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OF THE

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'^1S)ESTEUCTr?E INSECTS

yiGTOF-^IA

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TK D. H. HILL im^

NORTH C«0Lm>4 ST4TC C0LLC6C

IMCML COULECTIO

ENT0M0L0eiC4L COLLECTION

This book must not be
taken from the Library
building.

25M JUNE 58 FORM 2

A HANDBOOK

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS

VICTORIA,

WITH NOTES 0:\ THE METHODS (JF PREVENTION
AND EXTIRPATION.

Prepared bij Order of the Victorian Department of Agriculture

BY

C. FRENCH, F.E.S.,

Govern inent Entomologist.

PART V.

§v JVuthovitj?:

J. KEMP, GOVERNMENT PRINTER, MELBOURNE.

1911.
187S

72(^

Digitized by the Internet Archive

in 2009 with funding from

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PREFACE TO PART V.

In publishing Part V., the last but one of the Destructive
Insects of Victoria, I may remark that some comparatively
new insect pests have been included, especially the more
formidable of those attacking orchards, crops, and forests.

As, in Part IV., it will be noticed that some prominence
has been given to insects attacking our forests. In
America, India, and Germany, where forestry has been
raised to a " fine art," and a huge commercial success,
whole volumes dealing with forest pests have been pub-
lished, and no expense spared in enlightening foresters and
others similarly engaged. The Commonwealth of Aus-
tralia is singularly rich in valuable timbers, the utilization
of which is creating a great commercial industry. It is
therefore advantageous that all possible information
regarding forest insects should be widely disseminated.

As I have endeavoured to avoid technical names and
terms as much as possible, it has been necessary to invent
common names for many of the insects described. Fortu-
nately, but very few additional orchard pests have to be
recorded since the publication of Part IV., but, as we do
not know the time when more of the native insects may
leave their natural food to attack orchards, it follows that
the distribution of practical and reliable information
regarding them is a matter of urgent necessity.

Some additional insect-destroying birds are also dealt
with in the present volume. As these birds are absolutely
indispensable to the welfare of the orchardist, farmei, and
forester, it is to be hoped that, with the aid of the coloured
plates, they may be readily distinguished from the fruit
and grain-eating kinds.

A2

4 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Part YL, now in course of preparation, will deal also with
beneficial insects, and will complete the series, which,
when finished, should constitute a standard work for
Australia on the subject of Economic Entomology and
Ornithology. -y

Following the preface is a very interesting Report,
kindly furnished by Mr. J. G. Turner, Senior Inspector
of Fruit Exports and Imports, and embodying the Regu-
lations now in operation. The Report and Regulations
will be helpful to both growers and shippers. At the end
of the volume will be found a short summary of the latest
spraying machines and materials placed on the market.

In conclusion, I have to thank the Assistant Ento-
mologist, Mr. C. French, jun., for the many interesting
field notes and observations ; Mr. A. T. Sharp, for reading
the work, both in manuscript and in proof ; and JVIr.
H. Shelton for his assistance in the preparation of the
Index.

CHAS. FRENCH.
Melbourne, December, 1910.

O O X T E Ts^ T S

Chapter. Page
Report of the Senior Inspector, Fruit Exports and Imports 7

INSECTS.

CVI. Buttertiy of the Orange . . . . . . . . 17

CVII. Metallic Tomato Fly .\ .. .. .. ..21

CVIII. / Dark-striped Tiger Moth . . . . . . . . 27

^ Light-striped Tiger iNIoth . . . . . . . . 27

CIX. Common Thrips . . . . . . . . . . 31

ex. Fire-Blight of the Wattle . . . . . . . . 37

CXI. Tomato Weevil . . . . . . . . . . 41

CXIT. Large Diadoxus Borer . . . . . . . . 45

CXIII. Small Diadoxus Borer . . . . . . . . 49

CXI\'. Rose and Raspberry Scale . . . . . . . . 53

CXV. She-oak Scale . . . . . . . . . . 57

CXVI. Sweet-potato Weevil . . . . . . . . . . 03

CXVII. Urrcanthus Timber Borers . . . . . . . . 07

CXVIII. Yellow-box Borers . . . . . . . . . . 71

CXIX. Rice Weevil, Grain W'eevil, and Nutmeg Beetle . . . . 75

CXX. Curved Wing-case Timber Borer . . . . . . 81

CXXI. Lesser Dried-Fruit Moth . . . . . . . . 85

CXXII. Common Gum Scale . . . . . . . . . . 89

CXXIII. Feathery-horned Yellow- box Borer . . . . .97

CXXIV. Saltbush Scale . . . . . . . . . . 101

CXXV. Silky Oak Weevil Borer . . . . . . . . 107

CXXVI. Greater Vine Scale . . . . . . . . ..Ill

CXXVIL She-oak Root Borer .. .. .. .. ..115

CXXVIII. Gum-tree Moth .. .. .. .. ..119

CXXIX. Common Darala Moth . . . . . . . . 123

CXXX. Spined Log Beetle . . . . . . . . . . 127

CXXXI. Greyish-horned Beetle of the Wattle . . . . . . 131

CXXXII. Boisduval's Fig-tree Borer . . . . . . . . 135

BIRDS.

CXXXIII. White Ibis . .

CXXXIV. Straw-necked Ibis

CXXXV. White-fronted Heron

CXXXVI. Australian Bustard or Wild Turkey

CXXXVII. Giant Kingfisher or Laughing Jackass

CXXX VII I. White-backed Magpie or Crow Shrike

CXXXIX. Yellow-breasted Robin

CXL. Southern Stone Plover

CXLI. Boobook Owl

CXLII. Spine -tailed Swift

CXLIII. Reed-Warbler

CXLIV. Whit«-throated Nightjar

Spnying Apparatus and Materials
Index

.. 139

.. 141

.. 143

.. 145

.. 147

.. 149

.. 151

.. 153

.. 155

.. 157

.. 159

.. 161

.. 103

.. 100

REPORT OF THE SENIOR INSPECTOR, FRUIT EXPORTS

AND IMPORTS

(Mr. J. G. Turxer).

Melbourne, 1st December, 1910.

With regard to the Vegetation Diseases Acts, there have been no
further amendments since the issue of Part IV., but suggestions have
been forwarded to the Hon. the Minister, and certain alterations and
additions which will tend towards more effective working are now under
consideration.

The Regulations under this Act, on the other hand, have been revised,
and considerable alteration has been made. In August, 1909, a
Conference of State Ministers of Agriculture met in Melbourne to
discuss the matter of restrictions on inter-State interchange of fruit,
plants, &c. This was the second such Conference, the previous one
having met in Sydney in February, 1908. It will be easily understood
how such a course would tend to eliminate, to a great extent, the friction
previously existing between the States.

Many important matters were dealt with at the last Conference, and
the Regulations of this State have been amended to carry into effect
the resolutions passed at same. The following is the form m which
the General Regulations relating to the importation of nursery stock,
trees, plants, and vegetables stand at present : —

REGULATIONS UNDER THE VEGETATION DISEASES ACTS.
Under the powers in that behalf conferred by the Vegetation Diseases Acts to
make Regulations among others for the purpose of regulating importation, intro-
duction, and bringing into Victoria of any particular kind of tree, plant, or vegetable
likely, in the opinion of the Governor in Council, to spread any disease or insect,
and for prescribing penalties for the breach of any Regulation so made, the Governor
of the State of Victoria, by and with the advice of the Executive Council, doth order
as follows ; —

General.

1. The Regulations of the 13th day of May, 1908, and published in the Govern-
ment Gazette of the 20th day of May, 1908, shall be, and the same are hereby
repealed.

Interpretation.

For the purpose of these Regulations, " RegLstered mark or brand " means any
mark registered with and approved by the Department of Agriculture of the Stat©
of fiXDOrtation.

D. H. HILL LIBRARY
North Carolina State College

8 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

I.MPtpRTATION OF NURSERY 8t<)CK, TrEES, PlANTS, AXD VEGETABLES GENERALLY.

2. All importers of nursery stock, trees, plants, or vegetables, the importation'
introduction, or bringing into Victoria of which is for the time being proliibited.
except subject to Regulations, not being of a kind in resjiect to which any other
specific Regulation or Regulation* is or are for the time being in force, must give
notice to the Inspector under the Vegetation Diseases Act ujion arrival of anv
niu'serv stock, trees. })lants, or vegetables before the removal of such nursery
stock, trees, plants, or vegetables from any dock, jiier, wharf, station, or warehouse,
where such nursery stock, trees, plants, or vegetables have been landed.

3. No person shall remove any nui-sery stock, trees, ph^-nts. or vegetables from
any dock, pier, wharf, station, or warehouse unless and imtil such nursery stock,
trees, plants, or vegetables sh;Jl have been examined ;.;id checked in an area,
enclosure, or building a])proved by the Inspector, and a certificate or written
permission for the removal shall have been obtained from the inspector.

Importation of Banan.4,s.

4. No iiei-son shall land, or attempt to land, any bananas from any steam-ship
or other vessel until each and every bunch shall have been examined by an inspector,
and all diseased stalks or portions of stalks, diseased bananas, or bananas suspected
to contain disease or insects, shall have teen removed from such bunches.

5. No person shall land on any dock, pier, wharf, or any place whatsoever in
Victoria any diseased stalks or portions of stalks, diseased bananas, or bananas
suspected to contain disease or insects, and such diseased stalks or portions of
stalks, diseased bananas, or bananas suspected to contain disease or insects, shall
be destroyed as the inspector may direct.

6. No person shall remove any bananas which have been permitted landing from
any importing vessel until such have been further examined in an area, enclosure,
or building approved by the inspector.

7. No person shall remove any bananas or portions of such bananas from any
dock, pier, wharf, or any place whatsoever whereon bananas are awaiting certifi-
cation, unless and until written permission so to do shall ha\e been obtained from
the inspector.

8. No person shall discharge bananas from any vessel during the hours of
darkness, except under special permit from the Minister of Agriculture.

Importation of Citrus Fruits.

9. All importers of the fruit or any part of any tree of the citrus family must
give notice to the inspector under the Vegetation Diseases Act, upon the arrival
of the fruit, or any part of any tree of the citrus family, before the removal of
such fruit or any part of any tree of the citrus family from any dock, pier, wharf,
station, or warehouse where such fruit or any part of any tree of the citrus family
shall have been landed.

10. No person shall remove the fruit or any part of any tree of the citrus family
from any dock, pier, wharf, station, or warehouse, unless and mitil such fruit or
any part of any tree of the citrus family shall have been examined and checked
in an area, enclosure, or building approved by the inspector, and a certificate or
written permission for removal shall have been obtained from the inspector.

REPORT OF SENIOR INSPECTOR. FRl'IT EXPORTS 9

AND IMPORTS.

Importation' of Ni'rsery Stock. Trees. Plan'ts. axd Vegetables from

OTHER States.

11. No nursery stock, trees, plants, or vegetables shall be imported, introduced,
or brought into the State of Victoria from any State or territory of the Common-
wealth of Australia unless —

(a) they be accompanied by a certificate signed by an officer of the Department

of Agriculture of the exporting State or territory, stating that such
goods have been examined by him, found to be reasonably free from
disease, and fit for export, and that the packages containing the said
nursery stock, trees, plants, or vegetables are new ;

(b) the arrival of such nursery stock, trees, plant^s, or vegetables has been

duly notified to the inspector at the port of entry, and such nurserv
stock, trees, plants, or vegetables have been submitted to him for
inspection, and a certificate or written authority of removal obtained
from him ;

(c) ea,ch case, crate, bag. or bundle or other package containing nursery stock,

trees, plants, or vegetables, and each bunch of bananas has indelibly
and legibly printed, marked, stencilled, or impressed upon it, or upon
a label, ticket, or tag attached thereto, the grower's or exporter's name
and address, or his registered mark or brand, in letters or figures of not
less than one-half inch in length.

12. All nui-sery stock, trees, plants, or vegetables imported into Victoria from
any other State or territory, if complying with the conditions set out in Regula-
tion 11 (a) shall be accepted as far as possible as being in the state or condition
described in the certificate therein required, but it an inspector sees fit, he may
inspect such nui-sery stock, trees, plants, or vegetables on aiTival. and may reject
the same if found to be diseased. All such diseased nursery stock, trees, plants, or
vegetables shall be dealt with in accordance with the Act and these Regulations at
the expense of the importer.

13. No potatoes {Solanum tuberosum) or tomatoes {Solanuin li/copersicnm) shall
be imported, introduced, or brought into Victoria from any other State or territory
of the Commonwealth of Australia except under the following conditions : —

(a) That the arrival of such potatoes or tomatoes has been duly notified to an

inspector, and a written certificate or wTitten authority of removal
has been obtained from an inspector.

(b) That they are accompa.nied by a certificate signed by an officer of the

Department of Agriculture of the exporting State or territory, setting
forth that they have been examined by him and found fit for export.

(c) That they are packed in new bags or other new packages, branded with

the name and address of the grower and the number of the district
wherein they have been grown.

(d) That a declaration, in writing, accompanying such potatoes or tomatoes

that the grower has no knowledge of Irish Blight {Ph'jtophthora infestan-s)
being in his crop.

(e) That they have been grown in an area certified clean by an officer of the

Department of Agriculture of the exporting State or territory.

(/) That all such potatoes or tomatoes have been inspected at the port of
export, and are accompanied by a certificate, in the form of certificate.
Schedule A, hereto, stating that the potatoes or tomatoes appear to
be free from Irish Blight and other proclaimed diseases, and that they
have not been in or carried through any district wherein Irish Blight
is known to exist.

(gr) That all such |X)tatoes or tomatoes aforesaid are forwarded through the
Port of Melbourne or other such peaces as may be approved by the
Minister of Agriculture for the State of Victoria.

10 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

All such iiotatoes or tomatoes aforesaid imported under the conditions aforesaid
shall be again inspected in Melbourne, or other approved place of entry, by an
insi)eitor of the Victorian Department of Agriculture, and if found to be free from
Irish Blight and other proclaimed tliseases may bo removed therefrom on payment
of inspection fees as prescribed.

In the event of Irish Bligiit being found in any stage of development on any
]iart of the consignment, thtt whole of such consignment shall be condemned by
an inspector in ^lelbourne or other approved place of entry, and no part of such
consignment shall be allowed to be removed from the wharf or other place of
entry, but the whole consignment must be taken back to the port of shipment at
the exj)enso of the consignee.

Importation of Slightly Diseased Fruit.

14. Fruit which is found, on insjiection, to be slightly diseased may be imported
into Victoria from any other State or territory of the Commonwealth of Australia
for manufacturing pui'iioses only by bovd fide fruit preservers upon the following
conditions, viz. : —

(a) Such fruit shall be inspected by an inspector, and may be rejected.

(6) If ])assed by the inspector, such fruit shall be taken forthwith to any
fruit-preserving factory approved by the inspector in charge, and there
manufactured ; the refuse of all such fruit shall be absolutely' destroj^ed
in such manner as the inspector may direct ; all receptacles in which
such fruit lias been carried shall forthwith be either destroj'ed by fire
or otlierwise treated at the factory, to destroy all fruit diseases to the
satisfaction of an officer of the Department of Agriculture.

(c) No su(rh fruit shall be sold or distributed unless in a manufactured state.

id) The manufacturer shall enter into a bond, with two apjjroved sureties in
the sum of £100, to observe the foregoing conditions.

15. Jf it is found by the insjtector that any case or cases of imported fruit which
have been condemned contain a fair projwrtion of fruit which is sound and free
from disease, and also some fruit which is but slightly diseased, the contents of
such cases may be sorted at any approved ])lace under the supervision of an
inspector under the following conditions, viz. :—

{a) Such case or cases with their contents shall be taken forthwith from the
place of inspection to the a])proved place aforesaid.

(b) When sorted, fruit which is free from disease may be repacked in clean

cases and disposed of in the orcinarj- way, while slightly diseased fruit
may be tlisjjosed of to the fruit preservers, when it shall be subject to
all the conditions contained in Regulation 14 above mentioned.

(c) All fruit which after sorting shall be deemed by the insjiector to be unfit,

by rea.son of disease, for either of the foregoing ])urposes, shall be
destroyed at the importers or consignee's e.xpense.

(d) A charge not exceeding Threepence per case or package shall be made

to cover the cost of sorting.

Penalties.
It). Any ]iei-son who shall be guilty of a breach of, or shall fail to comply with,
these Regulations shall be liable to a jienalty for the first olTcnce not exceeding
One ])ound, and for any subsetjueut offence not exceeding Ton pounds.

REPORT OF SENIOR INSPECTOR, FRUIT EXPORTS 11
AND IMPORTS.

SCHEDULE A.

Declaration .\js-d Certificate to accompany Shipments op Potatoes or
Tomatoes from the State of to the State op

Victoria.
I, , hereby declare that the undermentioned packages

consigned by • to

per " contain which were grown

at my farm at in the State of ,

and that no species of Irish Blight is knoA\ii to exist in the crop from which they
were taken.

No. of bags Marks

The above have been consigned to

per for Melbourne.

Sliipping ISIarks

Signature of Shipper

Inspector's Certificate.

I hereby certify that I have duly inspected the above-mentioned
and have' found them to be, to the best of my knowledge, clean and free from
Irish Blight in any stage of development, and from any other disease proclaimed
in the State of Victoria.

These have been grown in an area free from Irish Blight

and have not been in or carried through any area wherein that disease is known
to exist.

Dated at this day of 19

Signature of Officer of Department of Agriculture.

Official Designation
Address

Considerable fear for the safety of the potato industry was awakened
towards the close of last year by the discovery of outbreaks of Irish
Blight in this and other States. Vigorous steps are being taken by all
the States in this matter. The local transfer of potatoes is under
strict •supervision, and, as will be seen, ample provision has been
made in the Regulations to prevent the disease being introduced in
imports from other States.

The Regulations fixing the fees to be charged for iaspection. &c.,
have been altered from time to time. Additions have also been made
to the list of diseases given on pages 24-5 of Part IV. These are as

follows : —

Insects.
Scientific Name. Common Name.

Anguillulidse . . . . Eel-worms.

Flies of the onion, cabbage, cauliflower. Sea.
Nutmeg Beetle.

y Beetles.

All scale insecta.
Sweet-potato Weeril.

Anthomyiidae

Arseocercus fasciculatus

Bostrychidae

Cioidae . .

Scolytidae

Coccidae

Cylas formicarius

12 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

FUXGI.

Scientific Name. Common Xame.

Armillaiiii mellea . . Root rot.

Claviceps purpurea . . Ei'got.

Peronosporea . . . . Mildew and blight of leaves, twigs, and fruit.

Telletia levis . . . . \ gtinking smut or ball smut of wheat.

Telletia tritici . . . . J ^ ,

Ustilaginese . . . . Smuts.

Potato scab.

The inspection of shops, markets, barrows, &c., under the provisions
of the Vegetation Diseases Act, No. 1773, is still being vigorously
carried forward, and its effect is to be seen in the improved quality of
the fruit now being sold.

Many complaints have been received, from time to time, respecting
the manner in which some salesmen defraud buyers by " topping up "
their fruit. Seeds are also often mixed with inferior and cheaper
varieties, or otherwise adulterated. The Hon. the Minister has been
asked to take action to put a stop to these fraudulent practices. A short
time ago he requested me to furnish him with drafts of Bills to deal
with these matters. This has been done, and the new measures will
shoi-tly be placed before Parliament.

It Avas thought for some time that the Queensland banana industry
was in danger of becoming extinct. The decline originated with the
destrnction of a large number of plantations by floods. Shortly after
this occurred, the new Victorian Regulations were issued, and drastic
treatment was meted out to all fruit showing evidence of Fruit Fly.
The growers of bananas took alarm at the severity of these Regulations,
and representation was made that a responsible officer of the Depart-
ment should be sent to investigate the conditions under which the
bananas were grown and shipped in Queensland, and also to allay
the fears of growers regarding the supposed stringency of our Regu-
lations. Advice was required, as well, regarding the stage of maturity
at which bananas should be cut, and also many other matters pertaining
to shipment to this State. Under instructions from the Hon. the
Minister, I left Melbourne on 6th September, 1909. I visited various
plantations, met many growers, addressed numerous meetings, explained
the requirements of our Regulations, and generally instructed those
interested on all matters relating to the shipment of these fruits. Good
results may shortly be expected ivom this visit. Already a great
improvement is manifest in the size and quality of the bananas coming
forward, and, as large additional areas are being planted, it is expected
that there will also be a considerable increase in the quantities
forwarded.

REPORT OF SENIOR INSPECTOR, FRUIT EXPORTS 13

AND IMPORTS.

On 1st July, 1909, the Federal Quarantine Act came into operation,
and a considerable portion of the work previously performed under the
Vegetation Diseases Acts is now being carried out under the Federal
measure. This law provides for the inspection and, if necessary, the
quarantine and treatment of plants (among other things). So far, the
operation of the Act has been confined to imports from countries outside
the Commonwealth ; but poAver exists to extend same to local transfer
if the necessity should arise.

The methods of examination, though somewhat more drastic from
the wider scope of the Act, are, on the whole, similar to those which
obtained under State law, and the work is still carried out by the
officers of this Branch.

The measure, on the whole, has been found to work smoothly. As it
has, however, been in operation for little over a year, it is somewhat
early to venture an absolute opinion as to its ultimate efficiency as
compared with the State measure ; but the fact that it operates
uniformly throughout the whole Commonwealth is a substantial
argument in its favour.

With respect to goods intended for export, those for other States,
must be accompanied by a certificate, stating that they have beem
examined and found free from disease. It is also necessary that all
cases or other packages be new, and bear the name and address or the:
registered mark or brand of the grower or exporter in letters of not.
less than one half-inch in length.

The following are additional Special Regulations in force in other
States : —

Queensland. — Vines and portions of vines are prohibited.

Tasmania. — Plants must be fumigated prior to shi])raent, and are only perniitte.!-
to land at Hobart, Launceston, and Devonport.

South Australia. — Vines or portions of vines are prohibited entry. Plants or
portions of plants must be accompanied by a declaration stating that they were
grown at a greater distance than 50 yards of any grape vines, and that no Phyl-
loxera exists or hr,s existed in the nui-sery or garden in which the plants have been
growing.

Western Australia. — Vines on arrival are grown in quarantine for one season.
Albany and Fremantle are the only ports where plants may be landed.

The examination of fruit, plants, &c., intended for export to
countries outside the Commonwealth is carried out under the provisions
of the Federal Commerce Act and Regulations. This measure prohibits
the export of such goods unless they bear a true description, setting out
the following particulars : —

1. The kind of goods.

■2. The net weight or quantity.

3. The name of the grower or exporter.

4. The name of the State wherein the goods were grown or produced.

5. The word "' Australia."

14 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

A " Notice of Intention to Ship." and a " Re(|ncst to Certify and
Mark Goods with an Approved Stan\p," must be lodged at this office
at least 24 hours prior to the advertised time of departure of the
exporting vessel. The goods are examined, and, if they are found to
be in accordance with the requirements of the Act, they are stamped,
and a certificate issued.

Some difficulty was experienced in efficiently dealing with trees,
nurserv stock, &c., under this measure. As these are usually shipped
in bundles, which cannot be properly inspected unless taken to pieces,
it has been arranged that nurserymen desirous of shipping such should
first notify the Chief Inspector of Orchards, who will, if the nursery
he found free from disease, issue a certificate to cover a period. After
such certificate has been granted, the Senior Inspector of Plant Exports
should be notified, in order that all necessary certificates for export
may be obtained.

