i':'' 1 ■1 Aaronf>Bldg. £6.32,7 SeS4i ■ >■ ■»->■; / THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE COLLEGE LIBRARY * SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE I INJURIOUS INSECTS AND THE USE OF INSECTICIDES. SEMPERS. f*i i^v^^'jS J"? \ NJURIOUS rNSECTS'^ THE USE OF INSECTICIDES. L NEW DESCRIPTIVE MANUAL ON NOXIOUS INSECTS, WITH METHODS FOE THEIR REPRESSION. BY FRANK W. SEMPERS, VITH ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHTY-FIVE ILLUSTRATIONS. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA. 1894. ; 1 director op fordhook chemical laboratory ; author op ■, "manures: how to make and how to use them." 1 Se54L COPYRIGHT, 1894, BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO. WM. F. FELL & CO., Electrotypers and Printers, 1220-24 sansom street, philadelphia. PREFACE. Within a few years great changes have taken place in the methods of dealing with destructive insects. The rapid advances made in the science of economic entomology, the introduction of several highly eflScient insecticides aud the invention of labor-saving mechanical appliances for use in spraying, have done much to awaken farmers to the needs of broader knowledge and more scientific methods in com- bating noxious insects. Scarcely twenty years ago the best farmers paid little attention to insect depredations. Such losses were regarded as of no significance, or as a part of the ordinary risks of farming. They were looked upon as occasional but inevitable evils which it was nobody's business to try to prevent. In the early Seventies when Dr. Riley and a few other scientists were laboring to overcome popular prejudice against the use of Paris green, in fighting the Colorado Potato-beetle, agriculturists, as a class, were indifferent and inactive until brought to their senses by serious losses or by the complete destruction of crops. But we have learned better since those times. To-day it is only the thriftless farmer who insists on growing crops to be eaten up by insects. Such men, however, are by no means so rare as they should be. They are usually of that class to whom farming is a "poor business,^^ who cling tenaciously to old practice, or rather to no practice at all, and by converting their farms into breeding grounds for pestiferous insects are a menace to the prosperity of their neighbors and a nuisance in the community. Such culpable indifference to the rights of others is inexcusable, and it is to be hoped that, with the diffusion of knowl- edge and the growth of larger ideas, popular sentiment will crystallize into legislation for the repression of this evil. There was a time when savage rites were paid to pagan gods for deliverance from insect visitations, and in less barbarous ages the priestly orders excommunicated insects as the enemies of God and man. This, old chroniclers tell us, was done in mediaeval Europe, but with 264427 vi PREFACE. ■what results the historians of those evil times have failed to record. Perhaps the farmers of to-day, who ignore the winged and under- ground enemies of their crops, might have fared better in those old times, but, in these closing years of the Niaeteenth Century, there is no hope for them. They belong not to the present, but to the past, and to a system of agriculture doomed to irreparable failure. In this transitional period we must keep moving forward, welcoming without skepticism the discoveries of science, and applying them practically to the economies of life. Happily, this is largely the case in America in everything that affects the profession of agriculture. The old order is rapidly changing, and between extremes of broad distinction and no distinction at all, we have a large and ever increasing body of practical men, anxious to reduce to practice the teachings of science. From every quarter comes earnest inquiry for the latest knowledge and the best practice in dealing with insect depredators. And it is for this progressive, inquiring element among farmers and fruit growers that this volume has been written. No attempt is made to teach the science of entomology. In a work of such limited dimen- sions only the more common and more destructive injurious insects could be considered, and, necessarily, descriptions have been coniined to a concise summary of characteristics, especially to those salient points in form, habits and life history, which may be serviceable in identifying destructive species and in counteracting their injuries. Descriptions wherever possible, are from personal observations, but free use has been made of the writings of our most eminent entomologists. Especially am I indebted to the researches of Dr. Chas. T. RUey, Entomologist of the United States, to the writings of Professors Cook, Comstock, Garman, Forbes, Fletcher, Fernald, Lintner, Osborn, Weed, "Webster and others. The publications of the Division of En- tomology of the United States Department of Agriculture and the pop- ular Bulletins of many Stat« Experiment Stations have contributed much valuable material to the book. The illustrations have been gathered from many sources, and an effort has been made to have these accurate and life-like, since it is from good illustrations that the farmer most readily recognizes species under discussion. A large number of the illustrations are from copyrights belonging to Dr. Riley and are used by arrrangement witli him. Following are the illustrations after Eiley, Figs. 6, 7, 29, 3S. 41, 42, 43, 44, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 57, 58, 65, QS, 73, 76, 77, 78, PREFACE. vii 82, 83, 84, 85, 93, 94-98, 101-103, 105, 107-112, 117, 118, 121-124, 129, 131, 132, 135-137, 143, 144, 154-160, and 183. Figures 5, 8-15, 19, 21, 28, 30, 32-34, 39, 66, 120, 138, 145,148, 149, 161, 162, and 184, were kindly loaned by Professor Otto Lugger, of the University of Minnesota ; Figs. 16, 20, 25, 26, 63, 64, 74, 130, 133, 134, 141, 142, 150-152, and 173, were loaned by Professor H. Garman, Entomologist of the Kentucky Agricultural Experiment Sta- tion ; Figs. 4, 79, 80, 99, 100, and Plate I, were loaned by Professor F. M. Webster, of the Ohio Agricultural College ; Figs. 106, 125, and 180, by Professor J. H. Comstock, of Cornell University Agricultural Experiment Station ; Figs. 91 and 92, by Professor J. B. Smith, Ento- mologist of the New Jersey Agricultural College ; Figs. 67, 86, 113- 116, 126, and 172 by Professor Clarence M. Weed, of the New Hamp- shire Agricultural College ; Figs. 45, 46, 59-61, 87-90, by Mr. Mark Vernon Slingerland, Assistant Entomologist, Cornell University Exijeriment Station ; Figs. 27, 178, 178, and 181, are after Osborn, and were kindly loaned by the officers of the Division of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture ; Figs. 2, 3, and 70, are after Glover ; Fig. 164, from block belonging to the Division of Entomol- ogy, was loaned by Professor M. H. Beckwith, of Delaware College Agricultural Experiment Station ; Figs. 17, 18, aud 147, are after Miss Ormerod ; Fig. 40, after Harris ; Figs. 35-37, were loaned by Mr. Thomas Woodason, of Philadelphia, and Fig. 31 by Mr. W. C. Bar- nard, of Worcester, Mass. In addition to the eminent entomologists, whose illustrations appear throughout these pages, I would acknowledge my obligations to Mr. L. O. Howard, Assistant Entomologist of the United States Department of Agriculture, and to Mr. Geo. Marx, Chief of the Division of Illus- trations of the Department of Agriculture ; also, to Dr. Edw. J. Nolan, Librarian of the Philadelphia Academy of the Natural Sciences, for courtesies extended to me while engaged in the prosecution of the work. F. W. S. FOEDHOOK Farm, January, 1S94. Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive in 2011 witii funding from LYRASIS IVIembers and Sloan Foundation http://www.archive.org/details/injuriousinsectsOOsemp CONTENTS. PART I. PAGE Insects, Classifications and Insecticides, 17-55 Introduction, 17 Insects with Complete Metamorphoses, 23-29 Insects with Incomplete Metamorphoses, 29-32 Insects with Complete or Incomplete Metamorphoses, .... 33 Biting and Sucking Insects, 34 Natural and Artificial Methods of Combating Insects, . . . 35-41 Insecticides, .... 41-51 Spraying Apparatus, 51-52 Use of Insecticides from a Hygienic Standpoint, 52 PART II. Insects Injurious to Orchard Fruits, 57-88 The Apple, 57-75 The Plum, 57-78 The Pear, 79-83 The Cherry, ... 83-86 The Peach, 86-88 PART III. Insects Injurious to Small Fruits, 89-128 The Strawberry, 89-98 The Raspberry and Blackberry, 98-104 The Currant and Gooseberry, 104-112 The Cranberry, *, 112-115 The Grape, 115-128 ix X CONTENTS. PAET IV. PAGE Insects Injurious to Vegetables, Grains, and Grasses, .... 129-196 Asparagus, 129-130 Cabbage, 130-137 Celery, 137-139 Cucumber and Melon, 139-140, 150 The Onion, 141 The Potato, 141 Ehubarb, 149 The Squash, 139-140, 150-151 Sugar Beet, 151 Corn, 152-158 Tobacco, 165-166 Cotton, 166-168 Cereal Grains, and Grasses, 168-186 Stored Grain, 186-191 Miscellaneous, 191-196 PART V. Insects that Infest Domestic Animals, 197-204 Insects of tlie Household, ' . . . . 205-209 Index, 211-216 INJURIOUS INSECTS USE OF INSECTICIDES. PART I. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. INTRODUCTION. The annual loss to the people of the United States due to the depre- dations of noxious insects, is placed by the very conservative esti- mates of Professor James Fletcher, the Dominion Entomologist, at $380,000,000. In his inaugural address, delivered before the third annual meeting of the Association of Economic Entomologists, held at Washington, D. C, Professor Fletcher made the following remarkable statement : — "The amount of damage done to crops each year is so vast that the figures excite incredulity from those who do not study crop statistics. The agricultural products of the United States are estimated at about $3,800,000,000. Of this it is thought that about one-tenth is lost by the ravages of insects. In short a sum of $380,000,000 is given up without a murmur, and almost without a struggle by the people of the United States." Notwithstanding the fact that many natural and artificial causes operate to check the increase of insects, the enormous losses due to their depredations become more burdensome from year to year. The marvelous fecundity characteristic of insect life, the constantly increasing area of cultivation, the favorable conditions of existence in a land undergoing great agricultural development, and the facility with 2 17 18 INJURIOUS INSECTS. whicli the eggs and larvae are transported from place to place in inter- state commerce, together with many minor canses, all aid in spreading destructive species and in augmenting their numbers. In this little book our design is not the systematic study of the science of Entomology — our object is to observe the habits and life his- tory of injurious insects, for the purpose of preventing their extension and damage. We shall make no attempt to describe scientifically the numerous pests of the farm and garden, but .shall confine descriptions to those distinguishing characteristics, in form, color, habits, methods Autenuae. Eyes. First pair of legs. First pair of wings. Second pair of legs. Second pair of wiuss. Third pair of legs. Tibia. Head. Thorax. Abdomen. Tarsus Fig. 1.— Dissected " Grasshoppek," Showing Pmsioxs of Body. of increase and transformations, which may be of service to the farmer in identif^Mng his enemies and in compassing their destruction. Insects are distinguished from some nearly related articulates or jointed animals by having in their adult or perfect stage three pairs of legs and generally wiugs : their external skeletons appear to be com- posed of thirteen joints or rings which are grouped into three regions known as the head, thorax, and ahdomen (See Fig. 1). It is from this peculiar structure of their bodies that the term insect is derived. The name is from two Latin words in and scco, to cut, meaning to cut into, INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES 19 that is, iusected or divided into rings. (1) The head contains the or- gans of vision, the antennae or feelers, which are the chief organs of touch, hearing and smell ; and the mouth or feeding apparatus, and the organs of taste. (2) The thorax contains the organs of locomotion —the legs and wings. (3) The abdomen contains the digestive and reproductive organs, and in many insects the organs of self-defense. Most insects in the course of their development pass through four distinct stages of existence. The first of these is the egg; second, the larva ; third, the pupa chrysalis or nymph ; and fourth, the imago or per- fect insect. In the larva stage the immature insect is a voracious feeder. In Fig. 2.