■■' • / - / . f * ,V.-?>-^-"s'''?«i^^«^ pjEfTBOTiag For Reference NOT TO BE TAKEN FROM THIS ROOM ^xM ^ ^^^°'=^€fe.. LI B RARY OF 1885- 1©56 Department of Zoology a\:d l No.. U^/ INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. BY WILLIAM SAUNDERS, F.R.S.C., F.L.S., F.C.S., Director of the Experimental Farms of the Dominion of Canada, Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Fellow of the Royal Microscopical Society of London, England, Fellow of the Entomological Society of Lon- don, England, late Editor of the " Canadian Entomologist," C!or- responrtini; Member of the American Entomological So- ciety, Philadelphia, of the Butfalo Society of Nat- ural Sciences, the Natural History Society of Montreal, etc. ILLUSTRATED WTITH FOUR HUNDRED AND FORTY WOOD-CUTS. SECOND EDITION. P H I L A D E li P H I A : J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY. LONDON: 5 HENRIETTA STREET, COVENT QARDBN. 1909. Oopyright, 1883, by J. B. Lippikcott A i». DEDICATION. To the Fruit-Growers of America this work is respectfully dedi- cated, with an earnest hope that it may be of practical use to them in the warfare with destructive insects in which they are con- Btantly engaged. W. SAUNDERS. PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. In the preparation of the second edition of this work the author has endeavored to make such corrections, and to em^ body such additional facts regarding the life history and habits of the insects referred to, and the remedies suggested therefor, as will bring it into accord with the present know- ledge of entomologists on these subjects. In this he has been aided by kind suggestions from many friends. Acknow- ledgments are especially due to C. V. Riley and L. O. Howard of Washington, A. R. Grote of Bremen, Germany, J. A. Lintner of Albany, N. Y., C. H. Fernald of Amherst, Mass., Miss Mary Murtfeldt of Kirkwood, Mo., J. H. Corn- stock of Ithaca, N. Y., and E. T. Cresson of Philadelphia. The corrections and additions have been embodied in th^ work A\dthout interfering much with its general arrangement. WILLIAM SAUNDERS. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. The cultivation of fruit in America has of late years become of so much commercial importance, as well as do- mestic interest, that no apology is necessary for oifering to the fruit-growing community a work of which they must have long felt the need. The amateur who plants a city lot, and the farmer who devotes a portion of his land to the cultivation of those fruits which furnish from month to month pleasant and changeful variety to the table, as well as those who grow fruit to supply the home and foreign markets, are alike in- terested in making this pursuit a success. Injurious insects are so universally distributed that there is no part of this continent where fruit-culture can be profitably carried on without some effort being made to subdue them. Among the insect hosts we have friends as well as foes, and it is to the friendly species that nature has assigned the task of keeping in subjection those which are destructive; these, in many instances, do their work most thoroughly, devouring in some cases the eggs, in others the bodies, of their victims. It is not uncommon to find the antipathy to insects carried so far that a war of extermination is waged on all, and thus many of man's most efficient allies are consigned to destruction. The information necessary to enable the fruit-grower to 6 PREFACE. deal intelligently with this subject has not hitherto been easily accessible, having been diifused chiefly among a large number of voluminous State and Departmental reports and books on scientific entomology, where the practical knowledge is so much encumbered with scientific and other details as to make the acquisition of it too laborious a process for those whose time is so fully occupied during that period when the information is most needed. It has been the aim of the author of this work to bring together all the important facts relating to insects known to be injurious to fruits in all parts of Canada and the United States, to add to the information thus obtained the knowl- edge he has acquired of the habits and life-history of many of our insect pests by an experience of over twenty years as a fruit-grower and a student of entomology, and to pre- sent the results in as concise and plain a manner as possible, avoiding all scientific phraseology except such as is necessary to accuracy. The arrangement adopted under the several headings, by which the insect pests which attack the different parts of the tree or vine under consideration are grouped together, will, it is hoped, with the aid of the illustrations, greatly facilitate the determination of any injurious species. When having before him its history briefly traced and the remedies which have been found most useful iu subduing the insect, the reader will at once be enabled to decide as to the best meth- ods to be employed. The author desires to make the fullest acknowledgment to those of whose work he has availed himself. The writings of Say, Peck, Harris, Fitch, Clemens, Glover, Walsh, Hiley, Lintner, Comstock, Le Baron, Thomas, French, Packard, PREFACE. 7 Grote, Leconte, Horn, Hagen, Chambers, Howard, Cook, Uhler, Cresson, Fernald, Kellicott, Willet, Bethuue, Pettit, Rogers, Reed, Fletcher, Harrington, and others have been made tributary ; and in some instances, where the insect referred to has not been the subject of personal observation, the words of the author drawn from have to some extent been used, modified so as to bring them into harmony with the general aim of this work. To the writings of C. V. Riley, of Washington, the author is especially indebted ; his Missouri Reports and subsequent entomological reports in connection with the Department of Agriculture at Washington have been found invaluable. The material contained in the chapter on orange insects has been derived mainly from the excellent report of J. H. Comstock as Entomologist to the U. S. Department of Agriculture for the year 1880, and from his subsequent writings ; from a paper on the parasites which attack scale- insects, by L. O. Howard, in the same report; also from the writings of Townend Glover and C. V. Riley, from a treatise on orange insects, by William H. Ashmead, from a pamphlet on insects injurious to fruit-trees in California, by Matthew Cooke, and from the writings of Dr. S. V. Chapin and others in the first report of the Board of State Agricul- tural Commissioners of California. To J. A. Lintner, State Entomologist of New York, the author is under much obligation for his kindly aid in revising the nomenclature. An acknowledgment is also due to the following specialists, who have revised lists submitted to them of the names of insects in their departments : Dr. George H. Horn, E. T. Cresson, A. R. Grote, P. Uhler, J. H. Comstock, and L. O. Howard. 3 PREFACE. Through the liberality of the Council of the Entomological Society of Ontario, permission was granted to have electro- types made from any of the cuts in the Society's collection, and from this source a large number of figures have been obtained. Many of these were purchased by the Society from C. V. Riley, and some are the work of Worthington G. Smith, of London, England, and other English and Ameri- can engravers. Nos. 21, 22, 31, 93, 102, 104, 116, 137, 141, 142, 145, 169, 199, 201, 205, 206, 291, 292, 305, 321, 332, 347, and 348 were purchased from C. V. Riley. Nos. 20, 151, 152, 167, and 208 were kindly loaned by A. S. Forbes, of Normal, Illinois. Through the kind liberality of the Hon. George B. Loring, U. S. Commissioner of Agriculture, permission was granted to obtain electrotypes of the following, which have appeared in the Commissioner's reports : Nos. 13, 15, 32, 35, 42, 96, 108, 114, 115, 126, 181, 195, 248, 270, 286, 287, 288, 377, 393, 394, 400, 403, 404, 406, 407, 408, 409, 410, 411, 412, 413, 414, 416, 418, 419, 420, 421, 422, 423, 424, 426, 428, 429, 431, 432, 433, 434, 435, 436. Nos. 8, 25, 63, 109, 134, 144, 329, 338, 350, and 401 were purchased from Dr. A. S. Packard. By kind permission, the following were copied from Town- end Glover's excellent plates : Nos. 9, 49, 66, 78, 82, 83, 87, 111, 121, 146, 147, 148, 150, 155, 163, 202, 209, 236, 237, 249, 282, 293, 294, 295, 296, 300, 315, 320, 322, 333, 367, 390, 391, 392, 395, 396, 397, 440. From Harris's works : Nos. 11, 86, 120, 159, 174, 188. From the reports of C. V. Riley: Nos. 101, 103, 105, 107, 228, 229, 230, 378, 379. PREFACE. 9 From the reports of Dr. Asa Fitch : Nos. 36, 37, 98, 99, 301. From Dr. A. S. Packard's works : Nos. 16, 110, 113, 117, 118, 119, 156, 157, 158, 162, 176, 177, 323, 328, 381, 382, 383, 384, 385, 386, 387, 388. From B. Walsh's first report No. 143 was copied. No. 55 from one of Cyrus Thomas's reports. No. 187 from a plate published by W. H. Edwards; Nos. 427 and 430 were copied (reduced in size) from the report of the U. S. Com- missioner of Agriculture for 1880, Nos. 438 and 439 from a treatise on insects injurious to fruit-trees in California, by Matthew Cooke, and Nos. 398, 399, 402, 405, 415, 417, 425, and 437 from a treatise on orange insects, by William H. Ash mead. The remainder have been drawn from nature and engraved for this work chiefly by the following artists, who have also engraved the copies : H. H. Nichol, of Washington ; Wor- th ington G. Smith, of London, England ; H. Faber & Son, and Crosscup & West, of Philadelphia; and P. J. Edmunds, of London, Ontario. Throughout this work, where an author's name, following the scientific name of an insect, is enclosed in parentheses, it is an indication that the authority is for the species only, and that the genus has been changed since the insect was described. This is in accordance with the recommendation of the British Association made some years ago, and is now very generally adopted. WM. SAUNDERS. London, Ontario, Canada, April 11, 1883 CONTENTS. Paob Insects injurious to the Apple (including No. 1 to No. 64) 13-139 Insects injurious to the Pear (including No. 65 to No. 82) 140-161 Insects injurious to the Plum (including No. 83 to No. 96) 162-190 Insects injurious to the Peach (including No. 97 to No. 103) 191-200 Insects injurious to the Apricot and Nectarine . . 200 Insects injurious to the Cherry (including No. 104 to No. 118) 201-221 Insects injurious to the Quince (including No. 119 to No. 121) 222-226 Insects injurious to the Grape (including No. 122 to No. 173) 227-302 Insects injurious to the Kaspberry (including No. 174 to No. 185) 303-317 Insects injurious to the Blackberry (including No. 186 to No. 189) 318-320 Insects injurious to the Strawberry (including No. 190 to No. 201) 321-335 Insects injurious to the Ked and White Currant (including No. 202 to No. 215) 336-353 Insects injurious to the Black Currant (including Nos. 216 and 217) 354-356 Insects injurious to the Gooseberry (including No. 218 to No. 220) 357-360 Insects injurious to the Melon (including No. 221 to No. 226) . . . • 361-368 Insects injurious to the Cranberry (including No. 227 to No. 238) 369-376 Insects injurious to the Orange (including No. 239 to No. 264) 377-422 Insects injurious to the Olive (No. 265) . . . 423 Insects injurious to the Fig (No. 266) .... 424 11 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. ATTAOKINa THE EOOTS. No. 1. — The Apple-root Plant-louse. Schizoneura lanigera (Hausm.). This insect appears in two forms, one of which attacks the trunk of the apple-tree (see No. 9), the other works under the ground and produces on the roots wart-like swell- ings and excrescences of all shapes and sizes. These deformi- ties seriously diminish the normal supply of nourishment for the tree, and where very numerous induce gradual decay of the roots, and occasionally result in the death of the tree. Upon close examination the excrescences are found to con- tain in their crevices very minute pale-yellow lice, often ac- companied by larger winged ones. The former have their bodies covered with a bluish-white cottony matter, having the appearance of mould, the filaments of which are five or six times as long as the insects themselves, and are secreted from the upper part of the body, more particularly from the hinder portion of the back. In Fig. 1, a represents a knotted root, 6 a wingless louse, and c a winged specimen. The insects are both magnified ; the short lines at the sides indicate their natural siz^. The apple-root plant-louse is believed by some entomolo- gists to be a native insect, while others hold to the opinion that it has been imported from Europe. It is nourished by sucking the juices of the tree, piercing the tender roots with 13 14 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. its proboscis. In the very young lice this instrument, when at rest and folded under the abdomen, is longer than the body, but in the more mature specimens it is only about two- thirds the length of Fig. 1. the body. While it usually confines it- self to the roots of trees, it is sometimes found on the suck- ers that spring up around them, and sometimes also about the stump of an amputated branch, but in every instance it may be recognized by the bluish-white cottony matter with which its body is covered. If this cottony covering be forcibly removed, it will be found that in two or three days the insect will have again produced sufficient to envelop itself completely. Occasionally the ma- ture lice crawl up the branches of the trees during the sum- mer, where they also form colonies, and then are known as the Woolly Aphis of the Apple. This form of the insect will be referred to more fully under No. 9. The appearance of this root-louse is recorded in Downing's " Horticulturist" as early as 1848, at which time thousands of young trees were found to be so badly infested that they had to be destroyed. Since that period it has been gradually but widely disseminated, establishing colonies almost every- where, in the North, South, East, and West. Where a tree is sickly from any unknown cause, and no borers can be found sapping its vitals, the presence of this pest may be suspected. In such cases the earth should be removed from the roots about the surface, and these carefully examined, when, if warty swellings are discovered, no time should be lost in taking steps to destroy the insidious foe. Remedies. — The most successful means yet devised for de- ATTACKING THE ROOTS. 15 stroying these root-lice is the use of scalding-hot water freely poured around the roots of the trees. If the trees are to remain in the soil, the roots may be laid bare and the water used nearly boiling without injury; but where they iiave been taken up ft)r the })urpose of transplanting, and are to be dipped in tlie hot water, the temperature should not exceed 150° Fahr. ; under these circumstances from 120° to 150° would suffice for the purpose. A mulch placed around the trees for some time previous to treatment has been found useful in bringing the lice to the surface, where they can be more readily reached by the hot water. Drenching the roots with soapsuds has also been recommended, to be followed by s liberal dressing of ashes on the surface. There are several friendly insects which prey upon the root-louse. A very minute four- winged fly, ApheUnus mali (see Fig. 15), is parasitic on it, and the larva of a small beetle belonging to the Lady-bird family, Scymnus cervicalis, feeds on it. This friend is difficult to recognize among the lice, from the fact that it is also covered on the back with little tufts of woolly matter secreted from its body ; these larvae are, however, larger than the lice, and much more ac- tive, and may be further distinguished by the woolly matter being of an even length, and arranged on the back in trans- verse rows. The perfect beetle is very small, being but one- twentieth of an inch long, with a dark-brown body and a light-brown thorax. The beetle has been observed preying on lice about the surface of the ground. A third friendly insect, probably the most efficient check upon the increase of these lice, is known as the Root-louse Syrphus fly, Pipiza radicum Riley, which in its larval state feeds upon them. It is then in the form of a footless maggot, which, when full grown, is about a quarter of an inch long (Fig. 2, a), of a dirty yellow color, and usually so covered with dirt and with the woolly matter of the lice it has de- voured that it is not easily discerned. The eggs from which these larvte are produced are laid by the fly (Fig. 2, c) in the 16 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. FiQ. 2. spring. The larvae mature during the summer, and in the fall change to the pupa state, as shown at 6 in the figure, from which the perfect fly emerges the following spring. The larva, chrysalis, and fly are all mag- nified in the figure. The fly measures, when its wings are expanded, nearly half an inch across; its body is black, the head liairy with short white hairs, the tho- rax also similarly hairy and finely punctated; the abdomen finely punctated, and adorned with long white hairs; legs partly reddish, partly black ; wings transparent, with black veins. ATTACKING THE TEUNK. No. 2. — The Round-headed Apple-tree Borer. Saperda Candida Fabr. The round-headed apple-tree borer is a native of America, whose existence was unrecorded before 1824, when it was de- scribed by Thomas Say. The year following, its destructive character was observed about Albany, N.Y. It is now very widely and generally distributed, and probably it was so at that time, although unnoticed, since it inhabits our native crabs and thorn-bushes, and also the common June-berry, Amelanchier Canadensis. While preferring the apple, it also makes its home in the pear, quince, and mountain-ash. In its perfect state it is a very handsome beetle (Fig. 3, c), about three-fourths of an inch long, cylindrical in form, of a pale- brown color above, with two broad creamy-white stripes running the whole length of its body ; the face and under ATTACKING THE TRUNK. 