In connexion with the compilation of this report and the included
Regulations, due credit must be given to Messrs. E. Meekmg and A. F.
Parker, the officers who have assisted me greatly during this busy period
(of the year.

16 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE XCIX.

" Butterfly of the Orange " (Papilio Anactus, Macleay).

Fig.
I. Perfect Female. Natural size. From nature.

II. Perfect Male. Natural size. From nature.

HI. Larva working on Orange leaf. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Pupae attached to Orange stem. Natural size. From nature.

V. Pupae, showing hole made by parasite. Natural size. From
nature.

L. C. Vald. Andersen, Del.

C Fn-tui:. Due ill

Osboitistone &■ Co., PtxnC,

Plate XCIX.

BUTTERFLY OF THE ORANGE. 17

CHAPTER CVI.

Butterfly of the Orange.

{Papilio Anactus, Macleay.)
Order : Lepidoptera. Family : Papilionidce.

This is a handsome but very destructive caterpillar,
whose favourite food plant would appear to be the foliage
of Orange trees. The late Hon. ^^'illiam Macleay first
described the insect, giving particulars as to its life history,
&c. : — "A cylindrical caterpillar, slightly .tapering towards
each end (see Fig. III.), reaching a length of \\ inches;
on the back are two rows of spines extending the whole
length of the body, each segment bearing two. The
third and fourth segment each bear an additional smaller
spine below the former one. The colour of the segments
is blackish-brown, with a few small yellow spots between
them and at the side ; a large infero lateral yellow spot
on the fifth and on each of the seg nents posterior to it.
The external aspect of the abdominal prolegs and a spot
at the base of each thoracic leg are also yellow. The fork-
like tentacle on the neck is orange-yellow. (As the larva
is somewhat difficult to figure correctly, the above descrip-
tion IS given to enable any one to recognise it should it ap-
pear upon their citrus trees.) The chrysalides (see Fig. IV.)
are of a dirtv white, with greenish blotches. The chrysalis
is attached bv its tail end, and is held in position by a loop
of silk-like material surrounding the body at the junction
of the thorax and abdomen."

The perfect insect is not likely to be mistaken for any
other Victorian butterfly ; the female, as usual in butter-
flies, is larger chan the male. The eggs are deposited here
and there upon che leaves of the orange, and, although
small, are readily detected by the naked eye. The grubs
are very voracious, and a few of these will strip a fair-sized
plant of its foliage in a very short space of time. Ander-
son and Spry state that the larval stage lasts about a
month, and the chrysalis only ten days.

18 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

How this insect got here from New South Wales is not
difficult to conjecture ; I feel certain that the pupae were
introduced on young orange trees, the trade in which is
very large and important. I am indebted to Mr. A. F.
Thiele, the w^ell-known Doncaster orchardist, for having
first brought this insect under notice when found attacking
orange trees in his district. With the extension of orange
growing in this State, it is not unlikely that other of the
New South Wales and Queensland pests may be introduced,
so that a careful inspection of all young citrus trees coming
should be made at the port of shipment and on arrival in
Victoria.

Prevention and Remedies.

Fortunately for our growers, this beautiful butterfly is
not common in Victoria, and an occasional look over the
foliage is about the best preventive, as the caterpillars are
easily seen, and can be destroyed. The perfect insect, as
our plate shows, is conspicuous, and may be caught by
means of a roughly-made net, so as to prevent egg-laying.
Should the caterpillars be plentiful, hand-picking would,
of course, be out of the question, but an occasional spraying
with arsenate of lead or Paris green Avould suffice for the
purpose ; 1 lb. of the latter, and 4 lbs. of lime to 180
gallons of water for orange foliage.

The pupae of this butterfly appear liable to the attack of
insect parasites. Fig. V. shows a pupa with hole on side.
Mr. H. Tryon remarks that an hemipterous insect belonging
to the family HalydidcB has been observed by him to attack
the caterpillars of this butterfly as they fed on a young
plant. It inserted its rostrum or beak into the flesh of
the caterpillar, and then sucked its body juices. Mr. Tryon
also speaks of having bred large dipterous insects belonging
to the genus Tachinus from caterpillars of Papilio ereciheus^
called by Anderson and Spry the Orchard SwaHow Tail.
This latter butterfly is rare in Victoria, but common in
New South Wales and Queensland, where it is a bad enemy
of the orange grower. There is a third species of Papilio

BUTTERFLY OF THE ORANGE. 19

which is rarely found in Victoria, although it has a wide
geographical range ; it is a tropical species, and closely
allied to the Indian P. erithronus.

A small bird, Zostewps coerulescens, or White Eye, is
said to be a great destroyer of these caterpillars ; but,
as these birds are great pests of the fruit-grower, I cannot
advocate their protection. In Victoria, Tachinid Flies are
not uncommon, so we can look upon them as useful helps
in the orchard.

20 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

PLATE C.
" Metallic Tomato Fly " (Lonch^a splendida).

Fig.
I. Tomato fruit, showing grubs at work. From ]iature.

II. Perfect Insect. Enlarged. From nature.

III. Pupa. Enlarged. From nature.

IV. Larva. Enlarged. From nature.

V. Perfect Insects. Natural size. From nature.
VI. Larva. Natural size. From iiature.
VII. Pupa. Natural size. From nature.

L. C. V'aUi. Andersen, Del.

C. French. Direxit.

Plate C.

Osboldstone 6- Co., Punt.

METALLIC TOMATO FLY. 21

CHAPTER CVII.

Metallic Tomato Fly.

( LonchcBct splendida . )

Order : Diptera. Family : Trijpetidre.

This pest is a very handsome fly, belonging to the real

" Fruit Flies," It is of a metallic bluish-green in colour,

and, less than half the size of the common house fly. The

body is tapered in shape, and the wings are of a smoky-pink

colour, which speedily fades after death — a colour difficult

to reproduce in a drawing. The larva is not unlike that

of some of the ordinary fruit flies, but smaller and very

active. Major Broun, F.E.S., of New Zealand, describes

the body of this insect as glossy, dark bronze-green, head

and legs black, basal joint tarsi, testaceous. The eyes of

this insect are very large and prominent, the body being

somewhat short and plump for the size of the insect.

This insect, so far as can be ascertained, is an importa-
tion from New South Wales ; at least, it was first observed
here in tomatoes imported from that State. Mr. Froggatt
speaks of Lonchcea being found in New Zealand and in the
Pacific Islands, and it would now seem to have spread to
most parts of Australia.

It has been stated that this fly will only attack fruits,
&c., when the latter are either nearly ripe or have been
bruised in some way. In Victoria, our experience is that
it will tackle fruit, especiafly tomatoes, upon which no
bruises or abrasions of any kind can be detected, even with
the aid of a good lens. It is giving no end of trouble, and
many cases which were thought to have been attributable
to the Fruit Fly {Halterophora capitata), or the so-called
Queensland Fruit Fly {Dacus Tryoni), have been traced to
the depredations of this tiny insect.

22 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Our plate sliows the larva, pupa, and the perfect insect,
both life size and. magnified, and also the grubs at work
in a tomato. Mr. Froggatt says that in New South Wales
it infests decaying tomatoes, potatoes, egg-fruit, and other
of the Solanacece. In Victoria, the chief trouble would
appear to be in the tomato, and hundreds of acres have
been ruined by this pest, and the fruit rendered absolutely
unfit for use.

In speaking of a closely allied fly, Drosophila, Major
Broun says — " This little cosmopolitan fly has become a
great nuisance, especially during warm weather, when it
attacks all sorts of fruit, more particularly bananas,
oranges, and pineapples which have been bruised or begun
to decay. If it confined its attention entirely to decaying
fruit we might class it, along with many useful insects
belonging to diflerent orders, as a natural scavenger or
sanitary agent, but it unfortunately also commits havoc
with good fruit that has been cut. In order to test its
habits more thoroughly, I left uncovered two Australian
pineapples, out of which I had cut the maggots of the
Queensland Fruit Fly (Tephritis Tryoni) in my office on
the wharf last February. All decayed or infested portions
were carefully cut away so that the exposed surface was
perfectly good and sound. A few of these flies were in
my office ; they soon found the pines, and it is no
exaggeration to state that within a fortnight hundreds of
their maggots and chrysalids occupied the fruit, whilst the
newly -emerged flies annoyed me so much when writing that
I had to clear out the whole brood. Similar experiments
with oranges and bananas need not be detailed, as the
case of the pineapples show how prolific the fly is."

The genus Drosophila is well known to vignerons and
fruit-growers, the former especially, as the tiny fly which
infests the wine casks in the summer. My reason for giving
the experiences of so capable an entomologist as Major
Broun is to support the views which I have myself held
regarding the Fruit Fly, which have been so frequently

METALLIC TOMATO FLY. 23

contradicted, viz., that it will attack bananas. It is,
therefore, necessary that we should carefully examine
these fruits on their arrival in our State. It would be a
difficult matter to place a limit on the numbers of different
kinds of fruit that the fruit flies will attack, so that we
cannot be too careful regarding imported fruit from
Queensland and elsewhere.

It would be interesting to know, if possible, some of the
details of the over-wintering of Lonchcea and insects of a
somewhat similar kind. Many a time the larva of this fly
in tomatoes has been mistaken for those of the genuine
fruit fly, but we are glad to find that our determined stand
when the Mediterranean Fly (H. capitata) made its appear-
ance here, has led to the very best results.

Prevention and Remedies.
All tomato plantations should be kept free of weeds and
rubbish of any kind. The land should be constantly
stirred, and never allowed to become either too dry or too
wet, so that the plants may be kept in full vigour. In
small garden patches, fine mesh nets could be used, but on
larger areas an occasional spraying with quassia chips as
a preventive should be carefully and consistently given.

It is somewhat unfortunate for Victorian growers that
the Chinese, although most successful vegetable gardeners,
are indifferent to our recommendations, and, unless abso-
lutely compelled, will rarely take the precautions necessary
to protect their gardens or orchards from the inroads of
this or other pests, and thus it happens that these are some
of the principal breeding-places, both for insect pests and
also for those of fungus origin.

When tomatoes, &c., are found to be affected with the
grubs of this fly no time should be lost, and a gathering up
of all infested fruits, tubers, &c., should be at once resorted
to. These should be boiled, and fed to either pigs or
fowls, but in no case should affected fruit, &c., be given

24 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

without having been boiled or well scalded, as the larvae
are not easily destroyed by ordinary methods. Should
potatoes be affected, sprinkle occasionally when pitted
with lime, turnincf the tubers over at the same time. This
treatment will be beneficial in man}^ ways, as it prevents
" sprouting," and also the attacks of the larvae of the
Potato Moth {Lita solanella).

26 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

PLATE CI.

" Dark-striped Tiger Moth " (Diacrisia canescens, Le G.)
" Light-striped Tiger Moth " (Artices glatignyi, Butler).

Fig.
I. Larva attacking cereals. Natural size. From nature.

II. Pupa in grass. Natural size. From nature.

III. Cocoon. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect (Female). Natural size. From nature.
V. Perfect Insect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

VI. Perfect Insect. Natural size. From nature.

•?*

IF

i

YI

I

m

mo"

L. C. Vaui. A

!i(t'i ;i'fi. LI

C. /• nil; /', iJflt'Vtf.

Plate CI.

Usbolilslnne 6- Co. F'rtnt

TIGER MOTHS. 27

CHAPTER CVIII.

Dark-striped Tiger Moth.

{Diacrisia canesce7is, Le G.)

o Light-striped Tiger Moth.

{Artices glatignyi, Butler.)

Order : Lepidoptera. Family : Arctiidce.

These are two moths which, in the larval state, are very
destructive to cereals and herbage of many kinds. Figs.
IV. and V. on the plate are those of the Light-striped
Tiger Moth {A. glatignyi), the larva of which feeds on the
Native Hop {Goodenia ovata). This species is not so
plentiful around Melbourne as is the other one shown on
Fig. YL, but the larvae sometimes occur in large numbers,
and when hungry will tackle almost anything of a succulent
nature. The male, as shown, is smaller than the female,
and is somewhat lighter in colour. Both sexes remind one
somewhat of the well-known Tiger Moth of English hedge-
rows. The larvae or caterpillars of these moths are hairy,
and frequently may be seen in large numbers. As a rule,
birds do not seem to be partial to them.

The Diacrisia canescens, or Dark-striped Tiger Moth, is
a very common and destructive insect. The larvae- do
much damage to garden plants of all kinds, and especially
to cereal crops. The eggs are deposited among weeds on
neglected headlands, and when hatched the young feed
ravenously. The cocoons are deposited near the base of
the tussocks, and are partly covered with grass, as our
plate shows. This species is much the more plentiful of
the two, and does damage that other insects are credited
with. The larvae feed mostly by night, and hide by day.

28 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Prevention and Remedies.

On cultivated areas, cleanliness is the mam point in
preventing attacks bv insects of this class, as when grass
or weeds are permitted to grow on headlands, these places
are harbours for insects of all kinds. They are also covers
for egg-laying, so that it will be seen that without clean
cultivation the chances of escape from these pests will be
considerably lessened. Trapping in places where stock is
not admitted is about the best method of destroying the
caterpillar. It is done by growing strips of such plants as
appear to be most relished by the grubs, and spraying the
same with either Paris green or arsenate of lead.

In some cases, fungus parasites especially prove valuable
auxiliaries to the grower. Mr. E. Anderson, writing of the
larva of a common Victorian moth {Apina callisto), says —
" They are kept in check by a parasitic fungus, whose
spores find a suitable germinating place in the bodies of
the caterpillars, eventually choking up their whole system
with a white corky substance, and, as the year is favourable
to the abundance of the Apina, seem equally favourable to
the spread of the fungus." There is no doubt that fungus
parasites help materially to keep certain of our insect pests
in check, and it is a common occurrence well known to
observers in the Victorian bush, to see dead grasshoppars
in large quantities fastened on to the tops of rushes or
other plants, and even on dead twigs. The bodies of. these
are found to be empty and shrivelled, but without any
apparent cause, which, however, a powerful lens will at
once disclose. It is also no uncommon sight to see cater-
pillars hanging limp and decomposed from twigs ; the
rapid action of the bacteria soon causes the death of the
most robust caterpillars. The question of parasites as
aids to destruction is as yet in its infancy, but the subject
is a useful and interesting one, and should be closely
studied, especially by those engaged in rural pursuits.

30 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATES CIL, cm.

" Common Thrips " (Thrips tabaci, Lindemann).

plate cii.

Fig.

I. Rose-bloom and buds deformed by Thrips. Natural size. From
nature.

II. Apple-bloom and buds deformed by Thrips. Natural size.
From nature.

III. Perfect Insect. Highly magnified. From nature.

IV. Thrips on Rose. Natural size. From nature.

PLATE cm.

Tig.
I A. Perfect Insect. Magnified. From nature.

IIa. Perfect Insect. Magnified. From nature.
IIIa. Perfect Insect. Natural size. From nature.
IVa. Larva. Natural size. From nature.

V. Potato stem, with foliage dying. Natural size. From nature.

L C. Vald. Andaicn. Del

C. Ficnch. Dvcx

Plate CM.

Osboldstone & Co., Print.

. C I'iilJ. An.inscn. I'e

<" Fiench. Direxit.

Plate cm.

Osboldstone ir Co., I'rml

COMMON THRIPS. 31

CHAPTER CIX.

Common Thrips.

{Thri'ps tahaci, Lindemann.)

Order : Thijsanoptera. Family : Thripidoe.

This is a singular little insect, characterized by long
narrow membranous wings with long cilise or hairs, as
shown in our enlarged figures. The pupa and perfect
insects are very active, and almost too minute for a popular
description ; but when a plant or flower is badly affected,
the whole appears to be covered with tiny, narrow, dark
specks, which can hardly be determined with the naked
eye. The species under notice is an introduction from
Europe, and has long been known in England and elsewhere
as one of the gardener's worst enemies,especially to plants
growing under glass. The eggs are deposited on the food
plant, which is, however, by no means limited to any
particular kind.

Thrips are the greatest of all troubles to the rose-growers
of this State, and appear in countless millions as if by
magic. In Europe, an insect known as Thrips cerealium
is a great pest of the wheat-grower, and in some instances
has been known to do a vast amount of damage to the
crops.

Other thrips, known as Gall-making Thrips, have been
described by Mr. Eroggatt. These singular bladder-like
galls were found on the leaves of Eugenias and other ever-
green plants. Our plate shows a rose bloom and bud
absolutely deformed through the attacks of these tiny
creatures. They are equally severe on apples and other
blossoms, and frequently prevent the fruit setting.

In Russia, Dr. K. Lindemann, in his studies of these
insects on the tobacco plant, found the life cycle to be as
follows : — Development of egg, 10 days ; development of

32 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

larva, 30 days ; development of nyraph, 7 days ; total
development, 47 days. In Florida, Professor Qiiaintance
found it to be as follows : — Development of eggs, 3| to 4
days ; development of larva, 7 to 9 days ; development of
nymph, 4 days ; total, 10 J to 13 days. Experiments will
be made by the Entomological Branch to ascertain, if
possible, the difference in time of development as compared
with the above results.

During the past few years, in Victoria, these troublesome
insects have been very severe on potato crops in many
parts of the State, and for the benefit of growers I have
included the report of the Assistant Entomologist, Mr,
French, jun., who, with Mr. G. Seymour, Potato Expert,
has been conducting some important experiments in the
Romsey and Lancefield district. He writes — " In com-
pany with Mr. Seymour, Potato Expert, I paid a visit to
Romsey and Lancefield, and inspected the potato crops,
and was surprised at the damage to them done by the
thrips. Mr. Seymour estimates this season's loss at several
thousand pounds at least. Last year the loss was about
eight thousand pounds. The thrips are simply in millions,
not only affecting potatoes, but also the pea crops, grasses,
hawthorn and African box-thorn hedges, and, in fact,
nearly every kind of plant. There is thus great difficulty
in effectively dealing with the pest. The lower leaves of
the potato plant are generally attacked first, and, after
these are destroyed, the top ones are affected, and in a short
time the whole plant shrivels up, and the potatoes are
often only the size of a small marble. I may mention that
on one pea leaf no less than 23 larvae of the thrips were
counted. This will give some idea of the enormous number
of these insects.

Messrs. Robb Brothers very kindly placed part of their
potato crop at our disposal for experiments, and I desire
to tender them my best thanks for their assistance. Mr.
Seymour procured the loan of a Strawsonizer spraying
outfit from a firm in Melbourne. This was fixed up in a dray.

COMMON THRIPS. So

It worked .very satisfactorily, the spray being forced up
under the leaves, and other nozzles distributed the spray on
the uppersides of the leaves, so that the plants were
thoroughly soaked. The materials used were tobacco-
water and benzine emulsion; the former with good
results, but there is the drawback of having to strain it
before use. If it is used in large quantities, it should be
made in the winter and stored for use in the early summer,
when the thrips make their appearance. The benzine
emulsion, in the proportion of one in six, also proved very
effective, every insect reached by this mixture being killed
at once. This spray has the advantage also of being cheap.
Messrs. Robb were well satisfied with the results of the
latter mixture especially.

Owing to the potato crops being mostly damaged, it is
useless to carry out any further experiments this season,
but early next season I will continue the experiments,
trying other mixtures in addition to those already used.
Owing to this season being very dry, the thrip pest was
very bad. Should next season be cooler, and the rainfall
larger, the damage will be considerably mitigated. I am
obliged to Mr. Seymour for the valuable assistance rendered
in connexion with the experiments."

Prevention and Remedies.

Under glass, the thrips are not so difficult to deal with, but
out-of-doors the task would appear to be almost an im-
possible one. In the early spring of 1909, these pests
covered the Cape "Weed when in flower, and extended over
thousands of acres of Cape AVeed-infested land. Whole
paddocks appeared to be alive with them, so that it would
be impossible to destroy them.

The best plan of deahng with the pest is to keep a
constant watch, and spray regularly with some deterrent,
such as quassia chips, and to destroy all affected blooms.
The land should be kept well stirred, and the plants kept
growing as freely as possible. In small gardens and in

18720. B

34 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

a;lass houses, the old-fashioned, but wonderfully successful,
Gishurst compound is to be highly recommended. Unfor-
tunately, in roses, the tiny beasts get right into the centre
of the blooms, thus rendering the task of successful spray-
ing even with tobacco or kerosene exceedindv difficult.
I have great hopes that suitable light canvas covers
may be successfully used, as cyanide gas, if applied
by an expert, would be the most effective way of dealing
with them ; where the most careful spraying would fail
bo come in contact with the insects, the gas would be
almost instantaneous.

Various materials have been recommended for use as
mulching, but where it is to be obtained grass hav
is the cleanest and best, and is not likely to be
scraped away by birds. Stable manure, although most
useful and desirable, is a harbour for thrips, flies, and
other insects, so that, in rose gardens at any rate, the use
of crushed bones would be preferable. In trying to avoid
the attacks of thrips, some growers have resorted to blood
manure and other pov^'^erful soil stimulants, but with roses
especially these must be used with some discretion.

In America, the favourite spray for thrips is whale-oil
soap, one pound to each gallon of water used, and applied
at a temperature of 130 degrees Fahr. According to the
California Fruit Grower, the use of lime in the following
proportions has been highly recommended : — 35 lbs. of lime
to 100 gallons of water. Where requisite, a stronger spray
from 50 to 75 lbs. of lime to the 100 gallons of water, was
used with the best results. In Victoria, we have had the
best results with benzole soap, the preparation suggested
by this Branch, and manufactured by Mr. S. Lowe, of
Victoria -street, Abbotsford, under the name of " Benzole
Emulsion."

The thrips question is even now a very serious one,
as so large a number of plants are subject to its
attacks, and no one knows where the trouble is going
to end. It behoves all growers to look this trouble

COMMON THRIPS. 35

square in the face, and, if possible, to keep it within
reasonable bounds. Only a strict co-operation on the
part of the growers, coupled w^ith such advice as can
be tendered, can hope to bring about the desired results.
Where gardens or orchards are surrounded by Cape Weed
or even Hypocharis-infested paddocks, the exclusion of
thrips from the gardens would appear to be hopeless, and
in such cases smoking out where practicable should be
resorted to.

When the buds are just bursting is the time for an
occasional spraying with a weak material, such as deter-
rents, but in the case of roses, when the thrips have once
got into the buds, the latter may as well be cut off and
burnt, as the blossoms are sure to be a failure. It is pitiful
to see the devastation that these tiny beasts will sometimes
cause in a rose garden ; still, there are some roses which
appear to be much less liable to attack than such kinds as
those of the splendid Cochet type, so that future genera-
tions may see a hardier type of thrip -resisting roses.
. In England, gardeners depend on a liberal use of syringing
with water, but here, after a drenching storm of rain, the
thrips are as bad as ever.

Professor Webster remarks that this pest is increasing
rapidly in Ohio (U.S.A.), as extensive onion-growers have
recently found out to their cost ; it is a serious obstacle
to successful onion culture, especially in dry summers.
Onion-growers wi]l therefore need to be on the look-out ; if
the pest be noticed, the fact should at once be reported to
the Entomologist.

B 2

36 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CIV.

" Fire-blight of the Wattle " (Paropsis orphaxa, Erichson).

Fig.

1. Wattle branch, showing damage caused by larvae. Natural size.

From nature.

2. Perfect Insect at rest and on wing. Natural size. From nature.

3. Pupa. Magnified. From nature.

4. Larvae, upper and side view. Magnified. From nature.

5. Oil glands of larva. Magnified. From nature.

6. Foreleg of larva. Magnified. From nature.

7. Larvae about to change to pupae. Natural size. From nature.

n •

w

JR

i

M

t^ '-

.^ ^ \

YL

J4

m

C. C. lintthbank, Del.

C. French. Direxit .

Plate CIV.