— Imago op Phlegethontius Celeus. (Glover ) popular language the larvaj (plural of larva) are generally, though incorrectly, called "tvorms;"' other distinctive names are also given to this period of insect life ; thus the larvaj of beetles are called 'gruis and iorers, those of moths and butterflies are called caterpillars, or, if infesting the wood of trees, are very generally known as borers; and the larvae of two-winged flies are called maggots. The larva is the formative or growing stage of insect life. With many insects this is a short but hungry stage of existence, lasting from one to four weeks, but with some species the larval period extends over several years. During this stage of life is stored up all the 20 INJURIOUS INSECTS. materials required to produce wings, the organs of reproduction and the materials for the transformations of the other organs of the body, such as legs, wings, eyes, etc., in the adult. Fig. 3. — Pupa op Phlegethontius Celeus. (Glover.) After a usually short but hungry life the larva attains full growth, wraps itself in some sort of cocoon or cell and enters upon the pupa or quiescent stage of life. Dur- ing this period the insect is usually in a dormant condition, or at least is apparently so. In reality most wonderful changes are going on within the seemingly lifeless pupal shell. All insects, however, do not spend the pupal stage in a quiescent state. Some remain active. The fact is, the metamor- phoses or transformations of insects var}' greatly, and, as we shall soon see, serve as a basis for their classification into two widely differing groups. As the period of pupation, or of change from the larva to the pupa approaches, some insects spin a cocoon in which to pass the dormant pupal stage, some form about themselves a covering of leaves tightly drawn together, some are covered by a hard pupal casing, while others that de- scend into the earth, or that are subterra- nean in their habits during the larval period, hollow out cells in the earth in which the quiescent stage is passed. In due season come forth perfect insects, more wonderful in their metamorphoses than the transformations of the nymphs of Diana as told in mythic story. Fig. 4— Cocoox of Ceceopia Emperor. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 21 The imago usually lives but a short time — but for a few days or a few weeks —just long enough to fulfil the one function of its life, which ^f^i§?r^ Fig. 5.— Large Saw-fly, LARViE, Cocoon (d), ani> Adult Insect, Natural Size. Fig. 6.— Mat Beetles. 1. Pupa. 2. Larva. 3 and 4. Adults. (Riley.) 22 INJURIOUS INSECTS. is to iwovide for the j)ropagatiou of its kind ; aud in providing for posterity the parent insect, guided by an unerring instinct, deposits her eggs just where the offspring is sure to find an abundance of suit- able food. A few genera of insects live through the winter in the adult state, but remain during that season in a dormant condition con- cealed under rubbish or buried within the soil. Insects which pass through a complete series of changes are said to have complete metamorphoses, or complete transformations. In these the larva, pupa, and imago bear no resem blance to each other, aud the pupse are unable to move about or to take food. Those insects not distinguished by so complete a series of changes are said to have incomplete meta- morphoses, or incomplete tram jor- mations. In these the immature insect differs less in form aud appear- ance from the adult, gradually increasing in size, aud moulting a, b. Young nymphs, c. Fully developed or shedding the skin at times, and nymph or pupa. d. Adult. * when nearly full-grown does not become a quiescent pupa or chry- salis, but simply moults again and continues feeding as before. In the stages corresponding to the larval and pupal periods such insects are known as Nymjihs. As the nymphs approach maturity they difter mainly from perfect insects in being wingless. All true bugs, crickets, aud grasshoppers undergo these incomplete changes. Entomologists divide insects into the following seven orders : — I. Hymenopteea, or membrane-winged insects. II. COLEOPTEKA, or slieath-wiuged insects. III. Lepidoptera, or scale-winged insects. IV. DiPTEUA, or two-winged insects. V. Hebiiptera, or half-winged insects. VI. Orthoptera, or straight-winged insects. VII. Neuropteea, or nerve-winged insects. Fig. 7.— Rocky Mountain Locvst. (Biley.) INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES 23 INSECTS WITH COMPLETE METAMORPHOSES. 1. HYMENOPTERA, OR INSECTS HAVING MEMBRANOUS WINGS. This order is believed to be the most numerous and includes insects that rank highest in intelligence and in the perfection of physical forms. It includes Bees, Wasps, Ants, Ichneumon-flies, Saw-flies, Gall- flies, and Horn-tails. The order is divided into two sections. 1st. Stinging Insects, such as Bees, Wasps, Ants, etc. 2 ': Fig. S.— Parasites. Ichneumon above pupa destroyed by it. Ephialtes in tbe act of laying eggs upon wood boring larva. 2d. Piercing Insects, such as Ichneumon-flies, Gall-flies, Saw-flies, Horn-tails. This order is distinguished from others by insects having four wings with few veins, and by having both a biting and sucking mouth. Many species of Hymenoptera are beneficial, producing honey and wax, cross-fertilizing our flowering plants, and others destroy vast numbers of injurious insects. Others still are most destructive to orchard and field crops. 24 INJURIOUS INSECTS. i,. Fig. 9. — Saw-flies, Natural Size. 2. COLEOPTERA, OR SHEATH- WINGED INSECTS. / This order is, by some entomologists, believed to out-number all others, more than one hundred thousand beetles being already known. The order is distinguished from others by insects having two pairs of Fig. 10.— Carnivorous Waticr-bkktlks. wings, the upper ones being of a hard, horny texture wliiili form a shield for the protection of the softer wings beneath. The lower wings alone are used in flight. Beetles are masticating insects ; they have biting mouth-parts, and undergo complete transformations. They are ^ INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 25 divided iuto True Beetles and Suout-beetles ; in the latter the head is prolonged iuto a beak or suout. Many beetles do great injury to farm crops; other carnivorous species are decidedly beneficial to man. The larviE of beetles are called grubs and borers. Some live in the trunks and limbs of trees, or in the stems of plants, or feed upon foliage, others are aquatic or semi-aquatic in habits, and still others prey upon species injurious to vegetation. Fig. 11. ^Tumble-bug. Egyptian Stulptures of the Sacred-beetle. Among true beetles we may mention Ground beetles, Carnivorous Water-beetles, Tiger-beetles, Snapping-beetles (wire-worms), Tumble- bugs, May beetles, Flea-beetles, the Bean and Pea-weevil. Among destructive leaf-eating beetles are the Colorado Potato-beetle, Cucumber-beetles, several species of Flea-beetles, and the striped Squash-beetle. Among snout-beetles are the Apple and Plum Curculios, Corn, Granary and Rice Weevils, Bark-beetles, Plum Gouger, Bill-bugs, etc. 26 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Fig. 12.— Lady-bugs, with Laeva and Pupa. Natural Size. Fig. 13.— Different Species of Flea-beetles with their Larvje. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES 27 3. LEPIDOPTERA, OR SCALE-WINGED INSECTS. This order is divided into butterflies and moths. The former fly hj daj\ and their feelers or antennte terminate in a knob. The White Fig 14 — Geometer, with Catlrpill^rs and PiP-i Cabbage-butterfly, Currant-butterfly, and Parsley Swallow-tail are examples. 28 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The moths have pointed feelers, aud in some species branching antennse. Moths mostly fly at night or by twilight. They are divided into many families such as— Sphinx-moths, Clear-wiu'^ed moths, Spinners, Cut-worm moths. Span-worms or measuring worms, Snout-moths, Leaf-rollers, Plume-moths, etc. Fig. 15.— CunRANT-BUTTERFLY. N.^T['RAL SiZE. Fig. 16.— Fkit-fly. L.vkva, Pltpa, and .Vnui.r. {Garman.) 4. DIPTERA, OR TWO-AVINGED INSECTS. This order includes a vast number of species distinguished from all others by having one pair of wings. It includes House-flies, Gad-flies, Bot-flies, Blow-flies, Crane-flies, Fruit-flies, Gnats, Mosquitxjes, the "Wheat midge, Hessian fly, and many injurious aud annoying insects. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 29 In this order belong the fleas, which in their earlier stages possess characteristics of Diptera. Fig. 19.— Gad-fly ok Horse- fly. Fig. 20.— The Adult Ox Bot-fly. Enlarged. {Garman.) INSECTS WITH INCOMPLETE METAMORPHOSES. 1. HEMIPTERA, OR HALF-WINGED INSECTS. It includes, first, the true bugs — a name which should not be applied to tbe insects of any other order ; second. Harvest-flies, Leaf-hoppers, Plant-lice ; and, third. Lice that are parasitic on mammals. The first includes many injurious insects, such as the Chinch bug, Squash-bug, Tarnished Plant-bug, Four-lined Leaf-bug. Among the cannibals are the Bed-bug and Soldier-bug, and some species useful to man. Some are amphibious, or aquatic ; among these are the Water- scorpion, the Giant Water-bug or the Electric Light-bug. 30 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The second group includes many families, all of which are plant feeders. Some insects of ttiis group have sound producing organs, dis- ''Jfi.ji.^mMe" Fig. 21.— Harvest-flies. 1. Cicada orni, common in Manna. 2. Singing cicada, with pupa. Fig. 22. — Ohixch-bug. Fig. 2.'?.— T.\rxished Fig. 24.— Squash-bt'o. Plaxt-bug. tinguishing tlieni from most others ; among these is the seveutceu-year Cicada or Locust. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 31 The Tree-hoppers, as the Buffalo Tree-hopper ; the Leaf-hoppers, as the Grape-vine Leaf-hopper, and the Spital insects are included in this group. Plant-lice and Bark-lice, or scale insects, also belong here. Many of these are both oviparous and viviparous, that is they reproduce young both by laying eggs and by giving birth to living young. The word oviparous is derived from ovum, an egg, and parere, to bear Fig. 25.— The Wingless Form of THE Grain Louse. Enlarged. {Garman.) / \ Fig. 26.— The Winged Form or the Grain Louse. Enlarged. {Garman.) Fig. 27. — Sucking Horse Louse. (Osborn.) or bring forth, and the term means to bring forth from eggs. Vivipa- rous is from virus, alive, and parere, and means to bring forth alive. The third group comprises lice which are parasitic upon mammals. The Hemiptera includes many most destructive sjiecies and a few that are beneficial. 32 INJURIOUS INSECTS. 2. ORTHOPTERA, OR STRAIGHT-WINGED INSECTS. The families of this order have large heads, strong jaws, straight wings, and long bodies. Crickets, Grasshoppers, Locusts, Katydids, Fig. 28.— Migratory Locust Described in the Bible. Fig. 29.— Bird Grasshopper or A.merican Locrsx. (liilei/.) "Walking-sticks, Cockroaches, etc., belong to this order, which includes some of the most destructive migratory insects known. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 33 INSECTS WITH COMPLETE OR INCOMPLETE METAMORPHOSES. 1. NEUROPTERA, OR NERVE- WINGED INSECTS. This order is now divided into many smaller ones. The transformations of the various families are quite different. lu some the metamorphosis is complete, while in others it is incomplete. All the insects of this order are distinguished by the fine nerve-like ff^ 1\>\V_,,^JJ Fig. 30.