17 surface are hoary- white, the antennae and legs gray. The females are larger than the males, and have shorter antennoe. The beetle makes its appearance during the months of June and July, usually remaining in concealment during the day, and becoming active at dusk. The eggs are deposited late in June, during July, and most Fio. 3. jf August, one in a place, in an incision made by the female tn the bark of the tree near its base. Within two weeks the young larvae are hatched, and at once commence with their sharj) mandibles to gnaw their way to the interior. It is generally conceded that the larva is three years in reaching maturity. The young ones lie for the first year in the sap-wood and inner bark, excavating flat, shallow cavities, about the size of a silver dollar, which are filled with their sawdust-like castings. The holes by which they enter, being small, are soon filled up, though not until a few^ grains of castings have fallen from them. Their pres- ence may, however, often be detected in young trees from the bark becoming dark-colored and sometimes dry and dead enough to crack. Through these cracks some of the cast- ings generally protrude, and fall to the ground in a little heap; this takes place especially in the spring of the year, when, with the frequent rains, the heaps become swollen by the absorption of moist^ure. On the approach of winter O^the larva descends to the low^er part of its burrow, where 2 Ig INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. it doubtless remains inactive until the following spring. During the next season it attains about half its growth, still living on the sap-wood, where it does great damage, and when, as often happens, there are several of these borers in a single tree, they will sometimes cause its death by completely girdling it. After another winter's rest, the larva again becomes active, and towards the end of the following season, when approaching maturity, it cuts a cylin- drical passage upwards, varying in length, into the solid wood, afterwards extending it outward to the bark, some- times cutting entirely through the tree, at other times turn- ing back at different angles. The upper part of the cavity Is then filled with a sawdust-like powder, after which the larva turns round and returns to the part nearest the heart of the tree, which portion it enlarges by tearing off the fibres, with which it carefully and securely closes the lower portion of its gallery, so as to protect it effectually from the approach of enemies at either end. Having thus perfected its arrangements, it again turns round so as to have its head upwards, when it rests from its labors in the interior of the passage until the following spring, when the mature larva sheds its skin and discloses the pupa. In this condition it remains about two or three weeks, when the perfect beetle escapes. At first its body and wing-cases are soft and flabby, but in a few days they harden, when the beetle makes its way through the sawdust-like castings in the upper end of the passage, and cuts with its powerful jaws a smooth, round hole through the bark, from which it escapes. The larva (Fig. 3, a) is of a whitish color, with a round head of a chestnut-brown, polished and horny, and the jaws black. It has also a yellow horny-looking spot on the first segment behind the head. It is without feet, but moves about in its burrows by the alternate contraction and ex- pansion of the segments of its body. When full grown it is over an inch in length. The color of the chrysalis (Fig. 3, 6) is lighter than that ATTACKING THE TRUNK. 19 of the larva, and it has transverse rows of minute spines on the back, and a few at the extremity of the body. Remedies. — The young larva, as already stated, may often be detected by the discoloration of the bark. In such in- stances, if the outer dark-colored surface be scraped with a knife, late in August or early in September, so as to expose the clear white bark beneath, the lurking enemy may be dis- covered and destroyed. Later they may be detected by their castings, which have been pushed out of the crevices of the bark and have fallen in little heaps on the ground. When first discharged, these look as if they had been forced through the barrels of a minute double-barrelled gun, being arranged closely together in two parallel strings. Those which have burrowed deeper may sometimes be reached by a stout wire thrust into their holes, or by cutting through the bark at the upper end of the chamber, and pouring scalding water into the opening, so that it may soak through the castings and penetrate to the insect. Among the preventive measures, alkaline washes or solu- tions are probably the most efficient, since experiments have demonstrated that they are repulsive to the insect, and that the beetle will not lay her eggs on trees protected by such washes. Soft-soap reduced to the consistence of a thick paint by the addition of a strong solution of washing-soda in water is perhaps as good a formula as can be suggested : this, if applied to the bark of the tree, especially about the base or collar, and also extended upwards to the crotches, where the main branches have their origin, will cover the whole surface liable to attack, and, if applied during the morning of a warm day, will dry in a few hours, and f(irm a tenacious coating, not easily dissolved by rain. The soap solution should be applied early in June, and a second time during the early part of July. 20 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. Fig. 4. No. 3. — The Flat-headed Apple-tree Borer. Chrysobothris femorata ( Fabr. ) . This borer is also a native of America, and is in its ma- ture state a beetle belonging to the family Buprestidse. It is a very active creature, one which courts the light of day and delights to bask in the hot sunshine, running up and down the bark of a tree with great rapidity, but instantly taking wing if an attempt be made to capture it. The beetle measures from three-eighths to half an inch or more in length. (See Fig. 4, cZ, where it is shown somewhat enlarged.) It is of a flattish oblong form and of a shining greenish-black color, each of its wing-cases having three raised lines, the outer two interrupted by two im- })ressed transverse spots of a brassx color, dividing each wing-cover into three nearly equal portions. The under side of the body and the legs shine like burnished copper; the feet are shining green. This pest is common almost every- where, affecting alike the frosty re- gions of the North, the great West, It is much more abundant than the two-striped borer, and is a most formidable enemy to apple- culture. It attacks also the pear, the plum, and sometimes the peach. In the Southwestern States it begins to appear during the latter part of May, and is found during most of the summer months ; in the Northern States and Canada its time of appearance is June and July. It does not confine its attacks to the base of the tree, but affects the trunk more or less throughout, and sometimes the larger brandies. The eggs, which are yellow and irregularly ribbed, art very small, about one-fiftieth of an inch long, of an ovoidal form, flattened at one end, and are fastened by the female and the sunny South. ATTACKING THE TRUNK. 21 with a glutinous substance, usually under the loose scales oi within the cracks and crevices of the bark; sometimes singly, at other times several in a group. The young larva soon hatches, and, having eaten its way through the bark, feeds on the sap-wood within, where, boring broad and flattish channels, a single specimen will sometimes girdle a small tree. As the larva approaches maturity it usually bores into the more solid wood, working upward, and, when about to change to a pupa, cuts a passage back again to the outside, eating nearly but not quite through the bark. Within its retreat it changes to a pupa (Fig. 4, 6), which is at first white, but gradually approaches in color to that of the future beetle, and in about three weeks the perfect insect emerges, and, having eaten through the thin covering of bark, escapes and roams at large to continue the work of destruction. The mature larva (Fig. 4, a) is a pale-yellow legless grub, with its anterior end enormously enlarged, round, and flattened. At c in the figure the under side of the anterior swollen portion of the body is shown. Whether this larva requires one or two seasons to reach maturity has not yet been determined with certainty, but the opinion prevails that if^ transformations are completed in a single year. Remedies. — One might reasonably suppose that this larva in its snug retreat would be safe from the attack of outside foes ; but it is hunted and devoured by woodpeckers, and also destroyed by insect parasites. A very small fly, a species of Chalcid,destroysmany of the larvae; besides which two larger parasites have been bred from them by Prof. C. V. Riley, one of which, Bracon charus Riley, is rej^resented magnified in Fig. 5, the hair-lines at the side showing its natural size. The other species, Cryptus grallator Say, is somewhat larger : they both belong to that very useful group of four-winged flies known as Ichneumons. Although healthy, well-established trees are not exempt from the attacks of this enemy, it is found that sickly trees or trees newly transplanted are more liable to suffer, es- 22 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. pecially ou the southwest side, where the bark is ofteu first injured by exposure to the sun, resulting in what is called sun-scald. All trees should be carefully examined early in the fall, when the young larva, if present, may often be detected by the discoloration of the bark, wliich sometimes has a flattened and dried appearance, or by a slight exudation of sap, or by the presence of the sawdust- like castings. Whenever such indications are seen, the parts should at once be cut into with a knife and the intruder de- stroyed. As a preventive meas- ure there is perhaps nothing better than coating the bark of the trunk and larger branches with a mixture of soft-soap and solution of soda, as recom- mended for the two-striped borer (No. 2). No. 4. — The Long-horned Borer. Leptostylus aculifer (Say). Although distributed over a wide area, this is by no means a common insect, and seldom appears in sufficient numbers to cause the fruit-grower any uneasiness. The beetle (Fig. 6) is of rather an elegant form, with long, tapering an- tennae of a gray color, prettily banded with black. It is a little more than a third of an inch long, of a brownish-gray color, with many small, thorn-like points upon its wing-covers. There is also a V- shaped band, margined with black, a little behind the middle of the wing-cases. The perfect insect appears about the last of August, when it occasionally deposits its eggs upon the trunks of apple-trees, which shortly hatch into small grubs, and these eat their way Fig. f',. ATTACKING THE TRUNK. 23 through and burrow under the bark. They are very similar in appearance to the young larvse of the two-striped borer, but differ in their habits ; they form long, narrow, winding tracks under the bark, but upon the outer surface of the wood, which are made broader as the larva increases in size. This larva is also found under the bark of oak-trees. Remedies. — Should the insect at any time prove destructive, its ravages may be prevented or controlled by the use of the alkaline wash applied to the bark, as recommended for the two-striped borer (No. 2), deferring its application until the early part of August. No. 5. — The Stag Beetle. Lucanus dama Thunb. This large and powerful beetle is a very common insect, belonging to the family called Lamellicornes, or leaf-horned beetles, from the leaf-like joints of their antennae. In the male (Fig. 7) the upper jaws or mandibles are largely de- veloped, curved like a sickle, and furnished internally beyond the mid- dle with a small tooth ; those of the female are much shorter, and also toothed. The body measures from one to one and a quarter inches in length, exclusive of the jaws, and is of a deep mahogany-brown color. The head of the male is broad and smooth ; that of the female narrowed and roughened with indentations. The beetle appears during the mouths of July and August, and is very vigorous on the wing, flying with a loud, buzzing sound during the evening and night, when it frequently enters houses, to the annoyance of the occupants. It is perhaps scarcely necessary to remark that this beetle is not venomous, and that it never attempts to bite without provocation. Fig. 24 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. Fia. 8. The eggs are laid in the crevices of the bark of trees, especially near the roots. The larvae live in decaying wood, and are found in the trunks and roots of various kinds of trees, particularly those of old apple-trees; they are also found in old cherry-trees, willows, and oaks. They are said to be six years in completing their growth, living all the time on the wood of the tree, reducing it to a coarse powder resembling sawdust. The mature larva is a large, thick, whitish grub, with a reddish-brown, horny-looking head, dark mandibles, and reddish legs. (See Fig. 8, a.) The body is curved when at rest, tlie hinder segments being brought towards the head. When the larva has at- tained full size it remains in its burrow, and encloses itself in an oval cocoon (Fig. 8, b) formed of frag- ments of wood and bark cemented together with a glue-like secretion, and within this enclosure it is trans- formed into a pupa of a yellowish-white color. Through the partially transparent membrane the limbs of the future beetle are dimly seen, and in due time the mature insect bursts its filmy covering, crawls through the passage previously gnawed by the larva, and emerges to the light of day. As this beetle affects only old and decaying trees, it seldom does much harm. The use of the alkaline wash recommended for No. 2 would no doubt deter the beetles from depositing their eggs on trees so protected, and thus any mischief thev might otherwise do could be prevented. No. 6. — The Apple-bark Beetle. Monarthrum. mail (Fitch). The apple-bark beetle is a small insect about one-tenth of an inch long (see Fig. 9, where it is shown much magnified); ATTACKING THE TRUNK. 25 it is cylindrical in form, smooth and slender, and varies in color from dark chestnnt-brovvn to nearly black. Its legs and antennae are pale-yellowish, and its thorax minutely punctated ; the posterior end of the body is abruptly notched or excavated. The insect bores under the bark of apple- trees, sometimes attacking young, thrifty trees, which, when badly affected, are apt, soon after putting fcn-th their leaves, to wither suddenly, as if scorched by fire; the bark becomes loosened from the wood, and soon after, these small beetles appear crawling through minute per- foi-ations in the bark like large pin-holes. This insect usually appears in July ; it is seldom very common, but has been reported as destructive in some parts of Massachusetts, where many young trees are said to have been ruined by it. So little is yet known of the history and habits of this pest that it is difficult to say what would be the best remedy for it. Fig. 9. No. 7.