OsboUistone & Co.. Print.

FIRE BLIGHT OF THE WATTLE. 37

CHAPTER ex.

Fire Blight of the Wattle.

{Paropsis orphana, Erichson.)

Order : Coleoptem. Family : Chrysonielidoe.

This is a small beetle belonging to the large group of
leaf feeders. It is light-green in colour, with white stripes
or markings. The eggs, which are somewhat spindle-
shaped, are laid in clusters on the foliage and tender twigs
of the plant. When hatched, the young larvse spread out
and crawl over the whole foliage, and, being in vast num-
bers, soon commence the work of destruction by eating
into the epidermis of the leaves. The latter at once turn
a reddish-brown in colour, and when seen from a distance
the plantation appears as if a fire had gone through it,
hence the common name " Fire Blight." The larvse are
stout, and of a dirty green colour, with two pale parallel
lines running down the dorsal surface from behind the
head to the tip of the abdomen ; and, as they assimilate,
both in colour and shape, to the twigs and foliage among
which they are feeding, they may easily escape notice
by the casual observer.

Of all the insect enemies of the wattle industry, this
beetle is by far the worst ; and, as the insects are in such
enormous numbers, it is almost impossible to deal success-
fully with them. I made the first investigation of the life
history and habits of this terrible pest. We know
that it has a wide geographical range in our State, and is
also found in New South Wales and Tasmania. In Vic-
toria, my experience has been that the only plants attacked
to any extent are the common Black Wattle {Acacia
decurrens) and the Silver Wattle {A. dealhata). Although
I have repeatedly looked for it, I have never yet seen

38 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

it on either the Golden Wattle {A. pycnantha) or on
any other of the more arborescent, or others of the wattle
" family." When I say that I have not found this beetle
on any other plants other than the two wattles before
mentioned, I mean that I have not seen it in any harmful
numbers^an odd beetle or so will when flving alight
almost anywhere. As an example of their numbers, I may
say that I have shaken off as many as 600 beetles from one
small wattle.

When the larvae are full grown (in Victoria from about
July to January), they descend into the soil, the grubs
being at this time of a much lighter green— -almost yellow
in colour. When in the soil, usually from 1 to 4 yards
from the stem of the tree, and about 2 inches below the
surface, they remain until assuming the pupal stage, and,
upon emerging from the soil as perfect beetles, climb up
the stem of the tree. Here their wing-cases harden, and
the function of reproduction at once commences. From
my own observations, which have been extensive. I judge
that the birds are not partial to the grubs of this beetle,
as both larvae and beetles may be seen brawling up and
down the stem quite unmolested, either by birds or ants.

According to what I have both heard and seen, the
stripping of the foliage in such a wholesale manner renders
the bark very difficult of removal, and results, owing to
constant attacks, in the death of the affected tree. Many
trees so attacked will manage to temporarily recover, the
principal effect being that the tree becomes what is generally
known as " hide-bound." Thus the bark is more difficult
to strip, and even when stripped has lost much of its tannic
value.

It appears very singular that a tree so astringent in its
nature should furnish such a palatable food for this pest,
although it is well known that some beetles will live upon
capsicums, cigars, and on the turpentine-impregnated
Coniferoe, such as White Deal, &c. According to my own
experience, the beautiful Silver Wattle is mainly responsible

FIRE BLIGHT OF THE WATTLE. 39

as a food plaut for caTrying these beetles over the winter,
thus keeping them going until the black wattles are
sufficiently large to be attacked.

Prevention and Remedies.

On small areas, such as public parks and gardens, the
beetles may be kept off by spraying with some deterrent
such as kerosene emulsion or an infusion of quassia chips,
but the former-mentioned material, taking into consideration
its volatile nature, coupled with the intermittent period of
egg-laying, should be frequently renewed. The surest
plan of getting rid of these pests is to destroy as many of
the perfect insects as possible. This may be done by
beating the trees with long poles, and by covering the
surface of the ground beneath the tree with lime. I have
found, by personal experience, that on small areas of
land so treated neither larvse nor pupae will come to
maturity.

As showing the enormous damage done by this insig-
nificant beetle, I may mention the fact of the late
Mr. Michaelis, then a well-known merchant of Melbourne,
having expended between £30,000 and £40,000 in his
endeavour to place the production of wattle bark in its
proper place as one of the chief industries of the State.
The wattle plantations referred to were planted in the
Gippsland Lakes district, and just as things looked flourish-
ing for the spirited owner, the " Fire Blight " made its
appearance, and, notwithstanding all efforts and experi-
ments, in which I gladly assisted, a hopeful commencement
was changed into a huge failure. In this case no expense
was spared ; spraying, shiploads of Hme, beating, and
other means were tried, but the beetles came on in such
vast numbers as to baffle all attempts to cope with them.

40 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CV.
" Tomato Weevil " (Desiantha xociva, Lea).

Fig.

I. Perfect Beetle. Natural size. From nature.

II. Perfect Beetle (side view). Natural size. From nature,

III. Perfect Beetle. Magnified. From nature.

IV. Perfect Beetle (side view). Magnified. From nature.
V. Larva. Magnified. From nature.

VI. Larva (side view). Magnified. From nature.

VII. Larva (side view). Natural size. From nature.

VIII. Larva. Natural size. From nature.

IX. Pupa. Magnified. From nature.

X. Pupa in cocoon. Natural size. From nature.

XL Pupa case. Natural size. From nature.

C. C. BrittUbank, Del.

C. French, Direxit,

Plate CV.

Osboldstone & Co., Print.

TOMATO WEEVIL. 41

CHAPTER CXI.

Tomato Weevil.
{Desiantha nociva, Lea.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Curculionidce.

This pest is a small beetle about a quarter of an inch in
length, with a somewhat V-shaped marking on the wing-
cases. The whole appearance of the insect is greyish-
brown in colour. The larva or caterpillar is small, of a
pea-green colour, and is usually found in the soil a few
inches below the surface. When about to pupate, or to
change into the chrysalis stage, it constructs a cocoon
made of soil (see Figs. X.-XL), where it remains for a
couple of months, and emerges as the perfect beetle.

This is a new and formidable enemy of the tomato -
grower, and was first brought under notice by the Assistant
Entomologist, Mr. C. French, jun., who sent the specimens,
as being new to him, to Mr. Lea, F.E.S., State Entomolo-
gist, Tasmania, who is a specialist in the Curculionidce, or
Weevils. The family Curculionidoe embraces several thou-
sand species in Australia alone. Mr. Lea found the
specimen to be new to science, and has named it as above.
The beetle itself is nearly as destructive as the larva, and
goes down into the soil in the daytime, coming up at night
to feed. The larvae often feed in the daytime, but the
perfect insect rarely does so. The genus Desiantha is a
fairly large one, and comprises many destructive kinds,
some of which gnaw the buds of plum and other fruit trees,
frequently destroying a large portion of the crop.

Mr. C. French, jun., in an article contributed to the
Victorian Journal of Agriculture, says — ^" During the last
three months, many specimens of this beetle and its larvae
were sent to the Entomological Branch, the persons for-
warding them stating that these weevils were destroying

42 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

large numbers of tomatoes and other plants at Ascot Vale,
Essendon, Preston, and other places near Melbourne.
These insects are simply in thousands in some gardens,
and destroy nearly all kinds of vegetables. One grower,
informs me that he lost 80 fine tomato plants in one
night, and that on one evening alone he collected no less
than 638 of the beetles in the course of an hour, and in a
week he estimates he captured and destroyed some
thousands. The insects conceal themselves in the soil
and debris in the daytime, and at night come out to feed.
They devour the whole plant very rapidly, and, should
they be disturbed or a light be brought near them, they
immediately drop to the ground, and get out of sight as
soon as possible."

It is very remarkable that this weevil, although in such
large numbers, has hitherto been unrecorded, but it is
one of those entomological enigmas which are frequently
making themselves manifest ; hence the great value of
the study of economic entomology.

Prevention and Remedies.

Some tomatoes sprayed with arsenate of lead were
placed in an observation box by Mr. C, French, jun., and
50 of the beetles were liberated and turned adrift into the
box. They at once commenced to feed, with the result
that they were all dead within 24 hours. As the weevils
are in the ground close to the plant during the day, I would
advise that the soil be continually turned up, and that
fowls be placed in the coops close to the plants.

Another good plan would be to hold an expanded
umbrella under the plants, giving them a sharp jar or
shake, thereby catching the beetles in thousands. They
can then be destroyed by burning or scalding. Many of
this family of weevils are very tenacious of life, so the
water must be boiling or as near to it as possible. Trap
crops of anything palatable to the insects should be
planted near to the tomatoes, and sprayed with arsenate

TOMATO WEEVIL. 43

of lead or Paris green, and by this means large numbers
of beetles and larvae will be killed. Another good plan,
which has been effectually tested, is the placing of pieces
of newspaper under the plants at night, and for the grower
to go out at intervals with a light ; the beetles, startled
by the light, immediately fall into the paper, and may
then be destroyed. These weevils are very partial to the
Marsh Mallow, and this otherwise noxious weed might
be turned to good account by poisoning the leaves as
before stated.

The tomato weevil is a prolific breeder, and every
possible means should be adopted to prevent its spread.
It may be seen throughout the year, and the damage must
necessarily be considerable. Growers are warned against
spraying with the arsenical preparations such crops as
tomatoes, lettuce, cabbage, &c., as vegetables are frequently
consumed before being washed thoroughly. In such cases,
a weak solution of quassia chips or kerosene emulsion as
B, deterrent is to be preferred.

44 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CVI.
" Large Diadoxus Borer " (Diadoxus scalaris, Lap. et Gory).

Fi^.
I. Branch of Cupressus Lambert iana, with larva. Natural size.
From nature.

U. Perfect Insect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

in. Perfect Insect (on wing). Natural size. From nature.

IIIa. Perfect Insect (Female). Natural size. From nature.

TV. Head of Perfect Insect. Magnified. From nature.

C. C. BrittUbank, Del.

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CVI.

Osboldstone & Co , Print.

LARGE DIADOXUS BOREE. 45

CHAPTER CXII.

Large Diadoxus Borer.
{Diadoxus scalaris, Lap. et Gory.)
Order : Coleoptera. Family : Buprestidoe.
The genus Diadoxus, which comprises three species, was
formerly known to Victorian entomologists as belonging to
the foreign genus Ancyloclieiria. There are but two
Victorian species, the one under notice here being much
the larger of the two ; the larvae of both live in the wood
of the Miirrav pine, and are terribly destructive, also to
the Lambert's Cypress {Cupressus Lmnbertiana), the latter
being the plant so largely in use for hedges and breakwinds.
The males (see Figs. IL and IIL) are smaller than the
females, and, as a rule, display greater activity. In small
trees the larvae of these insects first feed round the stem
under the bark, cutting the sap wood, and causing the
tree to snap off. When the Cypress is attacked, the boring
is the same as that shown on the plate. The perfect insect,
then somewhat soft, emerges from the holes in the side of
the tree attacked. The larva is flattened in shape, with
the head and thorax part much dilated. A little warmth
soon serves to harden the newly-emerged beetles, which
soon become verv quick in their movements, especially
when walking. The mandibles of the larvae are strong,
and well adapted for tunnelling.

It has been stated that the Murray Pine is almost immune
from insect attacks. Leaving these two beetles out of the
question, there are others which are almost peculiar to the
Murray Pine timber. When cut, however, it is one of the
ver>^ few timbers which the White Ant seems not to be
particularly fond of, although it is by no means exempt
from the latter pest.

46 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Prevention and Remedies.

In dealing with matters of this kind, one cannot but
recommend a constant vigilance, particularly if the plants
are situated in or near Murray Pine country. Should the
upper branches, especially, show traces of turning yellow,
the trees should be at once examined ; if carefully looked
at, tiny holes may be seen, and probably the beetles may
be emerging, as shown on the plate (Fig. I.). In such a
case, the holes should be probed with wire dipped in
bi-sulphide of carbon, leaving the wire in the holes. This
could be done by a boy, and would be effective.

48 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CVII.

"Small Diadoxus Borer" (Diadoxus erythrurus, White).

Fig.
I. Larva of Beetle. Enlarged. From nature.

IL Perfect Lisect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

IIL Perfect Lisect (Female). Natural size. From nature.

I\'. Portion of Cypress, bored by larvae. From nature.

V. Portion of Cypress, showing Perfect Insect escaping from wood.
From nature.

/,. C, Vutit. Atutersen, Del

Plate CVI

SMALL DIADOXUS BOEER. 49

CHAPTER CXIII.

Small Diadoxus Borer.

{Diadoxus erythrurus. White.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Bwprestidce.

This is a pretty but very destructive beetle, whose natural
home is in the Murray Pine (Frenela). It is much more
common than the large species {D. scalaris), and appears
to be more widely distributed. It is by no means certain
that either of these is confined strictly to the Coniferoe,
both species having been taken where neither the pine
nor the cypress grows ; I strongly suspect the Mulga
and other of the stunted forms of Acacias to be the hosts
of these and other boring beetles.

The eggs of this species are deposited in crevices of the
bark, and as soon as they are hatched the grubs commence
boring their way into the tree. When the full size is
attained, they are supposed to remain in the wood for
some considerable time, they then change into the pupal
stage, and so remain until the final change into the perfect
beetle. The larva or grub is yellowish-white in colour,
and about half the size of that illustrated.

It is singular that when alive these beetles are greenish
in colour, and after death they turn yellow.

This beetle is found also in New South Wales, South,
and Western Australia.

Generally speaking, the Diadoxus may be termed dry
country beetles, and, although both of the Victorian kinds
have frequently been found crawling in the streets of
Melbourne and suburbs, they are much more plentiful in
the Mallee districts. These beetles are largely responsible
for the disappearance of many fine ornamental trees from our
streets. Many years ago, the Lambertianas about Mel-
bourne were dying out in patches, and the late Mr. Elliott,

50 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

of the Age staff, and myself, set to work to try and find out
the cause. We were successful ; from one large Cupressus
we took no less than 37 beetles, besides numbers of larvae
and pupse, thus accounting for the trouble. •

Apart from the fact that Lambert's C}^ress is the best
hedge plant in the State, it is discouraging to find that,
in spite of, perhaps, years of careful attention in treating
the plants, large gaps of dying plants are seen. These
never regain their former condition, even if attended
to promptly.

Fig. V. gives a fair idea of the damage caused by these
insects.

Lately, it was rumoured that the beetle had attacked
apple trees, but inquiries elicited the fact that a mistake
had been made, and for this we are grateful. One thing is
certain : These insects are never to be depended upon,
and care should be taken that they do not, like many other
pests, attack the fruit trees in this State. It is desirable
to know as much as possible of the habits of these
beetles, so as to save much time and useless experiments.

Prevention and Remedies.

The treatment is practically the same as that prescribed
for the larger Diadoxus ; the principal difference is that
where the insects are very bad, affected portions of the
trees should, where practicable, be taken away and burnt.
Isolated plants should be sprayed with kerosene and other
deterrents, but on large areas this would, of course, be out
of the question.

52 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CVIIL

" Rose and Raspberry Scale " (Diaspis ros^, Sandberg).

Fig.

I. Scales on Rose Twig. Natural size. From nature.

II. Larva just escaped from egg. Magnified. After Newstead.

III. Larva fully developed. Magnified. After Newstead.

IV. Larva, colour changed before first moult. Magnified. After

Newstead.

V. Larva, after moult. Magnified. After Newstead.

VI, Pupa (Male). Magnified. After Newstead.

VII. Pupa (Male), dorsal view. Magnified. After Newstead.

VIII. Puparia of Adult Female, ventral view disclosing female and
eggs. Magnified. After Newstead.

IX. ]\Iale, Perfect Insect. Magnified. After Newstead.

L. C. I'alJ. Andersen. Ih

C. French. Direxit.

Plate CVIII.

Osboldstone & Co., Flint.

ROSE AND RASPBERRY SCALE. 63

CHAPTER CXIV.

Rose and Raspberry Scale.

{Diaspis rosoe, Sanclberg.)

Order : Hemiptera. Family : Coccidce.

Maskell gives the following description : — " Female
puparium nearly circular, white, often aggregated in
masses, diameter about one-twelfth of an inch. Male
puparium white, elongated, carinated, length about one-
twentieth of an inch. Adult female a deep-red in colour,
elongated, the body deeply segmented. Cephalic region
very large, smooth, on each segment of the body several
spiny hairs ; five groups of spinnerets, no single spinnerets.
Adult male (see Fig. IX.) orange-red in colour ; antennae,
ten- jointed, with several hairs on all but the first two
joints : feet slender, hairy ; digitules fine hairs. The
spike is somewhat long."

This well-known and very destructive scale is easily
distinguished from most other kinds by the large numbers
of flat white scales adhering to the stem of rose bushes, as
shown in Fig. I. In Victoria, this scale must have been
introduced a long while ago, as it was here in the early
fifties ; the probability is that it came on roses from the
old country. This is a scale which, if not checked, will
spread very rapidly. Newly imported roses when planted
out are especially liable to attack. Infested plants soon
show the weakening effect on the plant owing to the
damage done by the sucking of the juices of the plant
through the rostrum or beak of the insect. Hence it
happens, as a matter of course, that the application of
any fluids to the trees externally, with the object of poison-
ing the insects in their feeding, is, as Maskell remarks,
useless, as their food is drawn from beneath the surface.

54 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

It has been said that this scale will also attack the roots
of roses. This is not my experience, although I have
frequently found it close down to the ground line ; I have
banked up the soil for a few inches, but always found that
the buried insects made no headway, and under the lens
appeared to be sickly and shrinking. Of course, the nature
of the soil will have something to do with this; the air
would not be freely admitted if it were hea\y and of a
sticky nature.

In America, Australia, and elsewhere, it has been found
that this scale will also attack the stem and the roots of
the raspberry, blackberry, and currant.

Prevention and Remedies.

In places where the scale insect exists, or has been
known to exist, a strict watch should be kept, and a
preventive, such as a light spraying with a weak, 1 in 30,
kerosene emulsion, would be beneficial. This should not
be carried out until the foliage has ripened, and should be
done carefully and intelligently.

In treating roses for scale, the best rule to lay down is to
attempt to eradicate it in the winter. Some roses require
severe pruning, others light pruning, but all scale-infested
prunings should be burnt on the spot, or as near to it as
possible, always remembering that it is by means of
cuttings or roots of plants that this pest is distributed.
When the scale is down near to the surface of the soil,
bank up the soil round the stem of the plant to about
3 inches, less in heavy soil, and about once a week fill
up with ordinary soap suds. This is easily done, is
inexpensive, and, as I have for a number of years proved,
entirely effective. It also promotes the growth of the
plants themselves.

In Victoria, at any rate, the " Dog Rose " stocks do not
seem so liable to be attacked as are those roses budded
upon other stocks ; and, as every practical rose-grower
knows, the so-called hybrid perpetuals are more liable to
attack than are the teas and other sections.

EOSE AND EASPBERRY SCALE. 55

In the cooler districts of the State, growers of small
fruit, such as raspberries, currants, &c., should keep an
active look-out for this scale. Should its presence be
suspected, the Entomologist should be at once notified,
and the case will be promptly attended to. In the mean-
while, all affected prunings should be at once burned.

56 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CIX.

" She-oak Scale " (Frexchia casuarix^, Maskell).

Fig.

I. Branch of Coast She-oak [Casuarina quadrivalvis), showing
tubes, or coverings to insects, with bark cut away to show
scar when tube is removed. Natural size. From nature.

II. Tube, showing closed extremity. Natural size. From nature.

III. Tube, showing both ends open. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Base of tube with convex extremity of enclosed insect.
V. Tube cut open, empty. Natural size. From nature.

VI. Diagram of Female in tube. Natural size. From nature.

VII. Adult Female, side view. Natural size. From nature.

VIII. Abdominal extremity of Female. Magnified. After Maskell.

IX. Extreme tip of abdomen with anal orifice. Magnified. After
Maskell.

X. Female of second stage (Diagram). Magnified. After Mas-
kell.

XL Antenna of Female, second stage. Magnified. After Maskell.

XII. Spinnerets of Female, second stage. Magnified. After Mas-
keU.

XIII. Rostrum and mentum of Female, second stage. Magnified.

After Maskell.

XIV. Larva, dorsal view. Magnified, After Maskell.
XV. Larva (Diagram). Magnified. After Maskell.

XVI. Antenna of larva. Magnified. After Maskell.
XVII. Foot of larva. Magnified. After Maskell.

C. C. Bnttlebank, Del.

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CIX.

Osboldstone &■ Co., Pnnt.

SHE-OAK SCALE. 57

CHAPTER CXV.

She-oak Scale.

{Frencliia casuarince, Maskell.)

Order : Hemiptera. Family : Coccidoe.

This remarkable insect, which is probably one of the
most singular in the world, was first brought under scientific
notice by the writer. It was found by me on She-oaks,
Casuarina quadrivalvus especially, growing on the sea
coast at Sandringham and other places not far from
Melbourne. Having noticed a number of these fine and
beautiful trees either dead or dying, I set to work to
ascertain, if possible, the cause. I found nearly the
whole of the branches studded with a hard and singular
gall, which, upon raising the extinguisher-like cap or
covering, disclosed a pink jelly-like animal, as shown in
Fig. VII. This was to me a mystery, as I could not
conceive it possible that an animal of so frail a texture
would do so much damage to trees of a specially hard-
wooded nature.

There was, however, no doubt as to the real cause having
been found, so I sent the specimens, with notes, to the
late Mr. Maskell, of New Zealand, the Australasian authority
upon scale-insects and their allies. These insects were a
puzzle to Mr. Maskell, but he went to work and figured
the specimens, naming the genus Frenchia.

In later years, Mr. Lea, F.E.S., State Entomologist,
Tasmania, obtained living specimens from myself and
others, and succeeded in finding out certain important
matters connected with the life history of this extra-
ordinary insect, and I cannot do better than quote from
his able paper on the subject.

58 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

" Perhaps the most remarkable of all the gall- forming
insects are the species of Frenchia, all of which attack
the Casuarinas, or She-oaks. There are two species
now known, one from Sydney, where it appears to be very
rare, the other from Victoria and Tasmania ; the latter
species is known as Frenchia casuarina, and frequently
kills branches of She-oaks. Its larva3, when young, are in
appearance much like those of other members of the family,
being provided with three pairs of legs, a pair of compound
eyes, and a pair of antennae. After leaving their mother
gall, they wander over the bark, and finally settle down.
Here they cause galls to form, the galls in time completely
covering them. The galls continue to grow, and eventu-
ally from the middle of each gall a cylindrical woody
growth appears, which may be readily detached.

" Meanwhile, changes have been taking place in the
insect itself ; it loses its legs, antennae, and eyes, and even
its mouth parts (henceforth receiving its nourishment
through its skin by the process known as osmosis), and
appears as a little brownish object of irregular shape, but
having a small node at its lower end, and a sort of thick
tail at one side. As growi^h continues, the tail becomes
thinner and increases in length, extending almost the whole
length of the woody growth ; its bottom also becomes
saucer-shaped, but still with the small node which is fitted
into a depression in the wood ; it is doubtless at this
stage that pairing takes place. Later on, the tail collapses,
bends over, and appears fitted to a remarkable cap, which
is joined to the body by an irregular suture, much as the
sutures of the bones between the human skull. The body
itself is now shaped like a wad, and, on removing the cap,
the top can be seen to be completely covered by fine
concentric rings, with a small opening in the centre, from
which the young can be nearly always seen escaping.
A heavy coating of white mealy substance is always
attached to the wall of the enclosing gall, while the insects
are healthy, but when these are attacked by parasites, as

SHE-OAK SCALE. 59

is often the case, this substance disappears. When fully
fed, the lower portion of the gall is completely filled, and
doubtless gives to the insect its peculiar wad-like shape.
The trees attacked by these insects are often killed by
them, and the galls are frequently to be seen in immense
numbers.