— Deagon-fly, with Active Pupa and Empty Pupal Skin. network of the wings and by biting mouths. Some of those which have complete transformations are Ant-lions, Caddice-flies, and Lace- wings. Those which have incomplete transformations are Dragon- flies, or Mosquito-hawks, May-flies, "White-ants. Book-lice also belong to this order. The nerve-winged insects include some species most beneficial, both in the larval and mature states. The larvae Dragon- flies destroy myriads of larval mosquitoes, and in the adult state are as destructive to winged mosquitoes. ' 34 INJURIOUS INSECTS. BITING AND SUCKING INSECTS. In the study of Economic Entomology it Ls found convenient to classify insects according to the manner in which they take food, since the feeding apparatus or mouth organs furnish an excellent basis for classification. For our purpose it is sufficient to group the different types of feeding organs under two general heads : (1) Bitixg, and (2) Sucking mouth parts. The mouths of biting insects have an upper and lower lip, and two pairs of jaws moving sideways between the lips. Insects having this type of mouth chew up and swallow the plant tissues upon which they feed. These masticating insects possess strong, well-defined, horny jaws, acting horizontally for chewing foliage or fruit, for cutting off the stems of plants, or for boring into the fruits, roots, barks, or trunks of trees and stems of plants. Many gnawing and boring insects be- longing to this groujj may be destroyed by means of poisons applied to the surface of their food plants. In many other insects the mouth or feeding parts have been so modified, and the departure from the general type seems so great, that we are almost led to the erroneous conviction that a large group of insects have no jaws at all. Among these are the true bugs, the scale insects, the plant lice, and many others. When, however, we examine the mouth parts of the true bugs we find ourselves greatly mistaken in presuming these insects to be wholly without jaws. We discover that they have a long beak-like organ, which when dissected under the microscope is found to contain four minute bristles, which are actually rudimentary jaws ; but the action of these modified jaws is very different from that of the jaws of chewing insects. With the bristles the tissues of plants or animals are punctured and the sap or blood, as the case may be, is sucked through the hollow, horny tube into the digestive tract of the insect. Such insects cannot be reached with poisons applied to the surface of plants ; the poison will remain harmless on the surface, since in feeding, the insect thrusts its beak into the interior tissues and absorbs the juices of the plant. The species of this group are known as Sucking Insects. For convenience, we group the masticating insects into gnawers, or those which eat the foliage or fruit, or gnaw off the stems of plants ; and borers, or those which burrow into the roots, stems, wood, etc. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 35 NATURAL AND ARTIFICIAL METHODS OF COMBATING INSECTS. Economic Entomology brings forward two distinct methods for checking the increase oi" noxious insects. These are (1) naiurdl and (2) artificial methods. The first is based on a knowledge of the habits and life history of insects ; the second depends not only on a knowledge of habits and life history, but takes cognizance of the structure of insects, more especially of the mouth parts, whether biting or sucking, and the character of the skin, whether soft and easily affected by irritating chemical substances, or hard and shell-like, and capable of resisting the action of irritants. In the second method experimental science is called to our aid and insecticides become the chief factors in waging warfare on the despoilers of our fields. To fight destructive insects successfully we must know something of their habits, of their trans formations in transition from the egg to the adult, and of their bodily structures. This knowledge reveals the weak points in their life histories and points out to us the most vulnerable points of attack. Some insecticides act both as poisons and as irritants. • Some pro- duce suffocation by closing up the breathing spiracles, and others generate gases fatal to animal life. Both natural and artificial methods should be emploj'ed in times of serious danger to crops, but the natural methods are more in harmony with nature and are less liable to kill beneficial insects along with those which are our enemies. NATURAL METHODS. In spring many injurious species may be caught in nets before they have become formidable in numbers ; others, as, for instance, the Plum Curculio, may be jarred from trees on to sheets spread on the ground beneath, or, as in the case of the Colorado Potato Beetle, may be shaken into pails of water containing a little kerosene oil. Every one destroyed early in the spring, before the eggs have been laid for another generation, is equivalent to many times the number killed later in the season. Bands of folded paper fastened tightly around the trunks of trees will act as barriers to the caterpillars of the Codling Moth, as they try to descend to the earth ; and strips of tarred paper or tin tacked around trees, prevent the uuwinged females of the Canker-worm INIoths from ascending trees to lay their eggs. Under the folds of paper the 36 INJURIOUS INSECTS. insects will congregate, where they are readily found and killed. Many night-flying insects may be attracted by lights or lantern-traps scattered through the fields. The lamps should sit or be hung over a vessel con- taining water and a little kerosene oil, into which the insects will fall and be killed. The eggs of noxious insects should also be de- stroyed wherever conspicuous, as is the case with the Tent Caterpillar. The nests may be gathered in winter from infested trees and burned. Dead twigs, leaves, and rubbish of all kinds in orchards or fields, and even stubble and dead grasses, should also be burned. Hogs, if per- mitted to root in infested soils, will devour vast numbers of subter- ranean species, and even the much despised crow, though under the ban of universal outlawry, does the farmer a not unfriendly turn in destroying many of the most destructive pests of the farm. High manuring enables plants to better withstand and to recover from insect injuries. Eapid rotation of crops, diversified farming in infested regions, late or early sowing and plowing, are all, under certain circumstances, eflfective agencies in killing off or preventing the development of insect pests. Ditching may often be resorted to to check the marching armies of certain migratory species, and wherever fields can be inundated, harm- ful insects may be effectually kept under control. ^Mowing crops early, as, for example, in the case of timothy infested with the Lesser Arm}^ Worm, or of various insects attacking red clover, will speedily end the mischief of these so-called worms by starving them to death. The Monitor moth and insect trap, illustrated in Fig. 31, is the in- vention of Mr. "W. C. Barnard, of Worcester, Mass. These traps are glass jars partially filled with a liquid strongly attractive to many in- sects. The outside of the jars have fiowers painted on them with luminous paint, and the interior arrangement of the trap prevents the escape of insects that enter it. Professor Fernald has suggested that these traps be set at night only and be kept closed during the day, since most of the injurious insects trapped fly at night, while many beneficial ones are destroyed if the trap remains open during daytime. To our friends of the South we suggest this trap as a means of destroying the night-flying moths of the Cotton Caterpillar [Aletia xyJina). In the spring of 1893 Professor Shaler recommended that the Moni- tor trap be tried for trapping the male Gypsy Moths by exposing the females. " This was done," says Professor Fernald, "by enclosing the females INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 37 in boxes covered on two sides by fine wire netting, and attaching to such boxes two sheets of paper covered with a resinous coating, to whicli the male moths adhered. Fifteen traps were exposed in Maiden, and 1771 male moths were caught. The fact that so many moths were destroyed at a small expense seems proof that trapping will prove an effectual and inexpensive method of preventing the increase in the numbers of the moth, especially as the males now seem to be comparatively scarce." Fig. 31.— Barnard's Moth Trap. Perhaps our most important natural aids are the least regarded by farmers. "We refer to beneficial wild animals— mammals, birds, rep- tiles, and fishes. Not only do insects have many natural enemies among predaceous and parasitic related species, but the higher animals — birds, skunks, moles, snakes, toads, lizards, frogs, and fishes — are some of the most persistent and energetic foes of noxious insects. Many wild animals hunted down and almost exterminated are our benefactors, and by destroying the enemies of our crops do a hundred 38 INJUBIOVS INSECTS. Fig. 32.— Parasite (Ophion) Inserting Egg in Caterpillar. Fig. 33.— Ground-beetles. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 39 fold more good thau the seemingly little harm which these animals do in levying a trifling tribute from our fields. Insects are also subject to bacterial diseases, which carry them ofi" in inconceivably large numbers. The introduction of contagious diseases of parasitic and cannibal insects is now receiving the attention of economic entomologists and gives promise of much future good. Among cannibal insects that help to hold the injurious species in check we may mention the Four-winged Dragon-flies, Two-winged ri(_ o4 — PAEASITts Plmpla female laying egg in caterpillar ; another Issuing from pupa of moth ; below it a male, natural size. Robber-flies, Lady-beetles, and Black Ground-beetles, found every- where under rubbish and stones. Many parasitic species also burrow into the bodies of inj urious insects and develop at their expense. ARTIFICIAL METHODS. The phenomenal growth of agriculture in the United States during the present century has been most favorable to the more thau normal development of insect life ; especially favorable have been the condi- tions for the increase of insects injurious to farming and fruit growing. The finely balanced relations between the animal and vegetable kingdoms have been disturbed, and the conditions existing so long "as the great interior continent was covered with virginal vegetation have been abrui^tly terminated. Such a derangement is always to be expected in the agricultural development of a new country. The 40 INJURIOUS INSECTS. opening of vast areas to cultivation and the growth of crops upon a scale of extraordinary magnitude is most favorable to the life condi- tions of certain injurious species. They will necessarily come first and multiply enormously, for at first there are none of the natural checks on increase which prevail in an undisturbed state of nature. With the coming of the noxious species will also appear a few of their natural foes. Conditions favorable to the increase of the former also favor the multiplication of the latter, and with time and more diversi- fied farming the disturbed relations between plants and animals will be restored. The old enemies of destructive insects ^\•ill multiply, parasitic species that prey upon our foes will vastly increase in num- bers, and bacterial forms of disease, to which insect life is so suscept- ible, will contribute to the re-establishment of a natural state of things. But even in old countries the nicely balanced relations between plants and animals are occasionally thrown out of equilibrium. Con- ditions may favor the development of certain noxious species, ard for a time the normal relations are disturbed. But in old countries these disturbing influences are less violent and rarely cause the widespread distress which has at times desolated newly settled communities. Nowhere in the economy of living nature have we more clearly ex- emplified the reciprocal influences of life upon life, or the dominancy of external circumstances in modifying the struggle for existence, than is presented in the study of insect life in our own country to-day. From what has been said of the structure of the mouth parts of in- sects and of their habits in feeding, it is quite plain that masticating species only can be destroyed by the use of poisons which enter the alimentary canal along with the natural food. For sucking insects we must resort to some other means. In dealing with noxious insects two classes of insecticides are now in very general use. First, those which adhere to the foliage, bark, etc., of plants and are eaten by masticating insects along with their food ; and, second, insecticides which kill by contact. The last are either irritants which produce death bj- coming in bodily contact with the pest, causing irritation, or substances that close up the breathing pores or spiracles and produce death by suffoca- tion. The breathing organs of insects ai'e not like those of the higher animals. If we look at the body of a locust under a magnifyiug-glass we find in the segments of the body minute breathing holes or spiracles. An examination reveals a system of air tubes exteuding to all parts of the body. These are the breathing organs of the insect. The effici- ency of many of our insecticides is due to the fact that they form a delicate film over the body, closing up the breathing .spiracles and INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 