
conjecture. It would be not only interesting but pro-
bably useful also to have this matter cleared up, as it is
hard to believe this pest to be an importation, as every-
thing points to the fact of its being indigenous to this
colony, of which there are not less than eighteen other
species found in, and described from, various parts of
Australia.

This is clearly another case of one of our native insects
forsaking its natural food for something more palatable
to its tastes, and herein lies the danger of new indigenous
pests making their appearance. This serious difficulty in
our orchards, however, has to be faced, and the main pre-
caution to be taken is for every grower to be on the alert,
so that if a new pest is discovered it should be reported
immediately and measures taken for its extermination.

Prevention and Remedies.

When preparing the land for planting out a new crop
see that as little rubbish as possible is left in or on the
land. Be careful that the headlands are kept clear of
weeds or rubbish of any kind whatever. If possible, give
sufficient room both between the plants and in the rows, so
that there may be space to work at them with the sprayer
or other machines commonly used for the purpose.

The use of sulphate of ammonia in the proportion of
1 cwt. to the acre is to be commended, as also gas-lime.
The latter, according to eminent agricultural chemists,
should, in most cases, be exposed to the air for several
weeks before turning it into the soil.

In soils where there is a deficiency of lime the super-
phosphate of lime, at the rate of about 2 cwt. per acre,
will be not only a good fertilizer, but will help to keep
down insects of many kinds. In using these artificial
manures, however, growers would do well to ask the
opinion of the Chemist of the Agricultural Department,
who, by his advice, would probably save them both

178 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

time and trouble, to say nothing of the expenses which
haphazard experiments often involve one in.

As it is known that the beetles can fly, the system of
isolating the lands by trenches would probably be of little
use. In the case of Leptops and other curculionidae,
which have no means of flight, this system would, no
doubt, answer very well, as the insects would at least then
be confined to a certain area, and could be the easier
dealt with.

Before setting out the young plants in position they
should be steeped in a bath of tobacco-water with a little
Paris green mixed, the latter, say, 1 lb. to 200 gallons of
water. Plunge the plants into the mixture, and without
washing them they can be planted in the position in
which they are to remain.

To prevent the eggs being deposited and to destroy
both the beetles and grubs by poison must be the object
of the grower, as in every case prevention is, of course,
better than cure.

In mulching the plants be careful what material is used
for the purpose, tan-bark being as good as any. In
changing the mulching, or after it has been stored for the
winter, care must be exercised so as to prevent eggs or
larvae of insects being conveyed to the plants by means of
the mulching.

On a well-kept place an air-tight shed could be erected
cheaply in which mulching, seeds, &c, could be treated
with bisulphide of carbon, and so destroy all larvae, &c,
that may have hybernated in the old mulching. Where
material for mulching can be had for the carting these
precautions are hardly necessary, as the old material
can be at once destroyed by fire.

When the strawberry plants are either setting or
ripening their fruit, the Paris green must not be used.
In such cases Quibell's Mixture, say from 1 to 30,
would destroy the grubs if the mixture is poured into
the crown of the plant. A mixture of bluestone (sul-
phate of copper), J oz. to 1 gallon of water, and poured
into he centre of plants, would destroy whatever insects

THE STRAWBERRY BEETLE. 179

tackled tliem. Both these articles being poison, great
care must be taken to keep the preparation labelled and
beyond the reach of children and domestic animals.

Handpicking, though a tedious task, might with advan-
tage be resorted to in small places, but this process is
too slow and tedious for owners of large orchards to
adopt, more especially for those who grow fruit for a
living.

If handpicking be resorted to, the best plan is to place
some strips of old blanket alongside the plants and well
in under the leaves ; having done this, collect the leaves
together in a bunch and give them a short sharp shake,
which will generally dislodge the perfect beetles, when
these can be destroyed by boiling water.

Beetles belonging to this family are most tenacious of
life, and will even feign death for many minutes, so that
to effectually destroy them they must be either crushed,
burned, or scalded, whichever plan comes readiest to
hand. When the grub is in the centre of the plant, it
cannot, as a rule, be dislodged by the hand without
injury to the plant itself, and in this case pouring liquids
iuto the centre must be resorted to.

In the case of raspberries, which I am informed it also
attacks, the canes, where not required, should always be
destroyed by burning, and a similar treatment to that
recommended for the strawberry should be adopted.

In dealing with this pest, also with many others of a
like nature, a great deal will depend upon a judicious
treatment of the soil, also of the mulching, the latter
being a very common method of transmitting pests of
various kinds from one plant to another. For many
kinds of plant bugs, and which also infest strawberries,
mulching answers many purposes, viz., to protect the
roots of plants from the heat of the sun, and to form a
trap in which certain of these disgusting insects deposit
their eggs, and which, when the crop is gathered and the
hottest of the weather is passed, can be placed in heaps
and burned, also to protect the strawberries from injury
from dirt and other causes.

N 2 1

180 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

The strawberry, it must be remembered, is a very
delicate fruit, and oue which if sprayed or otherwise
treated when ripe, or even near that stage, will suffer so
much as to be unsaleable. An experiment which was
made in Mr. Thiele's orchard convinced both him and
myself that the benzole, although fatal to the Rutherglen
Bug pest and uninjurious to the leaves of the vines, was
quite fatal to the fruit of strawberries, which at that time
were being attacked by a larger kind of plant bug, which
will be described and dealt with in Part III. of this Hand-
book.

Strawberries, if grown well and on suitable soil, is one
of our best paying crops, so it behoves every grower of
them, and of raspberries also, to be on the alert. If every
grower will only do a little towards the destruction of the
strawberry beetle, I feel certain that we may be able to
successfully resist its attacks.

As dealing with this comparatively new pest is one of
experiment only, care should be taken to ascertain if it is
really the same insect which is said to attack the rasp-
berry ; if it proves to be so, then the treatment here re-
commended will apply to both plants, but if on the other
hand it should prove to be a different one, we must pro-
bably find other means of dealing wTith it. This I hope
to investigate for myself as soon as time will permit. I
shall be very glad to receive from any one, grower or
otherwise, specimens of the raspberry beetle in question,
together with any notes as to its habits, &c, as I should
like, if possible, to have some account of this pest, sup-
posing it proves to be a different one, in Part III. of this
Handbook.

FRUIT AND GRAIN EATING BIRDS. 181

CHAPTER XLI.

FRUIT AND GRAIN EATING BIRDS.

As Part I. of the Handbook contains a list of the insec-
tivorous birds of Victoria, it has been thought desirable to
include in Part II. a list of those which feed principally
on fruit, grain, and other vegetable products.

To those birds considered specially destructive to
orchards, farms, vineyards, and gardens, an asterisk is
attached, and I am again indebted to Mr. A. J. Campbell,
F.L.S., for his kindness in going through the lists with
me, and also for some corrections to the same.

In placing the " crows " in the above category, I feel
that I am doing these somewhat nasty birds an injustice,
as although they are rapacious in the extreme, and are
very destructive to disabled sheep, also to poultry, &c,
they devour enormous quantities of locusts and grass-
hoppers, subsisting often upon little else than the above
destructive insects and crickets.

It would be hard indeed to draw any hard and fast line
between many of the insectivorous and non-insectivorous
birds, and as with ourselves in many cases necessity
amongst them knows no laws.