" Common as the females are, the male has never yet
been described, and has probably never been seen, although
it has been keenly searched for ; it will probably be much
the same, however, as many others of the same family.

" Briefly summed up, the life history of this insect,
probably the most remarkable in Australia, if not in the
whole world, is as follows : —

" 1. Born in possession of six legs, two compound
eyes, a pair of antennae, and wdth mouth parts.
" 2. Attacks bark, and causes compound galls to

form.
" 3. Gains a tail, but loses its legs, antennae, eyes,
and mouth parts ; at this stage completely
cut off from the outer air. From now onwards
nourished through its skin.
" 4. Again changes its shape, tail becomes semi-
detached from the body, the upper surface of
which is marked by several concentric rings.
" 5. Females abundant ; male unknown."
It is fortunate for our orchardists that, although this
insect must have existed from the earliest times of fruit-
growing in Victoria, it has so far never been known to
attack fruit trees, or, in fact, introduced trees of any kind
whatever. This does not imply, however, that it may not
do so, like many other serious pests have done before, as
they may find an easier mode of living, viz., on introduced
fruit trees.

In the earlv davs of Victoria, the coast-line, say from
Brighton to Cape Schanck, was thickly studded with
She-oak trees, the drooping one (0. quadrivalvis) being the

60 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA.

kind which grew nearest the sea ; the more erect species
is found more inland. In the early fifties the writer
recollects that quite a fleet of small craft was engaged in
the firewood trade, with head-quarters at Dromana, at
which place, long before a pier was thought of, thousands
of tons of this firewood might have been seen stacked for
shipment to Melbourne. With the exception of the
wattle, the She-oak is the best wood for bakers' purposes
available. As a shelter tree for sea-shore purposes, it has
no equal, the roots being mostly surface ones, and therefore
useful for binding, and arresting erosion caused by the
action of wind and wave combined. As a shelter tree, it
may be observed that the Casuarina is one of the most
valuable, growing with the Wattle in places where little
else would thrive, making at once a shelter for stock,
being useful as well as ornamental.

The hardiness of this insect, as also others of the same
group, is shown by the fact that when on the sea-coast they
will survive strong winds and salt sprays which are so deadly
to most vegetation, and also to soft-bodied insects. Aspi-
diotus rossi, a flat black scale, common to Blackwood and
others of our native trees, will thrive on coast plants which
are at high tide partially submerged by the sea ; and the
scale now dealt with is equally hardy, but much more
deadly in its effects than are most members of this large and
highly interesting group of insects. It must not be sup-
posed, however, that this Horn Scale is confined to the
coast ; on the contrary, it is common on the She-oaks
growing on the wind-swept hills of Myrniong, Black-
wood, and other inland parts of the State.

As this insect is of such extraordinary interest, especially
to naturalists, I have given a more detailed plate than
usual.

Prevention and Remedies.

It has been suggested that this pest will attack only old
or full-grown trees. I have proved this to be an erroneous

SHE-OAK SCALE. 61

idea, as it will attack plants of Casuarina when these are
only 8 or 10 feet in height, so that persons going in for
plantations w^ould do well to be on the alert ; a spraying
with some cheap deterrent, such as tar water, would most
likely prevent the young plants being attacked. As the
cultivation of such a valuable commercial timber as the
She-oak is sure to be largely extended in the near future,
it behoves all to keep a keen lookout ; when a large tree is
attacked (I have seen thousands of galls on one tree), there
is but little hope of successful treatment.

This pest has been found growing plentifully on trees in
close proximity to orchards, but, as before stated, it has, so
far as we know, kept to the She-oaks — both of the common
kinds. Although this is one of the most valuable and
handsome of the native trees, it would be well to remove
them if found growing near to an orchard, and the same
remark would apply to Wattles.

62 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

PLATE ex.

" Sweet-potato Weevil " (Cylas formicarius, Fabr.).

Fig.
I. Tuber of Sweet-potato, showing damage. Natural size. From
nature.

II, Perfect Insects. Natural size. From nature.

III. Larva. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Pupa. Natural size. From nature.

V. Perfect Insects. Magnified. From nature.
VI. Larvae. Magnified. From nature.
VII. Pupse. Magnified. From nature.

C. C. Bnttiebunk. Dc

C. French, Dircxit.

Plate ex.

Osbohlstone &■ Co., r>tnt.

SWEET-POTATO WEEVIL. 63

CHAPTER CXVI.

Sw^EET-POTATO WeEVIL.

{Cylas formicarius, Fabr.)
Order : Coleoptera. Family : Curculionidos.

This very destructive pest was first noticed here by
myself as having worked havoc with consignments of
sweet potatoes which were being sent to Melbourne in
great quantities from Queensland. As the plate shows,
the tubers are absolutely unfit for food when badly attacked.
The beetle responsible for this wholesale destruction is one
of the Curculionidoe family, and it is somewhat ant-like in
shape ; hence its specific name.

The body of the beetle is smooth and shiny, the abdomen
being of a beautiful steel-blue colour. The other parts
are mostly red-black. The rostrum, or beak, by w^hich
the skin of the potato is pierced, is strong for so small an
insect, which is wingless. The larva, or grub, is white,
and about a quarter of an inch in length, and, as the plate
shows, it tunnels into the tubers, rendering them useless.
The skin is pierced by the female beetle, and in these
punctures the eggs are laid, and the young grubs at once
commence to eat into the tubers. As Mr. Tryon remarks,
no species belonging to the genus Cylas has so far been
recorded as being indigenous to Australia, so that this
pest is another bad importation from abroad.

In Mr. Tryon's valuable work, he says — " At present
(1889), I only know of its occurrence in the East Moreton
district of Queensland." But as the sweet potatoes which
we discarded here were not from the above district, it is
evident that the pest has spread, but to what extent I do
not know. When first observed in Victoria, a quick and

64 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

concerted raid was made on all the shops in the City and
suburbs, and, when the pest was found, it was promptly
and effectually dealt with ; the prohibition of sweet
potatoes from Queensland quickly followed.

Prevention and Remedies.

As sweet potatoes are not likely to be largely grown in
Victoria, although they will thrive in the warm part of the
State, it will suffice if I give Mr. Tryon's advice : —

" We would suggest that the tubers should be unearthed
as a demand for them has arisen, and consumed with as
little delay as possible. All the affected ones should be
destroyed, or used as food for stock ; also, if practicable,
in a district where it manifests itself, all the sweet potatoes
raised there should be consumed on the spot, and during
the succeeding season no sweet potatoes should be grown."

As this pest, like the root borer, is without proper wings,
the danger of spreading would be largely minimized ; but
it might be spread by other agencies, such as dirty bags in
which sweet potatoes have been carried. We have too
many pests already, and who knows whether these beetles
may not take a fancy to our potato crops ? We must keep
a strict watch on these matters, and, above all, when the
pest is discovered, act promptly and persistently, as by
such means only can the trouble be brought under control
or, better still, stamped out.

18720.

66 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXI.

" Uracanthus Timber Borers " (Uracanthus strioosus,
U. bivittata, U. simulans).

Fig.
I. Specimen of composite plant {Helichrysumferrugineum), showing
larva, &c.

II. Specimen of composite plant {Helichri/sum ferrugineum), showing
horizontal cut made by larva. Natural size. From nature.

III. Pupa of Beetle, U. simulans. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect, JJ . simulans. Natural size. From nature.
V. Perfect Insect, U. bivittata. Natural size. From nature.

VI. Perfect Insect, U. strigosus. Natural size. From nature.

L. C. ValU

Osboldstone & Co.. Print.

Plate CXI.

URACANTHUS TIMBER BORERS. 67

CHAPTER CXVII.

Uracanthus Timber Borers.

(Uracanthus strigosus ; U. hivittata ; U. simulans.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Ceramhjeidoe.

The three species of timber-boring beetles treated in this
chapter represent a genus of very handsome though
destructive Longicorn (long-horned) beetles, of which there
are a good many described from Australia.

The beetles, as shown in our plate, are mostly long and
narrow in shape. The larvae are fairly active footless
grubs. The eggs are deposited in crevices in the bark,
and, when hatched, the young larvae commence to bore
for their natural food. Haunts of beetles of this genus,
and in fact many others of the longicorn family, may be
located by the cut-off appearance of the bough (see Fig. II.) ;
and the tow-like stopping indicates the presence of the
larvae at work in the wood below. *

The larvae of the genus Uracanthus are not at all par-
ticular as to the kind of trees they attack. They have
been found in Acacias, the Giant Helichrysums, in the
common introduced Furze or Gorse, and in other plants,
both indigenous and introduced. On the fringe of qui
sea coasts the larvae of some of these beetles do great
damage to the natural shelter trees, particularly to two
of the Acacias, viz., A, longifolia and its variety sophora.
It is no uncommon sight to find the whole plant riddled
with larvae, the sickly appearance of the tree being to
observers a sure indication of the trouble going on inside.

C 2

68 DESTRUCTFVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

These beetles, in common with most species of the same
family, are night flyers. Upon emerging from the pupa,
in a mummy-like form of the perfect beetle, it ascends to
the tops of the tree, and there remains until the late twilight,
when it takes wing. Although the beetles may appear
scarce, they are nevertheless quite common, and are easily
attracted by a bright light. The larvae of the large kinds
of Uracanthus, at any rate, lie very close in their self-
constructed tunnel, and, upon being handled, they become
fairly lively, when exposed to either light or air.

Fig. IV. shows a species which has lately come to light
in Victoria, although it has long been known in South
Australia. It is a very pretty and distinct kind. Our
plate shows the larva of one of the largest species at work.
I have lately received what appears to be a giant species
of Uracanthus from the scrubs of semi-tropical Queensland.

The longicorn family includes in its ranks some of the
largest known beetles, the larvae of which are frequently
used by natives as food. A good female specimen of
Titanus giganteus from Cayenne will measure at least
9 inches in length of body, so it may be imagined what
damage these huge beetles do in the forests of tropical
countries. In Victoria, where a deal of timber comes in
from many parts of the world, there is a great danger of
some of the worst timber-borers being introduced by this
means, and several very destructive kinds have already
been found in the City. There should, therefore, be constant
vigilance by persons familiar with the insects, not only of
our own State, but with those of other countries also.

Prevention and Remedies.

On small areas, kerosene and a little oil of tar mixed
sprayed on to young or small trees will keep the female
from depositing her eggs, but the spraying wiU of course
have to be renewed. The beetles appear from December
to April as a rule, so this would be the best time to use the

URACANTHUS TIMBER BORERS. 69

preventives. When the trees have been attacked, examine
the branches well, and cut off every affected limb, or at
least a portion of it, and, as I have before mentioned, a
little practice will soon enable any one to locate the larvae
at their work. In badly affected districts, a bright lamp
placed inside a tent will attract numbers of these night-
flying insects, when the captives can ^either be destroyed
or kept for the cabinet collection.

70 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

PLATE CXII.

" Yelloav-box Borers " (Phoracantha tricuspis, and
P. recurva).

Fig.
I. Perfect Beetle, P. tricuspis. Natural size. From nature.

11. Perfect Beetle, P. recurvi. Natural size. From nature.

III. Portion of Yellow-box Tree, showing workings. From nature.

L. C. I'ald. Andersen, Dei

Plate CXI I.

Osboldstone & Co., Print.

YELLOW-BOX BORERS. 71

CHAPTER CXVIII.

Yellow-box Borers.

{Phoracantha tricusfis and P. recurva.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Ceramhycidoe.

These are two of our finest but terribly destructive
Longicorn or long-horned beetles. The former, P. tricuspis,
is the largest known species of the genus, and the figure,
which is life size, shows that it is of a light-brown colour,
with a few darker-brown markings on the elytra. The
head and thorax are very dark-brown, the latter being
much wrinkled. The antennae are of the same colour, and
frequently half as long again as the beetle itself.

The eggs are deposited in the crevices of the bark, nearly
always in the bark of Eucalyptus vmiinalis, a tree formerly
very common around Melbourne. The larvae are stout,
footless grubs, which bore with rapidity. When in the
pupa stage, they assume very much the form of the
perfect beetle, but mummy-like. The antennae and legs
are stuck in close to the body, the whole being of a yellowish -
white colour, and quite soft to the touch. In the early
summer, these beetles may be seen emerging from the side
of the tree. Here they rest until hardened by exposure,
and then ascend the tree, where they remain until night
comes on. They are then strong enough to fly, which
they do fairly quickly.

The male, as in the case of Longicorn beetles generally,
is smaller than the female, and usually has longer antennae.
The genus Phoracantha comprises a good number of species,
and these, together with those of its ally, Tryphocharia,
are all more or less destructive to timber.

72 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

During the last twenty years or so, the trees of E. vimm-
alis have largely disappeared, so that many insects, which
formerly bred in it, have taken to the Yellow Box
{E. rnelliodora), which still exists in fair quantities. Our
plate gives a representation of a piece of Yellow Box
attacked by these and other insects ; the perfect beetles
have already emerged from the timber.

Phoracantha recurva is a much smaller insect, but plays
great havoc in the wood, mostly in the branches. Mr.
Tepper, the veteran entomologi.st of South Australia,
remarks that in South Australia this beetle only attacks
ring-barked or felled timber. This is certainly not the case
in Victoria, as in hot weather I have frequently seen the
green branches, when fallen from the tree, with the beetles
emerging from the wood. The tunnels are easily recognised
by those acquainted with the life-history of Victorian
insects. This species may be identified by its long saw-
like antennae, which are also strongly spined.

Phoraamthas are widely spread, 1 have had the former
species from Melbourne to Northern Queensland, whilst the
smaller species, P. rerirva, is listed from nearly every
known portion of Australia, and is as common in Queens-
land, Western Australia, and Northern Territory as it is in
Victoria. It is also found in Africa. Both species, and,
in fact, most others of this genus, are also to be found hiding
under the loose bark of some of the larger gums, such as the
Red Gum, Blue Gum, and others.

When captured, these beetles make a noise resembling
grating or squeaking. On hot sultry summer evenings,
both of these species may frequently be seen flying in the
twilight, but the nocturnal birds destroy great numbers of
these and other night-flying insects.

It has always appeared to me strange that so few of our
numerous native timber-borers appear to have taken to
our fruit trees; one would imagine that the bark of the

YELLOW-BOX -BORERS. 78

apple, pear, plum, and other similar fruit trees would
be moie palatable than that of the astringent bark of the
eucalyfts and acacias.

Fortimately, so far as we are aware, neither of these
beetles has as yet attacked orchards, or, in fact, any intro-
duced trees ; but as the smaller one, at any rate, is common
in parts where there are but few if c.ny gum trees in the
neighbourhood, it is reasonable to believe that it must
breed in one of the Acacias, which plants largely comprise
the arboreal vegetation of the more aiid parts of Australia.

Prevention and Remedies.

As a rule, neither of these two beetles is to be found in
saplings, so that a watch should be kept on larger forest
trees, and, where the sawdust appears, the parts attacked
should if possible be removed. In parts where these occur
plentifully, a good many of the perfect beetles, both male
and female, may be captured by means of a s-trong light
thrown against a blanket or a sheet stretched between the
trees or poles. The blankets are best, as the hooked tarsi,
or feet, become fastened in the blanket, and hence the
beetles are more easily captured, whereas, when calico is
used, they simply fly up against it, and, recovering, soon
take wing and are off.

Our gigantic spider {Voconia) is very destructive to
beetles that hide themselves under bark or logs, the
numerous wing-cases, legs, and other remains testifying
to the slaughter going on.

74 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXIII.

" Rice Weevil " (Calandra oryz^, Linne).

" Grain Weevil " (Calandra graxaria, Linne).

" Nutmeg Beetle " (Ar^ocerus fasciculatus, De Geer).

Fig.
I. Perfect Insect (Rice Weevil). Enlarged. From nature.

IL Perfect Insect (Rice Weevil). Natural size. From nature.

III. Injured Rice. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect (Grain Weevil). Enlarged. From nature.
V. Perfect Insect (Graiii Weevil). Natural size. From nature.

VI. Injured Grain (Wheat, Barley, Oats, and Maize). From nature.

VII. Perfect Insect (Nutmeg Beetle). Enlarged. From nature.

VIII. Perfect Insect (Nutmeg Beetle). Natural size. From nature.

IX. Sections of Injured Nutmegs. From nature.

/•\ c. •J

I. m.

\\m ^li »'

/

(1

I

IE.

'/ ^

Q

iznr.

M.

^ t

f^

E

Z-. C. t'rtW. Andersen, Del.

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CXIII.

Osboldstone &■ Co., Print.

RICE AND GRAIN WEEVILS. 75

CHAPTER CXIX.

Rice Weevil.
{Calandra oryzce, Linne.)

Grain Weevil.
{Calandra granaria, Linne.)
Order : Coleoptera. Family : Curculionidce.

Nutmeg Beetle.

{Ar(socerus fasciculatus, De Geer.)

Order ; Coleoptera. Family : Anthribidce.

Rice Weevil. — The first named of these three serious
pests is but too well known, and has been well established
in all the grain-growing districts of Australia for many
years. It causes an immense amoimt of damage to wheat
and maize in all parts of New South Wales, but particularly
in the North and North-western districts. As Fig. I. shows,
the beetle is reddish-brown in colour, with four lighter-
coloured spots or blotches on the wing cases.

Mr. Froggatt says that the parents sometimes infest
maize while in the field, but seldom, if ever, before it is
bagged, so that it is in the ill-constructed granary where
the damage is done. Experiments conducted by Chitten-
den and others prove that the germination for the develop-
ment of this egg into a larva, and from that into a beetle,
may be retarded for months under certain conditions ;
but let the wheat be stored in warm, badly ventilated, or
low-roofed grain stores, and the birth and growth of the
young beetle are very rapid. Chittenden says it has been
estimated that one pair will, in the course of a year,
produce 6,000 descendants. In some samples of wheat,
after being kept by Mr Froggatt enclosed in screw top jars

76 DESTEUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

for twelve months, 970 grains of wheat yielded 460 weevils ;
all of these were in the grain in the grub state when it
was placed in the jar.

These tiny beetles gnaw a hole into the side of the grain,
and in this deposit an egg. In some cases, the Jumping
Bean, for example, the grub is in the centre of the bean,
and only with the aid of the lens can the smallest hole be
detected ; hence it happens that the larvae, by some muscular
movements, causes the bean to move (jump), and in some
parts of the world affords endless amusement. Some
years ago a Melbourne firm imported a quantity of
Jumping Beans, but as this meant the introduction of a
new pest, entomologists did not appreciate them, and the
whole were promptly destroyed.

The Eice Weevil, unlike the Grain Weevil, can fly, and
this fact renders it more formidable. At the present time,
it is found in most countries, and will even thrive in the
coldest parts of North America, &c. In Victoria, this
insect is very plentiful, and, in addition, cargoes of rice
and other grain have to be specially watched and inspected,
and if found affected treated as recommended in the latter
part of the chapter.

Grain Weevil. — Regarding this tiny pest, Mr. Froggatt
offers the following remarks : —

" Though the common brown wheat pest is usually called
the Grain Weevil, it is the one described by Linnaeus under
the name of Calandra oryzce — that is, the universal pest.
This is somewhat of a misnomer, as it is a comparatively
rare beetle, without the same powers of flight. It is some-
what larger than the former, without the blotches on the
wing covers, and the punctures on the thorax deeper and
more distinct. In Victoria, this pest is a real scourge in
granaries, and appears in enormous numbers."

Nutmeg Beetle. — This is another serious pest, and a
fitting companion to the two already described. According
to Masters, this beetle is a native of Australia, although we
have often found it in imported nutmegs. On that

NUTMEG BEETLE. 77

account, it has been proclaimed a noxious insect under
the Vegetation Diseases Act.

This beetle is light-brown in colour, and one of the
well-known Anthribid form and peculiar appearance.
The Antlirihids from New South Wales and Queensland
are usually found on the trunks of dead trees, where they
hunt for and devour the small wood-boring beetles that
are attracted to the dead twigs, or which breed out of
fungi. Doticus pestilans is common in Victoria, and
although, as a rule, it attacks apples which are left on
the trees after the main crop has been picked, those which
are still juicy are also affected.

The Nutmeg Beetle requires watching, and all oversea
shipments, if found infested, should be treated before the
cargo is allowed to go into consumption.

Prevention and Remedies.

There would appear to be no better plan than keeping
the grain and nutmegs in properly constructed mills or
stores. Even then, no matter how careful the owner may
be, weevils and beetles of similar habits manage to find
their way into most stores. To overcome the pest, the
bi-sulphide of carbon treatment has been adopted. In the
large granaries of the United States, as Chittenden and
others tell us, the material to be treated is heaped upon
the floor. A tube or cylinder is pressed down to the centre
of the mass, and into this the bi-sulphide of carbon i&
poured ; a canvas cover is then thrown over the lot for
about 24 hours. This material must be used with care,
as it is highly explosive. When used at close quarters
and for any length of time, severe headaches, as I have
frequently experienced, follow In designing a place for
treating grain with this material, provision should be made
whereby the doors may open inwards. After treating
grain, the door should be thrown open for at least an hour
before any one enters the building, so as to allow the fumes
to escape.

78 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Experiments have been carried out in America to ascer-
tain the action of bi-siilphide of carbon upon the germina-
tion of wheat, and it has been proved that it can be exposed
for 36 hours without injury; and for 24 hours without
spoiling it for milling purposes. One pound of bi-sulphide
of carbon costs in Melbourne about sixpence, and this
quantity is sufficient to treat about 100 bushels of grain.
In America, where the carbon is cheaper, it has been
estimated that, in a close building, 1,000 cubic feet of
space costs ten cents, so that 1 ton of wheat can be
fumigated for ten cents. In India, it has been proved
that bi-sulphide of carbon is a perfect preventive against
weevils in grain ; that its action lasts, if the building be
hermetically closed, six weeks, after which period a fresh
charge of the agent is required ; that, even in samples
which have been attacked by weevils, the effect of bi-
sulphide of carbon is immediately felt, the weevils disap-
pearing in masses. This chemical does no harm to grain
as regards its colour, smell, and cooking properties.

Mr. Froggatt, in one of his reports, states that several
millers have informed him that, if the bags of grain or
flour are stood on end when stacked, they resist the attacks
of all pests much better than if stacked on the flat. It is
also a well-known fact that if clean grain is placed in a salt
bafy, no weevil will infest it. The question then arises,
could not the corn sacks be dipped in brine and dried
before being used in the harvest field. The cost would
not be much, and, though the salted corn sacks might be
liable to absorb a certain amount of moisture from the
atmosphere, it would not be sufflcient to injure the grain
enclosed.

\- For treating both zoological and botanical specimens
which have been attacked by this pest, the carbon bi-
sulphide is an excellent remedy, and for painting dried
specimens of plants in a herbarium formalin is now
preferred to the corrosive sublimate (bi-chloride of
mercury) so largely in use in the herbaria of Europe and
elsewhere.

80 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

PLATE CXIV.

*' Curved Wing-case Timber Borer " (Platypus cupulatus,

Chp.).
Fig.

I. Wood section, inside view. From nature.

II, Wood section, outside view. From nature.