41 causing suffocation. In addition to these deadly substances resort is sometimes made to others of offensive odor, or that evolve deadly gases or fumes, or that act as barriers to some insects which occa- sionally migrate in vast armies from place to place. INSECTICIDES. The principal insecticides, or insect destroyers, are : Paris Green, Loudon Purple, White Arsenic, White Hellebore, Pyrethrum, Tobacco, Kerosene Emulsion, Coal Tar, Benzine, Turpentine, Carbolic Acid, Bisulphide of Carbou, and the Resin washes hereafter described. The fungicide, Bordeaux 3Iixture, is also beginning to be used to some ex- tent in connection with Paris green for destroying masticating insects. When thus used the mixture serves the double purpose of killing insects and protecting plants from certain cryptogamic diseases. These diseases or fungi, mildews and blights, as they are more commonly called, are minute parasitic plants of low organization which develop from spores somewhat analogous in function to the seeds of higher plants. Paris Grreen. — For general use this is probably the best and safest of the arsenical compounds. It is composed of arsenious acid and copper, and contains, when pure, from 56 to 58 per cent, of arsenious acid. Paris green is very slightly soluble in water, but by the use of a little lime water it is rendered practically insoluble ; even when used without lime water it is less liable to injure tender foliage than London purple or white arsenic. It is desirable that a compound of arsenic for use as an insecticide should be insoluble in cold water, for soluble arsenical pre- parations are destructive to foliage. The arsenical compounds are most effectually and cheaply used in suspension with water. Such mixtures are more readily made and answer every purpose for which dry mixtures are used. In dry mixtures Paris green may be used with such diluents as flour, land plaster, sifted coal ashes, or fine, dry road dust. Coal ashes are preferable to wood ashes, as the potash of the latter renders some of the arsenic soluble, which is then liable to burn the foliage. The writer uses a dry mixture made thus : — Paris green, 1 pound. Flour, 5 pounds. Land plaster, 100 " 42 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Wlieu damaged flour or the refuse of flour mills is used the propor- tion should be from 50 to 75 pounds of diluent to one pound of Paris green. The following formula is given in Bulletin No. 92 of the North Carolina Experiment Station : — Paris green or London purple, 1 pound. Wheat flour, 3 pounds. Dry road dust or sifted ashes, 50 " Water mixtures are not only usually cheaper and more easily made and managed, but can be used at all times regardless of winds and the dry or wet condition of Ibliage. Paris green is over three times as heavy as water, and, consequently, unless kept constantly agitated, settles rapidly to the bottom of the vessel. The addition of a small quantity of wheat, rye, or rice flour not only helps to hold the heavy poison in suspension, but forms on the sprayed foliage a thin film of glaze not readily washed off by summer showers. The writer prefers a liquid mixture of Paris green and water to which one quart of glucose or molasses is added for each fifty gallons of water. A paste made of wheat, rye, or rice flour may be used in- stead of glucose or molasses to render the insecticide more adhesive. If paste is used it should be made thin, stirred into the water, to which the poison is to be added, and the water allowed to stand for thirty minutes or more. Mix up the Paris green with a little water, and beat it into a fine, thin batter, free from lumps, before stirring into the water. Mix thoroughly before use. When thus made the heavy poison is more readily retained in suspen- sion, and a fine coating of glaze adheres to the plants. For each 100 gallons of mixture eight ounces of fresh caustic lime, slacked in about two gallons of water, should be added. The writer has experimented the past season with powdered soap- stone or steatite as a possible valuable addition to insecticides and fungicides. Used in spraying in connection with Paris green, steatite undoubtedly helps to hold the poison in suspension, and the insecticide adheres with great tenacity and for a longer time to the foliage, nor is it so readily washed off by showers. The following is the formula used by the writer : — Paris green, 4 ounces. Steatite in powder, 8 '" Caustic lime, 4 " Water 50 gallons. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES 43 Mix the Paris green and steatite, and beat into a fine batter before adding to the water. Churn the materials together and apply with a spraying machine in the usual manner. London Purple is chiefly arsenite of calcium, a residue obtained in the manufacture of aniline dyes. It does not contain quite so much arsenic as Paris green, but is cheaper, and being also much lighter will remain in suspension for some hours with but little pre- cipitation. It is more soluble in water than Paris green and must be used cautiously at first, being very liable to injure foliage. The retail price is usually near one-half the price of Paris green. Owing to the variable composition of London purple it is less reli- able than Paris green, but the low price, lightness, and distinct color make the former poison a desirable insecticide when of known com- position and when used with caution. In liquid preparations use in the same proportion as Paris green, but add no paste to the water, as this poison, unlike Paris green, is quickly precipitated by the addition of paste. Lime water at the rate of four gallons to each one hundred gallons of water should be added to pre- vent the caustic action of the poison on the foliage. For potatoes the liquid preparations of Paris green or London purple seem most effective when used at the rate of from 75 to 100 gallons of water to each pound of poison. "White Arsenic (arsenic trioxide) is rarely used. It has no advantages over Paris green or London purple and is objection- able because of its solubility and the want of some bright color to distinguish it from other white powders. It should be avoided and discountenanced by farmers as a dangerous poison to have about the farm. White Hellebore. — The powdered root of Veratrum album, an acrid and poisonous drug used in medicine. Hellebore may be used as a powder or in the form of decoction. When used dry the pure powder should be diluted with three or four parts of flour and be blown on infested plants from a powder bellows. As a decoction use one heap- ing tablespoonful of the drug to about two gallons of water. White helleboi'e is used generally for destroying insects that infest the goose- berry and currant and also for killing rose slugs. This insecticide kills both by contact and by being eaten. Decoction of "White Hellebore.— Take of White hellebore, 1 ounce Common glue, 1 " Water, 3 gallons. 44 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The foregoing formula is given by Professor Beckwitli in Bulletin 18 of the Delaware Experiment Station. The writer makes two decoctions of hellebore thus : — 1. Over one ounce of the drug in powder pour from one to two gallons of boiling water, stir, and cover the vessel with a board and allow the contents to cool. Add the glue, which has been previously dissolved, or instead of glue use a half pint of thin paste made with a little flour, and add sufficient water to make three gallons. 2. Over one ounce of white hellebore in powder pour two gallons of boiling water and allow the decoction to cool, as in Xo. 1. Take one ounce of powdered soapstone or steatite, mix with a little water, and add to the decoction, to which enough water should be added to make three gallons. Pyretlirura. — The powdered blossoms of several species of pyre- thrum are known in the market as Persian insect powder, Dalmatian insect powder, and Buhach, the latter being grown in California. This powder is sold under many trade names, and as found in the markets is often so adulterated as to be worthless, or nearly so. The imported powder of good quality may be had from reliable dealers in our large cities, and should be always purchased in preference to the cheaper articles offered by irresponsible parties. Pyrethrum is non- poisonous except to insect life. For many insects, the fresh, imported powder can be diluted with several tiraes its bulk of flour. The mix- ture should be allowed to stand for several hours before use. Buhach, the California product, when pure is very effective. A decoction of pyrethrum similar to that made of hellebore may also Tdc used. Tobacco is especially useful for destroying insects that infest domestic animals and greenhouse plants. The stems and dust are used in decoction or as a fine powder, and act both as an insecticide and as a fertilizer. Tobacco Decoction. — Tobacco stems, leaves, or dust, ..... 1 ]>ound. Water, 2 to 3 gallons. Boil the tobacco for twenty minutes, and keep covered until cool ; use undiluted, with a syringe or spray. This decoction is an excellent fertilizer, and is especiall}' eliective as an insecticide for plant-lice, soft caterpillars and insects that infest in- door plants. Kerosene Emulsion. — This insecticide acts as an external irri- tant, that is, it kills by contact. It ranks lirst in importance as a INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 45 remedy for non-masticatiug or sucking iusects. It is also very useful for applying about the roots of plants to destroy root-infesting lice and larvae in the soil. Aside from this wide field of usefulness for destroy- ing plant-lice and scale iusects, kerosene emulsion is effective against many masticating insects. Many modifications of the formula for the emulsion as first published by Dr. Riley have been extolled, but we know of none so easy to prepare, or that gives so good an emulsion, as the one recommended by the Division of Entomology of the United States Department of Agriculture. Riley-Hubbard Formula — Per cent. Kerosene oil, . 2 gallons. 67 Common soap or whale oil soap, . . \ pound. \ „.;, Water, i gallon, j Dissolve the soap over a brisk fire in boiling water, and when in solution remove from the fire and add the oil. Churn the mixture for a few minutes by means of a force-pump and spray nozzle, or if these are not at hand, beat with a paddle until a cream-like emulsion is ob- tained. Care must be taken that the oil is thoroughly emulsified. If free oil is present it will rise to the top of the liquid after dilution, and injure the foliage. If well made, the emulsion thickens on cooling into a jelly-like mass which adheres, without oiliness, to the surface of glass. In making kerosene emulsion use rain water if possible, or, if the well-water is hard, add an ounce of lye or a little baking (bicarbonate of) soda to the water. For scale insects dilute one part of the emul- sion with nine parts of cold water ; for many other insects, one part of emulsion to fifteen parts of water, and for soft insects, like plant-lice, from twenty to twenty-five parts of water may be used to one of the emulsion. Professor Cook's Formula for Kerosene Eraulsion : — Soft soap, 1 quart. Water, 2 quarts. Kerosene oil, 1 pint. Dissolve the soft soap as in the Riley- Hubbard formula, remove from fire and add the oil. Churn until completely emulsified. One-fourth pound of hard soap may be used instead of the soft soap. Dilute the emulsion with an equal bulk of water before using. Milk-Kerosene Emulsion : — Kerosene, 2 gallons. Milk (sour), 1 gallon. 