— The Eyed Elater Alaus oculatus (Linn.). This is the largest of our Elaters, or " spring-beetles," and is found with its larva in the decaying ^^^ jq wood of old apple-trees. The beetle (Fig. 10) is an inch and a half or more in length, of a black color, sprinkled with numerous whitish dots. On the thorax there are two large velvety black eye-like spots, which have given origin to the common name of the insect. The thorax i." about one-third the length of the body, and is powdered with whitish atoms or scales; the wing-cases are ridged with longitudinal lines, and the under side of the body and legs thickly powdered with white. It is found in the perfect state in June and July. 26 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. The mature larva (Fig. 11), which attains its full growth early in April, is about two and a half inches long, nearly four-tenths of an inch across about the middle, tapering YiQ, 11. slightly towards each ;32TIIZJT^^^7^^ extremit5\ The head ^^ is broad, brownish, and rough above ; the jaws very strong, curved, and pointed ; the terminal seg- ment of the body blackish, roughened with small pointed tubercles, with a deep semicircular notch at the end, and armed at the sides with small teeth, the two hindermost of which are long, forked, and curved upwards like hooks ; under this hinder segment is a large fleshy foot, furnished behind with little claws, and around the sides with short spines ; it has six true legs, — a pair under each of the first three segments. Early in spring the larva casts its skin and becomes a pupa, and in due time there emerges from it a perfect beetle. This beetle, when placed upon its back on a flat surface, has the power of springing suddenly into the air, and, while moving, turning its body, thus recovering its natural position. This unusual movement combines with its curious prominent eye-like spots to make it a constant source of wonder and interest. Since it feeds mainly on decaying wood, it scarcely deserves to be classed with destructive insects ; yet, being occasionally found in the trunk of the apple-tree, it is worthy of mention here. No. 8. — The Rough Osmoderma. Osmoderma scahra (Beauv.). This insect, also, b'ves in the larval state in the decaying wood of the apple, as well as in that of the cherry, con- suming the wood and inducing more rapid decay. It is a large, white, fleshy grub, with a reddish, hard-shelled head. In the autumn each larva makes for itself an oval cell of fragments of wood, cemented together with a glutinous ma- ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 27 Fia. 12. terial, in which it undergoes its transformations, appearing during the month of July as a large, purplish-black beetle (Fig. 12), about an inch long, with rough wing-cases. The head is hollowed out on the top, the under side of the body smooth, and the legs short and stout. It conceals itself during the day, but is active at night, feeding upon the sap which flows from the bark. Since the larva feeds chiefly on decaying wood, the injury inflicted, if any, can only be of a trifling character. ATTACKING THE BRANOHES. No. 9. — The Woolly-louse of the Apple. Schizoneura lanigera (Hausm.). This is the same species as the apple-root plant-louse (No. 1), but in this form the insects attack the trunk and limbs of the apple-tree, living in clusters, and secreting over themselves small patches of a cotton-like covering. (See Fig. 13, where the insects are represented magnified.) They are often found about the base of twigs or suckers springing from the trunk, and also about the base of the trunk itself, and around recent wounds in the bark. In autumn they commonly afl'ect the axils of the leaf- stalks (Fig. 13), towards the ends of twigs, and sometimes multiply to such ^ an extent as to cover the whole un- der surface of the limbs and also of the trunk, the tree looking as though whitewashed. They are said to afi^ect most those trees which 28 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. yield sweet fruit. This woolly-louse is very common iu Europe, especially in Germany, the north of France, and England, where it is more destructive than in this country, and, although generally known there under the name of the "American Blight," it is believed to be indigenous to Europe, and to have been originally brought from Europe to America. It appears to thrive only in comparatively cold climates, and in this country occurs in this form most abun- dantly in the New England States. Under each of the little patches of down there is usually found one large female with her young. When fully grown the female is nearly one-tenth of an inch long, oval in form, with black head and feet, dusky legs and antennae, and yel- lowish abdomen. She is covered with a white, mealy powder, and has a tuft of white down growing upon the hinder part of her back, which is easily detached. During the summer the insects are wingless, and the young are produced alive, but about the middle of October, among the wingless specimens, appear a considerable number with wings, and these have but little of the downy substance upon their bodies, which are nearly black and rather plump. The fore wings are large, and about twice as long as the nar- rower hind winffs. In Fig. 14 the winged insect is represented much magnified; also a group of the young lice magnified, and an apple-twig, natu- ral size, showing one of the openings in the bark caused by this insect. Late in the autumn the females deposit eggs for another generation the following spring, — a fact which should induce fruit- ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 29 growers to take particular pains to destroy these lice wher- ever found, for the colony that is permitted this year to establish itself upon some worthless tree or on the shoots or suckers at its base, will furnish the parents of countless hosts that may establish themselves next year on the choicest trees in the orchard. The insects are extremely hardy, and will endure a considerable amount of frost, and it is quite probable that some of them survive the winter in the perfect state in the cracks of the bark of the trees. The eggs are so small that they require a magnifyiug-glass to enable one to see them, and are deposited in the crevices of the bark at or near the surface of the ground, especially about the base of suckers, where such are permitted to grow. The young, when first hatched, are covered with very fine down, and appear in the spring of the year like little specks of mould on the trees. As the season advances, and the in- sect increases in size, its cottony coating becomes more dis- tinct, the fibres increasing in length and apparently issuing from all the pores of the skin of the abdomen. This coating is very easily removed, adhering to the fingers when touched. Both young and old derive their nourishment from the sap of the tree, and the constant punctures they make give rise to warts and excrescences on the bark, and openings in it, and, where very numerous, the limbs attacked become sickly, the leaves turn yellow and drop off, and sometimes the tree dies. Remedies. — The very small four- winged Chalcid fly, Aphelinus mall ^^^- ^^ (Hald.), which is highly magnified in Fig. 15, and which has already been referred to under No. 1, preys also on this woolly aphis. The lady- birds and their larvae, also the larvae of the lace-wing flies and syrphus flies, feed on all species of plant-lice, and are very useful in keeping them within bounds. These friendly insects will be fully treated of under the Apple- 30 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. tree Aphis, No. 57. The vigorous use of a stiff brush wet with the alkaline solution of soap, recommended under No. 2, will also be found very efficient, or a solution made by mixing five pounds of fresh lime with one pound of sulphur and two gallons of water, and heating until the sulphur is dissolved. After destroying those on the trunk, and cutting away all suckers, the earth should be removed from about the base of the trunk, the parts below the surface cleaned, and fresh earth placed about the roots. Spiders devour large numbers of these lice, spinning their webs over the colonies and feeding at their leisure. No. 10. — The Apple Liopus. lAopus facetus Say. This is another of the long-horned borers which has been found in the larval state boring into the decaying limbs of apple-trees. The larva, when full grown, is a quarter of an inch long or more, is slender, with the anterior segments en- larged and swollen, is covered with fine short hairs, and has the end of the abdomen rather blunt. The beetle, which is shown magnified in Fig. 16, is a handsome one, a slender little creature, rather less than a quarter ■^^°- ^^- of an inch in length, of a pale ash-gray color with a purplish tinge. The long antennae are yellowish brown, except at the base and between the joints, where the color is darker. The wing-covers are smooth, and on their anterior por- tion is an irregular rounded dark spot ; a broad black band crosses the hinder portion, leaving the tip pale gray ; there are also several additional blackish dots and streaks distrib- uted over the upper surface. The beetles appear late in June and early in July, and lay their eggs on the bark of the branches, from which the young larvse hatch and bore in under the bark, where they become ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 3l full grown and undergo their transformations before the fol- lowing midsummer. This is a rare insect in most parts of A.merica, and is not likely to prove a serious trouble anywhere. No. 11. — The Apple-tree Pruner. ElapMdion villosum (Fabr.). This is also a long-horned beetle, of cylindrical form, of a dull-blackish color, with brownish wing-cases. The antennae in the male are longer than the body, and in the female, which is represented in Fig. 17, are equal to it. The entire body is covered with short grayish hairs, which, from their denseness in some places on the thorax and wing-covers, form pale spots. The under side of the body is of a chestnut-brown color. The insect affects chiefly the oak-tree, but also attacks the apple, and, although not often found in great abundance, is very generally distributed over most of the Northern United States and Canada. ^^^- l^- The peculiar habits and instincts of this insect are very interesting. The parent beetle places an egg in the axil of a leaf on a fresh green twig proceeding from a moderate-sized limb. When the young larva hatches, it burrows into the centre of the twig and down towards its base, consuming in its course the soft pulpy matter of which this part of the twig is com- posed. By the time it reaches the main limb it has become sufficiently matured to be able to feed upon the harder wood, and makes its way into the branch, when the hollow twig it has vacated gradually withers and drops off. The larva, being now about half grown, eats its way a short distance through the middle of the branch, and then proceeds de- liberately to sever its connection with tiie tree by gnawing away the woody fibre to such an extent that the first storm of wind snaps the branch off. This is rather a delicate operation for the insect to perform, and requires wonderful instinctive skill, for should it gnaw away too much of the 32 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. Pig. 18. Fig. 19. woody interior the branch might break during the process, — an accident which would probably crush the workman to death ; but the insect rarely miscalculates : it leaves the bark and just enough of the woody fibre untouched to sustain the branch until it has time to make good its retreat into the burrow, the opening of which it carefully stops up with gnawed fragments of wood. If the limb be short, it severs all the woody fibres, leaving it fastened only by the bark ; if longer, a few of the woody fibres on the upper side are left ; and if very long and heavy, not more than three-fourths of the wood will be cut through. Having performed the operation and closed its hole so that the jarring of the branch when it falls may not shake out the occupant, the larva retreats to the spot at which it first entered the limb. After the branch has fallen it eats its way gradually through the centre of the limb for a distance of from six to twelve inches, when, having completed its growth, it is transformed to a pupa with- in the enclosure. Sometimes this change takes place in the autumn, but more frequently it is deferred until the spring, and from the pupa the beetle escapes during the month of June. The larva (Fig. 18) when full grown is a little more than half an inch long, thickest towards the head, tapering gradually backwards. The head is small and black, the body yellowish white, with a few indistinct darker markings. It has six very minute legs attached to the anterior segments. In the figure the larva is shown magnified. The pupa is about the same size as the larva, of a whitish color, and is shown in Fig. 19, also magnified, in its burrow. Remedies. — Birds are active agents in the destruction of these larvse ; they seek them out in their places of retreat and ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 33 devour them. Should they at any time become very numer- ous, they may easily be disposed of by gathering the fallen branches and burning them before the insect has time to mature. No. 12. — The Parallel Elaphidion. Elaphidion parallelum Newm. This insect in the larval state occasionally bores into the twigs of apple and plum trees. The beetle (Fig. 20, c) is a little more than half an inch long, of a dull-brownish color, closely resembling No. 11 in appearance and habitr^, but smaller in size. The egg is laid by the parent insect near the axil of one of the leaf-buds, where the young larva, when hatched, bores into the twig, enlarging the channel as it increases in size, finally transforming to a pupa within its burrow, and escap- ing at maturity in the perfect state. In the figure, a shovvs the larv^a, 6 the twig split open, showing the enclosed pupa, k the end of the twig cut off, c the beetle, i the basal joints of the antenna, j the tip of the wing-case, d the head, e maxilla, / labium, g mandible, and h the an- tenna of the larva. This Elaphidion is rather a rare insect, and, although it may occasionally be found injurious, it is not likely to become so to any considerable extent. Fig. 20. No. 13. — The Apple-twig Borer. Amphiceinis hicaudatus (Say). The apple-twig borer is a small cylindrical beetle (Fig. 21), from one-fourth to one-third of an inch in length, of a dark chestnut-brown color above, black beneath. The fore part of its thorax is roughened with minute elevated points, and, 34 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. in the males, furnished with two little horns ; the male may also be further distinguished from the female by its having two small thorn-like projections from the extremities of the wing-covers. Unlike most other borers, which do their mischief in the larval state, this insect works in the beetle state, boring into the branches of apple, pear, and cherry trees, just above a Fig. 21. Fig. 22. bud, and working downwards through the pith in a cylindri- cal burrow one or two inches long. (See Fig. 22, c and d.) The holes appear to be made partly for the purpose of obtain- ing food, and partly to serve as places of concealment for the beetles ; they are made by both sexes alike, and the beetles are found in them occasionally in the middle of winter, as well as in the summer, usually with the head downwards. They work throughout the summer months, causing the twigs operated on to wither and their leaves to turn brown. Upon examination, a perforation about the size of a knitting-needle is found near one of the buds from six inches to a foot from the end of the twig. This insect does not often occur in such numbers as to inflict any material damage, but occasionally as many as ten have been found working at once on a two- or three-year-old tree ; they also affect the twigs of larger trees. The twigs so injured are very liable to break off with high winds. There is not much known as yet about the earlier stages of this insect ; the larva is said to have been found feeding upon grape-canes, into which also the beetle occasionally bores. The beetle is found from Pennsylvania to Mississippi, also in ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. ^^\ the orchards of New Jersey, Micliigan, Illinois, Iowa, and Kansas. Should it at any time inflict serious injury, tiie only remedy as yet suggested is to search for the bored twigs in June and July, and cut them off and burn them. No. 14. — The Imbricated Snout-beetle. EpicoBTUS imbricatus (Say). This is a small snout-beetle or weevil, which is common in some localities on apple and cherry trees and injures them by gnawing the twigs and fruit. It is most frequently found in the Western States, especially in parts of Iowa and Kansas. It is a very variable beetle ; usually it is of a silvery- white color, with dark mark- ings, as shown in Fig. 23, but sometimes these latter are wholly or partly wanting. Nothing is as yet known of its history in the earrlier stages of its existence. Should this weevil ever occur in sufficient numbers to ex- cite alarm, they could probably be collected by jarring the trees, as in the case of the plum-weevil, and then destroyed. Wo. 15. — The Seventeen-year Locnst. Cicada septendecim Linn. The seventeen-year locust is an insect very well known throughout the United States, and is sometimes met with in Canada. It is generally believed to require seventeen yeai's in which to complete its transformations, nearly the whole of this period being spent under ground. The perfect insect measures, when its wings are expanded, from two and a half to three inches across. It is represented at c in Fig. 24. The body is stout and blackish, the wings 36 INSECTS IprjuRIOVS TO THE APPLE. transparent, the thick anterior edge and large veins are orange-red, and near the front margin, towards the tip, there is a dusky, zigzag line resembling a W. The rings of the abdomen are edged with dull orange, and the legs are of the same hue. The locusts appear in the South earlier thau in Fig. 24. the North ; their usual time is during the latter part of May, and they disappear early in July. After pairing, the female dei)Osits her eggs in the twigs of different trees, puncturing and sawing small slits in them, as shown in Fig. 24, d, which she does by means of her sharp beak, which is composed of three portions ; the two outer are beset with small teeth like a saw, Avhile the centre one is a spear-pointed i^iercer. In these slits she places her eggs. These (e, Fig. 24) are of a pearly-white color, one-twelfth of an inch long, and taper to an obtuse point at each end. They are deposited in pairs, side by side, with a portion of woody fibre between them, and placed in the cavity some- what obliquely, so that one end points upwards. When two ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 37 eggs have thus been deposited, the insect withdraws her piercer for a moment, and then inserts it again and drops two more eggs in a line with the first, and so on until she has filled the slit from one end to the