III. -IV. Perfect Beetles. Natural size. From nature.

V, Perfect Beetle. Magnified . From nature.

VI. Perfect Beetle (side view). Magnified. From nature.

L. C. Vald. Andersen. D

C. French, Direxit

Osboldstone & Co.. Print.

Plate CXIV.

CURVED WING-CASE TIMBER BORER. 81

CHAPTEK CXX.

Curved Wing-case Timber Borer.

{Platypus cupulatus, Clip.)
Order : Coleoptera. Family : Scolytidce.

This tiny but destructive insect has been found by my
Assistant, Mr. C. French, jun., in timber imported into
Victoria for furniture making. The logs are taken to the
timber yards, and often stacked amongst other timbers.
As the plate shows, this beetle is a very small one, with
the terminal parts of its el}i;ra or wing cases in-curved
(see Figs. V. and VI.). The timber illustrated is a portion
of a log sent from the Malay Peninsula. Importations
from this and other places in the East are a distinct menace
to our timber yards, as there is a grave danger of the pest
spreading to other timbers, and also to furniture, public
buildings, shipping, &c.

The family Scolytidw, to which this beetle belongs,
embraces some of our very worst timber-boring insects ;
and in Europe the splendid avenues of elm trees have
frequently been destroyed by the well-known Scolytus
destructor. The method of attack of the pest has been
well described by the celebrated naturalists, Andouin and
Spence — " .... both the male and female insects
attack the tree for the purpose of obtaining food, burrowing
into the trunk. This brings the tree to a state of ill-health,
which is adapted for the reception of the eggs and for food
for the larvae. The female insect then burrows into the
trunk, and there deposits her eggs ; and the larvae when
hatched form cylindrical galleries, diverging at right angles
from the trunk of the parent, and parallel to each other,
within which they also become pupae, and so great is the
fecundity of these insects that their countless numbers are
soon sufficient to destroy the largest tree."

82 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

The larvae, or grubs, although small, play great havoc
with the timbers. This family of beetles is closely allied
to the so-called Weevils or Curculionidoe ; and are fairly
numerous in tropical countries, where they do damage, not
only to timber when growing, but also to joists and beams
in houses and to furniture. I am indebted to Messrs. Lea
and Froggatt for data in connexion with this pest.

In Masters' catalogue of Australian beetles, 3 species
are listed, but some of these may be importations from
the East. Dejean gives 24 species from the tropics, but
at the present date 100 species must be nearer the mark.

Prevention and Remedies.

All timbers coming here, especially from the East,
should be carefully examined by an entomologist, before
being permitted to be removed from the wharfs.
Upon the first signs of the existence of the pest, the timber
should be " held up " for treatment.

Spraying with corrosive sublimate, carbolic acid, pre-
servative oil, or other such material, will be efiective.
In cases of small consignments, fumigation with cyanide
of potassium in gas form or bi-sulphide of carbon may be
resorted to. Timber which is too far gone to treat success-
fully should be at once rejected. We cannot be too careful
in regard to foreign shipments, as, once the pests are
introduced, they usually come to stay.

84 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXV.
''Lesser Dried Fruit Moth" (Plodia interpunctella, Hb.).

Fig.
I. Larva of Moth. Natural size. From nature.

II. Larva of Motli (partly enclosed). Natural size. From nature.

III. Pupa of Moth. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect (wings closed). Natural size. From nature.

V. Perfect Insect (wings expanded). Natural size. From nature.

VI. Almond cut and showing damage done. Natural size. From
nature.

VII. Group of Almonds destroyed. Natural size. From nature.

L. C. Vald. Andersen, Di

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CXV.

Osboldstone & Co., Print.

LESSER DRIED FRUIT MOTH. 85

CHAPTER CXXI.

Lesser Dried Fruit Moth.

{Plodia inter functella, Hb.)

Order : Lepidoptera. Family : Pyralidce.

This very destructive moth belongs to the well-known
group of Pyrales, which includes most of those doing
damage to cereals, fruits, &c., when in the prepared
state.

Dr. L. 0. Howard, Chief Entomologist of the United
States, and Mr. Chittenden, also of the Entomological
Staff of the same country, state that " the adult
moth has a wing expanse of between half and three-
quarters of an inch. The outer two -thirds of the fore
wings are reddish-brown (see Fig. V.), with a coppery
lustre. The inner portion and the hind wings are a light
dirty-grey in colour, being whitish, with light-rose, yel-
lowish, and greenish tints. The pupa is light-brown in
colour."

" The eggs are minute, and white, and are deposited
to the number of 350, singly and in groups of from three
to a dozen or more, upon whatever substance the female
may see fit to select for the sustenance of her offspring.
They hatch in about four days, and in four or more weeks
another brood is produced. In this manner, a succession
of generations appears. According to the temperature of
the building which the insect inhabits, these will vary from
four to possibly six or seven a year. The caterpillars spin
a certain amount of silk as they feed, joining together
particles of their food and excrement, and thus injuring
several times the amount of material they consume.
When fully matured, they crawl hither and thither,
trailing large quantities of their silken threads after them
in their search for a suitable place for their transformation ;
and finally surround themselves in a cylindrical silken web,
in which they change to chrysalids and then to moths."

86 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

This pest is common throughout Australia, and in
Victoria it has given no end of trouble, the larvae having
been found in boxes of dried fruits, apples, peaches,
apricots, figs, and prunes. It also breeds in walnuts,
almonds, and seeds of various kinds, and especially in
flour and grain.

In our plate we have endeavoured to give some faint
idea of the damage done to dried almonds, the specimens
from which the drawings have been made being taken
from both imported and locally-grown products.

As showing the amount of damage which these insects
have done to wheat, Mr. Froggatt states — " It has been
bred in great numbers from a sample of wheat sent to me
by the late James Stephenson (Secretary of the Board of
Exports), with a note that 1,000 bags had been shipped to
London, and that the wheat was said to have been grown
at Coolamon, but there was some doubt about the exact
locality. Soon after it had been placed in a jar, it was
swarming with caterpillars, and the contents of the jar
became so matted together with the silken filaments that
they could be lifted out in an almost solid mass, and, on
examination, fully 90 per cent, of the grains were found
to have the end containing the embryo eaten out. Num-
bers of the larvae were found in bran, and others in a box
of dried raisins."

Mr. Froggatt states that in America it is called " The
Indian Meal Moth," though even there it feeds upon all
kinds of dried foods.

Prevention and Remedies.
Cleanliness in the store or factory, and a constant over-
hauling of the grain or dried fruits therein stored, would
appear to be the best of preventive measures. Should the
pest obtain a foothold, treating by either the excessive
temperature process, or by a thorough fumigation, com-
bined with a careful culling out of all the afiected grain
or fruit, seems to be the only successful methods so far

LESSER DRIED FRUIT MOTH. 87

devised. In another chapter I have alluded to the very
successful bi-sulphide of carbon treatment practised in
the larger granaries and dried fruit stores, in the United
States and elsewhere.

This insect is another of the curses introduced into
the Commonwealth, and emphasizes the necessity for
careful examination at the port of entry and the
adoption of stringent measures. It is hardly necessary
to point out to my readers the importance of the great
cereal and dried fruit industries in Victoria, and this
must be my excuse for the strong wording of the advice
here tendered. In the United States the losses occasioned
by this insect have been enormous, but by adopting sensible
precautions the losses of former years have now been
considerably lessened.

88 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXVI.
" Common Gum Scale " (Eriococcus coriaceus, Maskell).

Fig.

1. Eucalyptus branch witli scale, also larvae of Ladybird, Sajmnus

sp., also cocoon of Scale-destroying Motb, Thalpochares
coccophaga, tbe larva of which constructs a cocoon with scale
insects joined together by a silken web. Natural size. From
nature.

2. Sac of Adult Female. Magnified. After Maskell.

3. Sac of Male pupa. Magnified. After Maskell.

4. Adult Female, diagram to show spines. Magnified. After

Maskell.

5. Antennae of Female. Magnified. After Maskell.

6. Dorsal spines of Female. Magnified. After Maskell.

7. Anogenital ring of Female. Magnified. After Maskell.

8. Larva. Magnified. After Maskell.

9. Antenna of larva. Magnified. After Maskell.

10. Hymenopterous parasite on scale. Magnified x 12. After

Maskell.

11. Ladybird Beetle, Orcus, parasitic on scale. Magnified x 3. From

nature.

12. Scymnus parasitic on scale. Magnified x 3. From nature.

The Eucalyptus leaves also show " Sooty Fungus," caused by
fungus parasitic on the sugar secreted by the scale insects.

n

7
X

C. C. Bnttlcbank, Del.

m

m

m

xn

F

M

C. French Direxit.

Plate CXVI.

Osboldstone & Co., Print.

COMMON GUM SCALE. . 8&

CHAPTER CXXII.

Common Gum Scale.

{Eriococcus coriaceus, Maskell.)

Order : Homoptera. Family : Coccidce.

The genus Eriococcus, to which E. coriaceus belongs, is
but too well known to those accustomed to the forests of
our State, and it has a wide range. Eriococcus was first
described by the late Mr. Maskell in the Transactions of
the New Zealand Institute, 1892, from specimens supplied
to him by the late Mr. Olliff, Entomologist, of Sydney,
The adult female, as Maskell describes it, is enclosed in an
elongated sac of whitish or yellowish cotton ; the body is
elongated, segmented ; anal tubercles conspicuous ; feet
and antennae present ; several rows of conical spines on
dorsal surface ; antennae of six joints.

I have never seen the male, but in other species the
adult male is a tiny fly-like insect, with hyaline wings,
and, according to Comstock, with a pair of long, waxy
filaments projecting from the posterior portion of the
abdomen. These filaments are very conspicuous, and are
whiter and longer than the body of the insect.

In the Agricultural Gazette of New South Wales, 1900,
Mr. Froggatt gives an excellent account of this scale, as
observed by him in New South Wales and elsewhere. It
is generally found on young gum saplings that spring up
when the larger trees have been cut down. It does not

^0 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

confine its attacks to one species of Eucalypt, being found
upon at least half-a-dozen. This scale has never yet been
found on orchard trees, with the exception of a guava and
a myrtle in a nursery ; and, as both of these belong to the
same family, it is still more remarkable how this insect
collects its food plant. This scale may be found more or
less in the bush all the year round, but is most plentiful
about the middle of October and November.

The larvae vary in colour from yellowish to dull-red, are
very small and active, and as soon as they are hatched out
they crawl over the twigs till they find a hiding pla.ce.
The full-grown female coccid is enclosed in a rounded,
thick, felted, cotton sac, varying in colour from white to
creamy-yellow, dark- orange, or even dull-red, attached
to the bark at the base, with the apex opening out into a
rounded orifice closed below at the tip of the abdomen,
which lies level with the opening. These cottony sacs
are closely packed against each other, so that the whole
stem is frequently covered for inches right round. Though
these sacs are naturally of the above colours, they are
frequently smothered with fumagine, caused by the honey
dew or superfluous juice of the plant. This they suck up
in such quantities that they cannot retain it, but discharge
it in the form of a fine spray, which, falling on the
bark and foliage, forms a food for the smutty fumagine,
the minute spores of which cover it and soon change it into
a black skin. Each of these little egg-like sacs contains a
female, which is capable of laying several hundreds of
eggs ; these soon produce larvae, further covering the
infested tree.

Although this scale was only described by Mr. Maskell
in 1892, it was well known in Victoria in the early days,
the late Fraser Crawford and Mr. Tepper having paid
considerable attention to it. It was photographed by
Mr. Crawford as Eriococcus eucalypti, a most appropriate
specific name. In the early fifties I first saw it in the

COMMON GUM SCALE. 91

Moorabbin district, and since that time I have seen it ia
nearly every portion of Victoria which I have visited.

In most cases of scale insects, a vigorous growth will
enable the affected plant to at any rate partly resist the
attack, but with this scale it is different, as I have seen
young saplings of Blue Gum, E. globulus, which were at
the time making extraordinary growth, killed right out.
The insects are in such vast numbers that spraying and
other means adopted have but little effect upon them.
In the Victorian bush, at any rate, the plants selected for
attack are saplings of almost every kind of Eucalypt, and
I have seen it both on the leathery foliage of E. alpina, also
upon the Snow Gums at the Alps, where for several months
of the year snow reigns supreme. In the Alpine regions
of the State this scale does not appear to make much
headway, which fact may be accounted for by the tough
foliage of some of the Eucalypts in those places, and the
effects of the freezing and the snow combined.

In New Zealand, this pest, which had probably been
introduced from either Victoria or Tasmania, bade fair
to put an end to the newly-made plantations of Blue Gums
and other Eucalypts, and the situation may be described
in Mr. Kirk's own words : —

" The appearance of an affected plantation was most
uninviting. All the small saplings were completely covered
with dense masses of the female sacs tightly packed
together, and the smaller branches of the larger trees were
similarly affected, while the large amount of honey dew
excreted by the insects was responsible for a great quantity
of black fungus, probably Fumago vagens, which covered
the boles and leaves of the trees with a dense, black, sooty
envelope. It was quite impossible to walk through a
plantation without one's clothes being stained with the
dark-coloured juice of the female sac, which was exuded
whenever a sac was touched or brushed against. On all

92 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

sides the trees, both large and small, were dying in large
numbers. Those trees which were not actually killed by
the millions of little pumps that were sucking out the life
sap of the trees, were greatly weakened, and the lack of sap
in the tissues had the effect of cracking the bark in an
abnormal manner. Thus the frosts of the winter were
able to complete the destruction wrought by the scale.
Large numbers of the trees were thus winter-killed, a
condition that would not have been present had not the
scale been at work. In plantations that had been badly
affected, the tall gaunt dead boles of the trees were the only
sight that met the eye. The only use that these dead trees
could be put to was for firewood, as numerous wood fungi
soon put in an appearance, and rendered the timber
valueless for fencing and scaffolding purposes."

The round Black Scale {Aspiodotus Rossi), a very common
native pest, has not so far attacked fruit trees, Olives
excepted. This scale has a singular life history, as I have
found it on the well-known pine-leaved native shrub
{Ricinocarpus pinifolius), a plant belonging to the Euphor-
hiaceoe, which one would imagine to be palatable to insects
of any kind. A singular fact, which was first brought
under the notice of Mr. Maskell by me, was its ability to
adapt its shape to the food plant upon which it was sub-
sisting. On one occasion I found it upon Ricinocarpus,
and its altered form exactly fitted the wire- shaped stem
and branches of the plant, so that the scales, instead of
being nearly round, as in the normal state, were of a long,
narrow, oval shape, and of the same colour as the leaf
stems, viz., of a reddish colour. This singular fact in the
life history of A. Rossi is recorded in the Transactions of
the New Zealand Institute.

Prevention and Remedies.

In Victoria, the bush fires, although terrible in their
visitations, are the chief cause of keeping this formidable
pest in check, as the flames sweep rapidly through the

COMMON GUM SCALE. 93

undergrowth of gum saplings, killing out all badly-infested
plants, together with the scale attacking them. Large
trees of Messmate, Stringybark, and Peppermint, on account
of the loose stringy nature of their bark, suffer severely ;
but generally those of the smooth bark kinds, such as the
Blue Gum and the Giant Gum, escape with a severe
scorching, and in most cases will be but little the worse
for the fiery ordeal through which they have passed. This
is shown by the enormous size of some of our monarchs of
1;he forest, which, if they had been greatly affected by the
periodical fires of many years, would have long since
perished.

Where plantations are contemplated, a sharp watch
should be kept for the first indications of the presence of
this scale, as it increases with an almost incredible
rapidity. In small places, a few sprayings with a strong
kerosene emulsion will usually be effective ; but where the
-scale has obtained a good footing and densely encloses the
branches, it will be found that the usual chemical treat-
ment will be of very little use. All seedlings before being
planted should be examined by an expert who has an eye
trained for the work, and any plant showing the least sign
of being affected should be rejected and burnt.

In New Zealand, Mr. Kirk says that, since the initial
distribution of the Rhizohius beetle, the work accomplished
by this insect is little short of marvellous, and through its
means Eriococcus has been relegated to a position of
insignificance in the gum plantations of the south. In all
parts of the affected area the scale is being rapidly eaten
out, and around Timaru, the original centre of infection,
it has entirely disappeared, the rapidity with which Rhizo-
hius has multiplied being almost incredible. In January
of 1908, his assistant collected over 1,300 scales on ten
gum trees at Rolleston in a little over three hours. Thus
the numbers in a large plantation are almost beyond the
imagination. " In Australia, the balance of power is even

94 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

between the ladybird and the blight, and both of them
are always present ; but in New Zealand the ladybird,
being as it were in pure cultures and undisturbed by the
presence of any secondary parasites, is much more
powerful than the scale, and it completely wipes out the
latter. It is not too much to say that within another
twelve months there will scarcely be a living scale found
on the southern plantations, which only three years ago
were swarming with the pest, and to all appearances
doomed to utter destruction."

The above is a most satisfactory state of affairs so far
as New Zealand is concerned, but in Australia the con-
ditions are, of course, very different, as in most of our
Victorian forests, at any rate. Gum Trees {Eucalypts)
largely predominate, and in some parts of the State the
arboreal vegetation is composed of but very little else ;
whereas in New Zealand the number of Eucalypts is very
limited, and are, of course, introduced from Australia and
Tasmania. So it happens that, although both the Rhizo-
hius and Crypoloemus are indigenous to the State, the close
proximity of our plantations to infested forests consider-
ably reduces the valuable work of these parasites.

The plate shows nearly the whole life history of this pest,,
together with some of the parasites, especially the valuable
little beetle Orcus, also cocoon of Scale-destroying Moth,
Thalpochares. Many years ago, a friend and myself con-
ceived the idea that the cochineal-like dye from these
insects might be put to some commercial use, but the
advent of the aniline dyes quite upset our well-intended
project. Upon examining a badly-infested gum branch,
especially when the same has grown in a natural forest,
large quantities of the sacs will be found to have been
quite destroyed by parasites of many kinds, but it i&
evident to any unprejudiced person that in Victoria, at
any rate, parasites are no match for the scale, although
the former help materially in keeping it and other scales

COMMON GUM SCALE. 95

somewhat in check. Fortunately, this pest has never been
known to attack ordinary fruit trees, but too much de-
pendence must not be placed on the present forbearance
of this formidable insect.

The Eucalyptus scale under notice is foujtid over nearly
the whole of Australia, and, as stated, is subject to the
attacks of several parasites.

96 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXVII.

" Feathery-horned Yellow-box Borer " (Distichocera
Macleayi, Newman),

Fig.
I. Portion of "wood of Yellow-box {Eucalyptus melliodora), showing
larva at work. From nature.

IT. Pupa. Natural size. From nature.

III. Perfect Insect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect (Female). Natural size. From nature.

L. C. Vald. Andersen, Del

C. French, Dirextt.

Plate CXVII.

Osboldstone &■ Co., Print.

FEATHERY-HORNED YELLOW-BOX BORER. 97

CHAPTER CXXIII.

Feathery-Horned Yellow-box Borer.

(DisticJwcera Macleayi, Newman.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Ceramhycidoe.

This is a very handsome beetle, the larvee of which feed
on the wood of the Yellow Box, and frequently also on the
wood of the White Gum {E. Stuartiana). The eggs are
deposited either upon or in crevices of the bark, and,
when hatched, commence to feed and bore into the wood.
It is quite certain, however, that the breeding place of
this insect is not confined to the two trees mentioned, as
it has been taken where neither of these two Eucalypts
is known to grow. The larva is of a dull, yellowish-
white colour, and somewhat unusually tapers slightly at
the extreme end. The female (see Fig. IV.) is reddish-
brown in colour, and altogether a much larger insect than
the male, which is black, with beautiful feather-like
antennae (see Fig. III.). The pupa, which is shown on
Fig. II., is soft and mummy-like, but is soon hardened on
exposure to the weather.

In Victoria, at least, this destructive beetle is considered
somewhat of a rarity, but in reality, and as the timber
shows, it is but too plentiful. The reason of its apparent
rarity is that as soon as the beetles are sufficiently strong
to crawl they ascend to the tops of the trees. It is sup-
posed that this beetle is a night-flier, but both sexes have
been frequently found feeding in the flowers of the Leptos-
permum bushes, especially on very hot days. In some
parts of New South AVales it appears to be more commonly
met with, and, although it is so destructive, it is eagerly
18720. i>

98 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

sought after by collectors. The genus is an Australian
one, and comprises a fair number of species, nearly all
of which, in the summer, frequent the flowers of Bursaria.
Leptospernium, &c.

Prevention and Remedies.

I am indebted to Mr. Giles, late of Nar-nar-goon, Vic-
toria, for having first brought the breeding place of this
beetle under my notice, he having reared them from the
Yellow Box, also from the stunted plant of E. Stuartiana
growing in the vicinity. It would appear that saplings
are seldom attacked, and, although there are many orchards
in the district, it has never so far been known to attack
fruit trees. In forests, all the dead and dying branches
should, where possible, be sawn away and burnt, so as to
kill any larvae or beetles which may be in the affected wood ;
the grubs remain for a long time in the wood before they
reach the perfect stage, and, as both the male and female
are strong fliers, they may soon spread to distant
plantations.

This beetle is also found in New South Wales, and,
occasionally, in the Southern parts of Queensland.

D 2

100 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXVIII.

" Saltbush Scale " (Pulvinaria Maskelli, Olliff).

Fig.

1. Twig of Saltbush (Atriplex), showing scales. Natural size. From

nature.

2. Leaf of Saltbush, showing scales. Magnified. From nature.

3. Adult Female, dorsal view before gestation. Magnified. After

Maskell.

4. Antenna of Female. Magnified. After Maskell.

5. Marginal spines of Adult Female. Magnified. After Maskell.

6. Female of second stage. Magnified. After Maskell.

7. Marginal spines and fringe of Female (second stage). Magnified.

After Maskell.

^. Larva. Magnified. After Maskell.

i). Antenna of Male. Magnified. After Maskell.

C. C UnttUbank. Del.

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CXVIII.

Osboldstone & Co., Pnnt.

SALTBUSH SCALE. 101

CHAPTER CXXIY.

Saltbush Scale.

{Pulvinaria MasJcelli, Olliff.)

Order : Homoptem. Family : Coccidce. ,

This singular scale insect was first sent to me from
Wentworth, New South Wales, where at the time it was
making great havoc among the Saltbtishes (Atriplex),
and bade fair to wipe out these valuable fodder plants of
the squatter and grazier. The first known specimens
submitted for scientific investigation were sent by myself
to my friend, the late Mr. Maskell, who at the time was
our leading specialist on scale insects. Mr. Maskell was
at work on Australia]! Coccidoe, and found the scale to be
a new one of very peculiar features, and, after a careful
examination, it w^as placed in the genus Signoretia, so named
on account of the well-known writer on scale insects. The
species name of Atriflicis, after the plants on which the
insects were first discovered, was bestowed on it by the
late Mr. Olliff, then Entomologist to the Department of
Agriculture of New South Wales. On further critical
examination, the genus Signoretia was in this case discarded
by Mr. Maskell, and the name given by Olliff allowed to
stand. Mr. Maskell also mentions a variety of this species
which was sent to him by the late Mr. Eraser Crawford, of
Adelaide, and also by myself, as having been found on the
Murray Pines {Frenela), and this insect has been named as
a variety {spinosa).

When I first received the specimens from Wentworth,
they were described as rapidly destroying the saltbushes
in that and the outlying districts. As this scale is of so

102 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

destructive a nature, and owing to the close proximity of
Wentworth to Mildura and other of our Murray districts,
the pest is not unlikely to cross the river into our State.