46 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Made in the same manner as the former except that no heat is neces- sary. To sweet milk add a little vinegar or acid. With sweet milk difficulty will be experienced in producing an emulsion. The degree of sourness, however, seems to exert little eflFect ; the milk may be slightly turned or in the form of clabber. Use the same as the .soap emulsion. This is the best emulsion for use in hard water regions. In limestone regions where the water is strongly impregnated wnth lime or magnesia there is some separation of free oil on dilution. The quantity will be variable, depending upon the percentage of lime or magnesia in solution in the water. The separation of oil when hard water is used, is induced by the chemical action of the lime and magnesia salts on the soap, resulting in the formation of insoluble oleate, palmitate or stearate of lime and magnesia, or of all these compounds, and the consequent freeing of the oil which was held in the form of emulsion. In hard water regions the milk-kerosene emulsion is to be preferred since there is no soap present, and consequently these chemical reactions do not take place. Pyrethro-kerosene Emulsion. — This insecticide is made by percolating kerosene oil through pyrethrum powder and using the yellow, oily percolate instead of kerosene alone, as in the Riley-Hub- bard formula. The formula as published in Bulletin No. 15, Arkansas Exp. Sta., Dec, 1890, is as follows : — Hard soap, 1 pound. Kerosene extract of pyrethrum, 1 gallon. Water, 1 " Emulsify as in the Riley-Hubbard formula. Experiments were conducted at the Arkansas Experiment Station to learn the least amount of this emulsion that would be effective in destroying the cotton worm. From these experiments it appears that one part of the emuLsion to 450 or 500 parts of water is sufficient. When diluted with more than 900 parts of water, the young worms were not killed. When treated with from 500 to 900 parts of water to one of emulsion the young and half-grown worms seldom survived treatment ; and when the solution was reduced much below one part to 450, death came within a few minutes. The application of one part of emulsion to 500 parts of water caused the worms to die in from 12 hoiirs to two days, according to size. Tried on the pupne, all those that were exposed by INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 47 an opening in the web or leaf sufficient to be touched by the solution were quickly killed, otherwise they were not injured. (See Bulletin No. 15, Arkansas Exp. Sta., Dec, 1890.) To obtain one gallon of the pyrethrutu-kerosene extract as required in this formula, about one and a half gallons of kerosene oil must be used. Fully one third of the menstruum remains in the pyrethrum to be thrown away after the operation is performed. The writer has made and used a pyrethro-kerosene emulsion which combines all the advantages of the above formula, and that is much more easily made. It is thus : Take of Kerosene oil, 1 gallon. Hard soap, 1 pound. Pyrethrum powder, 1 pound. Water, 1 gallon. Dissolve the soap as in the Riley-Hubbard process and replace the water lost by evaporation. When the soap is all dissolved, add the pyrethrum to the boiling solution, stir thoroughly for one or two minutes, and allow the materials to boil for about three minutes. Remove from the fire, add the kerosene and churn until a thick emulsion is obtained. By this method a very firm pyrethro-kerosene emulsion is obtained, which, in dilution, works admirably with a force-pump and nozzle ; the process of filtration, which is not likely to be well performed by the farmer, is thus avoided, and a cheap and very effective emulsion obtained. Coal Tar. — Used to some extent in the West to protect crops from migrating insects. The field to be protected is surrounded by tar placed in a V-shaped excavation, which is most readily made with the corner of a hoe or the point of a plow. Carbolic Acid. —Crude carbolic acid with soft or hard soap forms an excellent wash for destroying bark-lice, and is also eifective against several borers. Carbolic Acid "Wash- Hard soap, 1 pound. Water, 2 gallons. Crude carbolic acid, 1 pint. Heat to boiling, and when the soap is dissolved, add the carbolic acid. Dilute with one-half its bulk of water, and use with a stiff" brush for cleaning the bark of apple and other fruit trees infested with scale or bark lice. May also be used as a protection against borers by smear- ing the wash about the base of tree trunks. Do not use on the foliage. 48 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Carbon Bisulphide is a very volatile and highly iDflammable, colorless liquid, which as found iu trade has a most disagreeable odor, due to the presence of sulphuretted hydrogen. Bisulphide of carbon is used for destrpying Grape Phylloxera and i usects infesting stored grain. It can be used with perfect safety, provided no lights or fire are brought about wheu being used. Bisulphide of carbon rapidly volatilizes when exposed to the air, giving off heavy poisonous fumes, which sink through the entire mass of grain, suffocating whatever pest may be present. Since the fumes are poisonous to animal life, care should be taken to remove farm animals from buildings while using this substance, and, also, not to inhale the fumes. Resin "Washes. — The formulas and directions for making the following resin washes are given in full, as published by the Division of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture, in Farmers, Bulletin, No. 7, pages 6 and 7. " These insecticides act by contact, and also, in the case of scale in- sects by forming an impervious coating which eifectually smothers the insect treated. These resin washes vary in efficiency according to the insect treated. Experience has shown that the best formula for the red scale {Aspidiotus aurantii Maskell) and its j'ellow variety (.4. citrinus Coquillett) is as follows : — Eesin, 18 pounds. Caustic soda (70 per cent, strength), . , 5 " Fish oil, 2h pints. Water to make, 100 gallons. " The necessary ingredients are placed in a kettle and a sufficient quantity of cold water added to cover them. They are then boiled until dissolved, being occasionally stirred in the meantime, and after the materials are dissolved, the boiling should be continued for about an hour, and a considerable degree of heat should be employed so as to keep the preparation in a brisk state of ebullition, cold water being added in small quantities whenever there are indications of the pre- paration boiling over. Too much cold water, however, should not be added at one time, or the boiling process will be arrested and thereby delayed, but by a little practice the operator will learn how much water to add so as to keep the preparation boiling actively. Stirring the preparation is quite unnecessary during this stage of the w-ork. When boiled sufficiently it will assimilate perfectly with water, and should then be diluted with the proper quantity of cold water, adding it slowly at first and stirring occasionally during the process. The un- INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 49 diluted preparation is pale yellowisK in color, but by the addition of water it becomes a very dark brown. Before being sprayed on the trees it should be strained through a fine wire sieve, or through a piece of Swiss muslin, and this is usually accomplished when pouring the liquid into the spraying tank, by means of a strainer placed over the opening through which the preparation is introduced into the tank. The preparing of this compound will be greatly accelerated, if the resin and caustic soda are first pulverized before being placed in the boiler, but this is quite a difficult task to perform. Both of these sub- stances are put up in large cakes for the wholesale trade, the resin be- ing in wooden barrels, each barrel containing a single cake, weighing about 375 pounds, while the caustic soda is put up in iron drums con- taining a single cake each, weighing about 800 pounds. The soda is the most difficult to dissolve, but this could doubtless be obviated by first dissolving it in cold water and then using the solu- tion as required. This insecticide may be applied at any time during the growing season. A stronger wash is required for the San Jose scale (Aspidiotus perniciosus Comstock), and the following formula gives the best results : — Eesin, 30 pounds. Caustic soda (70 per cent. ) 9 " Fish oil, 4^ pints. Water enough to make 100 gallons. Place all the ingredients in a kettle and cover with water to a depth of 4 or 5 inches ; boil briskly for about two hours, or until the compound can be perfectly dissolved with water. When this stage is reached the kettle should be filled up with water, care being taken not to chill the wash by adding large quantities of cold water at once. It may be thus diluted to about 40 gallons, the additional water being added from time to time, as it is used. This preparation should only be applied during winter or during the dormant period ; applied in the growing season it will cause the loss of foliage and fruit. In the application of both these washes a very fine spray is not es- sential, as the object is not simply to wet the tree, but to thoroughly coat it over with the compound, and this can be best accomplished by the use of a rather coarse spray, which can be thrown upon the tree with considerable force, 4 50 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Kerosene Ointment. (Bui. 78, North Carolina Exp. Sta.) : — Lard 1 pound. Powdered sulphur, 2 ounces. Kerosene oil, \ pint. Mix the lard and sulphur, and then add the oil. For use on poultry. Apply by rubbing. 1. Corrosive Sublimate "Wash. (Bui. 92, North Carolina Exp. Sta.)— Corrosive sublimate, 1 ounce. Soft soap, 10 gallons. Alcohol or wood spirit, 1 pint. Water, sufficient. Directions. — Dissolve the corrosive sublimate in the alcohol or spirit, and stir it into the soft soap, add water enough to make a stiff paint, and apply to base of trees with a brush. This is said to be a reliable remedy against the borere of the apple, and also good for the woolly louse. 2. Cement Wash. (Bui. 92, North Carolina Exp. Sta.)— Hydraulic cement, 5 tablespoon fuls. Sour- or butter-milk, 1 gallon. Directions. — Mix, and use at once. Apply to base of tree with a stiff brush. An effective remedy for the peach tree borer. Bordeaux Mixture.— The following is the official formula for Bordeaux Mixture, published in Farmers' Bulletin, No. 7, U. S. De- partment of Agriculture : — " In a barrel that will hold 45 gallons, dissolve 6 pounds of copper sulphate, using 8 or 10 gallons of water, or as much as may be neces- sary for the purpose. In a tub or half barrel slake 4 pounds of fresh lime. When completely slaked, add enough water to make a creamj' whitewash. Pour this slowly into the barrel containing the copper sulphate solution, using a coarse gunny sack stretched over the head of the barrel for a strainer. Finally fill the barrel with water, stir thoroughly, and the mixtiire is ready for use. Prepared in this way the cost of 1 gallon of the mixture will not exceed 1 cent, the price of copper sulphate being 7 cents per pound and lime 30 cents per bushel. In all cases it is desirable to use powdered copper sulphate, as it costs but little more and dissolves much more readily. It is highly impor- tant also that fresh lime be used." By the addition of Paris green or London purple to Bordeaux mix ture, we have a most excellent insecticide aud fungicide combined. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 51 For peaches, plums, and other stone fruits, 2 ounces of Paris green to 45 gallons of the mixture may generally be used without injury to the foliage. For other fruits use 4 ounces of Paris green or Loudon purple to the same quantity of mixture. SPKAYING APPARATUS. Spraying machines of excellent workmanship are now so abundant and so generally advertised in the agricultural papers, that it is not within our province to discuss them here. In the catalogues of manu- FiG. .35.— WooDASON Double Cone Bellows. facturers of the=.e implements, our readers will find fully described a varied assortment of bucket, knapsack, barrel, and horse-power sprayers. We wish here merely to give a word of caution to those who have had no experience in the use of spraying machines. A cheap, poorly made implement is dear at any price or at no price at all, for it is liable to get out of order just at a time when a day's delay may mean the loss of a crop. The so-called cheap machines mostly have iron cylinders Fig. 36. — WooDAsoN Single Cone Bellows. and leather valves, which are soon rendered useless by the action of corrosive substances used in spraying. We recommend our readers to buy only machines ha^^ng all brass cylinders, and all the working parts which are exposed to the action of spraying materials should be of brass or brass-lined. Ball valves should not be of rubber, for they are very soon destroyed by kerosene emulsion. It is also important to have a good nozzle — one that throws a fine mist-like spray. The Vermorell 52 INJURIOUS INSECTS. and Climax or Nixon nozzles are the most reliable known to us. The Knapsack sprayer, designed to be carried on the back by the operator, is most useful for garden work, and for dwarf trees and small vine- yards. For general orchard work we recommend a barrel sprayer mounted on wheels and operated by hand-power. The horsepower sprayers are mounted tanks worked by horse-power and are designed for the use of large orchardists. Fig. ST.