Amongst many of our most practical growers there
exists a great difference of opinion as to which birds
should be destroyed and which should be protected ; but
having studied the matter fairly well, and with the aid of
dissections of the stomachs of many of these birds, have
convinced myself as to what is probably the correct view
of the case. I can safely assert that the list here given
will be found trustworthy, and in this connexion I may add
that I am entirely in favour of the introduction of insec-
tivorous birds of other countries; but, before such is

182

DESTKUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

decided upon, the lists of such birds as are proposed to be
introduced should be submitted to competent judges, both
scientific and practical. The sparrows, rabbits, and foxes
are terrible examples of indiscriminate and, to put it
mildly, hasty and dangerous foreign introductions of this
kind.

There are many other birds which feed both on grain
and fruit, but as these are comparatively few in number it
has been thought unnecessary to add them to the present
list.

Alphabetical list of the principal indigenous birds which
do damage in orchards, farms, vineyards, and gardens in
Victoria, those marked * being the most destructive : —

Common Name.

Bell Bird

*Bower Bird (Satin)
Bower Bird (Spotted) ...

*Cockatoo (White)

*Crow (Hazel-eyed)

*Crow (White-eyed)
Crow-shrike (Pied)
Crow-shrike (Sooty) ...
Dove (Peaceful)
Honey-eater (Black) ...
Honey-eater (Black-throated)...
Honey-eater (Blue-faced)
Honey-eater (Fulvous-fronted)
Honey-eater (Fuscous)
Honey-eater (Graceful)
Honey-eater (Lanceolate)
Honey-eater (Lewin's)
Honey-eater (Lunulated)
Honey-eater (New Holland) ...
Honey-eater (Painted)

Honey-eater (Pied)

Honey -eater (Red- throated) ...

Honey-eater (Sanguineus)
Honey-eater (Short-billed)
Honey-eater (Singing)
Honey-eater (Spine-billed)
Honey-eater (Spiny-cheeked) ...
Honey-eater (Sub - crested, or
Helmeted)

Scientific Name.

Manorhina melanophrys.

Ptilonorhynchus violaceus.

Chlamydodera ruaculata.

Cacatua galerita.

Corvus coronoides.

Corone Australis.

Strepera graculina.

Strepera fuliginosa.

Geopelia tranquilla.

Myzomela nigra.

Melithreptus brevirostris.

Entoniyza cyanotis.

Glyciphila fulvifrons.

Ptilotis fusca.

Ptilotis ornata.

Plectorhyncha lanceolata.

Ptilotis Lewini.

Melithreptus lunulatus.

Meliornis Novas-Hollandias.

Entomophila picta.

Certhionyx leucomelas.

Entomophila (Conophila) rufogu-

laris.
Myzomela sanguinolenta.
Melithreptus brevirostris.
Ptilotis vittata.
Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris.
Acanthogenys rufogularis.
Ptilotis cassidix.

FRUIT AND GRAIN EATING BIRDS.

183

Common Name.

Honey-eater (Tasmanian)

*Honey-eater (Warty-faced)
Honey-eater (Wattle-cheeked)
Honey-eater (White-cheeked)
Honey-eater (White-eared)
Honey-eater (White-plnmed)
Honey-eater (White-fronted)

*Honey-eater (Yellow-faced)
Honey-eater (Yellow-tufted)

*Leatherhead
Leatherhead (Yellow-throated)

*Lorikeet (Blue Mountain)
Lorikeet (Little)

^Lorikeet (Musk)

Lorikeet (Porphyry-crowned)

♦Lorikeet (Swift)

*Minah (Australian)
Minah (Yellow- throated)
Oriole (New South Wales)

*Parrakeet (Red Lory, or Pen-
nant's)

*Parrakeet (Rose Hill, or Rosella)

*Wattle Bird

Wattle Bird (Brush)

*Zosterops (Grey-backed)

Scientific Name.

Meliornis (Lichraera) Australasiana.

Meliphaga phrygia.

Ptilotis (Lichenostomus) cratitia.

Meliornis sericea.

Ptilotis leucotis.

Ptilotis penicillata.

Glyciphila albifrons.

Ptilotis chrysops.

Ptilotis auricornis.

Philemon corniculatus.

Philemon citreogularis.

Trichoglossus Nova3-Hollandia3.

Trichoglossus (glossopsitta) pu-

sillus.
Trichoglossus (glossopsitta) cou-

cinnus.
Trichoglossus (glossopsitta) por-

phyrocephalus.
Lathamus discolor.
Myzantha garrula.
Myzantha flavigula.
Mimeta viridis.
Platycercus Pennanti.

Platycercus eximius.
Authochaera carunculata.
Anellobia mellivora.
Zosterops coerulescens.

Note. — Owing to an error in Part I., the following birds were given as insecti-
vorous:— Whistling Tree Duck, Dendrocygna vagaies; Top-knot pigeon, Lopho-
laimus antarcticus; Blue Petrel, Halobcena ccerulea; Pied Crow Shrike, Strepera
graculina ; Sooty Crow Shrike, Strepera fuliginosa.

184 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

CHAPTER XLIL

Additional List of Materials in use for the
Destruction of Noxious Insects.

1. Camphor for Plugging. — Of no use whatever.

2. " Deatholine." — Effective in some respects, but, as
yet, too expensive for general use.

3. "Despatch Parasite Exterminator." — This solu-
tion, as introduced by Messrs. Allan and Bland, is very
useful for destroying many kinds of scale. It is perfectly
harmless to trees, but is at present too costly for general
use.

4. Hellebore (White). — This material is rapidly
coming into favour with fruit-growers, it being both
fairly cheap and highly effective, and is now largely used
against the "pear-slug." The so-called "white hellebore"
is manufactured from Veratrum album, which is not a true
hellebore. There would appear to be a difference of
opinion as to the best method of preparing this material
for the use of orchardists; but, judging from experi-
ments which have been made by intelligent growers, it
seems to be that the "powdered hellebore-root" is in the
greatest favour, because it is cheaper than the extract,
though the latter is easier to mix. Mr. Thiele, of Don-
caster, is of opinion that the powder will kill all the
" slug " and will retain its power longer than the extract.
Proportions of powder, as used by Mr. Thiele, 1 pound to
30 gallons of water, cost 8d. ; extract, 1 quart to 30
gallons of water, cost Is. 6d. It is possible that other
growers may have had different experiences, and which
they will doubtless be guided by. It is recommended
that the larger quantity be used, because, to be effectual,
it should kill quickly and before the rain could fall and
wash it off the leaves so treated.

MATERIALS FOR DESTROYING NOXIOUS INSECTS. 185

5. " IXL." — This so-called specific comes to us from
America with a very high reputation. It is, however, as
yet, too expensive for general use here, or to successfully
compete against the cheap and effective kerosene emul-
sions.

6. "Phylloxera Cure " (Perry's) . — This is reputed, by
those who have tried it, to be effectual in clearing plants
of many kinds of scale-insects, and has been used with
success in the Carlton Gardens. I have had no experience
with it on vines which have been attacked by phylloxera.

7. Soap (Garrick's Mineral). — This soap is intended
to supersede the ordinary soaps hitherto used for the pur-
pose of emulsifying the kerosene for spraying fruit trees.
It makes both a cheap, safe, and nearly perfect emulsion,
and is already largely in use in orchards and elsewhere.