other. She then removes to a little dis- tance and makes another similar nest : it is not uncommon to find from fifteen to twenty of such fissures in the same limb. The cicada thus passes from limb to limb and from tree to tree until her store of four or five hundred eggs is exhausted, when, worn out by her excessive labors, she dies. The punctured twigs are so weakened by the operations of the insect that they frequently break off when swayed by rough winds, and the injury thus caused to young fruit-trees in orchards or nurseries is sometimes very serious ; in most in- stances, however, if the trees are vigorous, they eventually recover from their wounds. The eggs hatch in about six weeks or less, the young larva being of a yellowish-white coloi', and appearing as shown in Fig. 25. It is active and rapid in its movements, and shortly after its escape from the egg drops to the ground, and immediately proceeds to bury itself in the soil by means of its broad and strong fore feet, which are admirably adapted for digging. Once under the surface, these larvae attach themselves to the succulent roots of plants and trees, and, ^^°- '^^• puncturing them with their beaks, imbibe the vegetable juices, which form their sole nourishment. They do not usually descend very deeply into the ground, but remain where juicy roots are most abundant, and the only marked alteration to which they are subject during the long period of their existence under ground is a gradual increase in size. As the time for their transformation approaches, they as- cend towards the surface, making cylindrical burrows about five-eighths of an inch in diameter, often circuitous, seldom 38 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. Fig. 26. exactly perpendicular, and these are firmly cemented and varnished so as to be water-tight. As the insect progresses, the chamber is filled below by the earthy matter removed in its progress, but the upper portion, to the extent of six or eight inches, is empty, and serves as a dwell- ing-place for the insect until the period for its exit arrives. Here it remains for some days, ascending to the top of the hole in fine weather for warmth and air, and occasionally looking out as if to reconnoitre, but descending again on the occurrence of cold or wet weather. In locali- ties that are low or im- perfectly drained, the insects sometimes continue their galleries from four to six inches above ground, as shown in Fig. 26, leaving a place of egress at the surface, e, and in the upper end of these dry chambers the pupae patiently await the time for their next change. This period, although an active one, is the pupal stage of the insects' existence, and finally, when fully matured, they issue from the ground (see a, Fig. 24), crawl up the trunk of a tree or any other object to which they can attach them- selves securely by their claws, and, having rested awhile, prepare to cast their skins. After some struggling, a longi- tudinal rent is made on the back, and through this the en- closed cicada pushes its head, and then gradually withdraws itself, leaving the empty pupa skin adhering, as shown at b in Fig. 24. The escape from the pupa usually occurs between six and nine in the evening, and about ten minutes are occupied by the insect in entirely freeing itself from the enclosure. At ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 39 first the body is soft and white, excepting a black patch ou the back, and the wings are small and soft, but within an hour are fully developed, and before morning the mature insects are ready for flight. They sometimes issue from the ground in immense numbers; above fifteen hundred have been known to arise beneath a single apple-tree, and in some places the whole surface of the soil has, by their operations, appeared almost as full of holes as a honey-comb. Remedies. — On escaping from the ground, they are attacked by various enemies. Birds and predaceous insects devour them; hogs and poultry feed on them greedily; and in the winged state they are also subject to the attacks of parasites. It seems that human agency can eifect but little in the way of stay- ing the progress of these invaders, and the only time when any- thing can be done is early in the morning, when the winged insects newly escaped and in a comparatively feeble and help- less condition may be crushed and destroyed ; but when once they have acquired their full power of wing, it is a hopeless task to attempt to arrest their course. The males have a musical apparatus on each side of the body just behind the wings, which acts like a pair of kettle-drums, producing a very loud, shrill sound. Although partial to oak-trees, on which they most abound, they are very destructive to other trees and shrubs, and frequently 1 ' ^ '' Fig. 27. injure apple-trees. A popular idea prevails that these insects are dangerous to handle, that they sting, and that their sting is venomous. As their beaks (a, Fig. 27) are sharp and strong, it is pos- sible that under provocation they may insert these, but, since there is no poison-gland attached, there is little more to fear from their puncture than from the piercing of a needle. 40 INSECl'S INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. PX3 28 No. 16. — The Oyster-shell Bark-louse. Mytilaspis pomorum Bouch^. This is a very destructive and pernicious insect, which pre- vails throughout the Northern United States and Canada, and in some of the Southern States also. It was introduced from Europe more than eighty years ago. It appears in the form of minute scales, about one-sixth of an inch long, of a brownish or grayish color, closely resembling that of the bark of the tree, and somewhat like the shell of an oyster in shape, adhering to the surface of the bark, as shown in Fig. 28, and placed irregularly, most of them lengthwise of the limb or twig, with the smaller end upwards. In some instances the branches of apple-trees may be found literally covered and crowded with these scales; and where thus so prevalent they seriously impair the health and vigor of the tree, and sometimes cause its death. Under each of these scales will be found a mass of eggs varying in number from fifteen or twenty to one hundred or more ; these during the winter or early spring will be found to be white in color, but before hatching they change to a yellowish hue, soon after which the young insects appear. This usually occurs late in May or early in June, and, if the weather is cool, the young lice will remain several days under the scales before dis- persing over the tree. As it becomes warmer, they leave their shelter, and may be seen running all over the twigs looking for suitable locations to which to attach themselves. They then, under a magnifying-glass, present the appearance shown at 2, Fig. 29, their actual length being only about one- hundredth of an inch ; to the unaided eye they appear as mere specks. A large proportion of them soon become fixed around the base of the side-shoots of the terminal twigs, where, inserting their tiny sharp beaks, they subsist upon the sap of ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 41 the tree. In a few days a fringe of delicate waxy threads issues from their bodies, when they have the appearance shown at 3. Gradually the insect assumes the form shown at 4 ; 5 and 6 represent the louse as it approaches maturity, and when detached from the scale; 1 shows the egg highly magnified ; and 8 one of the antennse of the young lice, also much enlarged. Before the end of the season the louse has secreted for itself Fio. 29. the scaly covering shown at 7, in which it lives and matures. The scale is figured as it appears from the under side when raised and with the louse in it. By the middle of August this female louse has become little else than a bag of eggs, and the process of depositing these now begins, the body of the parent shrinking day by day, until finally, when this work is completed, it becomes a mere atom at the narrow end of the scale, and is scarcely noticeable. The scales of the male louse are seldom seen ; they are most frequently found upon the leaves, both on the upper end under sides ; they are smaller in size than those of the female, and different also in shape. The male scale is shown at c. Fig. 30, in which cut is also represented the male insect, much magnified, with wings closed and expanded. Only one brood is produced annually in tlie North, the eggs remaining unchanged under the scale for about nine mouths ; but in some parts of the South the insect is double- 42 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. brooded, the first brood batching in May, the second in September. As the oyster-shell bark-louse retains power of motion only for a few days at most after hatching, it is mainly disseminated to distant places by the distribution of young trees from infested nurseries. In the orchard and its immediate neighborhood it may be spread by being carried on the feet of birds, or attached Fig. 30. to the larger insects, or may be aided by the wind in passing from tree to tree, while it is itself so brisk in its active state that it can travel two or three inches in a minute, and hence might in this way reach a point two or three rods distant be- fore it would perish. Although this insect essentially belongs to the apple-tree, it is frequently found on the pear, and sometimes on the plum. Remedies. — A species of mite (Fig. 31), Tyroglyphus mains (Shimer), preys on the louse as well as on its eggs ; and this mite, so insignificant that it can scarcely be seen without a magnifying-glass, has probably done more to keep this or- chard-pest within bounds than any other thing. Under the scales may sometimes be found a small active larva devouring the eggs. This is the progeny of a small four-winged parasite, belonging to the family Chalcididse, named Aphelinus mytilaspidis Le Baron. In Fig. 32 we have a representation of this insect highly magnified. ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 43 Another frieud is the twice-stabbed lady-bird, Chilochorus bivulnerus Mills. (Fig. 33), an insect easily recognized by its Fig. 31. FiQ. 32. Fig. polished black wing-cases with a blood-red spot on each. Its larva, a bristly-looking little creature (Fig. 34), of a grayish color, is very active, and devours large numbers of the lice ; the perfect beetle also eats them. The bark-lice and their eggs are devoured also by some of our insect-eating birds. During the winter the trees should be ex- amined and the scales scraped off, and thus a large proportion of the insects may be destroyed. Still, it is almost impos- sible to cleanse the trees entirely in this way, especially the smaller branches; and hence the insect should be fought also at the time when the eggs are hatch- ing and the young lice crawling over the limbs, as then they are tender and easily killed. AVith this object in view, the time of hatching of tiie remnants left after the winter or spring scraping should be watched, and, while the young larvae are active, the twigs should be brushed with a strong solution of soft-soap and washing-soda, as recom- mended under No. 2, or syringed with a solution of wash- ing-soda in water, made by dissolving half a pound or more 44 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. in a pailful. Painting the twigs and branches with linseed oil has also been tried with success. As a precautionary measure, every young tree should be carefully examined before being planted, and if found infested should be thoroughly cleansed. No. 17. — The Scurfy Bark-louse. Chionaspis furfurus (Fitch). This insect, which has long been known under the name of Harris's Bark-louse, Aspidiotus Harrisii Walsh, is now found to have been first described by Dr. Fitch, and hence must in future bear the name given to it by him. It resembles in some respects the oyster-shell bark-louse, yet is sufficiently dissimilar to be readily distinguished from it. In this species the scale of the female, which is by far the most abundant, is oblong in form, pointed below, very fiat, of a grayish-white color, and about one-tenth of an inch long. (See Fig. 35, 1 and 1 c; the latter represents a scale highly magnified.) The eggs under the scale of the oyster-shell bark-louse during the winter are white, while these are purplish red. The eggs of this species hatch about the same date as the other, but the larvae are red or reddish brown in color. This insect does not mature so rapidly as the oyster-shell species ; the eggs are said not to be fully dev^eloped under the scale until the middle of September. The scale of the male, which is very much smaller and narrower, and not more than one-thir- tieth of an inch long, is shown in the figure, magnified, at 1 a; the male insect in the winged state, highly magnified, at 1 6. This is a native insect, which has existed from time imme- morial in the East, West, and South, its original home being on the bark of our native crab-trees. In the warmer parts of the South it is more common than the oyster-shell bark- louse. It is found chiefly on the apple, but sometimes affects the pear and also the mountain-ash. It is far less common than the imported oyster-shell bark-louse, and is nowhere anything like so injurious as that insect. ATTACKING THE BRANCHES. 45 Remedies. — The scurfy bark-louse is said to be preyed upon by the same mites which attack the oyster-shell species; it is Fig. 35. also devoured by the larva of the twice-stabbed lady-bird. The same artificial remedies should be used in this instance as are recommended in the other. No. 18 — The Buffalo Tree-hopper. & Ceresa huhalus (Fabr.). This insect belongs to the order Heniiptera. It is an active jumping creature, about one-third of an inch long (Fig. 36), of a light grass-green color, with whitish dots and a pale- 46 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. FiQ 36. yellowish streak along each side. On the front there is a sharp process or point jutting out horizontally on each side, reminding one of the horns of a bull or buffalo, which has given to the insect its common name of buffalo tree-hopper. Its body is three-sided, not unlike a beech-nut in form, and it is furnished with a sharp- pointed beak, with which it punctures the bark and sucks the sap from the trees. It is common on apple and many other trees from July until the end of the season. The eggs are said to be laid in a single row of slits in the bark, and when hatched the young larvae, which are grass-green like their parents, feed also on the sap of the leaves and twigs. In the larval state, before the power of fliglit is acquired, the insect is easily caught and destroyed ; but it is not easy to suggest a remedy for so active a creature as the perfect insect is. It cannot be killed by any poisonous application, as it feeds only on sap. It has been suggested that where they are so numerous as to injure fruit-trees they may be frightened away by frequently shaking the trees, as they are very shy and timorous. It is, however, scarcely probnble that this insect will ever become a source of much annoyaLce to the fruit-grower. No. 19. — The Thorn-bush Tree-hopper. o Thelia cratcegi Fitch. This is an insect similar in structure and habits to the buffalo tree-hopper. It is common on apple-trees, but more common on thorn-bushes, in July and August, when it may be seen resting upon the small limbs and sucking the sap. When approached, it leaps away with a sudden spring, and is lost to view. Fig. 37 ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 47 It is a little more than one-third of an inch long (see Fig. 37), with a three-sided body, black, varied with chestnut- brown, with a large white spot on each side, which extended forward becomes a band across the front. There is also a white band across the hind part of its back, and a protuber- ance extending upwards on the front part of its body. ATTACKING THE LEAVES. No. 20. — The Apple-tree Tent-caterpillar. Clisiocampa Americana Harris. This insect is a native of the more northern Atlantic States, and has probably been carried westward in the egg-state at- tached to the twigs of young trees. It inhabits now almost Fig. 38. all parts of the United States and Canada. The moth is of a pale dull-reddish or reddish-brown color, crossed by two oblique parallel whitish lines, the space between these lines being usually paler than the general color, although some- times quite as dark, or darker. In the male (Fig. 38) the antennae are pectinate, or feather-like, and slightly so in the female (Fig. 39). When fully expanded, the wings of the female will measure an inch and a half or more across ; the male is smaller. The hollow tongue or tube by which moths and butterflies imbibe their food is entirely wanting in this species ; hence it has no power of taking food, and lives but a very few days in the winged state, merely long enough to 48 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. provide for a future generation by the deposition of eggs. The moth remains at rest and concealed during the day, but becomes very active at night, wlien it enters lighted rooms, attracted by the glare, and becomes so dazzled and bewildered that it darts crazily about, here and there, thumping itself against the walls, furniture, and floor of the room in the most erratic manner, then circles around the lamp or gas-light with great velocity, finally dashing into the flame, when, with wings and antennae severely singed, it retreats into some ob- scure corner. The moths are most abundant durino; the first two weeks in July. The eggs are deposited during that month upon FtG.