The report of the late Mr. Olliff, who w^as sent by his
Department on a special mission to the infested districts,
at which places he collected some most important facts
connected with the life history of the insect under notice,
is interesting.

He says : — " The scale insect here figured has recently
been foutid doing an immense amount of damage to the
various kinds of saltbushes, particularly to the plants
known as Rhagodia hastata and Atriflex nummularia at
Wentworth, in the western district of New South AVales.
Immense numbers of these valuable fodder plants have
for some time been dying in this locality. An investigation
that I made during the past month proved that the trouble
was due to the presence of a large scale insect, which on
subsequent examination was found to be a new species of
Pulvinaria, a genus of Coccidae, in which the adult females
construct a conspicuous cottony covering for their eggs,
technically called an oversac, at the period of gestation.

" This insect was first observed and forwarded, to Sydney
by Mr. D. A. Morgan, Inspector of Stock at Wentworth,
and at the time of my visit the oversacs, each containing
thousands of minute brownish-red eggs, w^ere found in
vast numbers on almost every saltbush, over large areas
of country. Many of the bushes were literally covered
with the scale, and appeared when viewed from a distance
as if they had in some unaccountable way burst in masses
of intense white flowers. On one small plant alone I
counted more than sixteen thousand of these oversacs,
a number that must indicate an almost incalculable
quantity of eggs.

" The fully-grown female is an active naked insect,
measuring less than a quarter of an inch in length, and it
is not until the insect fixes itself firmly to a twig of its food

SALTBUSH SCALE. 103

plant for the purpose of laying its eggs that the cottony
oversac is developed. This cottony or waxy scale com-
pletely envelops the eggs, which are further protected
by the dead and dry body of the mother scale, which
forms a sort of cap to the oversac, remaining firmly attached
to its lower end. In this respect the Saltbush Scale
resembles the well-known Fluted or Cottony Cushion
Scale {Icerya purchasi), although the two insects belong
to separate genera that differ greatly in structure and
habits. In September, the eggs of the Pulvinaria or
Saltbush Scale were beginning to hatch between the
cottony sacs, and the young larvae, minute, active, six-
legged creatures, with six-jointed antennae, and two long
anal setae, soon make their w^ay to the young and tender
shoots of their food plant."

Prevention and Remedies.

As this pest will most likely reach our State through the
agency of birds and other means, it behoves us to be
careful. The plants growing on the Victorian side of the
river should be occasionally examined, and the matter at
once reported if any outbreak should occur.

Under the conditions in which this pest seems to thrive
best, it would appear that, owing to the large areas affected,
the ordinary treatment, spraying with a deterrent or a
remedial mixture, is practically out of the question. It
is therefore advisable to await the advent of natural
enemies in sufficient quantities and at the proper time.

The best way would be to pull up and burn as many of
the affected plants as possible, as the increase of these
insects is so rapid that one badly-infested plant will speedily
insure the immediate infestation of all plants growing in
the vicinity. As Mr. Olliff remarks, " One thing cannot
be insisted on too strongly, and that is the absolute neces-
sity for immediate destruction of the pest wherever it is
found in limited patches. I venture to think that this

104 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

a duty which every grazier owes to his neighbour as well
as to himself, for, when the scale makes its appearance
on a run for the first time, no trouble or expense should
be spared until it is stamped out,"

There is no doubt that on isolated patches a non-
poisonous spray, such as kerosene emulsion, might be
used with much advantage, and in some cases the same
treatment would be cheap and effective when used as a
deterrent. Those of us who know the graziers' stand-by
in the summer, the Saltbush, will appreciate the advice
as to immediate action being taken so as to prevent, if
possible, the pest from getting a foothold on their
properties.

106 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXIX.

" 81LKY Oak Weevil Borer " (.Esiotes notabilis, Pascoe).

Fig.
I. Portion of bark attacked, outside view. From nature.

II. Portion of bark, underside view, showing fibre bitten of? and
placed around holes. From nature.

III. Wood, with hole and covered bores. From nature.

IV. Perfect Beetle. Natural size. From nature.

V. Perfect Beetle, resting position. Natural size. From nature.
VI. Head of Beetle, side view. Natural size. From nature.
VII. Larva. From nature.

J

L. C. Valci. Andersen, Del.

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CXIX.

OshoUlstane f-r Co . Print

SILKY OAK WEEVIL BORER. 107

CHAPTER CXXV.

Silky Oak Weevil Borer.

{Msiotes notahilis, Pascoe.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Curculionidoe.

This is a very handsome but destructive beetle, first
found in Southern Queensland, and described by the late
Mr. Pascoe in 1865. In Master's Catalogue of Australian
Coleoptera, two other species of this genus are listed,
one being a native of Victoria. Fig. IV. shows the
beetle in its natural size, and Fig. VII. the larva ; I regret
being unable to include the pupae, as we were unable to
obtain specimens, although both larvae and the beetles
were in quantities.

This pest was first brought under my notice by my
Assistant, Mr. C. French, jun., who describes the working
as follows : — " These weevils are found in logs of Silkv
Oak {Grevillea robusta) and in Queensland Kauri {Dam-
mara) logs imported into Victoria from Queensland. The
eggs are deposited in the bark, and when the larvae hatch
they at once commence to bore through the bark into the
hard wood, where they remain for some considerable time.
They eat out a hole about 1 inch in depth, and cover it over
with pieces of wood eaten out of the hole made. Fig. III.
shows a hole covered with the eaten wood, and Fig. I. a
hole after the timber has been removed. Fig. II. shows
where the insects, when fully grown, have eaten their wav
out of the cocoon-like covering, and Fig. III. the bark
where the beetles had come through when they were
fully grown. Most of the imported timber referred to
goes to the Newport Railway Workshops, where, owing to

108 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

the prevalence of wood-boring insects, all timber is carefully
inspected. Should any be found, the timber is treated
with various chemicals."

It may with safety be asserted that the depredations of
this beetle will not be confined to the two valuable timbers
in question, so we cannot be too careful. Of late years,
the Silky Oak has come into great prominence for furniture,
fittings, picture-frames, &c. AVith proper protection, and
with judicious selection, this tree should be one of the most
valuable timber assets of the Commonwealth.

Prevention and Remedies.
All timbers coming into Victoria should be critically
examined by an entomological expert. "Where valuable
timbers, say for carriage building and for the better class
of furniture, are imported, these should be strictly quaran-
tined in suitable buildings, detached, if possible, from
factories and carpenters' shops. Chemical treatment of
affected timber, if it is to be effectual, must be done very
carefully, and at such intervals as would be justified by
circumstances. Fortunately, this beetle is not difficult of
detection ; but as the newly-hatched larvse may be at
work inside and out of sight, it follows that it would require
a trained eye to detect the trouble.

It would also be advisable for the timber to be examined
by a competent person at the port of shipment, as the use
of affected timber may lead to most serious results.

no DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA;

PLATE CXX.

"Greater Vine Scale" (Lecanium berberidis,]^Sch.).

Fig.
I. Vine branch, showing scale at^work. Natnral size. From
nature.

11. Female scale. Natural size. From nature.

III. Female scale, anal portion. Enlariijed. From nature.

C. C. BrittUbank, Del

C. French Direxit.

Plate CXX.

Osboldstone & Co., Print,

GREATER VlNE SCALE. HI

CHAPTER CXXVI.

Greater Vine Scale.

{Lecanium herheridis, Sch.)

Order : Hemiptera. Family : Coccidoe.

This formidable pest of the vine, the largest of the hard-
shelled scales I know of, was first brought under my notice
by the late Mr. George Neilson, the well-known horti-
culturist and fruit expert, and was found by him on some
vines growing at Hawthorn, Victoria. Heroic measures
were at once resorted to ; the tree was hard-pruned, the
cuttings burned, and the remaining portion of the plant
sprayed with hot resin compound and a strong kerosene
emulsion. This severe treatment evidenth' had the effect
of arresting for the time the spread of this gigantic scale,
but its presence was soon reported from other localities.

It would be interesting to know by what means it was
introduced into our State ; as in all viticulturrJ matters the
greatest care has been taken, it could hardly have
been through the agency of vines or their cuttings.
It is now well known that this scale is not restricted to
vines, and it has been found on shrubs and climbing plants
of several kinds, but, so far as I am aware, not on fruit
trees. Judging from the specific name of this pest, the
" Barberry " (Berberis) must have been its host plant, but
of this I am not certain.

That this scale is on the increase there is no doubt, but
as it is so large it is easily seen, and steps can at once be
taken for its eradication.

112 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Prevention and Remedies.

If the large scales are lifted up with the edge of a pen-knife,
it will be observed that numbers of tiny, soft insects are
moving about underneath the tortoise-shaped shell of the
female scale. This is the time to attack them with the
sprav pump. Cut away and burn as much of the old wood
as possible, and then with a brush well scrub the stem with
hot kerosene emulsion — one part of the emulsion to five
parts of water. Spray the weaker portions of the plant
with kerosene emulsion — one part of the emulsion to ten
of water. Clear away the soil from the base of the stem,
scrape off and burn all old loose bark, and spread a little
lime on the ground close round the stem.

This pest can be got rid of more easily than many others
of the same group, but it must be watched, as also must
shrubs and climbers growing in the same garden. AVhen
treating vines, be careful that any insects clustering round
the newly-cut branches are at once destroyed, as when first
hatched the young scale are somewhat difficult of detec-
tion, and may have to be carefully looked for.

Parasites, small wasps, &c., have been seen hovering
about scale-infested vines ; but these must not be waited
for. A good spray pump will save the situation.

114 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE CXXI.

" She-oak Root Borer " (Stigmodera heros, Gehin.).

Fig.

I. Tea Tree {Melaleuca uncinata). Natural size. From nature.

II. Perfect Insect. Natural size. From nature.

III. Larva. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Head of larva, showing mandibles. Natural size. From nature.

C. C Brittlcbank, Da.

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CXXI.

(><il:oLl^t.^ne &■ Co., Print.

SHE-OAK ROOT BORER. 115

CHAPTER CXXVII.

She-oak Root Borer.
{Stigmodera heros, Gehin.)
Order : Coleoptera. Family, Buwestidce.

This formidable insect, which is the largest of the
Victorian Bwprestid beetles, is most destructive to various
kinds of timber growing mostly in the northern and
north-western portions of the State. It is also found in
South and Western Australia. The larva feeds in She-oak
and Bull-oak {Casuarinn), and frequently in the Eucalypts
growing in or near the Mallee country.

The larvae of these beetles are large yellowish white
grubs, with powerful jaws, the female beetle being much
larger than the male. The female clears spaces in the
butts of trees and deposits her eggs, which are somewhat
lighter in colour than the grub, on the side of the trees.
When hatched, the young larvae at once commence to
eat their way into the wood of the tree attacked. After
working downwards to a depth sometimes of several feet,
the larvae bore and tunnel into the wood, the sawdust of
which serves as food for the grubs. Judging from the
quantity of excreta formed, and from other indications,
it would appear that in many cases the larval stage lasts
as much as two years, or even more. It is suspected that,
in comparison, the pupal stage is of short duration. When
the perfect insect emerges into a large yellowish-brown
beetle, it may be found in large numbers feeding in the
flowers of the stunted ]\Iallee, also in the Melaleuca, a twig
of which, together with the beetle, is reproduced.

When fully developed, the larvae of these beetles have
small but very powerful mandibles or jaws, and with these
they can gnaw almost any kind of timber, no matter how
hard it mav be.

116 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

These beetles, like many others of the group, would
appear to be very intermittent in their escape from the
wood, as one year they simply swarm, and the next season
of the same climatic conditions hardly a specimen is to
be seen. There are other large kinds of this genus {Stig-
modera) to be found in Victoria, the largest being S. hake-
welli, S. fortnumi, S. vitticollis, and S. parvicoUis. These,
no doubt, do immense damage in the forests.

It has long been suspected that there are two large
species of this genus very much alike which have hitherto
passed for the species, S. lieros, now under notice. This
question, which to naturalists would be of great interest,
has not yet been detinitely decided.

It is unfortunate that so far we have no reliable informa-
tion as to this beetle attacking fruit trees, but as so many
other insects have left their native food trees to attack
fruit trees, we cannot be too careful. It may be easily
imagined what damage to fruit trees this beetle would
cause.

There are about SOU described species of the family to
which this insect belongs.

Prevention and Remedies.

In forest lands, the only practical way of dealing with
this pest would be to kill as many as possible of the beetles
in order to prevent egg-laying. Where there are but a
few trees to protect, this might be done by smearing the
usual egg-depositing places with such materials as tar and
grease mixed together.

It is advisable to capture as many of the females as
possible, as they deposit a large number of eggs. They
can be caught in a net, and destroyed by scalding.

It has been observed that in nearly every one of the
larger ants' nests in certain localities in the Mallee the
wing-cases and other remains of these large beetles may
be found.

118 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

PLATE CXXII.

" Gum-tree Moth " (Rceselia lugens, Walker).

Fig.
I. Gum {Eucalyptus) leaf, showing larva at work. Natural size.
From nature.

II. Pupa and covering. Natural size. From nature.

III. Pupa. Natural size. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

V. Perfect Insect (Female). Natural size. From nature.

VI. Leaf, as abandoned bv larvae. Natural size. From nature.

L. C. Vahl. Andersen, Dei

C. Fiench, Direxit.

Plate CXXII.

Usboldstone & Co.. Print

GUM-TREE MOTH. 119

CHAPTER CXXVIII.

Gum-tree Moth.
{Rceselia lugens, Walker.)
Order : Lefidoftera. Family : Arctiidce.

This moth is of a small brownish-grey colour, and is of
the size of Figs. IV. and V. of our plate. The eggs are
deposited on the leaves of the gum trees, especially those
growing in plantations. When hatched, the young arvae
begin to feed, and, as thev increase m size, they do an
almost incredible amount of damage to the trees them-
selves Fig. I. shows the manner m which the epidermis
or outer covering of the leaves is eaten, and if the grubs be
not killed a few strippings will usually complete the
destruction of at least the upper portions of the tree
attacked. This pest is particularly numerous m the
plantations near Sunbury and elsewhere, and is perhaps
the worst of all the smaller insect pests of our gum trees.
It was formerly known bv the name of Nola lugens, and is
an old enemv of the gum trees. In some parts oi the
State, the tops of the Eucalypts appear from a distance as
though a fire had passed through them.

The larv^ of the Cup Moth are also very destructive in
this respect. Some new facts regarding the Cup Moth
have lately been investigated by my Branch. It was
found that the water supply of an important country
district was becoming black, and unfit for use. On
investigating the matter, it was found that on the toiiage
of the Eucalyvts growing near and hanging over the race
were hundreds of grubs of the Cup Moth, whose excreta
had badlv fouled the water. The cause was previously
ascribed to the dredging up-stream. Mr. French, ]un..

120 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

advised that the trees should be chopped down on both
sides of the race, and this precaution will no doubt pre-
vent a repetition of the trouble.

This moth is also found in several of the other States,
and is everywhere a serious pest. Mr. French, jun.,
remarks that around Melbourne numbers of the pupae of
this moth are destroyed by small Hi/menopterous insects.

Prevention and Remedies.

Fortunately, these grubs are amenable to treatment.
In plantations, a good deal may be done by constantly
watching the young trees and spraying with kerosene or
red oil, one in fifteen, as a deterrent, and, as the insects
seem to favour saplings, the application would be neither
costly or difficult. If it should be found that the grubs
have commenced their work of stripping the leaves, a few
sprays, either of Paris green or arsenate of lead, will soon
kill them. It may be said that to spray a forest would be
out of the question. Spraying a forest is not recommended,
only the embryo forest, the plantation, which if left to
itself will in all probability never reach the forest stage for
which it was intended. It is hard to induce some people
to credit the enormous damage done to forests by insects.

If forestry is to take its proper place as an industry in
Victoria, the study of forest pests should be one of
the principal subjects in the curriculum of a school of
forestry.

122 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXXIIL

" Common Darala Moth " (Darala ocellata, Walker),

Fig.

I. Larva. Natural size. From nature.

II. Perfect Insect (Female). Natural size. From nature.

III. Perfect Insect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

IV. Pupariurn. Natural size. From nature.
V. Pupae. Natural size. From nature.

VI. Pupae. Natural size. From nature.

VII. Iclmeumon Fly Parasite. Natural size. From nature.

VIIa. Icliucumou Fly Parasite. Natural size. From nature.

VIII. Cocoon of Ichneumon Fly Parasite. Natural size and magnified.
From nature.

VIIIa. Iclmeumon Fly Parasite. Natural size and magnified. From
nature.

C. C. Bnttlebank. Del

C. Ficitdi, Diicxil.

Plate CXXIII.

Osboldstone & Co., Print.

COMMON DARALA MOTH. 123

CHAPTER CXXIX.

Common Darala Moth.
{Darala ocellata, Walker.)

Order : Lepidoptera. Family : Liparidoe.

This is a very common and most destructive pest. The
various figures on the plate show the life history, together
with some Hymenopterous parasites, which we have reared
both from the cocoons and the caterpillars. In late spring,
the caterpillars may be seen in thousands, and they appear
to travel in the one direction, eating up such plants as are
fancied by them. They are especially destructive to
grasses on pasture land, as they eat the grass as well as
defile the pastures when they are numerous.

Mr. Anderson remarks : — " There is a great difference
in the life history of the two (alluding to the Striped Darala,
D. denticulata), for, whereas the Striped Daralatakes a
whole year to complete its metamorphosis, the Common
Darala gets through two generations in the same space of
time ; the first are found feeding from June to September,
the moths appearing in November. Caterpillars from these
may be found during December and January, and the
resulting moths are on the wing in March and April."

The habits of the two species are similar, but the common
Darala does not construct such an interesting cocoon as
its congener. These moths are brown, marked with
different shades of the same colour, and have two distinct
black spots in the centre of the forewing. The male has
the antennae plumed (Fig. III.), while in the female they
are simple (Fig. II.).

124 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

The genus Darala is very liable to attacks by Ichneumons
and by closely-allied insects, and, although partly immune
from the attacks of most birds, both insect and fungus
parasites assist materially in checking the pest. This
genus is peculiar to Australia, and is allied to the well-
known Gipsy Moth of Europe, a pest which has been
introduced into the United States, and in endeavours
to cope with it huge sums of money have been spent.

Prevention and Remedies.

As with other insect pests, cleanliness in cultivation is
absolutely necessary. This gets rid of all spots suitable
for egg-laying, and prevents wholesale hibernation. In
the summer time it is no uncommon sight to see these
grubs travelling across dusty roads ; as the dust accumu-
lates on their hairy bodies, they appear much larger
than they really are. Immense numbers of them may
be destroyed by drawing brush harrows or rollers quickly
over them, also by the use of drains or pits dug perpen-
dicularly across their line of travel. This plan is a good
one to adopt against travelling caterpillars of all kinds,
and is a sure and inexpensive method of dealing with
the pest in the travelling and grub stage.

There are much larger species of Darala in Victoria and
other parts of Australia, but these do not appear to be so
numerous as the one under notice. Previous remarks as
to trapping and poisoning the larvae will apply equally
well to these species.

126 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

PLATE CXXIV.

" Spixed Log beetle " (Xenocnema spixipes, Wall.; vap.iety
Australia, Lea).

Fig.
I. Bark and wood, inside view, showiiig tunnelling by larvte and
holes bored by Beetles. Natural size. From nature.

IL Wood perforated by Beetles. Natural size. From nature.

in. Perfect Insect (Female). Enlarged. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect (Male). Enlarged. From iiature.

V. Perfect Insect (Female). Natural size. From nature.

VI. Perfect Insect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

VII. Larva. Natural size. From nature.

X. :zE. :zn:.

L. C. Vald. Andersen, De.

C. French, Direxit.

Plate CXXIV.

OsboUlstone & Co.. Punt.

SPINED LOG BEETLE. 127

CHAPTER CXXX.

Spined Log Beetle.
(Xenocnema spinipes. Wall.; variety Australioe, Lea.)

Order : Coleoptsra. Family : Curculionidoe.

■ ^ This is a small brownish-black beetle determined by
Mr. Lea as a new variety of a well-known weevil, described
long since by Wallach. It is found plentifrdly under the
bark of Kauri and Silky Oak logs from Queensland. The
beetles bore through the bark into the solid wood, and
under some pieces of bark the beetles may be found in
large numbers; upon removal of the bark they com-
mence boring at a rapid rate, and soon have the wood
riddled with holes. Fig. II. shows the holes, and Fig. I.
the tunnels with the larvae at work inside.

This is another instance, if such were required, of the
necessity of being constantly on the look-out for these
dangerous insect introductions; more especially as they
increase with great rapidity, and, if once established
here, it would be almost a hopeless task to attempt to per-
manently eradicate them. Numbers of these small weevils —
which, by the way, are legion — comprise some of the very
worst of our timber borers, and, although so small in size,
they appear to be able to bore through all timbers, no matter
how hard the latter may be. It is a singular fact in the
economy of Nature that the tiniest insect frequently does
the most damage, as witness the ravages of Phylloxera
and other minute insects.

"We have shown the beetles in their natural size and also
enlarged, but at the time the plate was drawn the pupa
could not be obtained. It will, however, be somewhat like
the larva in colour, with the mummy-like appearance of
the beetle before the latter assumes the perfect shape.

128 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA : •

Few people, excepting those in the trade, are aware of
the enormous loss of timber caused by insect pests. When
a pest gets a footing, hardly any timber is safe from its
attacks. Building material and furniture are liable to
attack and possibly destruction from the pests. As an
instance, I may mention that a small imported beetle
{Lictus brunneus) will work nearly as quickly in the Oak,
Walnut, or Rosewood of a piano as it will in an ordinary
piece of pine timber.

Prevention and Remedies.

The remedies against this and similar pests are in our
own hands, and consist in keeping a vigilant watch on all
importations of timber, especially when in logs, no matter
w^here they may have come from. Now that the shippers
have been advised to remove the bark before sending away
the logs, it has been found that recent shipments have
shown signs of much improvement on lots previously
examined at the port of Melbourne or on the wharfs.
All logs coming here are inspected, and if found to be
affected by weevils or other insect pests, they are treated
under the immediate supervision of an inspector.

18720.

130 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXXV.

** Greyish-Horned Beetle of the Wattle " (Pachydissus

SERIOUS, NeWIVLAN).

Fig.
I. Section of stem of Black Wattle, showiug holes bored by grubs
of Beetle. Natural size. From nature.

II. Larva or grub in timber. Natural size. P'rom nature.

III. Perfect Insect (Male). Natural size. From nature.

IV Perfect Insect (Female). Natural size. From nature.

Y. Pupa. Natural size. From nature.

L. C. Vahi. Andersen. Del.

C. French. Direxit.

Plate CXXV.

Osbohistone (S- Co,, Print.

GREYISH-HORNED BEETLE OF THE WATTLE. 131

CHAPTER CXXXI.

Greyish-Horned Beetle of the Wattle.
[Pachydissus sericus, Newman.)

Order : Coleoptera. Family : Cerambycidce.

This is a brown Longicorn (long-horned) beetle, with a
silvery sheen — a colour very difficult to show correctly in
a drawing. This species is very common in many parts
of our State, and it has a wide geographical range. In
Victoria, it feeds principally upon the wood of the common
Black Wattle [Acacia decurrens), to the limbs of which it
does great damage. The eggs are deposited by the female
on the bark of the tree, and the larvte, when hatched, at
once commence to bore through the bark into the wood,
where they remain for a long time ; how long is not known.
Mr. Froggatt speaks of this pest doing damage to the
limbs and branches of A. longifoUa, but I have never seen
this tree attacked by it, although very susceptible to the
attentions of Uracanfhus and other wood borers of the
Longicorn family.