8. "Emulsion" (Martin's). — This, the most perfect
emulsion which I have yet seen, and when it can be placed
cheaply on the market, will, no doubt, be largely in
demand by growers. The kerosene emulsions are certain
to increase in popularity, and now that the emulsifying
process has been brought to such perfection, a large sale
of same is only to be expected.

9. Sulphate of Copper (Bluestone). — This material,
in addition to its great value as a fungicide, has been
tried with success against the peach aphis when on the
roots of fruit-trees.

10.* Sulphate of Ammonia. — Has been used with
much success against the " Army-worm," " Cut-worm,"
and similar pests.

11. Sulphate of Potassium. — Has been used mixed
with the above (No. 10), and for similar purposes.

* It will be of interest for farmers to know that, at the late trials of material in
use against caterpillars in the field-crops, and which took place in England, it
was found that the following gave the best results : —

Sulph. of iron
Sulph. of potass.
Sulph. of ammonia

C. Whitehead.

1 cwt. 1

1 cwt. J- per

1 cwt. J

186 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

12. " Quassia Chips." — This preparation is used largely
in Europe and America, but in the colonies we have had
but little experience with it.

13. Spirits of Turpentine. — According to Professor
Cooke, of Michigan, U.S., the above, if injected into the
nostrils with a syringe, will effectually destroy the maggot
of the sheep bot-fly, also maggots in the ears or any part
of the body.

14. Stockholm Tar. — If placed on the nose and inside
the nostrils, will, according to Professor Cooke, prevent
the bot-fly from depositing her eggs or larva in the nose of
the sheep. Place Stockholm tar in the bottom of a trough
to the depth of one inch, and cover with salt. In this
way the tar gets on the nose and into the nostrils while
the sheep is gathering the salt.

15. " Whale-oil " and " Whale-oil Soap." — Largely
used in America in the preparation of spraying material.

APPENDIX. 187

APPENDIX.

ADDITIONAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF SPRAY PUMPS AND
OTHER MACHINES IN USE FOR THE DESTRUCTION
OF INSECTS.

The object of including in Part II. of the Handbook additional
illustrations of the various spraying pumps and other insect-destroying
machines now in use either here or in other countries, is that farmers,
fruit-growers, vignerons, and others may be able by aid of the figures
and descriptions to select for themselves such articles as appear best
suited for their requirements; and as our rural population is in some
districts scattered, and so far removed from the great centres of popula-
tion, it has been thought desirable to furnish some particulars as to cost,
&c, as also names and addresses of firms from whom the machines may
be obtained, taking them in the order in which I have received the
particulars from the owners or agents, the author of each article or
description being responsible for the statements contained therein.

A good spraying apparatus, if it is to last, should be carefully looked
after, and immediately after use must be cleaned out, dried, and clear
water forced through the nozzles before these are laid by and again
used.

Mr. A. N. Pearson's Sprater.
(See Figs. 1, 2, and 3.)

A spraying arrangement which will operate in a wholesale manner
has recently been invented by Mr. A. N. Pearson, Government Agri-
cultural Chemist, in connexion primarily with the work of the Inter-
colonial Rust in Wheat Conference.

From the drawings it will be seen that the arrangement consists of
an iron tank, (or other suitable vessel), placed in an ordinary cart;
attached to the top of this tank is a pump (either a rotatory or double
acting piston pump), which is operated by means of chain gearing and
spoke clamps on the cart wheel. This pump, when the cart is in motion,
draws the liquid out of the tank and forces it into a long pipe or system
of pipes bearing a number of atomizing nozzles, through which the
liquid is ejected in a fine spray.

The invention consists principally in the use, arrangement, and manner
of support of the long pipe or system of pipes. The pipe is made in
sections, which can be screwed together in a variety of ways. In
Fig. 1, all the sections are arranged in the form of a long horizontal
pipe, 50 feet in length, supported, firstly, by two standards clamped on

188 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

to the sides of the cart, and, secondly, by a short mast with tie wires.
Other tie wires suitably disposed can be added when required, to prevent
horizontal swaying of the pipe. The two standards can, within certain
limits, be clamped to the sides of the cart in any desired position, so
that the long pipe can be placed at any distance between 3 inches and
10 feet above ground. In addition to, or instead of the nozzles attached
directly to the pipe, there can be attached a number of thin back-
wardly curving branch pipes, as shown at the right hand in Fig. 1.
These branch pipes deliver the spray on the under surface of the leaves
of ground crops such as potatoes, and right in the interior of cereal
crops, such as barley attacked by caterpillars, or wheat attacked by
rust. Fig. 2 shows the sprayer arranged for spraying hops, and Fig. 3
for spraying vines, five rows at a time. The pipes may bo similarly
arranged for spraying fruit trees in an orchard.

The advantage of this machine is in the large area of ground that can
be covered in a short time. Thus, with a pipe 50 feet long, the sprayer,
moving at the rate of 2\ miles an hour, would cover more than 15 acres
an hour, or say 160 a day of 12 hours, allowing time for refilling.

The tank is filled by disconnecting the pump from its chain gearing,
inserting the indiarubber hose into the well or cistern containing the
water or prepared solution, and working the pump by hand, backwards
way. On 'referring to the drawings, a pipe furnished with a cock
will be seen leading from top of the pump back again into the tank.
This pipe serves a double purpose : 1st, it acts as a stirrer, for any liquid
forced through it will stir up the liquid or emulsion in the tank ; 2nd,
it serves to adjust the amount of liquid to be delivered as spray, for it
will be readily understood that the more liquid is allowed to pass through
this pipe the less will pass through the nozzles. Further adjustment
can also be made by placing the spoke clamps on the cart further from
or nearer to the centre, so that the gearing chain works from a greater
or less circle and therefore greater or less speed. A strainer is fixed on
to the end of the feed pipe of the pump to prevent the entrance of
particles which would stop up the nozzles.

The same system of piping can be adapted to the use of steam
spraying, a small steam boiler being then placed in the cart instead of
the tank, pump, and chain gearing.

The chief advantage claimed for this sprayer is the rapidity and
wholesale manner of its operation. A machine which will cover 15
acres in one hour makes the cost of spraying little more than nominal.
Another advantage is that it does next to no damage to the crop. The
only damage done is by the cart wheels and the feet of the horse, which
in a track of 50 feet in width cannot amount to more than one or two
per cent.

This sprayer is extremely simple in construction; an ordinary cart is
all that is required to carry it, and the pump can be used for other
purposes when detached from the tank.

Agents: Messrs. John Danks and Son, Ltd., Melbourne. Price on
application.

APPENDIX. IS!)

Peirce's Pumps and Sprays.
(See Figs. 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.)

Simplex Knapsack Spray Pumps {Continuous Sprayer). — This pump
(see Fig. 4) consists of a light, strong, and durahle galvanized iron
cylinder, self-locking cover, leather carrying strap, buckling yokes, and
single easy hand working-to-and-fro pumps with mist-like sprays, to
readily carry on the back, and instantly throw a continuous efficient
spray of emulsion up, through, and around trees or vines under treatment.
This pump is carried on the back. It is made in two sizes of CO lbs.
and 80 lbs. weight respectively.