^40. the smaller twigs of our fruit-trees in ring-like clus- ters, each composed of from fifteen to twenty rows, containing in all from two to three hundred. The eggs are conical and about one-twentieth of an inch long, firmly cemented together, and coated with a tough varnish, impervious to rain, the clusters pre- senting the appearance shown in Fig. 40. In Fig. 41, at c, a similar cluster is shown with the gummy covering removed, showing the manner in which the eggs are arranged. The young caterpillars are fully matured in the egg before winter comes, and they remain in this enclosure in a torpid state throughout the cold weather, hatching during the first warm days of spring. They usually appear during the last week in April or early in May, depending much on the prevailing temperature. Their first meal is made of por- tions of the gummy material with which the egg-masses are covered, and with the strength thus gained they proceed at once to work. At this time the buds are bursting, thus pro- viding these young larvae with an abundance of suitable tender food. It sometimes happens, however, that after they are hatched cold weather returns and vegetable growth is tempo- rarily arrested. To meet this emergency they have the power of sustaining hunger for a considerable time, and will usually ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 49 live from ten to twelve days when wholly deprived of food ; but severe frost is fatal to them in this tender condition, and multitudes of them sometimes perish from this cause. These larvae are tent-makers, and soon after birth they begin to con- struct for themselves a shelter by extending sheets of web across the nearest fork of the twig upon which they were Fia. 41. hatched. As they increase in size, they construct additional layers of silk over those previously made, attaching them to the neighboring twigs, and leaving between the layers space enough for the caterpillars to pass. The tent or nest when completed is irregular in form, about eight or ten inches in diameter, and the holes through which the caterpillars enter are situated near the extremities or angles of the nest, and into this they retreat at night or in stormy weather, also at other 50 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. times when not feeding. In five or six weeks they become full grown, and then measure about an inch and three-quarters in length, and present the appearance shown in Fig. 41. The body is hairy and black, with a white stripe down the back, and on each side of this central stripe there are a number of short, irregular, longitudinal yellow lines. On the sides are paler lines, with spots and streaks of pale blue. The under side of the body is nearly black. These caterpillars have regular times for feeding, issuing from the openings in their tent in processional order, usually once in the forenoon and once in the afternoon. In very warm weather they sometimes repose upon the outside of the nest, literally covering it and making it appear quite black with their bodies. They are very voracious, and devour the leaves of the trees they are on with great rapidity ; it is esti- mated that each larva when approaching maturity will con- sume two leaves in a day, so that every day that a nest of such marauders is permitted to remain on a tree there is a sacrifice of about five hundred leaves. Where there happen to be several nests on one tree, or if the tree itself is small, they often strip every vestige of foliage from it, and in neglected orchards the trees are sometimes seen as bare of leaves in June as they are in midwinter. As the caterpillars arrive at maturity they leave the trees and wander about in all direc- tions in search of suitable places in which to hide during their chrysalis stage. A favorite place is the angle formed by the projection of the cap-boards of fences or fence-posts. Here they construct oblong oval cocoons (Fig. 41, d) of a yellow color, formed of a double web, the outer one loosely woven and slight in texture, the inner one tough and thick. In its construction the silk is mixed with a pasty substance, which, when dry, becomes powdery and resembles sulphur in appearance. Within these cocoons the larvae change to brown chrysalids, from which, in about two or three weeks, the moths escape. This insect feeds on many different trees, but is particularly fond of the apple and wild cherry. ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 51 Remedies. — Since the tent-caterpillar is so easily detected by its conspicuous nest, it need never become very trouble- some, as the larvae may be easily destroyed while sheltering within it. They seldom leave the nest to feed until after 9 A.M., and usually return before sundown; hence the early and late hours of the day are the best times for destroying them. With a suitable ladder and a gloved hand the living mass may be seized and crushed in a moment, or the uest may be torn from the tree and trampled under foot. Where a ladder is not at hand, the nests may be removed by a pole with a bunch of rags tied around the end of it. This work is most easily done while the larvae are young, and should be at- tended to as soon as the cobweb-like nests can be seen. Some- times when the nest is destroyed a portion of the caterpillars will be absent feeding, and within a few days it may be found partly repaired, with the remnants of the host within it : so that to subdue them entirely repeated visits to the orchard should be made, and not a fragment of a nest permitted to remain. Governments might well enforce under penalties the destruction of these caterpillars, as their nests are so conspic- uous that there can be no excuse for neglecting to destroy them, and it is unfair that a careful and vigilant fruit-grower should be compelled to suffer from year to year from the neglect of a careless or indolent neighbor. Neglected trees are soon stripped of their leaves, and become prematurely exhausted by having to reproduce at an unseasonable time their lost foliage ; with fruit-trees this is so great a tax on tlieir vital powers that they usually bear little or no fruit the following season. The egg-clusters may be sought for and destroyed during the winter months, when, the trees being leafless, a practised eye will readily detect them. A cloudy day should be selected for this purpose, to avoid the incon- venience of too much glare from the sky. Several parasites attack this insect. A minute Ichneumon fly, about one-twenty-fifth of an inch in length, is parasitic on the eggs. By means of a long ovipositor it bores through 52 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. the outer gummy coveriag and egg-shell, and deposits its egga within the egg of the tent-caterpillar, where the young larvae of the parasite hatch and feed upon the contents of the egg- shell of our enemy. A small mite, very similar to that shown in Fig. 31, is also very destructive to these eggs, eating into them and feeding on their occupants. Two larger Ichneumon flies prey upon the caterpillar, Pimpla conquisitor (Say) (Fig. 42) and Ichneu- mon leetus Brulle, as well as one or more species of Tachina flies, two-winged in- sects a little larger than the common house-fly, similar to Fig. 46. All these latter parasites watch their opportunity when the growing caterpillar is feeding, and deposit their eggs on or under the skin of their victim, which shortly hatch, when the larvai burrow into the bodies of the tent-caterpillars and feed on them, carefully avoiding the destruction of the vital organs. The infested caterpillars usually reach maturity and construct their cocoons, but after a time, instead of the moth, one or more of these friendly insects make their appearance. Sev- eral predaceous insects also devour the caterpillars ; these are referred to in detail under No. 21. No. 21. — The Forest Tent-caterpillar. Clisiocampa sylvatica Harris. This insect closely resembles the common tent- caterpillar. No. 20. The moth (6, Fig. 43) is of a similar color, l>ut paler, or more yellowish. The space between the two oblique lines is usually darker than the rest of the wing, and the lines themselves are dark brown instead of whitish. In the figure, a represents the egg-cluster, c one of the eggs, much enlarged, as seen from the top, d a side-view of the same. Tiie eggs of this species may be distinguished by their almost uniform diameter and by their being cut off squarely at each end. The number of eggs in each cluster is usually ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 53 from three to four hunclred ; they are white, about one-twenty- fifth of an inch king, and oue-fortieth wide, rounded at the base, arradually enlarg- ' ^ - •; ^ Fig. 43. mg towards the apex, where they are mar- gined by a prominent ri ra, and have a sunken spot in the centre. Tlie eggs are deposited in circles, and with each one is secreted a small quantity of gummy matter, which firmly fastens it to the twig and also to the adjoining egg, and upon becoming dry forms a coating of brown varnish over the pale egg. Like the tent-caterpillar, the yoitng become fully formed in the eggs before winter, and remain within them in a torpid condition until spring. The larvae in this instance also hatch about the time of the bursting- of the buds, and in the absence of food are endowed with similar powers of endurance. It is said they have been known to survive a fast of three weeks' duration. While young, they spin a slight web or tent against the side of the tnirtk or branches of the tree on which they are situated, but, from its peculiar color or slight texture, it is seldom noticed. In this early stage they often manifest strange processionary habits, marching about in single or double column, one larva so immediately following another that when thus crossing a sidewalk or other smooth surface they appear at a little dis- tance like black streaks or pieces of black cord stretched across it. From the time they are half grown, until they approach maturity, they seem to have a great fondness for exercise, and delight to travel in rows along fence-boards, which they do at a very brisk pace when in search of food. In about six weeks this larva becomes full grown (Fig. 44), and is then an inch and a half or more in length, of a 54 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. pale-bliiisli coljr, sprinkled all over with black points and dots. On the back is a row of ten or eleven oval or diamond- shaped white spots, by which it may be at Fig. 44. once distinguished from the common tent- caterpillar, while on the sides there are pale- yellowish stripes, somewhat broken, and mixed with gray. The hairs on the body are fox-colored, mixed with coarser whitish hairs. The caterpillars attain full growth about the middle of June. Occasionally, during the latter part of May, when about half grown and extremely voracious, these caterpillars will appear in perfect swarms and attract general attention. During the latter part of the day, and fre- quently also in the morning, they collect on the trunks and larger branches of the trees in large black masses, which are so easily reached that they seem to invite destruction. While particularly injurious to the apple, they also attack various species of forest-trees, such as oak, thorn, ash, basswood, beech, plum, cherr}', walnut, hickory, etc., and sometimes large clumps of wood may be seen in June quite bare of foliage from the devastation caused by this insect, while underneath the ground is covered with small black grains of exuvia. It is often very abundant in the West, and occasionally equally destructive in the South, especially in Georgia and Tennessee. When full grown, this larva spins a cocoon (see Fig. 45) closely resembling that of the tent-caterpillar, usually within the shelter of a leaf, the edges of which are partly drawn together. Within such an enclosure there is generally one cocoon, but in times of great abundance, and where the en- closure is large enough, there are often two or three cocoons together. At such periods almost every leaf or fragment of a leaf is so occupied, and, the whitish-yellow cocoons being only partly hidden, and the leaves hanging with their weight, one is impressed with the idea that the tree is laden with some ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 55 Fio. 45. strange sort of fruit. If leaves cannot be had for shelter, the cocoons will be found under the bark of trees, in every suit- able crevice or hiding-place in fences, or under logs. In two or three days the enclosed larva changes to a chrysalis of a red- dish-brown color, densely clothed with short pale-yellowish hair, and in the course of two or three weeks the moth appears, which, like the insect last described, No. 20, is nocturnal in its habits, and lives but a few days, when, having provided for the contin- uance of its species, it perishes. Remedies. — The egg-clusters should be sought for and de- stroyed during the winter months. When the caterpillars are young, they will drop, sus- pended by a silken thread, in mid-air, if the branch on which they are feeding be suddenly struck ; advantage may be taken of this habit, and by swinging a stick around, the threads may be gathered in with the larvse attached to them. When the caterpillars have become half grown, the trees should be frequently inspected, early in the morning, and the congregated masses crushed and destroyed with a stiff broom or some other equally suitable implement. During the day they are so constantly on the move, that a young tree thoroughly cleansed from them in the morning may be crowded again before evening. To avoid the necessity of constant watch- ing, strips of cotton batting, three or four inches wide, should be tied around the tree about half-way up the trunk ; these 56 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. bands should be tied tightly in the middle. Each caterpillar is furnished with four pairs of fleshy prolegs, which are fringed with small horny hooks, and on its trying to pass over the cotton these hooks get so entangled in the fibres that further progress becomes very difficult, and is seldom persisted in. A shower of rain will pack the fibres of the cotton somewhat, but where the string fastening it is tied around the middle, the upper half washes down and makes a sort of roof overhanging the lower portion, which in great measure protects it from the weather. These larvse are seldom abun- dant for many years in succession, for in times of great plenty their natural enemies multiply with amazing rapidity. Several par- asites destroy them. Two species of Ichneumon flies prey on them, also a two-winged Tachina fly, closely resembling the Red-tailed Tachina fly, Nemorsea leucanise (Kirkp.) (Fig. 46), which attacks the army-worm, but this fly is without the red tail. Fig. 46. Fig. 47. Fig. 48. A species of bug (Hemiptera) attacks the caterpillars just when they are constructing their cocoons, and sucks them empty, ATTACKING THE LEAVES 67 while some of the insect-feeding birds devour them greedily, especially the black-billed cuckoo. There are several species of predaceous insects belonging to the Carabidae, or ground- beetles, which are very active in their habits, and diligently hunt for them and eat them, notably the Green Caterpillar- hunter. Galosoma scrutator (Fabr.) (Fig. 47), and the Copper- spotted Calosoma, Calosoma calklum (Fabr.) (Fig. 48). They are sometimes destroyed in great numbers by a fungoid disease, which arrests their progress when about full grown, and the affected Fig. 49. specimens may be found attached to fences and trees, retaining an ap- pearance almost natural, but when handled they will often be found so much decayed as to burst with a gentle touch. An Ichneumon fly, Pimpla pedalis Cresson (Fig. 49), is a parasite on this larva, while mites prey upon the eggs, identical with those which feed on the eggs of the common tent-caterpillar. No. 22.