The male (Fig. III.) is smaller and narrower than the
female, but nearly identical in colour to the latter (Fig. IV.).
The mummy-like pupa (Fig. V.) is yellowish-white in
colour, and the larva (Fig. II.) is about the same colour
as the pupa.

Fig. I. shows a portion of a cross-section of the common
Black Wattle, from which some of the insects illustrated
were reared. It has always been a puzzle for me to account
for the partiality which many beetles, also other orders and
families of insects, have for the bark and wood of the wattle.
It is a well-known fact to entomologists that very few

132 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

insects of any kind are found in the blooms of the common
Black Wattle, or, in fact, upon very few others, " Mulga "
perhaps excepted. In the early days of Victoria, an
infusion of the bark of the Black Wattle was considered
to be the only reliable remedy for dysentery, then so
frequent in the colony that very few of the earlier settlers
escaped its attacks. It might reasonably be supposed that
the astringent nature of the bark would render this wattle,
at any rate, partly immune from insect attack, but the
reverse is tlie case, as the wattle has more insect enemies
than even the Eucalypts.

A case has recently come under notice of branches of
Plum trees having been " cut off " and a great deal of
damage done, and it is strongly suspected that one of the
native Longicorn beetles may prove to be the culprit.
This is a matter which will be carefully investigated, as,
although this beetle has never yet been known to attack
orchard trees, there is a possibility of its doing so.

The beetle is also found in New South Wales, Queens-
land, and South AustraKa. It is generally found under
the loose and partly-dead bark of the wattle, which, as
before mentioned, is also a favourite resort for other kinds
of small beetles, such as Ips, &c., which feed on the
decomposed sapwood and bark of the tree

There are several species of this gen as described as
occurring in Australia ; the well-known Cennnhyx, which
is a closely allied genus, is one of thi^ most destructive
timber borers in other countries.

Prevention and Remedies.

On plantations, a strict watch should be kept for the
first appearance of the fine sawdust coming from the
trees. When such appears, wires dipped in either bi-
sulphide of carbon or carbolic acid should be at once
used as previously recommended. Where branches

GREYISH-HORNED BEETLE OF THE WATTLE. 133

are affected, these should be cut away, if practicable,
and burnt for the purpose of destroying the larvae at work
inside. Fortunately, however, the sawdust is a sure sign
of trouble, and, unlike the workings of the White Ant,
gives the key as to what is best to be done.

The injection of either bi-sulphide of carbon or carbolic
acid can also be done by means of a small medical syringe
in place of the wire referred to.

134 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

PLATE CXXVI.

" Boisduval's Fig-tree Borer " (Batocera Boisduvali, Hope).

Fig.

I. Larva of Beetle. Natural size. From nature.

IL Pupa (Female). Natural size. From nature.

III. Pupa (Male). Natural size. From nature.

IV. Perfect Insect. Natural size. From nature.

Note. — The perfort stage of this beetle has been drawn from a specimen in my own
cabinet, whilst the larva and pup* are from speiiinens which were kindly lent to me by Mr.
niidge. of Brisbane. Queensland.

h. C. Vald. Andersen, De!

C. French. Direxit.

Plate CXXVI.

Osboldstone & Co., Print.

boisduval's fig-tree borer. 135

CHAPTER CXXXII.

Boisduval's Fig-tree Borer.
(Batocera Boisduvali, Hope.)

Order : Coleoplera. Family : Cerambycidoe.

This fine Longicorn beetle is a denizen of the great
scrubs, now fast disappearing, of Northern New South
Wales and South Queensland. Mr. Illidge, the well-
known Brisbane entomologist, says, "It is only found
upon the Giant Fig-trees {Ficus macrofhylla and F. aus-
tralis) growing in these vast forests." Healthy trees, he
says, are not subject to its attacks, but the stems and
larger branches of damaged and freshly -fallen trees are
those selected by the female upon which to deposit its
eggs. The grub, which we figure, upon emergence from
the egg, burrows through and under the bark to the sap-
wood, upon which it feeds, rapidly growing in size, and
boring in deeper, until there is no visible sign of its presence
upon removal of the bark.

In the following season, the greater number of the
larvae are ready for the change to the pupal stage (see
Fig. II.), though a few still remain for a few months longer,
and rarely for a second year in the larval state. The
pupal stage is not of great duration, usually about three
weeks or a month. No cocoon is formed, but a very
carefully-made puparium is prepared by the grub before
the change takes place. (Mr. Illidge speaks of having
made false puparia for the grubs, after cutting them out
of the wood, from suitable glass-topped metal boxes about
4 inches in diameter, lined with blotting-paper, and worked
by the finger as nearly as possible to the form of the
puparia.) In these glass-topped boxes the transformations

136 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

have been frequently watched, both to chrysalis and
imago or perfect insect. The grub must, of course, be
taken when ready for the change, and a little experience
soon teaches, just as readily as to the silkworm rearer is
indicated the time when the caterpillar is about to spin
its cocoon.

In rearing these beetles in this way, there will be found
a great tendency to dehiscence, i.e., a splitting of the
eh^ra or wing-cases. This can easih' be remedied if the.
freshly emerged insect be taken while in the plastic state,
and the end of the elytra gently pressed and squeezed
together by the fingers. They require to be kept at least
three months before they are properly hardened. When
just captured, their markings vary from pale-yellow to
orange ; these colours, however, fade after death into a
pale-cream colour, becoming almost white, as shown in
Fig. IV. In the natural state, the great cutting power
of their mandibles or jaws soon releases them from the
puparium, which is seldom over an inch from the surface
of the tunnel or branch.

Mr. Illidge speaks of this beetle as being confined to the
native fig trees, but many years ago I received a specimen
from the Clarence River, New South AVales. I was
informed that the specimen sent had been cut out of the
living cedar trees, and I have therefore included this pest,
as large quantities of cedar logs are constantly arriving
here from New South Wales and Queensland.

The large family of the Longicorn or long-horned beetles
comprises some of the most destructive of boring insects,
and, as before stated, it is necessary to carefully watch all
oversea shipments of timber in logs, some of the worst
of the American and European kinds of insects having
been already found on our wharfs and in our timber
yards. As an example of the danger of introducing borer
in foreign timbers, I may mention a case which not long
since happened at one of the wharfs on the Lower Yarra.
when a European Longicorn beetle, Clytus, bored some

boisduval's fig-tree borer. 137

holes through the ship's deck, and some of the beetles
were found partly emerged from the wood. In Australia,
the Longicorn beetles number close on 1,500 species
(I have over 1,000 species in my collection), and the
whole are more or less destructive to forests, timbers in
buildings, &;c. The foreign kinds are even more numerous
and quite as destructive as those of Australian origin.

Prevention and Remedies.

As we have before stated, the most stringent measures
must be resorted to in trying to keep out this and similar
pests which may be introduced, especially when the
timber is in log form. All such consignments should be
overhauled on arrival, and should not be allowed to lie
about on the wharfs, as it is through the agency of
imported timber that many of our furniture borers have
been introduced. When these pests have once obtained
a footing, eradication becomes a matter of supreme
difficulty, if not an impossibility.

Note. — Since writing the description of this species,
numerous cases of beetles attacking valuable furniture
and house timbers have come under notice. In each
instance the trouble has been traced to Japanese and
Chinese verandah blinds or to bamboo furniture from the
East. I would therefore strongly recommend that all
imported cane, bamboo, and wicker-work furniture be
treated for at least 24 hours with cyanide gas at the
Government Fumigator on the wharf, before permission
for removal is granted. The particular species of beetle
responsible for the damage will be figured in Pait YI. of
this work.

1 8720.

C. French. Direxit
WHITE IBIS.

(Ibis MoliiCLd, Cuvicr.)

Plate CXXVII,

OsboUlstone &■ Co., Print.

WHITE IBIS. 139

CHAPTER CXXXIII.

White Ibis.
{Ibis Molucca, Ciivier.)

The White Ibis claims special notice. It is a noble bird,
with the upper portion of the head naked, and oi a dark
bluish-black in colour, and, as our plate shows, some
pinkish marks on the back of the neck. The White Ibis
is slightly larger than the Stra,w-necked Ibis, with the
bill rather more curved than the latter species. In
height, when erect, it is about 22 inches, and is mostly to
be found in swamp country, although I have frequently
seen it on dry box country, and in company with the
Straw-necked Ibis.

The Ibis is a voracious feeder, and the amount of the
food which it consumes is, for the size of the bird, simply
wonderful. Mr. Campbell, in his valuable book, Nests
and Eggs of Australian Birds, gives some interesting
particulars of a visit made by him, during a trip with
Mr. Geo. Morton, the well-known Benjeroop naturalist,
to the breeding-grounds of this fine species. The following
is taken from the article in question : —

" We pole to deeper water in the centre of the swamp,
towards a large growth of bulrushes. Approaching these,
another wonderful revelation confronts us. The whole
place is alive and croaking with Ibises of two species — the
Straw-necked and the White. The dark-coated Straw-
necked Ibises rise first, in companies of about half -hundreds,
and fly away. The White species, evidently nesting, is
reluctant to follow suit. But they are compelled to move
when we shoot the prow of our boat into the rushes amongst
their nests. The nests are picturesquely grouped on

18720. G

140 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

irregular steps or terraces formed by the tops of the rushes
being split or frayed out, then trampled or matted together
to within a few inches of the watei. Hastily looking at
these nearest to us, we see a nest with five eggs, another
with four, and four with three each. Out of the scores of
nests on the rookery, only a few are occupied with helpless
young birds, not many days old. Their heads are black,
and the pinkish skin of the rest of their bodies shows
strongly through a moderate coating of white down."

This bird is one of the best of our insect-destroying
birds, and, like the White-fronted Heion (or Blue Crane
of the colonists), it is very partial to the small shell hosts
of the dreaded " fluke," and thus its great reputation as a
useful bird is well preserved. Found also in Australia
generally, also in the Molucca group and Papua.

/,. <•;. r.iiJ An la sen, Del

tone & Co., Print.

STRAW-NECKED IBIS.

(Carp/iihi.s .'if'inicol/ts, Reich.)

Plate CXXVIII.

STRAW-NECKED IBIS. 14]

OHAPTEE (JXXXIV.

Straw-necked Ibis.

{Carphibis spinicollis, Reich.)

The Straw-necked Ibis I unhesitatingly place at the
head of the list of the insect-destroying birds of Australia.
Others who differ from me place the highly-valued White-
fronted Heron or Blue Crane before it, but this matters
but little, both birds being of the best. This fine bird is
bare on the head and upper portions of the neck, with a
singular appendage of straw-like feathers, hence its common
name. The composition of these singular feathers gives
it a most strange appearance, and quite unlike that of
any other Australian bird. In height, when standing-
erect, it is about 20 inches, sometimes more. The colour
of the wings is of a beautiful bluish bronze, somewhat
difficult to describe, and more difficult still to reproduce
faithfully. The legs are reddish, with a lighter colour
towards the lower portion of the breast.

The Straw-necked Ibis frequently occurs in immense
numbers, and Gould mentions that after the severe drought
in 1839 he found this bird in such abundance on the Liver-
pool Plains, New South Wales, that to compute the number
of birds in a single flock was simply impossible. In the
North-eastern districts of Victoria, I have seen them in
flocks of hundreds, and, in the grasshopper season, by
thousands They have a great appetite, and the number
of hoppers and other insects which they will devour is
beyond all attempt at calculation. As destroyers of
crickets they are without a rival, save, perhaps, the
White-fronted Heron before referred to.

142 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

The nests of these birds are usually placed in swampy
Polygonum {Muchlenbeckia) bush country, and are very
thickly placed and visited by these birds in enormous
numbers. The eggs in a clutch usually number three or
four, and sometimes five. Some splendid photographs of
these rookeries have been taken by Messrs. Campbell,
Mattingley, Le Souef, and others, and are well worthy
of reproduction.

It is pleasing to know that all species of these useful
birds are now permanently protected The Ibis should be
encouraged wherever seen, and any violation of the game
laws should be at once reported, and rigorously dealt with.

The Straw-necked Ibis is found in every State in Aus-
tralia, also sparsely in Papua. A smaller and very
elegant bird, known as the Glossy Ihia {Plegadis falcinellus)^
is also found in Australia. It is of beautiful glossy bronze-
green colour, and is found in Papua. Malayan Archipelago
to Asia, Europe, Africa, and a portion of North America.

L. C. Vald. Aiuleiscii, Del

C. French, Dirextt.

WHITE-FRONTED HERON.

(Notophoyx Nov(e-liollaiidicF, Latham)

Plate CXXIX.

Osboldstnne &■ Co., I'rint.

WHITE-FKONTED HEROX. 143

CHAPTER CXXXV.

White-fronted Heron.
{Notophoyx NovcB-liollandice, Latham.)

This bird is bluish-grey in colour, with yellowish legs ;
and less than three times the size of our figure. This fine
bird is also one of the most useful, as, being a wader, it
not only devours the shell host of the fluke, but is singularly
fond of the destructive black, or field, cricket. The flight
of this bird is somewhat heavy and unwieldy, the wings
flapping lazily, and the long legs dangling from one side
to the other.

The Blue Crane, another name for this bird, is very
common in most parts of Victoria ; solitary examples, at
any rate, may be seen near any piece of swampy country.
They are not easily disturbed, and even then they fly away
in a very leisurely manner.

The nests are built in the branches of trees, usually near
a lake or swamp. Mr. Campbell describes the nest as
" a platform, about 15 inches in diameter and 3| inches in
height, composed of coarse sticks, with smaller sticks or
twigs built into the centre ; the nest is much bespattered
with lime, and frequently re-used. Eggs — clutch four to
five, elliptical in shape, texture of shell somewhat coarse,
surface slightly glassy ; colour, pale bluish-green, when
the shade is exquisite for beauty." The breeding months
are from September to January.

It has already been mentioned that this bird is a great
destroyer of crickets, the latter being one of the greatest
enemies of the grazier in Victoria. On my dissecting one
of the birds, it was found to have swallowed no less a
number than 346 of these crickets. In speaking of the

144 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

habits of this bird, Mr. R. Hall mentions \aving seen a
flock of 57. This was on the 16th December, 1896, at
Western Port, and he further says that he has observed
their capacious stomachs crammed with grass-hoppers^
Dr. Cobb speaks of them as fluke eaters while the animal
is in its host {BuUmus), a fresh water mollusc, ihese
birds are also great destroyers of yabbies, the lobster-
shaped crustacean which does so much damage to our
irrigation channels. Mr. Hall further remarks that m
Victoria, during recent years, many species of freshwater
snails which house the fluke have been discovered. ihe
fluke finally leaves the snail, and goes on to the grass,
and with the latter is eaten by the first sheep that comes
along.

Unfortunately, this is one of those birds which are the
victims of the " pot-shotter " ; it rises so slowly that anv one
can shoot it. There is no excuse whatever for the killing
of this useful bird, as it is simply a bundle of feathers the
body being very small for the size of the bird. The \\ hite^-
fronted Heron is frequently attacked by the Black-cheeked
Falcon, and falls an easy prey to the savage little hawk.

The White-fronted Heron is found throughout the whole
of Australia and Tasmania; also in New Zealand,
Loyaltv Islands, and New Caledonia, through Papua to
the Molucca Islands and the Celebes Group.

\

x-*

%

t^^f*^

•■-^-^"

C. French, Dirc\

me 6- Co.. /'!!»'

AUSTRALIAN BUSTARD OR WILD TURKEY.
(Eupodofis Anstmlis, J E. Gray).

Plate CXXX.

AUSTRALIAN BUSTARD OR WILD TURKEY. 145

CHAPTER CXXXVI.

Australian Bustard or Wild Turkey.
{Ewpodotis Australis, J. E. Gray.)

The Australian Bustard or Wild Turkey is a truly noble
insect-destroying bird, which, unfortunately for our farmers
and graziers, is fast disappearing from most parts of the
State. The " pot-shotter " and the poison cart are largely
the cause of its rapidly reducing numbers. In the
early days of Victoria, this bird was fairly common,
especially on the plains and open country in the North-
western parts, but now it is threatened with partial if not
total extinction.

The Wild Turkey, when fully grown, will stand nearly
3 feet 6 inches in height, and in colour is a dappled greyish-
brown, legs yellowish. A good specimen has been known
to weigh from 13 to 16 lbs. Gould, in his valuable hand-
book, says that " in size, this species exceeds the European
Bustard {Otis tarda), standing higher upon its legs, and
having a longer neck, and when seen at feed or slowly
stalking over its native plains, no Australian bird, except
the Emu and Cassowary, is so majestic, or assumes in its
carriage so great an air of independence. The male is
much larger than the female, and, from the greater length
of the plumes of the neck and occiput, is much more
stately in appearance. It flies heavily, with its long neck
stretched out to the utmost, but is capable of sustaining
flight for a considerable distance. The eggs of this fine
bird are laid usually in clutches of two in number, and in
such situations I have frequently come across them."
Mr. Campbell and others speak of the nest being indicated
by a few twigs, but, personally, I have not noticed this
peculiarity.

146 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

The breeding months include June to November ; Gould
says September, and Mr. Campbell quotes an instance when
fresh eggs were found in Central Queensland in the middle
of March.

The Wild Turkey is a most voracious feeder, and in the
grass-hopper or locust season it is no uncommon sight to
see some of the birds so gorged with the above-named
insects as to be unable to rise from the ground ; in
this condition they are frequently killed with sticks.

It is gratifying to know that these useful birds are now
protected all the year round in Victoria, and it is to be hoped
that any one found either killing the birds, or taking their
eggs, will be severely dealt with. Some time since, it
was no unusual occurrence to see a Wild Turkey hanging
for sale outside City poulterers' shops ; and as the excuse
was given that the birds were sent from New South Wales,
it was difficult to sheet home the blame to the proper
culprits. I therefore suggested that no person be permitted
to have these birds in their possession, or to expose them
for sale. This had the desired effect, and Victoria, at any
rate, is free from the blame of destroying what, in reality, is
one of the best insect- destroying birds known. This bird
is still common in some of the drier parts of Australia,
where, irrespective of its great value as a destroyer of
insects, it is relentlessly hunted and eaten, although it
requires to be specially cooked, after the method of
treating game. The Wild Turkey is found also in New
South Wales, Queensland, South, and Western Australia.

GIANT KINGFISHER OR -LAUGHING JACKASS.
I Dacclo ii ',!,■- '■->■. Lcajli).

Plate CXXXI.

GIAXT KINGFISHER OR LAUGHING JACKASS. 147

CHAPTER CXXXVII.

GiAXT Kingfisher or '' Laughing Jackass."
(Dacelo gigas, Leach.)

The so-called Laughing Jackass is so familiar to Aus-
tralians that a description is hardly necessary. It is
well-known as a destroyer of lizards, young snakes, and
small birds. It is also partial to chickens, and especially
to young turkeys, which it kills by a smart peck on the
back of the head.

The Laughing Jackass is also known as a Kingfisher ;
why, I could never ascertain, as it does not fish, unless it
be that it belongs to the same sub-order of birds as the
Azure Kingfisher, which is one of the prettiest of our
native birds.

The Kookaburra is another name by which this quaint -
looking bird is known.

The adult bird, as Mr. Campbell describes, is about
18 inches in length, including tail 5 J inches, and bill
3 inches. It has a dusky back and wings, some part of
the wings being relieved with markings of blue ; the tail
is brownish, and barred with black.

The eggs, which are white, and three to four in a clutch,
are usually deposited in the spout of a limb, but more
frequently in a hole in the butt of the tree, and not ver^'
high, as a rule, from the ground. The young are fluffy
little chaps, and make a great noise, which frequently
betrays their otherwise secure whereabouts. The eggs are
generally not difficult to find, and the egg robber may
pursue his calling with safety, whereas had it been, say,
a Black-cheeked Falcon, the nest would not have been
robbed without a vigorous protest on the part of the birds ,
both male and female.

148 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

Despite the fact of this bird being a terror to the poultry
housewife, it is a general favourite, and the farmer, when
ploughing, is frequently followed by these birds, which
pick-up the grubs as the latter are turned out b}' the
plough. They are voracious feeders, and will gorge on
grubs until they are hardly able to fly, and in such cases
they will hop on to a fence, and, if they are not too much
surfeited with food, will usually " laugh " for several
moments at a stretch. When perched upon a limb, with
a lizard or some other food between its claws, it has a
singularly knowing look.

The Giant Kingfisher is a capital mouser, and when in
confinement will soon leave but few mice about the place.
Sparrows, too, are frequently taken, especially wlien barely
able to fly, the older birds being as a rule too wary for our
Kingfisher friend. It is very amusing to see one of these
birds, high up on the outstretched branch of a tree, banging
a lizard against the limb until the life is knocked out of the
unfortunate prey, which is then swallowed whole.

It makes a good pet bird for the garden, and, when not
injured and able to get about, even the persistent sparrow
gives it a wide berth.

The Giant Kingfisher is found over the whole of
Australia.

fi

I

i

23

WHITE-BACKED MAGPIE OR CROW SHRIKE. 149

CHAPTER CXXXVIII.

White-backed Magpie or Crow Shrike.
{Gymnorhina leuconota, Gould.)

The White-backed Magpie or Crow Shrike is a fearless,
aggressive, but easily domesticated bird, and is a great
destroyer of underground grubs, locusts, grasshoppers,
&c. A ver}' long experience of this bird, and also with
the black-backed species, has convinced me that, as a rule,
the farmer can well afford to take these fine birds under
his special protection. Their grain-eating propensities are
well known, and the old-time clapper formerly used for
frightening these birds, as well as parrots and sulphur-
crested cockatoos, from the crops is still in the memory
of the writer.

Both of the magpies are so well known to most that
our plate of one of them may be considered sufficient, the
economy of both being much alike. It is a singular fact,
noticed by many observers, that there would appear to be a
line of geographical demarcation between the habits of these
two valuable insect-destroying birds. The white-backed
species is found mostly south of the Dividing Range,
while the black-backed one is found north of these moun-
tains. Both are equally bold, resolute, and aggressive,
and, though highly recommended as pets, the writer
cannot agree with all that has been stated as to their
qualifications in this respect, more especially in cases
where young children are concerned. The note of the
Magpie is simply delightful, and is one of the many
pleasures of country or bush life in Australia.

Gould says, " The white-backed species is more wary
and shyer in disposition than the black-backed species."
This is hardly my experience, but the note in the white-
backed species is certainly louder than that of the more

150 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

northern form. In many birds it is the male that sings
or warbles, but in the case of the Magpie both the sexes
give forth their delightful note.

As destroyers of chafer grubs, cutworms, and grass-
hoppers, the magpies have few equals. During ploughing
operations, they may be seen following hard at work
at the grubs, which are devoured in enormous quantities.

The nest, which is built of sticks, twigs, &c., and is
lined with grass and feathers, is usually located up in a
tree, a commanding position being frequently selected.
The eggs are usually three or four to a clutch, but some-
times five have been found.

This bird should be protected as far as possible, but
when it appears in such numbers as to become a pest to
the farmer, a judicious thinning out may be desirable.

The Magpie is found also in New South AVales and South
Australia.

«. ■.■ \.

/- C. \'ald. Aiutciscii. De

C. French, Dtiiu!

YELLOW-BREASTED ROBIN.

(Eopsaltria Aiistrnlis, l.atliaiit).

Plate CXXXIII.

()slu)lilsl(ine (S- Co., I'rint.

YELLOW-BREASTED ROBIN. 151

CHAPTER CXXXIX.