Price: With single spray — 6 gallons, fifty shillings ; 8 gallons, fifty-
five shillings. With triplet cyclone spray, five shillings extra.

Agitating Pail Sprayer. — This machine (see Fig. 5) consists of
Peirce's double action brass pumps, in strong galvanized iron pails, with
efficient fine mist triplet, cyclone, sprayers, strainers, and archimedean
mixer, to carry down and thoroughly mix floating kerosene and other
mixtures ; cover to keep out leaves, &c. Capacity, 5 gallons.

Price: With triplet spray mixer and cover, sixty shillings ; jet and
rose, four shillings and sixpence extra ; with one spray without mixer
and cover, fifty-two shillings and sixpence ; with jet, rose, and cover,
without mixer for watering, fifty-seven shillings and sixpence.

Lever Pail Spray Pump. — This machine (see Fig. 6) consists of a
strong galvanized iron pail with cover, and Peirce's double action brass
lever pump, with 6 feet of delivery hose, director, and single or treble
sprays.

Price: With single spray — 5 gallons, seventy shillings ; 8 gallons,
eighty shillings ; triplet cyclone spray, five shillings extra.

Sedan Heating and Spraying Apparatus. — This machine (see Fig. 7,)
which has been suggested by the Government Entomologist, consists
of a strong wrought iron combined galvanized cistern and furnace,
with large conical body-heaters, fire and ash compartments, double
action mist-like spraying pumps, agitating mixers, strainers, adjustable
carrying handles and covers. Kerosene emulsion or any other emulsion
can, by this machine, be applied hot by two men to the plants under
treatment.

Price: With 10 feet of hose, director, and fine mist triplet cyclone
sprayer, 15 gallons, £8 10s.; with two 10-feet sprayers, cut-offs, &c,
thirty shillings extra.

Pristine Water Cart Spraying Apparatus. — This oscillating cart (see
Fig. 8) is entirely of wrought iron, with strong galvanized iron tub,
large broad tyred wheels, tubular shafts, and powerful double action
brass adjustable pumps, long delivery hose and sprays. For one lad to
drive and pump, and one or two to spray. The jet will throw a
continuous stream 50 feet.

Price: Horse-power apparatus, as shown in Fig. 8, £20 and £15.
Hand-power apparatus, £9 10s., £8 15s., and £7 15s.

Alfred E. Peirce (patentee and maker of the above machines),
Bromby-street, South Yarra, Melbourne.

190 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTOEIA :

Danes' Spray Pumps.
{See Figs. 9, 10, 11, 12, and 13.)

Handy Spray Pump: This pump (see Fig. 9) is strongly made.
The tube which forms the piston rod is arranged so as to act as an air
chamber, giving a continuity and evenness of spray. The pump is
screwed to an iron plate, the projecting portion of which forms the step
plate shown in Fig. 9. By this means the whole affair is made
thoroughly rigid, and the continual buckling to and fro of the bottom of
the tank is an impossibility.

Price: £2 10s.

Acme Spray Pump: This sprayer (see Fig. 10) is suitable for
medium sized orchards and vineyards, or in cases where it is not
convenient to take a cart. Two lengths of hose, each 15 feet, and
quadruple sprays.

Price: £13.

Knapsack Lever Spray Pump: This pump (see Fig. 11) is strongly
placed, and the tank is constructed so as to be comfortable to the back.

Price: £3.

Champion Knapsack Spray Pump: In this pump (see Fig. 12) the
lever is absent, the action is readily understood from the engraving.
The piston is arranged to act as an air chamber. The pump itself is
thoroughly rigid.

Price: £3.

Deluge Spray Pump: This pump (see Fig. 13) has been specially
designed for the larger growers. The pump, which is on the semi-
rotary principle, is very powerful, and would, if necessary, supply more
jets than shown in our engraving. The air chamber is large, and the
arrangement for distributing the liquid is very simple. The pump,
which may be worked by the driver as shown, has an arrangement of
taps whereby the liquid may be turned on to one or both of the sprays,
or, when necessary, turned into the return pipe so as to thoroughly
disturb the liquid. Two 20-ft. lengths of hose and the necessary
directors and sprayers are supplied with this pump.

Price: £17.

Knowles' Pump and Sprats.

{See Figs. 14, 15, and 16.)

The "Knowlesly" Special Al Spray Pump.

This pump has been specially designed for those fruit-growers who
require one of a stronger and more powerful construction than the
"Improved spray pump" described on page 129 of the first volume of
this work.

It may be fixed in a vessel of any shape, holding from 10 to 100
gallons ; but for general requirements they are sent out in a 10 gallon

APPENDIX. 191

drum, with cover, as shown in the illustration. These can be carried
by a man and boy, wheeled in a barrow, or drawn through the orchard
or vineyard on a newly designed sledge of light draught.

Its action is the "perfection of simplicity," being almost automatic.
Two or three movements of the lever fills the outer cylinder with highly
compressed air, which drives out a full head of spray for a minute and
a half. This allows the user sufficient time to effectually spray a large
tree.

A boy of 8 years of age can keep up a full and continuous pressure
as well as a man.

They are fitted with an universal joint which prevents kinking of
the hose pipe.

"When desired, they are made with a delivery hose, on either side, so
that two rows of trees may be sprayed at the same time.

It is so constructed that it cannot get out of order or be easily
damaged.

Fitted with a " Knowlesly Triune " patent nozzle, it is at all times
available as a powerful portable fire-engine capable of throwing a strong
jet of water a distance of fully 40 feet.

It is, without doubt, the best spraying pump yet introduced.

Price: £7 7s.

Agents: McLean Bros. & Rigg, Limtd., Melbourne.

The Knowlesly Patent " Triune " Spray Nozzle.

This nozzle will prove a boon and blessing to fruit-growers. Should
the Knowlesly nozzle choke, which is seldom the case, it can with ease
be cleared in a quarter of a minute.

The No. 1 throws three distinct sprays and jet. 1st, by removing
the cup from the inside; 2nd, by removing both cup and cap; 3rd, by
using both cup and cap.

The No. 2 double spray nozzle will commend itself to all who use
spray pumps, as it adapts itself to the user's varied requirements.

It can be used either as a single or double sprayer, as each nozzle
" shuts off " when turned downwards, yet sprays at any angle, and
will throw as much " Scotch mist" as can be utilized.

Price: Single os.; double 10s. Screwed to fit \m. pipe.

Agents : McLean Bros. & Rigg, Limtd., Melbourne.

192 DESTEUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

MACHINES, AS USED IN FRANCE, FOR INJECTING
BI-SULPHIDE OF CARBON, ETC., INTO THE SOIL
SURROUNDING DISEASED VINES.

{See Figs. 17 and 18.)

With the advent of the phylloxera in France there resulted the
invention of several syringe-shaped " injectors " or pals injecteurs,
which have since proved of great value to French vine-growers as the
best means of injecting bi-sulphide of carbon into the soil surrounding
phylloxera-infested vines.

One of the earliest machines made was that of M. Gastine. This
" injector " is composed of two principal organs, viz., a piston by which
the course is regulated, and a valve to retain the liquid which is dis-
solved under the influence of hydraulic pressure. In this apparatus the
liquid not only runs out, but is injected in a way that, if the hole begius to
get clogged, it is at once cleared by the pressure of the liquid. All the
"injectors" since placed on the market invariably have the two principal
organs above mentioned. The following advantages are claimed for
the Gastine "injector": — The injection is effected with certainty.
The outlet can never be blocked. The liquid is always passed through
in exactly equal doses.