— The White-marked Tussock-moth. Orgyia leucostigma (Sm. & Abb.). The orchardist, walking among his fruit-trees after the leaves have fallen, or during the winter months, will fre- quently find a dead leaf or leaves fastened here and there to the branches of his trees ; on examination, these will usually be found to contain a gray cocoon, with in most instances a mass of eggs fastened to it. On breaking into this mass, which is brittle, it will be fouml to include from three hun- dred to five hundred eggs, about one-twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, of a white color, nearly globular, and flattened on the upper side. They are placed in three or four layers, the interstices being filled with a frothy, gelatinous matter, which makes them adhere securely together, and over all is a thick coating of the same material, with a nearly smooth grayish-white surface, of a convex form, which efifectually 58 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. prevents the lodgment of any water on it. The egg-mass is attached to an empty gray cocoon, the former abode of the female which deposited them. About the middle of May the eggs hatch, when the young caterpillars at once proceed to devour the leaves of the tree on which they are placed, when disturbed letting themselves down by a silken thread, remaining suspended until danger is past, when they climb up the thread and regain their former position. When mature, they are very handsome, and present the appearance shown in Fig. 50, are more than Fig. 50. an inch long, of a bright-yellow color, with the head and two small protuberances on the hinder part of the back of a bril- liant coral-red. Along the back there are four cream-colored brush-like tufts, two long black plumes on the anterior part of the body, and one on the posterior. The sides are clothed with long, fine yellow hairs. There is a narrow black or brown stripe along the back, and a wider dusky stripe on each side. There are two broods during the season, the first completing their larval growth and spinning their cocoons about the middle of July ; the second hatching towards the last of July and completing their growth by the end of August, the moths from these latter depositing the eggs, which remain on the trees during the winter. The cocoon, as already stated, is spun in the leaf; it is of a loose texture, gray in color, and has woven into it numerous hairs derived from the body of the caterpillar. The enclosed chrysalis is of an oval form and brown color, sometimes whitish ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 59 on the under side, and is covered with short hairs or down. In about a fortnight the moth of the summer brood is hatched, when one might reasonably expect that from so handsome a caterpillar there would appear a moth with some correspond- ing beauty, l)ut any such expectation is doomed to disappoint- ment. In Fig. 51, c shows the chrysalis of the female, and d that of the male. The female moth is wingless, or provided with the merest rudiments of wings ; her body is of a light-gray color, of an Fro. 52. Fia. 53. oblong-oval form, with rather long legs, and is distended with eggs ; indeed, she is more like an animated bag of eggs than anything else. (See Fig. 52, where she is represented attached to the empty cocoon from which she has escaped.) After her escape, she patiently waits the attendance of the male, and then begins to place her eggs on the outside of her own cocoon, fastening them there in the manner already described. During this process her body contracts very much, and soon after her work is finished she drops down to the ground and dies. The male moth (Fig 53) is of an ashen-gray color, the fore wings being crossed by wavy bands of a darker shade ; there is a small black spot on the outer edge near the tip, an oblique blackish stripe beyond it, and a minute white crescent near the outer hind angle. The body is gray, with a small black tuft near the base of the abdomen. The wings, when expanded, measure about an inch and a quarter across. 60 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. Since the female is wingless, and invariably attaches her eggs to the outside of her own cocoon, the insect can only spread by the wanderings of the caterpillars, or the careless introduction of eggs on young trees. No doubt the latter has been the most prolific source of mischief. Although not usually very injurious, it becomes at times a perfect pest to the fruit-grower, stripping the trees almost bare of leaves and disfiguring the fruit by gnawing its surface. While very partial to the apple, it attacks also the plum and pear, and is said to feed occasionally on the elm, maple, horse-chest- nut, and oak. Remedies — The increase of this insect may be easily pre- vented by collecting and destroying the eggs during the win- ter months. In gathering the cocoons, all those having no egg-masses attached should be left, as they contain either the empty chrysalids of the male or the chrysalids of parasites. Nine different species of flies, four-winged and two- winged, are known to be parasitic on this insect in the caterpillar state. No. 23. — The Yellow-necked Apple-tree Caterpillar Datana ministra (Drury). The moth of this species was first described by Mr. Drury, an eminent English entomologist, in 1773, from specimens received by him from New ^^" York. It measures, when "^ « t /^ ^ ^ its wings are expanded, • *. fl f about two inches across ■ ~~^^ ' (see Fig. 54), and is of a / ^ light-brown color, with the '*^%,^^^^ "' iv, sj \\^2.^ and a large spot on the thorax chestnut-brown. On the fore wings there are from three to five transverse brown lines, one or two spots near the middle (sometimes wanting), and the outer margin also of the same color. The hind wings are pale yellow, without markings. When in repose, the hinder part of its ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 61 body is raised up, and the fore legs stretched out. The moths appear from the middle of June until the end of July. Each female deposits her Stock of eggs in a single cluster of from seventy to one hundred in number. They are white, round, less than one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter, placed side by side in nearly straight rows, and firmly cemented to each other, as well as to the surface of the leaf on which they are placed. Those first laid begin to hatch during the third week in July, while others are three or four weeks later, so that so»)e broods are nearly full grown, while others are small and but a few days old. The young larvae eat only the under side and pulpy part of the leaves, leaving the veins and upper side untouched, but as they increase in size and strength they devour the whole of the leaf except the stem. When young they are brown, striped with white, but as they mature they become darker in color, with yellow stripes ; they attain their full growth in about five or six weeks, when they are about two inches long. The head is large and black, the next segment, sometimes called the neck, of a dull orange color, a black stripe ex- tending down the back, and three stripes of the same color alternating with four yellow stripes on each side. The body is thinly clothed with long, soft, whitish hairs. The larvae are invariably found clustered closely together on a limb, on which, beginning with the tender leaves at the extremity, they gradually devour all before them, leaving the branch per- fectly bare. Its leafless condition soon attracts attention, and on examination it is found to be loaded with these caterpil- lars crowded together. The position they assume when at rest is very odd, and is well shown in Fig. 55 ; both ex- tremities are raised, the body being bent, and resting only on the four middle pairs of legs. If touched or alarmed, they throw uj) their heads and tails with a jerk, at the same time bending the body until the two extremities almost meet over the back ; they also jerk their heads from side to side. They all eat together, crowded upon the under surface of 62 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. the leaves, along the margins of which appears a row of shining black heads, with each mouth busily engaged in de- vouring the portion near it, and when Fjg- 55. the meal is finished they arrange themselves side by side along the branches which they have stripped. If one branch does not afford food enough, they attack another; and when full grown and ready to trans- form, they nearly all leave the tree at the same time, descending by night to the ground, where they burrow under the surface to the depth of from two to four inches, and after a time cast their caterpillar skins and become naked, brown chrysalids. They remain in the pupa state until the following July, when the moths escape and take wing. Although sometimes very abundant and destructive, this insect is not usually very common ; some years a few clusters may be seen, and then several seasons may pass before they are met with again. The nakedness of the limbs they attack soon attracts attention, when the caterpillars may be easily destroyed by crushing them on the tree, or by cutting off the branches and throwing them into the fire. A small Ichneu- mon parasite is known to prey on tliem, which may in some measure account for the irregularity of their appearance. No. 24. — The Red-humped Apple-tree Caterpillar. (Edemas la concinna (Sm. & Abb.). This insect very much resembles in habits the yellow- necked apple-tree caterpillar (No. 23). The moth (Fig. 5G) appears about the last of June. The fore wings are dark brown on the inner, and grayish on the outer margin, with a dot near the middle, a spot near each angle, and several longitudinal streaks along the hind margin, all dark brown. The hind wings of the male are brownish, ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 63 or dirty white, those of the female dusky brown ; the body is light brown, the thorax of a darker shade. Wheu ex- pauded, the wings measure from an inch to au inch and u quarter across. The female deposits her eggs in a cluster, on the under side of a leaf, during the month of July, where they shortly hatch into tiny caterpillars, which at first consume only the sub- stance of the under side of the leaf, leaving the upper surface unbroken, but as they increase in size they eat the entire leaf. When not eating, they remain close together, sometimes com- pletely covering the branch they rest upon. Having come to maturity, which occurs during August or early in September, the caterpillar appears as represented in Fig. 57. The head Fig. 56. FiQ. 57. is coral-red, and there is a hump on the back on the fourth ring or segment of the same color ; the body is traced length- wise by slender black, yellow, and white lines, and has two rows of black prickles along the back, and other shorter ones upon the sides, from each of which there arises a fine hair. The hinder segments taper a little, and are always elevated, as shown in the figure, when the insect is not crawling. It measures, when full grown, abort an inch and a quarter long. These caterpillars entirely consume the leaves of the branch on which they are placed, and when these are insufficient the adjoining branches are laid under tribute. When handled, they discharge a transparent fluid having a strong acid smell, which doubtless serves as a defence against enemies, especially birds, since their habit of feeding openly in large flocks ren- ders them particularly liable to attack from these ever-active foes. 64 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. When full grown, they all disappear about the same time, descending from the trees to the ground, where they con- ceal themselves under leaves, upon or slightly under the sur- face, and after a long time change to brown chrysalids, as shown in Fig. 58, and remain in the pupa state until late in June or early in July of the following year, when FiQ. 58. i\^Q perfect moths appear. In the North there is only one brood dnring the year, but in the South they are said to be double- brooded. They are very generally distributed, but seldom abundant, and, while preferring tiie apple, feed also on the plum, cherry, rose, thorn, and pear. As they maintain their gregarious habits during their en- tire larval existence, they can easily be gathered and destroyed, either by cutting off the limb and burning it, or by dislodg- ing them by suddenly jarring the limb, when they fall to the ground and may be trampled under foot. These larvae are also destroyed by parasites belonging to the family of lohneu- mons, but it is not yet known to what species we are indebted for this friendly help. Nos. 25 and 26. — Canker-worms. Anisopteryx vernata (Peck), and A. pometaria Harris. These are two distinct species of insects which have been confounded under the common name of canker-worm, and, as their habits and appearance are so similar, it will be conveni- ent to treat of them under one heading. The moths from the species pometaria leave the ground chiefly in the fall, those of vernata partly in the fall, but more abundantly in the spring A. pometaria, known as the Fall Canker-worm, will first claim our attention. Late in the season, when many of the leaves have fallen, and severe frosts have cut everything that is tender, a walk in the woods or through the orchard on a sunny afternoon is not void of interest. Here and there slen- der, delicate, silky-winged moths may be seen flitting about, enjoying the sunshine. On capturing one and examining it ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 65 closely, we find it to be almost transparent, and one is led to wonder why so frail a creature should select so bleak a season in which to appear; but, delicate as its structure seems to be, it is nevertheless one of the hardiest of its race, requiring, indeed, a considerable degree of cold for its perfect develop- ment. These are the male moths of the canker-worm, and chiefly those o( pometaria, the fall canker-worm. The females are wingless. The eggs of this species (a and b, Fig. 59) are flattened above, have a central puncture and a brown circle near the border, are laid side by side in 1 f T^- if^^ r. FlQ. 59. regular masses (e, i^ ig. 59), often as many as a hundred together, and generally placed in exposed situations on the twigs or branches of the tree. They usually hatch about the time when the young leaves of the apple push from the bud, when the little canker- worms cluster upon and consume the tender leaves, and, on the approach of cold or wet weather, creep for shelter into the bosom of the expanding buJ or into the opening flowers. The newly-hatched caterpillar is of a pale olive-green color, with the head and horny part of the second segment of a very pale hue. When full grown, it measures about an inch in length, presenting the appearance shown at/. Fig. 59 ; in the same figure, c represents a side view of one of the segments of the body, enlarged so as to show its markings. These caterpillars are called loopers, because they alternately loop and extend their bodies when in motion. Tney are also known as measuring- worms. They vary in color from greenish yellow to dusky or even dark brown, with broad longitudinal yellowish or paler stripes along each side. When not er.ting, they usually assume a stiff posture, either flat and parallel with the twigs on which they rest, or at an angle of about forty-five degrees ; in either case, since they closely 6 66 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. resemble in color the branch on which they rest, they usu- ally elude detection. When full grown, they leave the trees either by creeping down the trunk or by letting themselves down by silken threads from the branches. When thus sus- pended in great numbers, as is frequently the case, under the limbs of trees overhanging roads and sidewalks, they become a great annoyance, especially to sensitive people, and are often swept off by passing vehicles, and in this manner sometimes distributed over a considerable area. Having reached the ground, they burrow into it to a depth of from two to six inches, where they make a rather tough cocoon of buff-colored silk, interwoven with particles of earth. The chrysalis is about half an inch long^ of a light grayish-brown color, that of the male slendei and furnished with wing-cases, that of the female larger and without wing- cases. The chrysalids remain in the ground throughout the summer, and the moths usually appear on the wing during the mild weather which succeeds the first severe frosts in autumn. The female moth of each species is without wings, and sluggish in movement, with a very odd spider-like appearance. (See b, Fig. 60.) With ^^' ^^' ..^ ^ ^^^y f^istended with eggs, she drags her weary way along in a most ungainly manner until she reaches the base of a suitable tree, up which she climbs, and there awaits the arrival of the male. Her body is of a uniform shining ash color above, and gray beneath ; it is from three to four tenths of an inch in length. The fore wings of the male (Fig, 60, a) are of a brownish- gray color, very glossy, and are crossed by two rather irregu- lar whitish bands, tlie outer one enlarging near the apex, where it forms a large pale spot. The hind wings are grayish brown, with a faint central blackish dot and a more or less distinct whitish band crossing them. ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 67 Anisopta'yx vernata, known as the Spring Canker-worm, has an oval-sliaped egg, shown at b in Fig. 61, highly mag- nified ; the natural size is shown in the small cluster adjoining ; they are of a very delicate texture and pearly |^-it^ lustre, and are laid in masses with- out any regularity or order in their arrangement, often as many as a hundred together, usually hidden in crevices of the bark of trees. They hatch at the same time as the other species. The young caterpillar is of a dark olive-green or brown color, with a black shining head, and a horny plate of the same color on the top of the next segment; they, too, are about an inch long when full grown, and present then the appearance shown at a. Fig. 61. In the same figure, c rep- resents a side view, and d a back view, of one of the segments, enlaro;ed so as to show their markinp;s more distinctly. When full grown, this caterpillar closely resembles that of the other species, and the body is equally variable in color. In this the head is mottled and spotted, and has two pale transverse lines in front ; the body is longitudinally striped with many narrow pale lines ; along the sides it becomes deeper in color, and down the middle of the back are some blackish spots. Their habits are similar to those of the other species, and they attain full growth about the same time. The chrysalids, which are found about the same depth under ground, are similar in color to those of pometaria, but the cocoon is much more fragile, and is easily torn to pieces. Sometimes the moth escapes from the chrysalis in the autumn, but more frequently during the first warm days of spring. The abdomen of the female (6, Fig. 62), as well as that of the male, has in this species, ujion the hinder margin of each of the rings, two transverse rows of stiff reddish spines ; at d in the figure is represented a joint of the abdomen, en- larged, showing these spines. The female also has a retractile 68 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE ovipositor, shown in the figure at e; this is wanting in the other species ; c represents a portion of one of her antenna. The fore wings of the male are paler than zP- in jpometaria, and more transparent ; they are ash-coloi^ed or brown- ish gray, and of a silky appearance. A broken whitish band crosses the wi^gs near the outer margin, and three interrupted brownish lines between that and the base ; there is an oblique black dash near the tip of the fore wings, and a nearly continuous black line at the base of the fringe. The hind wings are plain pale ash color, or very light gray, with a dusky dot about the middle. Remedies. — To attack an enemy with success it is essential that we know his vulnerable points. In this instance, since the females are without wings, if they can be prevented from crawling up the trees to deposit their eggs, a great point will be gained. Various measures have been employed to secure this end, all ljch>nging to one or other of two classes, — first, those that prevent the ascension of the moth by entangling her feet and holding her there, or by drowning her ; second, those which look to a similar end by preventing her from getting a foothold, and causing her to fall repeatedly to the ground until she becomes exhausted and dies. In the first class is included tar, mixed with oil to prevent its drying, and applied either directly around the body of the tree, or on strips of old canvas or stiff paper, about five or six inches wide, and tied in the middle with a string ; refuse sorghum molasses, printer's ink, and slow-drying varnishes, are used in a similar manner. Tin, lead, and rubber troughs, to contain oil, also belong to this class of remedies, and have all been used with more or less success. In the use of any of the first-named sticky substances, it should be borne in mind that they must be kept sticky by frequent renewal of the surface in mild weather, or ATTACKING THE LEAVES. ^J9 the application will be useless; they should also be applied as early as the latter })art of October, and kept on until the leaves are expanded in the following spring. It must also be remembered that some of the moths, defeated in their attempts to climb the trees, will deposit their eggs near the ground, or anywhere, in fact, below the barrier, and that the tiny young worms hatched from them will pass without difficulty through a very small opening. Hence, whether troughs or bandages are used, care nuist be taken to fill ui) all the irregularities of surface in the bark of the trees, so that no openings shall be left through which they may pass. Cotton batting answers well in most cases for this purpose. The second class of remedies consists of various ingenious devices, in the way of collars of metal, wood, or glass fastened around the tree and sloping downward like an inverted funnel. These, although they prevent the moths from ascending the tree, offer but little obstacle to the progress of the young caterpillars unless the openings between the collar and the tree are carefully packed, and hence they often fail of entire success. Those belonging to the first class are said to be the surest and best, and while it must be admitted that it involves much time and labor to renew so often and for so long a period the tar or other sticky application so as to make it an effectual barrier to the ascent of the insect, still it will pay, wherever the canker-worm abounds, to give this matter the attention requisite to insure success. The limited power of motion possessed by the female usually confines this insect within narrow limits, and hence it is local in its attacks, sometimes abounding in one orchard and being scarcely known in a neighboring one; but when it has obtained a footing, and is neglected, it usually multiplies prodigiously. Strong winds will sometimes carry the larvae from one tree to another near by. When the caterpillars are once on the tree, if the tree is small, they may be dislodged by jarring, when they all drop, suspended in mid-air by silken threads; then, by swinging a stick above them, the threads may be collected and the larvae 70 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. Fig. G3. brought to the ground and destroyed. Fall plo'^ghing has been recommended to destroy the chrysalids by turning them up, when they are likely to be either killed by exposure or devoured by birds. Hogs also are very useful in destroying this pest by rooting up the chrysalids and eating them. These insects have many natural enemies. A small mite, Nothrus ovivorus Packard (Fig. 63), destroys the eggs. A minute parasitic fly deposits her eggs within the eggs of the canker-worm and destroys them. In the larval state they are preyed on by a small four-winged fly, a species of Microgaster, which, after having fed upon its victim to full growth, eats its v/ay out, and constructs a small oval white cocoon attached to the body of the caterpillar. A sj)ecies of Tachina, a two-winged fly similar to Fig. 46, No. 21, is also a parasite on these worms. Predaceous insects also feed upon them, especially the Green Caterpillar-hunter (Fig. 47), the Copper-spotted Calosoma (Fig. 48), and the Rapacious Soldier-bug, Slnea diadema (Say) (Fig. 64). The Fig. 64. Fig. 65. rm Fraternal Potter- wasp, Eumenes fraternus Say (a, Fig. 65), stores the cells for her young with canker-worms, often placing as many as fifteen or twenty in a single cell. In the figure, at ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 71 6 is shown fhe clay cell of this insect entire ; at c the same cut through, showing how it is packed with these larvae. These cells are sometimes attached to plants and sometimes con- structed under the loose bark of trees. Insect-eating birds also devour large numbers of canker-worms. These insects are not confined to the apple-tree : elm- trees are frequently eaten bare by them ; they attack also the plum, cherry, linden, and many other trees. They are common in the Eastern and Western States, and also in some parts of Canada. No. 27.— The Fall Web-worm. ■ Hyphantria textor Harris. After the webs of the tent-caterpillars have been carefully removed in the spring, and the fruit-grower is perhaps flatter- ing himself with the idea that his troubles in this direction are about over, towards the end of summer he may be mor- tified to find his trees again adorned with webs enclosing swarms of hungry caterpillars, devouring the foliage. This is the fall web-worm, an insect totally different in all its stages from the common tent-caterpillar. The moth of this species deposits her eggs in broad patches on the under side of the leaves, near the end of a branch, during the latter part of May or early in June. These hatch in the month of June, July, or August; during the earlier period in the warmer districts, and later in the colder ones. As soon as the young larvae appear they begin to eat, and to spin a web over themselves for protection. They devour only the pulpy portion of the leaves, leaving the veins and skin of the under surface untouched. While young, they are of a pale-yellowish color, sparingly hairy, with two rows of black marks along the body. When full grown, they are an inch or more in length, and vary greatly in their markings ; some examples are pale yellow or greenish, others much darker and of a bluish-black hue. The head is black, and there is a broad dusky or blackish stripe down the back ; along each side is a 72 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. yellowish band, speckled more or less with black. The body is covered with long straight hairs, grouped in tufts, arising from small black or orange-yel- FiQ. 66. low protuberances, of which there are a number on each segment. The hairs are sometimes of a dirty white, with a few black ones interspersed, sometimes red- dish brown ; they are longest towards the extremities of the body. Unlike the common tent-caterpillars, these larvae do not wander from their nests to feed until nearly full grown, but extend the web over their whole feeding-ground, constantly enclosing fresh portions of the branch occupied, until sometimes the web covers a space several feet long, the whole enclosed portion having a scorched or withered look, as if it had been blighted. When nearly at their full growth, they suddenly abandon their social habits and scatter far and wide, feeding on almost any green thing they meet with. They are very active, and run briskly when disturbed. During September and October these caterpillars descend to the ground and burrow a short distance under the surface, or creep under crevices of bark or some such shelter above ground, where they form slight cocoons of silk, interwoven with hairs from their bodies. Within these cocoons they soon change to chrysalids of a dark -brown color (Fig. 67), Fio. 67. Fig. 68. smooth, polished, and faintly punctated, with a swelling about the middle. In this condition they remain until the following year. The moth (Fig. 68) is of a milk-white color, without spots; ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 73 the an ten use are gray, those of the male doubly feathered be- low, those of the female with two rows of minute teeth only ; the front thighs are tawny yellow, the feet blackish brown. When the wings are expanded they measure about one and a quarter inches across. The moth flies only at night. In the Northern United States and Canada there is only one brood of this insect in the season, but in the South it is frequently double-brooded, the first brood of the larvae ap- pearing in June, the second in August. It is a very general feeder; besides the apple, it also eats the leaves of the plum, cherry, pear, hickory, ash, elm, willow, oak, beech, button- wood, grape, currant, blackberry, raspberry, and clover. From their birth, the web-spinning habits of these larvae promptly lead to their detection, and as soon as seen they should be removed by cutting off the twig or branch and destroying it ; if beyond ordinary reach, the branch may be cut off by attaching a pair of Druning-shears to a pole and pulling one handle with a string. As they remain constantly under the web for so long a period, the removal of the branch insures in most instances the destruction of the whole colony. No parasites have yet been recorded as preying on them, but many carnivorous in- sects devour them. The Sj)ined Soldier-bug, Podisus spinosus (Dallas) (Fig. 69), attacks them, piercing their bodies with its beak and sucking them empty. This friendly insect is represented in the figure at b, with one pair of wings extended, the other closed; at a, a magnified view of the beak is given. No. 28. — The Cecropia Emperor-moth. Platysamia Cecropia (Linn.). Among the many beautiful insects native to this country, there are none which excite more delight and astonishment than the Cecropia moth. Its size is enormous, measuring, when its wings are spread, from five to seven inches across, 74 INSECTS INJLRIOUS TO THE APPLE. while its beauty is such as to charm all beholders. Fi^. 7C gives a very good representation of this magnificent moth. Both the front and hind wings are of a rich brown, the anterior pair grayish shaded with red, the posterior more ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 75 uniformly brown, and about the middle of each of the wings is a nearly kidney-shaped white spot, shaded more or less with red, and margined with black. A wavy dull-red band crosses each of the wings, edged within witli white, the edging wide and distinct on the hind wings, and more or less faint on the front pair. The outer edges of tlie wings are of a pale silky brown, in which, on the anterior pair, runs an irregular dull- black line, which on the hind wings is replaced by a double broken band of the same iiue. The front wings, next to the shoulders, are dull red, with a curved white and black band, and near their tips is an eye-like spot with a bkiish- white crescent. The upper side of the body and the legs are dull red, with a wide band behind the head, and the hinder edges of the rings of the abdomen white; the under side of the body is also marked with white. During the winter months, when the api)le-trees are leaf- less, the large cocoons of this insect are frequently found firmly attached to the twigs ; they also occur on many other trees and shrubs, for in its caterpillar state it is a very general feeder. The cocoon (Fig. 71) is about three inches long and an inch or more broad in its widest part, pod- shaped, of a rusty-gray or brownish color; it is formed of two layers of silk, the outer one not unlike strong brown paper, and within this a quantity of loose silken fibres cover- ing an inner, oval, closely-woven cocoon, containing a large brown chrysalis. Snugly enclosed within this double wrap- per, the chrysalis remains uninjured by the variations of temperature during the winter. Late in May, or early in June, the pupa-case is ruptured by the struggles of its occu- pant, and the newly-born moth begins to work its way out of the cocoon ; to lessen the labor, a fluid is secreted from about the mouth, which softens the fibres; then a tearing, scraping sound is heard, made by the insect working with the claws on its fore feet, pulling away the softened threads and packing them on each side to make a passage for its body. The place of exit is the smaller end of the cocoon, which is 76 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. Fig. 71. more loosely made than any other part, and through which, after the internal obstacles are overcome, the passage is eifected without much further trouble. First through the opening is thrust the front pair of bushy-looking legs, the sharp claws of which fasten on the outside structure ; then with an effort the head is drawn forward, displaying the beautiful feather-like antennae ; next the thorax, on which are borne the other two pairs of legs, is liberated, and finally the escape is completed by the with- drawal of the abdomen. An odd- looking creature it is at first, with its large, plump, juicy body, and its thick, small wings not much larger than those of a humble-bee. The insect now seeks a good location where the wings may hang down in a position favorable for expanding, when in a short time they undergc a marvellous growth, attaining theii full size in from half an hour to an hour. , Soon after their exit these moths seek their mates, and shortly the female begins to deposit her eggs, a process which occupies considerable time, since there are two or three hundred to dispose of, and they are usually laid in pairs, firmly fastened with a glutinous material, on the under side of a leaf of the tree or shrub which is to form the future food of the caterpillar. The egg is nearly one-tenth of an inch long, almost round, of a dull creamy white color, with a reddish spot or streak near the middle. ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 77 The duration of the egg-state is usually from a week to ten days, when the young larva eats its way out, making its first meal of the empty egg-shell. At first it is black, with little shining black knobs on its body, from which arise hairs of the same color. With a ravenous appetite, its growth is very rapid, and from time to time its exterior coat or skin becomes too tight for its comfort, when it is ruptured and thrown off. At each of these changes or moultings the caterpillar appears in an altered garb, until finally it assumes the appearance represented in Fig. 72. It is a gigantic creature, from three Fig, 72. to four inches long, and nearly as thick as a man's thumb ; its color is pale green ; the large warts or tubercles on the third and fourth segments are coral-red, the others on the back are yellow, except those on the second and terminal segments, which, in common with the smaller tubercles along the side, are blue. During its growth from the diminutive creature as it escapes from the egg to the monstrous-looking full-grown specimen, it consumes an immense amount of vege- table food ; and especially as it approaches maturity is this voracious appetite apparent. Where one or two have been placed ou a young apple-tree, they may in a short time strip it entirely bare; the loss of foliage during the growing period 78 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. prevents the proper ripening of the wood, and often endangers the life of the tree. Remedies. — The natural increase of this insect is great, and wise provisions have been made to keep it within due bounds. Being so conspicuous an object, it often forms a dainty meal for the lararer insectivorous birds ; there are also enemies wdiich attack the egg and ^^"- "^- young larva, and several species of parasites which live within or on the body of the caterpillar, and finally destroy it either in the lar- val or the chrysalis state : it is believed that fully four-fifths of the larvae perish in this manner. The largest of these parasites, and perhaps the commonest of them all, is the Long- tailed Ophion, Ophion ma- cruruin (Linn.) (Fig. 73), a large, yellowish-brown Ichneumon. The female of this fly deposits her eggs on the skin of her victim, where the young larvae soon hatch, and, having firmly attached themselves, feed externally, sucking the juices of the caterpillar. After the latter has attained full growth, formed its cocoon, and become a ^^^- '^^' chrysalis, this useful para- site causes its death. When full grown, the larva of the parasite is a large, fat, foot- less grub (Fig. 74), which spins an oblong-oval cocoon within the Crecopia chrysalis, and escapes as a fly, sometimes in the autumn, but more frequently in the following spring. A two-winged fly, a species of Tachina (Fig. 46), is also very frequently found as a parasite on the caterpillar. The larva ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 79 of this parasite is a fat, fleshy, footless grub, of a translucent yellow color, and about half an inch in length. A third para- site is a small four-winged fly, known as the Cecropia Chalcis- fly, Smicm marioe (Riley) (Fig. 75). In the figure the fly is FiQ 76. much magnified ; the short lines at the side show its natural size. A fourth friendly helper is an Ichneumon fly, known under the name of the Cecropia Cryptus, Cryptus extrematis Cresson, which infests the Cecropia larva in great numbers, filling its chrysalis so entirely with its thin, papery cocoons that a transverse section bears a strong resemblance to a piece of honey-comb. (See Fig. 76.) The flies of this parasite escape in June, the female presenting the appearance shown in Fig. 77, where it is much mag- nified, the short line at the side showing its natural size. Another two-winged parasite is Gaurax anchora Loew. While very partial to the apple, the larva of Cecropia will also feed on the cherry, plum, pear, maple, willow, lilac, Eng- 80 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. lish alder, red currant, and hazel ; also on the hickory, birch, elm, houey-locust, barberry, hawthorn, and elder. During the winter their cocoons should be looked for and destroyed ; the larvae also may be subdued by hand-picking, — their work, as well as their appearance, being so conspicuous that they are readily detected. No. 29. — The TJmcorn Prominent. Coelodasys unicornis (Sm. & Abb.) The larva of this moth is a very singular-looking creature. . (See Fig. 78.) It is reddish brown, variegated with white, on the back, with a large brown head ; the Fig. 78. sides of the second and third segments are green, and from the top of the fourth a prominent horn is projected. There are on the body a few short hairs, scarcely visible to the naked eye ; the posterior segment, with the hindermost pair of feet, is always raised when the insect is at rest, but it generally uses these feet in walking. In August and September this larva may be found nearly full grown. At first eating a notch, about the size of its body, in the side of the leaf on which it is feeding, and placing itself in this notch, with the humps on its body somewhat resembling the irregularities in the margin of the partly-eaten leaf, it is not easily detected. Eventually it consumes the entire leaf, except a small portion of the base. When mature, it measures from an inch to an inch and a quarter in length, and, while generally solitary in its habits, sometimes three or four are found together eating the leaves of the same twig. Besides the apple, it feeds on the plum, dogwood, rose, alder, and winterberry. When full grown, which is towards the end of September, it descends from the tree, and under fallen leaves on the ground constructs a thin, almost transparent, papery cocoon, with bits of leaves attached to the outside. A considerable time elapses after the cocoon is formed before the caterpillar ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 81 changes to a brown chrysalis. The moth does not appear until the following summer, and is most common in July. (See Fig. 79.) The fore wings are light brown, variegated with patches of greenish white, with many wavy lines of a dark-brown color, two of which enclose a small whitish space ; at the base there is a short blackish mark near the middle ; the tip and the outer hind margin are whitish, tinged with red in the males, and near the outer hind angle there are two black dashes and one small white dash. The hind wings of the male are dirty white, with a dusky spot on the inner hind angle, those of the female sometimes entirely dusky. The body is brownish, with two narrow black bands across the front part of the thorax. When the wings are expanded, this moth measures from an inch and a quarter to an inch and a half across. It is double-brooded in the South, the moths of the first brood appearing early in June, those of the second in August ; in the North it is also sometimes double-brooded. This insect is rarely present in sufficient numbers to do any material damage ; and it seldom attracts the notice of the fruit-grower, unless by the singular appearance of the cater- pillar and its remarkable combination of colors. No para- sites have yet been recorded as preying on it, though doubtless il suffers in this way in common with most other insects. No. 30.— The Turnus Swallow-tail. Papilio turnus Linn. Every one must have seen the large turnus swallow-tail butterfly floating about in the warm days of June and July, enjoying the sunshine, drinking from the wayside pool, or sipping the honey from flowers. It is one of our largest and handsomest butterflies, measuring, when its wings are ex- 6 82 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE panded, about four inches across. (See Fig. 80.) The wings are of a rich, pale lemon-yellow color, banded and bordered with black; on the fore wings are four black bars, the inner one extending entirely across the wing, the outer ones be- coming shorter as they approach the apex. The front mar- gin is edged with black, and the outer margin has a wide border of the same, in which is set a row of eight or nine pale-yellow spots, the lower ones less distinct. Fig. 80. The hind wings are crossed by a streak of black, which is almost a continuation of the inner band on the fore wings ; there is a short black streak a little beyond, and a wide black border, widening as it approaches the inner angle of the wing. Enclosed within this border, and towards its outer edge, are six lunular spots, the upper and lower ones reddish, the others yellow ; above and about these spots, and especially towards the inner angle of tiie wing, the black bordering is thickly powdered with blue scales. The outer margin of the hind wings is scalloped and partly edged with yellow; the inner margin is bordered with brownish black for about two- ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 83 thirds of its length, followed by a small yellow patch, which is succeeded by a larger black spot, centred with a crescent of blue atoms, and bounded below by an irregular reddish spot, margined within with yellow. The hind wings terminate in two long black tails edged on the inside with yellow. The body is black above, margined with pale yellowish; below, yellowish streaked with black. The under surface of tlie wings resembles the upper, but is paler. This insect passes the winter in the chrysalis state, and ap- pears first on the wing from the middle to the end of May, but becomes more plentiful during the latter part of June and early in July. The eggs are deposited singly on the leaves of the apple and other trees and shrubs on which the larva feeds; they are about one-twenty-fourth of an inch in diame- ter, nearly round, of a dark-green color, with a smooth sur- face. In about ten or twelve days the eggs begin to change color, becoming darker, and growing very dark just before the escape of the larvae. The very young caterpillars are black, roughened with small brownish-black tubercles, with the first segment thickened, of a dull, glossy flesh color, a prominent fleshy tubercle on each side, and a patch of white on the seventh and eighth segments. When full grown, it appears as in Fig. 81. It is then from an inch and a half to two inches long, with a rather large reddish-brown head, and a green body, which is thick- est towards the head and tapers posteri- orly. On the an- terior segments the green is of a darker shade, but paler on the sides of the body, and partly covered with a whitish bloom. On the front edge of the first segment is a raised yellow fold, which slightly overhangs the head, and from which, when irri- tated, the larva protrudes a yellow, fleshy, forked organ, at Fig. 81. 84 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. the same time giving off a disagreeable odor, which is doubt- less used as a means of defence against its enemies. On each side of the third segment is an eye-like spot, nearly oval, yellow, enclosed by a ring of black, centred with a small elongated blue dot, which is also set in black. On the hinder portion of the fourth segment is another raised yellow fold, bordered behind with rich velvety black ; the latter is seen only when the larva is in motion. On the terminal segment there is a similar fold, flattened above, with a slight protu- berance on each side. On the fifth segment are two blue dots, one on each side, and there are traces on the hinder segments of similar dots, arranged in longitudinal rows. The under surface is paler than the upper, with a whitish bloom. When the caterpillar is about to change to a chrysalis, which is usually during the early part of August, the color of the body grows gradually darker, until it becomes dark reddish brown, with the sides nearly black, and the blue dots become much more distinct. Having selected a suitable spot in which to pass the chrysalis state, it spins a web of silk, into which the hooks on the hind legs are firmly fastened ; then, having prepared and stretched across a silken band or loop to support its body in the middle, it casts its larval skin, and remains a dull-brown chrysalis, of the Fig. 82. form shown in Fig. 82, until the following spring. This insect is very widely distributed, being found in nearly all parts of the United States and Canada. The caterpil- lar feeds on a number of different trees, but chiefly affects the apple, cherry, thorn, and basswood. As it is always solitary in its habits, it is never likely to cause much injury. South of Pennsylvania the female of this species of butterfly usually loses its yellow color and becomes nearly black, while the other sex retains its normal hue. ATTACK I NQ THE LEAVES. 86 No. 31.— The Blind-eyed Sphinx. Smerinthus excecatus (Sm. & Abb.). During September, and sometimes as late as the beginning of October, there may be found occasionally on the apple-tree, feeding on the leaves, a thick, cylindrical caterpillar, about two and a half inches long, with a green triangular head, bordered with white, an apple-green body, paler on the back, but deeper in color along the sides, with its skin roughened with numerous white-tipped granulations, having a stont horn on the hinder part of its back, of a bluish-green color, with I^^Q- 83. seven oblique stripes on each side, of a pale yel- low, the last one of a brighter yellow than the others and extending- to the base of the horn. This is the larva of the blind-eyed sphinx, represented in Fig. 83. When full grown, it leaves the tree and buries itself in Fia. 84. the earth, where it changes to a chrysalis of a chestnut-brown color, smooth, with a short terminal spine. The moth (Fig. 84) appears from May to July, but chiefly 8(J INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. in June, and is very handsome. The body is fawn-colored ; on the top of the thorax is a chestnut-colored stripe, and on the abdomen a dark-brown line. The front wings are fawn- colored, clouded and striped with brown ; the hind wings are rose-colored in the middle, with a brownish patch at the tip, crossed by two or three short whitish lines, and having near the inner angle a black spot with a pale-blue centre. This moth measures, when its wings are spread, about three inches across. It is comparatively a rare insect, and has never been known to cause any serious injury. While partial to the apple-tree, the caterpillar will also feed on the plum and wild cherry. The moth remains hidden during the day, but becomes very active at dusk. No. 32.— The Apple Sphinx. Sphinx Gordius Cram. This insect belongs to the same family as No. 31, viz., the Sphingidse, or Sphinx family, and there is a general re- semblance between the two species in all their stages. The larva of the apple sphinx is a thick, cylindrical, apple-green caterpillar, about two and a half inches long, with a reddish- brown horn projecting from the hinder part of its back, and with seven oblique stripes along each side, of a violet color, margined behind wath w^hite. Late in the autumn it leaves off feeding and buries itself deeply in the earth, where it clianges to a brown chrysalis with a short detached tongue-case. Here it remains until the following season. The perfect insect is a strong, narrow-winged moth, which appears on the wing from the latter part of May to the end of June. (Fig. 85.) Its fore wings are dark brown, varied with asli-gray, witli black streaks within the veins, and a white dot near the middle, resting on a long black line. The hind wings are gray, with a band across the middle, and a wide marginal band of black. The fringes of the wings are ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 87 white, the head and thorax blackish brown. The abdomen is dark gray, with a central black line, and alternate black and grayish bands partly encircling it. When the wings are ex- FiQ. 85. panded, the moth measures from three to three and a half inches across. This also is a night-flyer. No. 33. — The American Lappet-moth. Gastropacha Americana Harris. This singular insect is found in the larval state in July and August, resting in the daytime on the twigs or limbs of the apple-tree, feeding at night. Its body is broad, convex above, and perfectly flat beneath, and when at rest it closely resem- bles a natural swelling of the bark. It is of an ash-gray color, fringed close to the under surface on each side with tufts of blackish and gray hairs springing from projecting tubercles. On the hinder part of the third segment there is a bright-scarlet velvety baud, and a similar one on the fourth segment, neither of which is seen except when the larva is in motion. On the second segment there are two small tu- bercles on each side, and one on each side of the remaining segments ; from these tubercles are given out tufts of grayish hairs mingled with white ones. The under side of the body is orange-colored, with a central row of diamond-shaped black- ish spots. In general appearance it much resembles Fig. 87. 88 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE APPLE. When ready to transform, it attaches itself to a limb and there encjloses itself in a gray cocoon, which appears like a slight swelling of the limb, and in this enclosure it changes to a brown chrysalis, in which state it remains until the month of June following, when the perfect insect escapes. The moth (Fig. 86) is of a tawjiy reddish-brown color, with the hinder and inner edges of the fore wings and the outer edges of the hind wings ^i<^- 86. notched ; the notches are mar- gined with white. Both pairs of wings are crossed by a rather broad, interrupted, whitish band, not very clearly shown in the figure, which, on the anterior wings, does not always extend to the front margin. In the female the pale bands and dark lines are sometimes wanting, the wings being almost entirely of a red-brown color. The moth measures, when its wings are expanded, from an inch and a half to an inch and three- quarters across. The eggs are laid on the leaves of the apple-tree late in June, and are very pretty objects under a magnifying-glass. They measure about one-twentieth of an inch long, are oval, flattened at the base and also above, and a little thicker at one end than at the other. In color they are white, with peculiar black markings ; at each end is a crescent-shaped stripe, with a dot below it, and on both the flattened surfaces there are markings like eyes, each formed by an oval spot in the centre, with a curved stripe above and a shorter straight one below; between and parallel to the two eyebrow-like marks there is another black stripe. The whole surface is covered with a net-work, the meshes of which are irregular, with a depressed dot in the centre of each. This insect feeds also on the cherry and the oak. It is not at all common, and probably will never be a source of much annoyance to the fruit-grower. ATTACKING THE LEAVES. j^9 No. 34. — The Velleda Lappet-motli. Tolype velleda (Stoll). The caterpillar of this species is very similar in appearance and habits to that of the American Lappet-moth, No. 33, with some slight differences in color and markings. The full- grown larva is two inches or more in length, with a small, flat head, nearly hidden beneath two projecting tufts of hair from the second segment. It is represented partly grown in Fig. 87. The body is bluish gray, with many faint paler Fig. 87. longitudinal lines ; across the upper part of the fourth seg- ment there is a narrow velvety black band, more conspicuous when the caterpillar is in motion. On each segment above there are two warts with short black hairs, of which those on the fourth segment, anterior to the band, are most prominent. There are a few short black and gray hairs scattered over the bo