Yellow-breasted Robin.
{Eopsaltria Australis, Latham.)

As this beautiful bird is not, strictly speaking, a true
robin, it is known to ornithologists as a "" Shrike " Robin,
but, as all growers know it as the Yellow-breasted Robin,
I have adhered to the old name.

The full-grown male is slightly smaller than the one
illustrated. The female is much the same in colour, but
smaller in size, and, as Gould says, has the rump olive
instead of yellow. The nest, of which Mr. Campbell has-
obtained such an excellent photograph, has been described
by him as being cup-shaped and beautiful in form, con-
structed of fine twigs, but chiefly of bark, with lengthened
pieces of outer bark, sometimes 2 or 3 inches long, stuck
on perpendicularly outside by means of spiders' web, and
further ornamented, especially about the rim, with lichen,
lined inside with rootlets and pieces of dead fiat sword-like
grass, or with whole small dead leaves of eucalyptus. The
nest is usually placed low in a fork or on a horizontal branch
of a tree in the scrub or a creek or in a forest.

This is one of the greatest favourites among birds ; its
confiding manner, somewhat slow movements, and cheerful
note render its presence welcome at all times. In the dense
gullies in the Dandenong and other ranges, its delightful
note may be heard before darkness sets in, and even in
the Tea-tree {Leftosfermum) bay fringes it is by no means
uncommon.

The Yellow Robin has a marvellous appetite, and there
are few birds of its size which destroy so many insects.
It is one of the fniit-growers' best friends, and should be

152 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

protected. Unfortunately, the slow movements of these
birds, and the ease with which their nests are found, render
both birds and eggs an easy prey to the egg collector and
the small boy alike. It is to be hoped, if only for the sake
of the growers, that this bird will be rigorously protected,
more especially in the mountainous districts. It holds the
palm for general usefulness, and as a destroyer of noxious
insects of all kinds.

The Yellow Robin is found also in New South Wales,
South Australia, and South Queensland.

C. C. Britthhank. Uc

r . French. Diicxtt. Osboldstone ^ Co., Flint.

SOUTHERN STONE PLOVER.

(Bitiiiiiiiis firalliirni.'i. Latliaiii.)

Plate CXXXIV.

SOUTHERN STONE PLOVER. 153

CHAPTER CXL.

Southern Stone Plover.
(Burhinus grallarius, Lath?«m.)

The Southern Stone Plover is a very valuable bird,
commonly, though erroneously, called the " Curlew,"
which is, however, a totally different bird. The
Curlew has a long, incurved bill, whereas the bill of the
Stone Plover, as our plate shows, is quite straight, and
much thicker in proportion to the size of the bird.

The natural home of this bird would appear to be in
fairly level dry country, but T have also met with them
in dry ranges, and, as Mr. Campbell says, "" Whether in
the forests of Queensland, or in the vast woods of Gipps-
land, or the drier tracts of the interior provinces of Western
Australia, every dweller of the bush is familiar with the
weird melancholy calls of the bird at night."

The Stone Plover is remarkable, if only for the prominent
eves and somewhat awkward gait when seen skulking
behind some tussocks, evidently trying to divert the
attention of the passer-by from its nest ; a peculiarity
not by any means confined to the bird under notice. The
eggs, usually two, are deposited on the bare ground, and
are pale-stone or light-buff, blotched all over, sometimes
with markings of umber and dull-slate.

According to Mr. Campbell and others, the breeding
months include August to December, but I have seen
them early in January. Mr. A. J. North says the bird
often resorts to the same spot to breed year after year,
even though its eggs are repeatedly taken. Mr. Campbell
mentions having picked up near Lake Tragowel, Victoria,
a pair of eggs just chipped, and by night the young birds

154 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

were able to stand and feed themselves. The prevailing
colour of the young in down is a light-grey, with a dark
marking in the shape of an oval line extending from the
head to near the end of the back ; dark lines also extend
from the head towards the tail. The young, if alarmed,
hide themselves, and lie quite motionless with necks out-
stretched, rendering their discovery a matter of difficulty.

It would be difficult to speak too highly of this bird as a
vermin destroyer, especially in gardens. It has many
advantages over the well-known Jamieson's Gull, as it is
more voracious and persistent in its search for slugs, &c.,
and is also more easily reconciled to captivity than even
the Sea Gull itself, the latter being always on the alert to
try and make its escape. A friend of mine had one of
these useful birds for years, and during the whole time the
garden was kept wonderfully free from pests of any kind.

Although the Stone Plover is not a very common bird
in most parts of Victoria, Mr. Campbell mentions having
seen as many as 50 in a flock in the Cardwell district of
North Queensland. It is found all over Australia and
Tasmania.

L. C. Vald. Andersen, Del.

r. French, nircxtt.

BOOBOOK OWL.

(Ninox boobonk. I.atliain).

Plate CXXXV.

Osboldstone &■ Co., Hunt

BOOBOOK OWL. 155

CHAPTER CXLI.

BooBOOK Owl.
{Ninox hoohook, Latham.)

This handsome little owl is well known to most of us
as the bird which makes the cry of " mopoke," or
" morpork," although for years this fact was doubted
by many excellent naturalists and others. Formerly, it
was believed that the cry of " mopoke " was made by
the Common Podargus, or Frogmouth, and Gould has
stated as a fact that one of the latter birds kept in cap-
tivity did actually make the noise alluded to. My own
opinion, and that of others accustomed to the bush,
is that both these birds, namely, the Frogmouth and the
Boobook, can emit somewhat similar sounds.

The colour of the Boobook Owl is a rusty-brown and
white. Clould remarks that the sexes offer but little
difference in the colouring of their plumage, but the
female is the larger of the two. A great diversity is found
to exist in the colouring of the irides, some being yellowish-
white, others greenish-yellow, and others brown.

The eggs (three to a sitting) are white and finely pitted,
and Mr. Hall gives the measurements as follows :— Length,
1 • 5 inches ; breadth, 1 • 3 inches. They are deposited in
holes in trees. In Mr. Campbell's book, an excellent
photograph is given, showing one of our well-known
naturalists climbing to a hole in which eggs are supposed
to have been deposited.

The Mopoke is one of our most useful insect-destroying
birds, especially in the case of night-flying beetles which
are so destructive to our forest trees, as they kill and devour
them in the most wholesale manner. They also destroy
mice and other small vermin.

156 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

Although this bird may be regarded as quite nocturnal
in its habits, it can fly by day, and I have seen them when,
accidentally or otherwise, disturbed fly oft' to a considerable
distance, usually making for some dense foliage in which
to hide. Mr. Keartland, well known as a bird observer,
mentions having seen one of these owls in the act of
devouring a small bird. The Owls will nearly all take
birds, and, as is well known, the giant of the family in
Australia, namely, the Powerful Owl, has the instinct of
a bird of prey, and lives largely upon the common Brush-
tailed Opossum, which it tears out of its hole in the trees,
and soon makes a meal of it.

Mr. Hall rightly says — " When we consider that there
are some 765 — [There are a few over this number. — C.F.] —
birds in Australia, and only, say, two dozen able to do the
night work of checking the ravages of insects or other
animals, we should see that a careful preservation of all
be strictly enforced." The great ornithologist, Gould,
writing of Australian birds, says, "In no other country
is there a greater proportion of insectivorous birds than in
ours, and certainly none in which nocturnal species as
Podargi (Frogmouths) are more numerous.

This valuable bird, which is found in Australia and
Tasmania, and also, according to Mr. Campbell, on Lord
Howe Island, should be carefully protected against all
comers.

C. C. Brittlebank, Dd.

C. French. Dircxit.

SPINE-TAILED SWIFT.

(Chcetura candacnta, Latham.)

Plate CXXXVI.

Osboldstone & Co., Print

SPIXE-TAILED SWIFT. 157

CHAPTER CXLII.

Spine-tailed Swift.
{Choetura caudacuta, Latham.)

The Spine-tailed Swift is a splendid bird, and in size is
nearly half as large again as our illustration.

The White- rumped Swift is a bird which is frequently
seen in company of the one under notice, but the difference
at a distance would hardly be detected by any one but a
bird observer.

Unfortunately for us, the Spine-tailed Swift is strictly
migratory, reaching here early in November, and staymg
onl}- till February. Mr. Gould and other observ^ant
naturalists inform "us that they have never seen one of
these birds at rest in Victoria, as they are constantly -on
the wing, and in search of insects, which they devour in
enormous numbers and far beyond ordinary attempts at
calculation. Thev flv with great rapidity, and Gould says
that it is possible for a Swift to be hawking for insects on
the continent of Australia at one hour, and at the next to
be similarly employed across the Bass Straits in Tasmania.

As another illustration of the rapidity of the flight of this
remarkable example of the feathered world, Mr. Hall, in
his well-known work on insectivorous birds, states that a
Swift has never been known to rest on its feet in Victoria,
and only a doubtful one in Australia, and he further says
the birds build in China, and can breakfast in Asia and dine
in Australia on the same day. Not an insect that
I know of can escape when once pursued by these birds,
as they fly like a flash, and rarely miss the object of their
attention.

158 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

It is a singular fact that, although this bird is supposed
to be known so far back as Pallas, both nest and eggs are,
according to Mr. Campbell, as yet undescribed. Mr.
Jerdon, the late well-known ornithologist, states that the
Spine-tailed Swift breeds amongst the huge wall-like crags
of the Himalayas, and Mr. Campbell, in quoting Mr. Allen
Owston, of Yokohama, says that it breeds under the Kegon
waterfalls near Nikko, Japan, and that the rock under the
falls consists of alternate hard and soft layers, making a
series of shelves, and the Swifts breed in the recesses
between the shelves. The outer edges of these shelves or
ledges are so rotten that they w^ill not bear the weight of
a man, and therefore the place is practically inaccessible.

Swifts, like the Swallows, are the faithful friends of the
rural public at any rate, and should be fully protected.

The Spine-tailed Swift has been found in Australia and
Tasmania, also South-eastern Mongolia, Eastern Siberia,
China, and Japan, and, according to Mr. Campbell, reported
as a straggler twice to Great Britain.

L. C. Vaht Andersen. I)c

C. French. Hium:

REED WARBLER.

(Acrocephalns Aitstralis, Gould).

Plate CXXXVII.

liboUtstone & Co.. I'rint.

REED WARBLER. 159

CHAPTER CXLIII.

Reed Warbler.
{Acrocephalus Australis, Gould.)

This is a useful and a charming little bird, which has
been placed by ornithologists as belonging to the family
of true thrushes. The colour is that given on the plate,
the bird, however, being somewhat smaller. It is migra-
tory, arriving usually in the early spring. The sexes are
alike in general appearance. The nests are usually built
in reeds, but sometimes in Polygonum or in bulrushes,
a twig of Polygonum being figured on our plate. The eggs
are usually three to four, and are well known, unfortunately,
to the egg-hunter.

The Reed Warbler sings both by day and night. I shall
always look back with pleasure to a moonlight trip which
the celebrated artist, the late Miss North, and myself had
to secure this bird's nest and eggs in its natural position
for the British Museum. The song is very sustained and
melodious, rendering the bird a general favourite.

Mr. Campbell says that on the margins of the Yarra
some of the Reed Warblers, on account of the absence of
reeds, suspend their nests in the drooping green tresses of
willows that hang over the river. As a rule, the Reed
Warbler builds over water ; but Mr. Campbell remarks
that instances are known where nests have been observed
on dry land about 50 paces from water in herbage such
as flowering stems of dockweed.

This bird has somewhere been alluded to as a seed-eater,
but the good which it does far more than compensates for
the loss of seed it causes. Its principal food is larvae,
nocturnal moths, and small beetles, also flies and other
dipterous insects.

160 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

This lovely little bird has a claim, especially on the rural
public, not only for its melodious note but lor its persistent
efforts in destroying insect life.

The Reed Warbler is found also in Queensland, New
South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, and Tasmania,
and, according to Dr. A. R. Wallace, on the Islands of
Lombock, in the Malayan Archipelago.

■C. C. Brittlcbanh, Del. C. French. Direxit.

WHITE THROATED NIGHTJAR
(Eiirosfopiis crlbii^ulari.s, Vii^ors and Horsficltl.)

Plate CXXXVIII.

Osboldstone dy Co.. Pi ml.

WHITE-THROATED NIGHTJAR. 161

CHAPTER CXLIV.

White-throated Nightjar.
{Eurostopus albigularisy Vigors and Horsfield.)

This is a splendid bird, feeding exclusively on insects.
The male (see plate) is much like the female, but the
latter is somewhat larger, and a trifle lighter in colour.

The egg illustrated is also a little larger than the natural
size, and is deposited on the bare ground without a covering
of any kind. I once found a very fine specimen of this
rare egg near Briagolong, in Gippsland. The egg was out
in an open space in lightly-timbered forest country. I am.
of the opinion that many of the eggs so deposited are
destroyed by foxes, iguanas, and snakes, as the birds
themselves are not rare.

That celebrated ornithologist, Gould, says, " During my
visit to Australia, I had frequent opportunities of observing
this species. How far it may range over the Australian
continent is not known. I have seen specimens in col-
lections formed at Moreton Bay, Queensland, and I have
killed three or four individuals of an evening on the cleared
land of the Upper Hunter, which shows that it is far from
being a scarce bird in New South Wales. In all proba-
bility, it is only a summer visitor to the colonies, for it
was at this season that I observed it. In the daytime it
sleeps on the ground, or on some dry knoll or open part of
the forest, and as twilight approaches sallies foi*th through
the open glades and small plains or cleared land>. in search
of insects. Its fliglit, which is much more powerful than
that of any other species of the family that I have seen,
enables it to pass through the air with great rapidity, and
to mount up and dart down almost at right angles, when-
ever an insect comes within range of its eye, which is so

162 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA :

large and full that its powers of vision must be very great.
Most of those obtained were gorged with insects, prin-
cipally beetles and locusts, some of which were entire
and so la roe as to excite surprise how they could be
swallowed ; in several instances they were so perfect that
I preserved them as specimens for the cabinet."

Mr. R. Hall remarks that, judging by the scarcity of the
birds in winter time, it is probable that it goes further north
to winter, and to get the advantage of a warmer latitude.

The value of this bird to those engaged in forestry can
hardly be over-estimated, as the great family of Longicorn
beetles, flying as they do by night, fall an easy prey to
this and other birds and of these beetles they must consume
enormous quantities. This valuable bird should be most
carefully protected. The whole family of the goat-suckers
{Ca'primulgidoe), to which it belongs, are strictly insecti-
vorous in their nature, and worthy of the most strict
preservation and protection.

The White-throated Nightjar is found in Victoria, New
South Wales, South Australia, Queensland, and Papua.

SPEAYIXG APPARATUS AND MATERIALS.

163

SPKAYLXG APPAHATUS AND
:\[ATEErAPS.

There is little to be added in regard to spraying and spray materials
since the publication of Part IV. During the past season, many local
brands of arsenate of lead have been placed on the market, and excellent
results have been obtained, proving that this mixture can be produced
locally at a much lower cost than the imported article. Many of these
brands have been tested bv the Department, and the particulars of the
analvses mav be found in the Journal of the Department of Agriculture
for October and December, 1910. The formula recommended by the
Department has been largely in use, as it is easy to prepare, and the
cost is slight.

THE "FRIEND POWER SPRAYER.

During the last couple of years, many of the leading orchardists have
discarded the old-fashioned hand spray pumps, and have purchased
the up-to-date motor spray pumps, and, according to their statements,
excellent results have been obtained. Some of the principal benefits
to be derived from using the motor spray pump are that the spray
mixture Avill go further, will be more evenly distributed, and one man
can manage the outfit, whereas by the old method two or more men
were required to work the hand pumps, and the mixtures were not
evenlv distributed over the trees ; in addition, the wages of the two
men were an extra item charged against the iipkeep expenses of the
orchard. These motor spray pumps are placed on carts or patent
trucks, and can be drawn over the rough ground without any trouble.

164

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA

A new bi-sulpliide of carbou injector has been placed on the market,
which is a decided iuiprovenient on the older injectors, as there is abso-
lutely no leakage, and thus a great saving is effected in the quantity

" ATTILA " BISULPHIDE OF " BULLDOZER SPRAY

CARBON PATENT INJECTOR. PUMP (NO. 2).

of liquid used. The cost of treating phylloxerated vineyards with this
injector is greatly lessened, and the work can be done niuch more
rapidly and with greater certainty.

SPRAYING APPARATUS AND MATERIALS.

165

Every season growers are learning more and more the value of
spraying, and in many cases as high a percentage as 98 or 99 of clean
fruit has been produced in well-sprayed orchards.

Various tobacco mixtures have been tried with good results, the
nicotine spray being especially usefiil in coimexion with the Thrips
pest in potatoes.

BAVE-U POWER SPRAYER.

Benzole emulsion continues to be effectual in dealing with Thrips,
and by means of the " Strawsonizer " machine, placed in an ordinary
cart and worked by hand, the work can be carried out effectively.
Eed oil and crude petroleimi have given excellent results against
Scale insects, Red Spider, and Woolh' Aphis.

Lime and sulphur has proved the best spray for Peach Aphis, the
spraying, of course, being done while the trees are dormant.

166

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTOKIA:

INDKX 'IX) i\\irr \'

Acrocephalus Australis
>Esiotes notabiiis
Apina calljsto
Arseocerus fasciculatus
Arsenate of Lead—

Aualj'ses of

for Orange ButtoiUy

for Tiger Moth

for Tomato Beetle
Artices glatignyi
Aspidiotus Rossi
Australian Bustard

B.

Batocera Boisduvali . .
Benzole Emulsion for Tlu-ips
Boisduval's Fig-tree Borer
Boobook Owl
Brine foi- Grain Beetles
Burhinus grallarius . .
Bustard, Australian . .
Butterfly of the Orange

Calandra granaria

Calandra oryzx

Carbolic Acid for 'limber Borers

159
107

163

18
2S
42

27

92
145

135
34

135
155

78
153
145

17

PAGE

Carbon Bi-sulphide—

for Diado.xiis . . . . 4(3

for Dried Fruit .Nfotli . . 86

for Grain Beetles . . . . 77

Carphibis spini:ollis . . . . 141

Chsetura caudacuta . . . . 157
Corrosive Sublimate —

for Grain Beetles . . . . 78

for Timber Borers. . . . 82

Crow Shrike or Magpie . . 149

Curved Wing-casa Timber Borer 81

Cyanide Gas for Tlnii)s . . 34
Cyanide of Potassium for Timber

Boix-rs . . . . . . 82

Cylas formicarius 63

Dacelo gigas . . 1 47

Darala Moth, Common . . 123

Darala ocellata 123

Desiantha nociva 41

Diacrisia canescens . . 27

Diadoxus Borer, Large . . 45

Diadoxus Borer, Small . ■ 49

Diadoxus erythrurus . . 49

Diadoxus scalaris 45

Diaspis rosse 53

Distichocera Macleayi . ■ i)7

Doticus pestilans 77

Dried Fruit Moth, Lesser . . 85

Drosophila .. ..22

INDEX.

167

E.

Eopsaltria Australis . .

PAGE
. . 151

Eriococcus coriaceus

.. 89

Eupodotis Australis . .

.. 145

Eurostopus albigularis

. . 161

F.

Feathery-horned Yellow-box Borer 97

Fire Blight of the Wattle . . 37

Frenchia casuarinae . . 57

Fruit Moth, Lesser 85

Fumigation for Dried Fniit Moth 86

Kerosene Emulsion for—

Dia'loxiis Borer . . . . 50

Fire Blight of the Wattle . . 39

Gum Scale . . . . 93

Gum-tree Moth . . . . 120

Rose Scale . . . . 54

Saltbush Scale . . . . 104

Tomato Beetle . . . . 43

I'racantlnis Timber Borers . . 68

Vino Scale .. ..112

Kingfisher, Giant, or Laughing

Jackass . . 147

Kookaburra . . 147

Gishurst's Compound for Thrips

Grain Weevils

Greyish-horned Beetle of the

Wattle..
Gum Scale, Common. .
Gum-tree Moth
Gymnorhina leuconota

H.

Heron, White-fronted

34

75

131

89

119

149

143

Ladybird, Parasitic on Gum Scale 93

Laughing Jackass . . 147

Lecanium berberidis . . ill

Lita solanella 23

Log Beetle, Spined . . 127

Lonchsea splendida .. 21

M.

Magpie, White-backed . . 149

Metallic Tomato Fly . . 21

Ibis, Molucca

.. 139

Nightjar, White-throated

. 161

Ibis, Straw-necked . .

.. 141

Ninox bDobook

155

Ibis, White

139

Notophoyx Novae-hollandise

. 143

Indian Meal Moth ■ .

86

Nutmeg Beetle

.. 75

J.

Jackass, Laughing
Jumping Beans

147 , Orange, Butterfly of the

76

Owl, Roobook

17
155

168

DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA:

P.

PAGE I

Pachydissus sericus . .

. 131

Papilio anactus

17

Paris Green for—

Orange Butterfly . .

. 18

Tiger ]\Ioth

. 28

Tomato Weevil

43

Phoracantha recurva. .

. 71

Phoracantha tricuspis

71

Platypus cupulatuE . .

81

Plegadis falcinellus

. 142

Ptodia interpunctella

85

Plover, Southern Stone

. 153

Pulvinaria Maskelli

. 101

Quassia Chips for—

Metallic Tomato Fly . . 23

Thrips .. .. 33

Tomato Weevil . . . . 43

R.

Red Oil for G\im-tree Moth . . 120

Reed Warbler .159
Regulations.Vegetation Diseases Acts 7

Rice Weevil 75

Robin, Yellow-breasted 151

Rose and Raspberry Scale . . 53

Roeselia lugens 119

Rhizobit'S ■ ■ . . 93

S.

Saltbush Scale
She-oak Root Borer
She-oak Scale
Silky Oak Weevil Borer

Spined Log Beetle

Spraying Apparatus and MaterirJs

Stigmodera heros

Stone Plover, Southern

Sweet-potato Weevil

Swift, Spine-tailed

Swift, White-rumped

127
I(i3
115
153
63
157
157

Tachinid Flies attacking Orange

Butterfly .. .. 19

Tar and Grease for She-oak Borer 1 lt>

Tar Water for —

She-oak Scale .. ..116

Uracanthus Timber Borers . . 68

Tephritis Tryoni 22

Thrips, Common 31

Thrips cerealium 31

Thrips tabaci 31

Tiger Moth, Dark-striped . . 27

Tiger Moth, Light-striped . . 27

Timber Borers, Platypus . . 81

Timber Borers, Uracanthus . . C7

Tomato Weevil 41

Tomato Fly, Metallic . . 21
Turkey, Wild, or Australian

Bustard 145

U.

Uracanthus bivittata
Uracanthus simulans
Uracanthus strigosus
Uracanthus Timber Borers

(•7

67
67

V.

101
115

57 i Vegetation Diseases Acts,Regulations 7
107 Vine Scale, Greater HI

INDEX.

169

w.

PAOE

Warbler, Reed .159

Wattle, Fire Blight of the 37

Wattle, Greyish-horned Beetle of

the
Weevil —

Borer. Silky Oak

Gr.lin

Rice

Swfet-potato

Tomato . .

Whale Oil Soap

131

107
75
75
63
41

34

Xenocnsma spinipes . .
Y.

1-27

Yellow-box Borer, Feathery-horned 97
Yellow-box Borers 7i

Yellow-breasted Robin . . 151

Zosterops coerulescens, attacking

Orange Butterfly Caterpillars 19

By Authority : J. Kemp, Government Printer, Melbourne.