The working of this machine is extremely simple. The " injector "
is forced into the soil by the two handles and the pedal, and the
actual injection of the liquid is obtained by a single movement. It is
sufficient to push with the palm of the hand, the flat button-like handle
which forms the top end of the piston above the receiver. The piston
rapidly drops in the proportioning chamber in passing through the
leather ring. To leave at once where it has passed through the leather,
it condenses the liquid which fills the chamber of the tube just opposite
the plug of the " injector." Under the effect of the pressure which it
receives, it loses some of the properties that, supposing the liquids to
be incompressible, this last lets pass a quantity of liquid exactly equal
to that which represents the volume engendered by the descent of the
piston. The liquid so forced under the plug escapes with force through
the small outlet placed in the thickest part of the cone.

The piston having gone as far as possible, the injection of the liquid
ceases. The valve closes itself tightly and automatically under the
effect of a spring which is placed against the seat of the valve. The
piston, left to itself, mounts again to its old position. The liquid
precipitates itself into the empty space which it has left behind, and
the apparatus finds itself ready for a new injection. The different
motions above described are instantaneous. The springs employed for
working the piston and the retaining valve render the priming certain,
and completely automatic.

Fig. 17 shows the Gastine machine, and Fig. 18 a section of the
same.

APPENDIX. 193

Another machine, which is in some parts an improvement on the
G-astine, is the " Select," made by Vermorel. The advantages claimed
by the "Select" machine consist, aside from its solidity, its movable
pedal, which permits regulation of penetration, further facilitated by its
steel point; in this, that the ring or lid is fixed at the extremity of the
piston instead of being pressed by four buttons near the pedal, from
which results one movement and a very rapid replacement of this ring,
whereas in machines of earlier construction the tightening and loosening
take a considerable time. Another advantage claimed by the Vermorel
machine is in the length of the spring of the valve, which, instead of
being below the valve and necessarily short, is above it and five or six
times longer, and of which one may regulate easily the pressure to the
way of the two screws.

The mechanism that assures the proportioning is nothing else than a
syringe.

Vermorel has another machine called the "Excelsior/' somewhat
more complicated than the " Select " in its interior mechanism, but from
all reports a better machine.

Figs. 17 and 18 have been reproduced from Traite de la Vigne et de
ses produits, Vol. III., par MM. L. Portes et F. Ruyssen, Paris, 1889,
the explanatory matter having been copied from the same work.

The Nixon Sleigh Barrel Spraying Machine.
{See Figs. 19 and 20.)

This apparatus is admirably adapted for places where it has to be
drawn over soil of a loose nature, it being little liable to get bogged, as
it would be likely to do if fitted with wheels. The machine has been
specially designed, being a barrel holding from 25 to 30 gallons of
liquid, and fitted on to a sleigh. This sleigh can either be drawn along
the ground or placed in a cart as circumstances may demand. The
machine is fitted with a brass plunger-pump and air chamber, also dis-
turber, which are attached by both crank and lever motion to the handle
of the pump ; by this means every motion of the handle in pumping,
the disturber (or agitator) is brought into action. It is also fitted with
two lengths of hose, each 30 feet long, and sprays; also a shorter Length
with spray, so that one man can work the pump and spray. It is also
so arranged that by opening a valve it is converted into a "three-men
sprayer."

This machine is strongly made and will be eagerly sought for. It
has been brought from America by Mr. J. West, Government Irrigation
Expert, for the Victorian Department of Agriculture.

Price: Complete, £16.

O 2

Fig. 4.-PEIRCE'S SIMPLEX KNAPSACK SPRAYER.

Fig. 5.— PEIRCE'S AGITATING PAIL SPRAYER.

Fig. 6.— PEIRCE'S LEVER PAIL
SPRAYER.

F'g. 7-PEIRCE'S SEDAN HEATING SPRAYER.

Fig. 8. — PEIRCE'S PRISTINE WATER-CART SPRAYER.

Fig. II.— DANKS' KNAPSACK LEVER SPRAY PUMP.

Fig. I2.-DANKS' CHAMPION KNAPSACK SPRAY PUMP.

Fig. |4.— THE KNOWLESLY SPECIAL Al SPRAY PUMP.

Fig. I5.-THE KNOWLESLY PATENT "TRIUNE'
SPRAY NOZZLE.

Fig. 16,— THE No. 2 DOUBLE-SPRAY NOZZLE.

r 2

Fig. I7.-GASTINE INJECTOR. Fig. I8.-SECTION OF GASTINE INJECTOR.

GENERAL INDEX TO PART II.

Agarista casuarinse, 107.

Agarista glycine (Vine-Moth), 101.

Alum wash treatment of tubers for
Potato-Moth, 158.

American vines as Phylloxera re-
sisting, 125.

Anhydrous-acid (sulphurous) gas
treatment for Phylloxera, 122.

Ants attacking aphides, 3, 9 ; attacking
moths, &c, 103, 104.

Aphis brassicse (Cabbage- Aphis),
165.

Apple : Apples attacked by Plum (?)
Curculio, 22 ; the Apple-root Borer, 93
et seq.; apple trees attacked by White-
Ant, 140.

Apricots attacked by Plum (?) Cur-
culio, 22.

Arkle, Mr., England, on parasites of
Cabbage-Moth, 163.

Arsenic : Arsenic as a spraying ma-
terial, 64 ft seq.; arsenical compounds
injurious (?) to bees, 87 et seq.; arsenical
spray for Hawk-Moths, 111.

Aspidiotus aurantii, 48, 53.

Aspidiotus citri, 53.

Aspidiotus coccineus, 53, 58.

Aspidiotus nerii (Oleander-Scale),
47.

Aspidiotus Rossi, 48, 49, 50.

B.

Bailey, F. M., on a coccus on orange,
&c, 59.

Balbiani, Prof., on Phylloxera, 119,
120.

Barjin, on habits of aphis, 167.

Bates, H. W., on habits of White-
Ant, 137.

Bauer, San Francisco, on treatment for
Phylloxera, 123.

Bees injured (?) by arsenical compounds,
87 el seq.

Behr, Dr. Herman, on treatment for
Phylloxera, 122.

Benzole fatal to fruit of strawberry,
180.

Birds : Fruit and Grain eating Birds,
with list, 181 el seq.; insectivorous
birds should be protected, 42,
162.

Bisulphide of carbon treatment: for
Peach-Aphis, 14; for Orange-Aphis,
74 ; for Apple-root Borer, 97 ; and for
Phylloxera, 123 ; on the increase as
treatment for Phylloxera in France,
125 ; proved efficacious in California,
127 ; machines used for injecting bisul-
phide, 192; used to destroy hybernating
larvae, &c, 17S.

Black- July Vine, 128.

Black Peach- Aphis, 9 et seq.

Blodget, Lorin, on aphis attacking
roots of peach, 11.

Bluestone (Sulphate of Copper) treat-
ment: for Peach- Aphis, 13; and for
Strawberry Beetle, 178; as a fungicide,
&c, 185.

Blundell's preparation of Paris Green,
80, 98.