— Woodason Liquid c>1'kaying Bellows. Figs. 35, 36, 37, show the powder and liquid spraying bellows invented and manu- factured by Thomas Woodason, of Philadelphia. These implements are most useful for indoor and garden work, and are regarded as the best made in this country. Spraying apparatus of all kinds should be strong, light, and durable, and be capable of supplying from 40 to 60 pounds pressure on the dis- charge pipe. The pumps should be powerful and the handle long, for spraying by hand power is hard work, and with the handle long a greater power is obtained. THE USE OF INSECTICIDES FROM THE HYGIENIC STANDPOINT. At this late day it would seem almost useless to bring forward evidence to disprove the fears of a few ignorant alarmists whose voices are occasion- ally heard exaggerating the dangers to life and health from the use of in- secticides and fungicides. The lact is, there are no hygienic objections to the employment of these preparations, provided ordinary common sense is exercised in their use. The compounds of arsenic are the only in- secticides used in spraying at all dangerous, and the dangers from these have been very greatly exaggerated by those not conversant with the facts. We quote the following from Fanners^ BttUefi)). No. 7, United States Depiirtment of Agriculture, to show how utterly baseless and misleading such fears are : — "Paris green and I;ondon purj)le have for many years been exten- sively used in this country as insecticides, and a cjise of iatal poisoning from their use as such has never been substantiated. "The only danger lies in having the poisons about a tarm orplauta- INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 53 tiou iu bulk. In the early days of the use of Paris green against the Colorado Potato Beetle, a great deal of opposition -was developed on account of the supposed danger, and only recently the sale of Ameri- can apples in England has received a set-back owing to the supposed danger of arsenic poisoning from their consumption. The question as to whether arsenic may be absorbed by the growing plant in any de- gree was long ago settled in the negative by the best chemists in the country. Dr. William M'Murtrie, formerly chemist of this Depart ment, in 1878, showed that even where Paris green was applied to the soil in such quantities as to cause the wilting and death of the plants, the most rigorous chemical analysis could detect no arsenic in the composition of the plants themselves." ***** " It would seem at first glance, that the use of an arsenical iDoison upon a plant like cabbage would be very unsafe to recommend, yet Paris green and London purple are used upon this crop to kill the several species of leaf-eating worms which are so destructive to it, and an absolute absence of all danger, where the application has been pro- perly made, has been recently shown by Professor Gillette of the Agri- cultural Experiment Station of Colorado, by the following rcductio ad aisurdum : ' Where the green is dusted from a bag in the proportion of one ounce of the poison to 100 ounces of flour and just enough applied to each head to make a slight show of dust on the leaves, say, for twenty-eight heads of cabbage, one ounce of mixture, the worms will all be killed in the course of two or three days, while the aver- age amount of poison in each head will be about one-seventh of a grain. Fully one-half of the powder will fall on the outside leaves and on the ground, and thus an individual will have to eat about 28 heads of cabbage in order to consume a poisonous dose of arsenic, even if the balance of the poison remained after cooking.' "In case of spraying apple orchards for the codling-moth, there is scarcely a possibility of injury to the consumer of the fruit. A mathe- matical computation will quickly show that where the poison is used in the proportion of 1 pound to 200 gallons of water (the customary proportion) the arsenic will be so distributed through the water that it will be impossible for a sufficient quantity to collect upon any given apple to have the slightest injurious effect iipon the consumer. In fact, such a computation will indicate beyond all peradventure that it will be necessary for an individual to consume several barrels of apples at a single meal in order to absorb a flital dose, even should this enor- mous meal be eaten soon after the spraying, and should the consumer eat the entire fruit. 54 INJURIOUS INSECTS. "As a matter of fact, careful microscopic examinations have been made of the fruit and foliage of sprayed trees at various intervals after spraying, which indicate that after the water has evajjorated the poison soon entirely disappears, either through being blown oflF b\' the wind or washed otf by rains, so that after fifteen days hardly the minutest trace can be discovered. " In the line of actual experiment, as indicating the very finely divided state of the poison and the extremely small quantity which is used to each tree, Prof. A. J. Cook, of the Michigan Agricultural Col- lege, has conducted some striking experiments. A thick paper was placed under an apple tree which was thoroughly sprayed on a windy day so that the dripping was rather excessive. After the dripping had ceased, the paper (covering a space of 72 square feet) was anah'zed and four-tenths of a grain of arsenic was found. Another tree was thor- oughly sprayed and subsequently the grass and clover beneath it w:rs carefully cut and fed to a horse without the slightest sigu of injur}-. ' ' The whole matter was well summed up by Professor Eiley in a recent lecture before the Lowell Institute, in Boston, in the following words : " 'The latest sensational report of this kind was the rumor, emanat- ing from London within the last week, that American apples were being rejected for fear that their use was unsafe. If we consider for a moment how minute is the quantity of arsenic that can, under the most favorable circumstances, remain in the calyx of an apple, we shall see at once how absurd this fear is ; for, even if the poison that originally killed the worm remained intact, one would have to eat many barrels of apples at a meal to get a sufficient quantity to poison a human being. Moreover, much of the poison is washed ofl" by rain, and some of it is thrown off by the natural growth of the apple, so that there is, as a rule, nothing left of the poison in the garnered fruit. Add to this the further fact that few people eat apples raw without casting away the calyx and stem ends, the only parts where any poison could, under the most favorable circumstances, remain, and that these parts are always cut away in cooking, and we see how utterly ground- less are any fears of injury, and how useless any prohibitive measures against American apples on this score.' '' In September, 1891, the New York City Board of Health seizeil and destro^-ed large quantities of grapes, on the ground that they had been sprayed with copper compounds and were consequently ^wison- ous. This wholly unjustifiable action, which was not even based upon a reasonable presumption, caused serious loss to many grape growers. INSECTS, CLASSIFICATIONS, AND INSECTICIDES. 55 Mr. D. G. Fairchild, representing the United States Department of Agriculture, visited the Hudson Eiver regions, where the grapes were grown which had been seized. He took pains to secure the worst sprayed bunches of grapes obtainable from -vineyards from which the condemned grapes came. The grapes were given to the chemist of the New York Agricultural Experiment Station at Geneva for analysis. In Bulletin No. 41, New York Agr. Exp. Sta., April, 1892, the results of analyses are thus summarized : "1. The amount of copper estimated as metallic copper found on the berries, was very constant in the different samples, averaging l-120th of a grain for each pound of fruit (berries and stems) . "2. The amount of copper, estimated as metallic copper, found on the stems, varied from l-90th to l-14th of a grain for each pound of fruit, berries and stems, and averaged l-30th of a grain. " 3. If the copper were on the berries in the form of sulphate of copper, each pound of berries would contain l-30th of a grain of copper sul- phate. When copper sulphate is prescribed by physicians as a tonic or astringent, the dose is from one-fourth to two grains. Hence, if a person were to eat and swallow the grape skins as well as the pulp of the berry, it would be necessary to eat from Ih to 60 pounds of grapes in order to get a toxic dose of copper sulphate. "To get an amount of copper that would be regarded as serious if taken at one dose, one would need to eat not less than 3000 pounds of grapes, skins included, or not less than 500 pounds, including berries and stems ; and it is safe to say that if any attempt were made to get a dangerous dose of copper into the body in this way in a short time, a person would be in a dangerous condition many times from the grapes alone, before running any isk from the copper. ' ' To state the matter in another way, if one were to eat each day one pound of these worst sprayed grapes, including the skins, and if all the copper taken in this way were to accumulate in the body, it would require over eight years to accumulate an amount of copper that would, if taken at one dose, be considered dangerous, not necessarily fatal. "4. Asa matter of fact, copper, when found upon sprayed grapes in New York State, exists, not in the form of a sulphate, but in the form of a carbonate or hydroxide, both of which forms are not readily soluble and which would, therefore, be even less dangerous than if present in the form of sulphate of copper. Most of the copper found was on the stems, which people do not eat ; and the rest of the copper was on the outside of the skin of the berries, which most people do not eat. " 5. The results obtained from estimating by chemical analysis the 56 INJURIOUS INSECTS. amount of copper on grapes, which were selected as being the worst sprayed that could be found, therefore, seem to justify the assertion that it is simply an absolute impossibility for a person to get enough copper from eating grapes to exert upon the health any injurious effect whatever. ' ' And, finally, in our present state of knowledge, so far as the toxi- cology of copper is concerned, it would be most difficult to form a definite opinion. The best authorities differ on the subject, and for many years the question as to the poisonous nature of copper has been discussed with no determinate results. After reading all the testimony pro and con, we may without fear continue to spray our vines and to eat the fruit with a reasonable assurance of safety, at least so long as our appetites are not of Brobdingnagean proportions. PART II. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO ORCHARD FRUITS. THE APPLE. THE CODLING-MOTH OR APPLE WORM. ( Carppcapsa pomon el la. ) This, the most insidious of all apple pests, was introduced from Europe over a century ago and is now common wherever the apple is grown, causing greater loss to orchardists than any other insect known. The adult is a night-flying moth with a wing expanse of from one-half to three-quarters of an inch. The fore wings are marked by alternate streaks of brown and gray, and at the outer extremity is a tawny brown spot streaked with light bronze. The hind wings and under- parts are light brown and have a satin-like lustre. Fig. 38. — The Codlisg-moth. . Burrow, b. Point at which ■worm entered, e. Full-grown worm. d. Pupa. /. Moth with folded wings, g. Moth with expanded wings, h. Head and first divi- sion of body of worm, enlarged, i. Cocoon which encloses pupa, (miey.) 57 58 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The moths appear about the time the apple trees are blooming. Each female lays about fifty eggs, which are deposited singly in the calyx end of the young apples. The eggs hatch in a week and the little caterpillars begin at once to gnaw through the young fruit to the core. The mature caterpillar is about three-fourths of an inch long. It now leaves the heart of the apple and, secreted in crevices of the bark or among rubbish beneath the trees, spins a tough but slight silken cocoon in which the pupal period — which lasts for a fortnight — is passed. At leasl: two broods are believed to develop each season. Remedies. — An old method for holding this insect in check is to feed all the fallen apples to hogs and to place bands of straw or cotton Fig. 39.