Boisduval, France, on Potato-Moth in
Algiers, 150.

Bonnet, on habits of aphis, 167.

Bot-fly, treatment for, 186.

Breakwinds a necessity in some or-
chards, 72.

Brittlebank, C. C. on fly attacking
Cottony-cushion Scale, 38.

216

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

Buckton, G. B., on Green Peach-
Aphis, 4; says green and black aphides
are distinct species, 12 ; extract on
Phylloxera from Buckton's work, 117
et seq. ; on the antiquity of the aphis,
168.

c.

Cabbage : The Cabbage- Aphis or
"Blight," 165 et seq.; the Cabbage-
Moth, 157 et seq.

Csequosa triangularis (Hawk-
Moth), 111.

Camphor for plugging, 184.

Carbolic acid solution treatment for
Cabbage-Moth, 162.

Carbon bisulphide. See Bisulphide
of Carbon.

Carbonates treatment for Phylloxera,
122.

Carolin, Bendigo, on usefulness of Cus-
picona (plant-bug), 106.

Carson, D., on Plum Curculio, 21 et
seq.

Case-Moth of the Orange, 77 et
seq.

Castlemaine : Apple-root Borer at
Castlemaine, 93 ; Peach-Aphis at Castle-
maine, 10.

Caustic Soda treatment for Cabbage-
Aphis, 169.

Celery Hawk-Moth, 109.

Chaerocampa celerio (Vine-Moth),
109.

Chalk and mercury treatment for
Phylloxera, 123.

Cherry : The Cherry Green-Beetle, 27
et seq.; cherries attacked by Plum (?)
Curculio, 22, 23; by Oleander-Scale,
47 ; by Case-Moth, 80 ; and by Apple-
root Borer, 95, 98.

Clemm, Dr., on treatment for Phyl-
loxera, 122.

Clinton Vine, 128.

Coal-tar treatment for Cabbage-Moth,
160.

Coccus microcera (a fungus), 59.

Codlin-Moth, 67, 90.

Comstock, Prof., on Orange Red-
Scale, 54 ; on prevention of scale
spreading, 56.

Couanon, France, on treatment for
Phylloxera, 130.

Concord Vine, 128.

Conotrachelus nenuphar (Plum-
Curculio, 21.

Cook, Prof, Michigan, on injury to
bees by arsenical compounds, 89.

Cooke, C, on a coccus on lemon, &c,
59.

Cooke, Dr. Mathew, California, on
Plum Curculio, 21 et seq.; on Aspidiotus
Nerii (Oleander-Scale), 47 ; on Lemon-
Leaf Scale, 85.

Cork-oak attacked by scale (Aspi-
diotus Rossi), 50.

Cornu, France, on Phylloxera, 119.

Corynocarpus attacked by Oleander-
Scale, 48.

Cottony-cushion Scale, 37 et seq.

Cousanon and Solomon, France,
on treatment for Phylloxera, 123.

Crows, their usefulness and other-
wise, 181.

Cryptolaemus Montrouzeri at-
tacking scale, 40 ; makes little impres-
sion on Red -Scale, 58.

Cuckoo : Bronze and Pallid Cuckoos
eating caterpillars, 105.

Cunningham Vine, 127, 128.

Currants attacked by Oleander-Scale,
48.

Curtis, England, on habits of Cabbage-
Moth, 158, 159 ; on parasites of Cab-
bage-Moth, 163 ; on Ladybirds and
Aphides, 171.

Cuspicona (plant-bug) attacking vine
caterpillars, 105.

Cynthiana Vine, 128.

D.

Danks and Son's Spraying Ma-
chines, 190.

David, France, on treatment for Phyl-
loxera, 123.

Deatholine as an insecticide, 184.

INDEX.

21'

Despatch Parasite Extermi-
nator as an insecticide, 184.

Diamond-back Moth (Cabbage),
157.

Diphucephala colaspidoides
(Chcny Green-Beetle), 27.

Doncaster : Peach-Aphis at Doncaster,
10 ; Apple-root Borer at Doncaster, 95.

Dressel, Julius, California, on plant-
ing of phylloxera-resisting vines, 125.

Dumas, France, on use of sulpho-
carbonate of potassium, 1 1.

Duvan and Lyonnet, on habits of
aphis, 167.

Dwinelle, Prof. C. H., on whale-oil
soap as an emulsion, 24.

Dyer, W. T., on treatment for Phyl-
loxera, 123.

E.
Early Rivers Peach, 17.
Entometa ignobilis, 79.
Eriococcus multispinus destroyed
by Ladybirds, 39.

Excelsior (Vermorel) Injector,
193.

Fletcher, J., Government Entomolo-
gist, Canada, on spraying with ar-
senites, 64 et seq.; on poisoning (?) of
bees by arsenites, 87 et seq.

G.

Garrick's Mineral Soap and
Emulsion, 73, 185.

Gas-lime treatment : for Apple-root
Borer, 97 ; for Potato-Moth, 152 ; for
Cabbage- Aphis, 170 ; and for Straw-
berry Beetle, 177.

Gas Tents, 90.

Gastine, France, on treatment for
Phylloxera, 130 ; the Gastine Injector
for bisulphide treatment, 192.

Geelong", Apple-root Borer at, 97.

Gibbons, Mr. Sydney, .Melbourne,
on Cabbage- Aphis, 165 et seq. . 171.

Girard, France, on Silkworms' eggs and
extreme cold, 120.

Glycine clandestina(twining plant),
ION.

Green Peach-Aphis, '■> ■ t s< </.

Green "Worm of Cabbage, 157.

H.

Hawk-Moths, 109 et aeq.

Hedges, when necessary, 72 ; as breed-
ing grounds, 9S.

Hellebore : of little use against aphis,
<tec, 15 ; treatment for Case-Moth, SI ;
for Vine-Moth, 104; and for Potato-
Mot h on tobacco plant, 154 ; as an
insecticide, proportions, &c, 184.

Hemerobidee (Lace-wing Flies) at-
tacking Peach-Aphis, 6; Cabhage-
Aphis, 172.

Herbemont Vine, 128.

Herman Vine, 128.

Honey-dew, 49.

Hydrusa Sp. (Orange-Moth), 63.

I.

Icerya purchasi (Cottony-cushion
Scale), 37 et seq., 86.

Icerya sacchari, 38.

Ichneumons attacking Case-Moth,
82 ; Cabbage-Moth, 163 ; and Cabbage-
Aphis, 172.

Injectors for bisulphide treatment,
192.

Insecticidal Plants, to check Phyl-
loxera, 122.

Insectivorous Birds should be pro-
tected, 42, 162 ; distinguished from
other birds, 1S1.

Inundation. Sec Submersion.

Italy exporting infested fruit, 86.

IXL Compound as an insecticide,
185.

J.

Jacquiez Vine, 1-7, 128.

K.

Kainit treatment for Peach-Aphis, 11.

Kerosene Emulsion treatment : for
Peach-Aphis, 15; for Scale, 41; for
Orange-Aphis, 73 ; and for Phyl-
loxera, 128.

218

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

King, Mr., on Apple-root Borer at

Geelong, 97.
Kirk, Dr., New Zealand, on treatment

for Phylloxera, 124 et seq., 130 et seq.
Knowlesly Spray Pump, 190; and

Triune Spray Nozzle, 191.
Koebele, A., California, on Ladybird

attacking Scale, 39 ; introduction of

Ladybird into America, 106.
Krause, Dr. S., on treatment for

Phylloxera, 122.

Ladybirds attacking aphides, 6, 17;
scale, 39 ; and Cabbage-Aphis, 170 ;
larvae of Ladybird, 171.

Lang1, J., on Peach- Aphis, 10.

Leacock, Dr., Madeira, on treatment
for Phylloxera, 122.

Lecanium olese, 51, 59.

Leis COnformis (Ladybird) attack-
ing aphis, 6 ; attacked by sparrows, 43.

Lemon attacked by Icerya, 37 et seq.;
by Oleander-Scale, 47 ; by Red-Scale,
54; by Orange-Aphis, 71 ; and by
Case-Moth, 79; Lemon Leaf and Peel
Scale, 85 et seq.

Lenoir Vine, 126.

Lens, ordinary lens very useful, 49.

Leptops Hopei (Apple-root Borer),
93.

Lestophonus iceryae attacking
Cottony-cushion Scale, 38.

Lichtenstein, France, on Phylloxera,
118, 119, 120, 121.

Lime: Sulphur and lime for Codlin-
Moth, 67; sulphur, lime, and soap for
Vine-Moth, 104; powdered lime on
leaves for Phylloxera, 129; treatment
for Potato-Moth, 152; soot and lime
treatment for Cabbage-Moth, 162.

Lintner, Dr., on Peach-Aphis, 11 ; on
Plum Curculio, 24 ; on Icerya, 43.

Lita SOlanella (Potato-Moth), 147.

London Purple : Of little use against
aphis, &c, 15; care to be taken when
using, 25 ; treatment for Cherry Green-
Beetle, 31.

Lucas, R., on habits and mode of
trapping Potato-Moth, 148, 151.

Lyonnet and Duvan, on habits of
aphis, 167.

M.

Madeira Vine, 128.

Magic Soap treatment for Peach-
Aphis, 16.

Marian, France, on treatment for
Phylloxera, 123.

Marion, France, on treatment for
Phylloxera, 130 et seq.

Marion Vine, 128.

Martin's Emulsion, 73, 185.

Maskell, W. M., on Cottony-cushion
Scale, 37 ; on plants attacked by Icerya,
44 ; extracts from Maskell's work, 47,
53.

McCoy, Prof., on Metura (Case-
Moths), 77, 78; on Vine-Moth,
(Agarista), 101, 103.

Mercury and chalk treatment for
Phylloxera, 123.

Metura elongata, 77.

Meyrick, London, on habits of Potato-
Moth, 147, 150; and of Cabbage-Moth,
159.

Microcera coccophila, a fungus on

orange, 58.
Monnier, Prof., on treatment for

Phylloxera, 122.
Montpellier Experimental School,

France, vine stock experiments,

127.
Morris, Kew Gardens, London, on

distribution of White- Ant, 141.
Mueller, Baron von, on Phylloxera,

121 et seq.
Mulberry attacked by Red-Scale,

54.
Mulching, 179.

Miiller, Dr. Fritz, on habits of White-
Ant, 138, 141.
Mussel-Scale of the apple, 85.
Mytilaspis citricola (Lemon-Leaf

Scale), 85.

INM'.X.

219

Mytilaspis Gloveri, 86.
Mytilaspis pomorum, 85.
Myzus sp. (Green Peach-Aphis), 3.
Myzus cerasi (Black Peach-Aphis),
9.

N.

Nectarines attacked by Plum (?)

Curculio, 22.
New Jersey Agricultural College,

U.S.A., experiments with kerosene

emulsion, 15.
Nicotine "Whale-oil Soap, 5.
Nitrateof Soda treatment: for Peach-
Aphis, 14; and for Cabbage-Moth,

162.
Nixon Sleigh-barrel Spraying Machine,

193.
Novius bellus attacking scale, 39.
Novius cardinalis (Ladybird) and

scale, 39, 40; won't attack Red-Scale,

58.

o.

Oleander-Scale, 47 et seq.

Olive attacked by Aspidiotus Rossi, 50;
Lecanium olese, 51, 59.

Olliff, A. S., (Government Entomologist,
N.S.W., on aphis attacking orange,
&c, 71.

Omerod, Miss B. A., England, on
habits of Cabbage-Moth, 159; on treat-
ment for Cabbage-Moth, 162.

Orange attacked by Icerya, 37 et seq.; by
Oleander-Scale, 47; and by Red-Scale,
53 et seq.; the Orange-Moth, 63 et seq.;
the Orange- Aphis, 71 et seq. ; Case-Moth
of Orange, 77 et seq.; Lemon-Leaf Scale
on orange, 85; White- Ant attacking
orange roots, 140.

Paraffine treatment for Cabbage-Moth,

162.
Parthenogenesis of the aphis, 166,

167.

Paris Green : Of no use against aphis,
&c, 15; care when using, 25; treatmenl
forCherryGreen-Beetle, 31 ; tori Grange-
Moth, 64; for Case-Moth, 80; tor
Apple-root Borer, 98; and for Vine-
Moth, 104; injurious (?) to bees, 87 et
seq. ; Tobacco-water and Paris Green for
young strawberry plants, 178.

Peach : The Green Peach-Aphis, :} > /
seq.; the Black Peach-Aphis, !) >/ seq.;
care to be taken when spraying peach,
73.

Pears attacked by Plum (?) Curculio,
22; and . by Apple-root Borer, 95,
98,

Pearson, A. N., Government Agri-
cultural Chemist, Victoria, on use of
Milestone, 14; and on use of lime, 152 ;
Pearson's Spraying Machine, 154, 161,
187, 188.

Peirce's Spraying Machines, 189.

Perry's Phylloxera Cure as an
insecticide, 185.

Phylloxera punctata, 119.

Phylloxera vastatrix of the Vine,
117 et seq.

Pine trees attacked by Icerya, 40; and
by Case-Moths, 79.

Pittosporum hedge attacked by
Icerya, 40; and Oleander-Scale, 48,
49.

Planchon, France, on treatment of
Phylloxera, 123.

Plants attacked by Icerya : List
of, 44.

Plugging: Boring holes in tree ami
plugging with sulphur or camphor
condemned, 58, 184.

Plum: The Plum Curculio, 21 <t seq.;
Oleander-Scale on plum, 47; care
necessary when spraying plum, 7.'?;
( lase-Moth on plum, 79.

Plutella cruciferarum, l">7.

Portugal exporting infested fruit;

Mi.

Potato-Moth, 147 et wq.
Poultry: Usefulness of ducks, chickens,

&c, in garden, 170.

220

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

Powell, Mr. Geo., on Apple-root
Borer, and its egg-laying at Castle-
maine, 93, 97.

Pulvinaria, 40.

Purple Scale, S5.

Pye, Mr. Hugh, on Ladybird attack-
ing scale at Dookie, 39.

Q.

Quassia treatment for Cabbage-Moth,
162; chips, 186.

Quibell's Mixture treatment : for
White-Ant, 142, 143 ; and for Straw-
berry Beetle, 178.

Quinces attacked by Plum (?) Curculio,
22 ; and by Case-Moth, 79, 80.

R.