— Apple Worm and Moth. Above Flour -moth. around the trunks of trees as traps for the caterpillars to spin their cocoons under. By far the most successful means of dealing with the Codling-moth is to spray the trees at the right time with the arsenites, Paris green or Loudon inirple. The spraying should be done just after the blossoms have fallen, while the young apples are no larger than peas and are yet in an upright position. A second sprajdng should be made in about a week or ten days after the first. Use one pound of poison to from 150 to 200 gallons of water or Bordeaux mixture. Dr. Kiley, in Bulletin No. 23, Maryland Experiment Station, ORCHARD FRUITS. 59 December, 1893, gives the following formula for Bordeaux mix- ture : — Unslaked lime, 7 pounds. Copper sulphate (blue stone), 6 " Loudon purple, h pound. Water, 75 gallons. Among carnivorous insect enemies of the Codling-moth are the larvae of the Two-lined Soldier Beetle and the Pennsylvania Soldier Beetle. Several parasites also infest the pest. The Bluebird, Black- capped Titmouse, Crow Blackbird, and Downy Woodpecker all feed upon the Apple Worm. THE APPLE-TREIP TENT-CATERPILLAR. (Clisiocampa americana. ) A most common native insect, the adult of which is a reddish- brown moth ; the fore wings are tinged with gray and crossed by oblong dull whitish stripes. The moths have an expanse of wing of from one and- a-quarter to one-and-a-half inches. The females lay from 200 to 300 eggs, in wide bands on the smaller twigs of apple and cherry trees, coating them with a glistening glutinous matter, which serves as a protection from moisture. The eggs are deposited in mid-summer and hatch the fol- lowing spring. The young cat- erpillars are about one-tenth of fig. 40.-Tent-caterpillar Moth. an inch long, blackish in color. Natural Size. {Harris.) and covered with fine gray hairs. Sometimes the eggs hatch prematurely during a warm spell before the buds have begun to unfold, in which case the hardy larvae feed upon the viscid, glutinous matter which coats the eggs. When the leaves begin to open the caterpillars construct silken webs or tents, usually between the forks of two or more branches, -where they remain domiciled when not feeding. As the caterpillars grow they enlarge the tent by constructing addi- tional layers of web outside the original boundaries. The caterpillars leave the tents to feed twice daily, once in the morning and once in the afternoon. When full-grown the larva is about two inches long with a white stripe along the middle of the back, and on the sides are little irregular yellowish or whitish lines and spots of pale blue. 60 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The body is thinly covered with whitish liairs. The caterpillars now leave the tents and search for suitable shelters about leuces and fallen limbs, or even within the tents, and spin oblong whitish silken cocoons intermingled with a yellowish sulphur-colored powder. The moths emerge in from three to four weeks ; after pairing they lay the eggs for another brood and die. Fig. 41. — The Tf.xt-c.^terpillar. Full-grown caterpillar, c. Egg-mass on twig, with gumniv coating removed. Cocoon in which the larva pupates. Natural size. (Rilri/.) Remedies. — The clusters of eggs being conspicuous when the branches are bare in winter may be easily cut otY and burned. After the caterpillars have hatched in spring and the teut is spun, infested branches may be destroyed bj' applying a lighted torch, or better, by pruning and burning. In either case the operation should be per- formed early in the morning before the caterpillars have left the tents ORCHARD FRUITS. 61 to feed, or iu the evening after they have returned. Or, the leaves at this season may be sprayed vyith Paris green or London purple and water, using one pound of either poison to from 150 to 200 gallons of water. CANKER-WOEMS. Two species, Spring {Paleacrita veninta) and Fall Canker Worms {Anisopteryx ^iomciaria) injure fruit and shade trees ; both are much alike iu appearance and habits and the injuries doue by both species are similar. The Spring Canker- "worm.— The moths emerge from the ground very early, some- times before the snow is gone. The females are wingless. They crawl up the trunks of trees and pair with the male moths, which are of a pale ash color. The females then crawl over the branches, depos- iting their eggs in crevices of the bark ; the eggs hatch about the time the buds are unfolding. The 3^ouug caterpillars, very commonly known as "measuring worms," ' ' loop worms, " " inch worms,'' etc., feed upon the leaves for several weeks and when full- grown are about four- fifths of an inch long, dark brown in color, with five lighter lines extending lengthwise along the bodj-. The cater- pillars have the habit of suspending themselves from trees by a silken thread. When full-grown they let themselves down to the ground by this means and burrow to the depth of three or four inches in the earth, where a silken cocoon is spun in which the pupal period is passed. A few moths emerge in the fall and lay their eggs, but the insects Fig. 42.— Cankee-woem. , Enlai-ged joint, side view. d. The same, back view, showing markings, e. Eggs. /. Larva. g. Pupa. {Riley.) Fig. 4> — "spring Camcfk-worm . INIale moth. 6. Female moth, natural size. c. Joints of her antennse. d. Joint of her abdomen showing the spines, e. Her ovipositor, enlarged. {Rileij.) 62 INJURIOUS INSECTS. yd 6 Fig. 44.— Fall Canker-worm. a. Male moth. 6. Female moth, natural size. Joints of her antennae, enlarged. {Riley.) (1. Joint of her abdomen, mostly remain in the pupal stage until spring when the moths emerge, ascend the trees and the eggs are laid. The females are of a pale ash color like the males. The Fall Oanker-"WOrm resembles the preceding species in habits and appearance and in the character of its depredations to fruit and shade trees. The moth emerges from the ground late in the fall and the wingless females crawl up the trees where they are joined by the males. After mating, the eggs are deposited in regular masses in exposed situations on the twigs and branches of trees. The eggs hatch about the time the leaves are unfolding in spring. Tlie full-grown larvae are nearly an inch long and vary in color from greenish yellow to dark brown, with pale longi- tudinal stripes along the body. At maturity the larvae descend to the ground, either by crawling down the trunks of the trees or by suspending them- selves by means of silken threads from the branches. They burrow into the earth, spin a silken cocoon in which the pupal period is passed, emerging as adult moths in the autumn. Remedies. — Prof C. H. Fernald, Hatch Experiment Station. Bulletin 20, January, 1893, says : " As the females are wingless and pass their transformations under- ground, and are obliged to crawl up the trunks of the trees to deposit their eggs, one method is to prevent their ascent by putting bands of heavy paper around the trunks, and painting them with some sticky preparation, as printer's ink, or tar softened with oil. "Another method is to put a trap of zinc or tin around the trunks of the trees in such a manner as to prevent the females from ascending the trees. Care must be taken in putting the bauds and traps around the trees to have them fit so tightly that neither the female moths nor the newly-hatched larvae can find a passage beneath. "Probably the most elfectual method is to shower the trees with Paris green in water as soon as the eggs have hatched in the spring."" Spray infested trees with a mixture of one pound of Paris green to 200 gallons of water as soon as the laivte begin to appear. Birds and predaceous insects prey upon both species of Canker Worms. ORCHARD FRUITS. 63 THE BUD-MOTH. [Tmetocera ocellaiia.) Attacks the apple, pear, peach, plum, quince and cherry, but is most destructive to the apple. This pest is closely allied to the codling-moth, which the adult resem- bles in form and size, differing, however, in coloring, in structure and in life history. It is in the larval or caterpillar stage that this insect is most familiar to farmers and fruit growers. The larvaj, after hibernating through the winter, appear as small brown caterpillars early in the spring. Usually about May first, or as soon as the buds begin to open, the little brown caterpillars appear on early varieties, and a week or two later begin their work of destruction 6n later fruits. When full-grown the larva is about a half inch long, and is of a cin- namon-brown color, with shining black head. The larva forms a tube by rolling up one side of a leaf, or the remnant of two or more partially- FiG. 45.— Adult Bud-moth. Fig. 46.— Larva Enlarged. — (Slingerland.' devoured leaves, which are securely fastened together with silken threads. This little chamber forms the cocoon, which the insect lines with a thin, closely-woven layer of silk. The period of pupation lasts for ten days. The moths begin to appear early in June in the Northern States, where the pest is single brooded. Prof. Comstock's notes, taken while he was United States Entomolo- gist (1879), show that the larvae pupated in the vicinity of Washington, D. C, as early as May 19th, and the moths began emerging May 29th. It is, therefore, possible that in the latitude of Washington and in the Southern States there are two broods each season. This insect has a number of parasitic and other enemies, which aid in holding it in check. It is devoured by many insectivorous birds, and has a formidable foe in the mud- wasp (Odynerus caislilleiisis). Remedies. — " It is not practicable to try to check this j)est," says 64 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Mr. M. V. Slingerland, Assistant Entomologist Cornell Experiment Station, Bulletin 50, March, 1893), "in either the adult or egg stages, or while it is in hibernation as a half-grown larva. Uudoubtedly it can be checked somewhat by spraying in July when the larvae are at work on the under side of the leaves. But the best time to combat the pest the most profitably and successfully is in the spring, when a little poison can be easily sprayed upon the opening buds ; and thus the little larva, hungry from the long winter's fast, will be quite certain to get the fatal dose at its first meal." The same investigator advises fruit growers to spray infested trees with Bordeaux mixture and Paris green combined, using the Paris green at the rate of one pound to 200 gallons of Bordeaux mixture. Or Paris green may be used alone at the rate of one pound of the poison to 250 to 300 gallons of water. The first application should be made in the spring, just as the buds are opening, and a second spraying should follow a week or ten days later, or before the blossoms open. Do not spray the trees when in bloom. THE FALL WEB- WORM. {Hyphantria. cunea.) This insect is widely distributed over the United States, being single brooded at the North; but in the Southern States there are two broods each year. The webs are conspicu- ous in late summer and early autumn on apple, pear and cherry trees ; indeed, the unsightly webs of this pest are common on a large num- ber of fruit and shade trees, and ornamental plants. The adult is a pretty snow-white moth or " miller." Sometimes the front wings are spotted with black or dusky dots, but the general color of the mature moth is pure white. The eggs are deposited on the under side of the leaves in May or June. The caterpillars are soon out and begin at once to spin a com- FiG. 47.— The Fall Wkb-worm. Larva. 6. Pui)a. c. Adult moth, natural size. ORCHARD FRUITS. 65 mon web in which the colony lives, feeding upon the pulpy parts ol the leaves. When the leaves enclosed by the web are all eaten, other twigs or branches are inclosed by extending the web. The young worms have black heads, are pale yellow in color, and are thinly covered with hair. The full-grown caterpillars are about an inch long, densely covered with long, slender, yellowish hairs, and are of a greenish-yellow color. The head and legs and a narrow strip along the middle of the back are black, and the under-sides are dusky brown. When full-grown they leave the web, descend to the ground, and burrow just beneath the surface, or find a retreat under refuse or litter, where they spin a light silken cocoon, and enter upon the pupal stage. In the South there are two broods yearly, the second appearing in August or September. Remedies. — In combating insects which injure so wide a range of plants as is the case with the Fall Web-worm, suppressive measures should be begun with the first appearance of the pest, and should be continued without intermission so long as the danger lasts. Infested twigs should be cut off and burned, or spraying with the arsenites should be resorted to. Carnivorous insects and parasitic fungi help, in a measure, to hold this insect in check. THE LESSER APPLE-LEAF ROLLER. {Teras minula.) Three broods of moths appear during the year, two of which are bright orange yellow, while those of the third brood are reddish gray. The eggs are laid in spring on the opening leaves of the apple, cranberry, and some other plants. The larva, which is a greenish- yellow worm, covered with hair, soon appears, and proceeds to feed upon the foliage, out of which it rolls a covering for passing the period of pupation. The moth emerges a week or two later. These lay eggs for another brood, the adults of which appear during August, and are of the same orange- yellow color, 5 Fig. a. Larva, . — Lessee Leaf Roller. 