RagOUet, France, on habits of Potato-
Moth, 147.

Raspberries attacked by plant-bugs
(Cuspicona), 106; and by Strawberry
Beetle, 175, 179.

Rearing" Insects, 82.

Red-Scale of Orange, 53 et seq.

Resin Compound treatment : for
Peach-Aphis, 15, 16; for Scale, 42; and
for Orange-Aphis, 74; oil of turpentine
and resin treatment for Phylloxera,
122.

Resistant Vines: Phylloxera-resist-
ing vines in France, 125; substituting
resistant stocks will prevent Phylloxera,
126; grafting of resistant stocks re-
commended, 126.

Rhinaria perdix (Strawberry Beetle),
175.

RhizobhlS sp. attacking scale, 39.

Riley, Dr. C. V., Washington, on
leery a and parasites, 43; on Phylloxera,
118, 119, 120; on kerosene emulsion
treatment for Phylloxera, 128.

Riparia Vine, 125, 126.

Roots: Peach- Aphis on roots, 11;
treatment of roots require care, 74;
Apple-root Borer, 93 et seq.; root prun-
ing, 98.

Royal George Peach, 17.
Rupestris Vine, 128.

S.

Sabate, France, on treatment for Phyl-
loxera, 128 et seq.

Salway Peach, 17.

Scarlet "Scale "(a fungus), 59.

Searle, Mr. G., on habits of Potato-
Moth, 150.

Select (Vermorel) Injector, 193.

Silkworms' eggs unaffected by cold,
120.

Silver-gull, good insectivorous bird
for gardens, 170.

Silver-striped Vine-Moth, 109 et
seq.

Siphonophora citrifolii, 71.

Siphonophora (?) sp. (Orange-
Aphis), 71.

Smith, Prof. J. B., on kainit and soda-
nitrate treatment for Peach-Aphis,
14.

Smith, Worthington, on a parasitic
fungi of coccus, 59.

Smoking out destructive insects, 29.

Soaps : Nicotine Whale-oil Soap, 5 ;
Magic Soap, 16; Garrick's Mineral
Soap, 185; Whale-oil Soap, 186.

Solomon and Cousanon, on treat-
ment for Phylloxera, 123.

Solonis Vine, 127, 128.

Soot and lime treatment for Cabbage-
Moth, 162.

Soot fungus, 49, 169.

Sparrows as a pest, 43, 182.

Spirits of Turpentine treatment for
Bot-fly, 186.

Spraying : Indiscreet spraying danger-
ous, 73; best time to spray, 18, 90;
spraying with heated emulsion, 41 ;
spraying with arsenic compounds not
dangerous, 64 et seq.

Spry, Mr., on eggs of Case-Moth,
78.

Stockholm Tar treatment for Bot-fly,
186.

Stomaphis quercus (Oak- Aphis), 4.

INDEX.

221

Strawberry Beetle, 175 et eeq.j

Strawberries attacked by plant -buy

(Cuspicona), 106.
Strawsonizer, 154, 161, 162.
Submersion treatment for Phylloxera,

122, 125, 127. 129.
Sugar-cane attacked by Icerya, 38.
Sulphate of Ammonia treatment:

for Strawberry Beetle, 177; Army-

worm, &c, 185.
Sulphate of Copper. See Bluestone.
Sulphate of Potassium treatment:

for Peach-Aphis, 16 ; Army-worm,

&C., IS.").

Sulphide of Carbon Treatment : for
Phylloxera, 122, 125; doses, quantities,
&c, 130; mode of distribution, injec-
tion, &c, 131 ; conditions of soil favor-
able to treatment, 132; as a manure,
133.

Sulpho-carbonate treatment for
Phylloxera in France, 125.

Sulpho-carbonate of Barium
and of Sodium treatments for
Peach- Aphis, 14.

Sulpho-carbonate of Potassium
treatment for Phylloxera, 123 ; less
popular in France as treatment for
Phylloxera, 125; proved efficacious in
California, 127: beneficial to vines as
well, 129; cost, 130.

Sulphur: Lime, sulphur, and soap treat-
ment for Vine-Moth, 104; lime and
sulphur for Codlin-Moth, 67.

Sulphurous anhydrous-acid gas
treatment for Phylloxera, 122.

Superphosphate of Lime treat-
ment for Strawberry Beetle, 177

Syrphid flies attacking aphides, 6,
171.

Tahiti exporting infested fruit, 85.

Tar used in trapping Potato-Moth, 153;
coal-tar treatment for Potato-M<>th.
160 ; tar-water treatment for Cabbage-
Aphis, 169 ; Stockholm Tar treatment
for Bot-fly, 186.

TaSChenberg, on habits of Cahbage-

Moth, 159.
Taylor Vine, 127, 128.

Tepper, J. G. O., Adelaide, on habits
and treatment of Potato-Moth, 147,
150, 153.

Termes Australis (White-Ant) 137.

Termes lucifugus, 141.

Thiele, F., on Peach-Aphis, 10; on
habits of Strawberry Beetle, 176.

Tobacco : Tobacco-mixture treatment
for Peach-Aphis, 16; for Orange-Aphis,
73; for Cabbage-Aphis, 169; and for
Strawberry Beetle, 178; Potato-Moth
attacking tobacco plant in Queensland,
&c, 151, 154.

Triune Spray Nozzle, 191.

Try on, H., Queensland, on Orange
Red-Scale, 54, 58 ; extract on Potato-
Moth from Tryon*s work, 150, 151 ; on
treatment of tubers with wash against
Potato-Moth, 153.

Turnips attacked by Cabbage-Moth,
158.

Turpentine : Resin and oil of turpen-
tine treatment for Phylloxera, 122;
spirits of turpentine treatment for Bot-
fly, 186.

V.

Veratrum album (White Hellebore),

81.
Vermorel Select Injector for

bisulphide treatment, 193.

Viala Vine, 127, 128.

Villedieu, France, on Phylloxera,
121.

Vine: Red-Scale on vine, ">4: I
Moth on vine, 79, 80; the Vine-Moth,
101 et seq.j the Silver-striped Vine-
Moth, 109 et ■<■</.: the Phylloxera Vas-
tatrix of the vine, 117 etaeq. ; American
phylloxera-resisting vines in France,
125; substitution of resistant vine
stocks to check Phylloxera, 126;
White-Ants attacking vine
140.

Vitis cinerea, 128.

222

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

W.

"Wallace, on Peach-Aphis, 9.

Walnut attacked by Red-Scale, 54.

Vfeeds and noxious insects introduced
at same time, 154.

West, J., on Peach-Aphis, 16.

"Whale-oil Soap treatment: for Peach-
Aphis, 5 ; and for Plum Curculio, 23 ;
used largely in America, 186.

Wheeler, J- H., California, on treat-
ment for Phylloxera, 124 et seq.

White-Ant, Victorian, 137 et seq.

White, Gilbert, on habits of Aphis
168.

"White Hellebore. See Hellebore.

"Whitehead, Charles, England: ex-
tracts from Whitehead's report on
Cabbage-Moth, 157, 162; on sulphate
of ammonia, 185.

"Wright, Allan, on Ladybirds attack-
ing Scale in New Zealand, 40, 44.

York Vine, 128.

By Authority : Robt. S. Brain, Government Printer, Melbourne