6. Pupa. c. Moth. d. Rolled leaf. (Riley.) The third brood. 66 INJURIOUS INSECTS. developed from the eggs of these, pass the larval and pupal stages during September, and emerge as reddish-gray moths in October. They pass the winter hidden away under rubbish, and deposit their eggs the following spring. Remedies. — Spray with Paris green or London purple, using one pound of poison to about 200 gallons of water. THE YELLOW-NECKED APPLE-TREE CATERPILLAR. {Dalana ministra.) The moths have light-bro^oi wings, striped with deeper shades of the same color. The eggs are laid during June or July, and the lar%-ae attain full growth in from five to six weeks from hatching. The full- grown caterpillars descend to the ground and burrow in the earth. Fig. 49.— Yellow-necked Caterpillar. a. Larva. 6. Moth. c. Eggs. d. Magnified egg. (Riley.) where they spend the pupal stage, emerging as moths the following summer. Remedies. — This insect rarely becomes troublesome, so numerous are its bird and insect enemies. When these do not hold it in check, Paris green or London purple may be sprayed on infested trees as directed for the Lesser Apple-leaf Roller. THE LEAF CRUMPLER. {P/ii/cis indigenella.) The adult is a small gray moth, which deposits her eggs on the apple, cherry, plum, quince, and crab-apple. The larvae are small brown worms that leed on the leaves, construct- ing cylindrical silken cases that afford them concealment -whou not en- gaged in feeding. As the worms increase in size, bits of partially -eaten ORCHARD FRUITS. 67 leaves are drawn about the openings of their tubular abodes, forming quite an accumulation of partially-eaten foliage. At the approach of winter the cases are made fast to twigs or branches by silken threads, and the larvae retire within the cells until the return of spring. They then become active again, destroying both leaves and flower buds, and continue growing and feeding until June, when the pupal stage is F'iG. 50.— Leaf Crujiplek. a. Larval case. 6. Larval case with dead leaves, c. Frout part of larva, magniiied. (Rihy.) d. Moth, entered upon within the tubular silken cases which served as domicils for the larvas. The moths emerge a fortnight later. Remedies. — Parasitic insects, of which there are several species, help to hold this insect in check. The larval cases may be picked off in winter and burned, but the most practical method of dealing with this pest is to spray with the arsenites, Paris green or London purple, using one pound of the poison to about 200 gallons of water. 68 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE APPLE-LEAF SKELETONIZER. (Pempelia Juimmondi.) The adult is a small, purplish moth with two light bands upon the fore- wings, as seen in figure 51. Two broods are believed to appear each season, the second being by far the most numerous and de- structive. The larva is a small, greenish or brownish worm about half an inch long, with a few short scat- tered hairs upon the body. The worm feeds upon the pulpy por- tion of the leaves, and spins over itself a light silken web on the upper side of the leaf, underneath which it feeds. Pupation takes place in mid-summer in cocoons formed on the leaves, and the imago appears two weeks later. The second brood of larvae soon appear ; these hibernate through the winter and emerge as moths the following spring. Remedies. — This insect is generally most destructive in young orchards or in the nursery. Spray with Paris green or London purple, using one pound of the poison to from 200 to 250 gallons of water. c Fig. 51.— Leaf Skeletonizek. . Larva. 6. Part of back, magnified to show markings, c. Head and front part of larva, magnified, d. Motb, magnified. (Riley.) THE ROUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER. (Saperda Candida.) The adult beetle is readily recognized by two longitudinal white stripes between three of chestnut-brown along the back. It appears early in summer, but is not likelj' to be seen or known by the farmer, since it flies only bj-^ night and remains hidden away and inactive through the daytime. The female deposits her eggs on the tree- trunks, in an opening in or under the bark, close to the ground. The eggs batch in a few days, and in less than a fortnight the young grub begins to gnaw its way into the sap-wood. The summer and autumn ORCHARD FRUITS. 69 are spent feeding upon the sap-wood, and as winter approaches the grub burrows below the surface of the ground and hibernates until spring, when it again gnaws its way upward, feeding on the sap-wood and inner bark. The second winter is spent like the first, and with the coming of spring the grub burrows deeper into the trunk, some- times boring completely through the tree into the bark on the opposite side. The borer completes its injurious work before or during the commencement of the third winter, but remains inactive in the larval state until spring, when it becomes a pupa. After a fortnight spent in the quiescent pupal stage, it emerges as the adult beetle. The presence of the borer may be generally detected, more especially in young trees, from the dead bark turning black and cracking under the holes through which some of the castings of the grub are pushed <^ b c Fig. 52.— Round-headed Apple-tree Borer. a. Larva. 6. Pupa. c. Beetle. {Riley.) out. The round-headed borer operates altogether near the base of the tree. The full-grown grub is about an inch long, whitish-yellow, with chestnut-brown head and jaws of deep black. Remedies. — Preventive measures are the best. Thoroughly scrub the trunks and larger branches of the trees with carbolic acid soap wash. (See page 47. ) This should be done in May or early in June. Keep the base of the trees free from rubbish of all kinds ; and as alkaline washes are repulsive to the beetles, each tree should be smeared with the soap-wash about the base of the trunk. Examine the trees again in the fall, and wherever the young worms can be found they should be cut out and destroyed. 70 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE FLAT-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER. (Chrysobolhris ftmorata.) The beetle is greenish-black in color, flat instead of cylindrical in form, as in the case of the insect just discussed, and does not fly by night. It appears in the latter part of May, or early in June, and attacks the apple and peach, and is believed to in- jure several forest trees. The eggs are deposited early in summer in crevices and under scales of the bark on all parts of the trunk and larger limbs. The larva is pale yellow in color, with- out feet, and the head is greatly enlarged and flattened, while the rest of the body slightly tapers toward the posterior end. r -^si/ -x T^\\e grub lives for one year in the tree, ^ boring an oval-shaped hole twice as wide Fig. 53.— Flat-headed Borer. , . . as high. a. Larva. 6. Pupa. c. Front of _. , . m , . ■■ larva, lower side. d. Beetle. Remedies. -Treat the same as for (Riley.) the Round-headed Apple-tree Borer. THE APPLE-TWIG BORER. (Amphicerus bi'caudatus.) A small, dark-brown beetle, which bores into the twigs, just above a bud or joint, where the insect remains for the winter. The injured twig is usually broken off" by the wind, or if it remains attached to the limb the leaves turn brown and the branch generally dies. Reraedy. — The habits and life history of this insect, both in the larval and adult states, are but little known. Prune the infested branches and burn the prunings. THE APPLE MAGGOT. (Trypeta pomonella.) The larva of a native two-winged fly that appears earlj- in summer and deposits her eggs under the skin of the apple. The eggs hatch in a few daj's, and the maggots tunnel indiscriminately through the young fruit. When full grown the larvae are light greenish or white, and about oue-fourth of an inch long. OBCHABD FRUITS. 71 They now leave the apple and retire to the soil where the pupal stage is passed, emerging the following summer as flies. Remedies. — Fortunately this insect has not heretofore seriously injured cultivated fruits, except in a few States, and in these the pest has been confined to rather limited areas, and has shown marked partiality for summer and autumn varieties, of fruit. It, however, commonly infests our wild crab-apples and haws in all parts of the country. It is not possible to destroy the apple maggots by the use of arsenites or other poisons. The affected fruit generally ripens prematurely and falls to the ground, and hence maybe readily destroyed or fed to hogs or other animals. THE APPLE CURCULIO. {Anthonomtis quadrigibbus.) This insect, which has long infested our native crab apples and haws, is a snout beetle, nearly related to the plum curculio, but differing from it in having a larger snout and broader body. There is but one brood each year, the adult beetles hibernating through the winter, and the female depositing her eggs in holes drilled in young apples in 2 a Fig. 54.— Apple Curculio. a. Pupa. 6. Larva, magnified. (Riley) Fig. 55.— Apple Curculio, Mag- nified. [Riley.) the spring. The eggs soon hatch, and the young grubs feed upon the pulp, burrowing to the cores, where they remain for from four to five weeks. Pupation takes place within the cavity of the apple. In about three weeks the pupa changes to the perfect beetle and eats its way out of the fruit. Remedies. — Windfalls from infested trees should be gathered up and fed to hogs or destroyed. Since the adult beetle bores into the 72 INJURIOUS INSECTS. young apple, both for the purpose of feeding and depositing its eggs, the use of arsenites should be resorted to whenever this pest appears in considerable numbers. Spray with poisons, as directed for the Cod- ling-moth. (Page 58.) THE OYSTER-SHELL BARK LOUSE. {Mylilaspis pomorum. ) This is one of the most troublesome and destructive insects with which the orchardist has to deal. Its ravages are not confined to the apple-tree alone ; it infests the pear and plum, and aLso the currant. The female is only capable of locomotion for about three days, after which she becomes immovably fastened to the tree. The eggs, which are yellowish or whitish, hatch in May, and the young lice, scarcely visible to the naked eye, crawl over the bark for -two or three days, then, fixing their beaks into the bark far enough to reach the sap, remain fastened to the tree for life. They continue to feed upon the Fig. 56,— Oyster-shell Bark Louse. sap of the tree, and by the end of the season have reached maturity and secreted the scaly covering under which their eggs for the firet spring brood have been deposited. Remedies. — The young lice are easily destroyed in spring by spraying with kerosene emulsion. The emulsion should be well made, with no free oil floating on the surface, and to be effective must be very thoroughly applied. In old orchards the trees should be scraped in winter or early spring and then scrubbed with carbolic acid and soap solution. (See page 47.) THE WOOLLY APHIS. (Schizoneura lanigera.) Two forms of this insect are known, one attacking the trunks and limbs and the other infesting the roots of trees. The white, flufly- masses on the limbs, which serve as a covering for the small, yellowish lice concealed beneath, are secreted by the insect and serve as a partial protection from its foes, the Ladybird Beetle and a small parasitic fly. ORCHARD FRUITS. 7:i The suhterrauean insects may be readily detected by the knot-like excrescences found on the rootlets. These insects injure trees l)y suck- ing out the sap, and are most liable to infest young orchards or old ones in an unhealthy condition. Remedies. — The trunks, limbs, and twigs of trees should be sprayed several times during summer with kerosene emulsion. At this season the Woolly Aphis, like other aphides, gives birth to living Fig. 57.— Woolly Aphis. a. An infested root. 6. The larva; color brown, c. Winged adult; colors black and yellow, d. Its legs. e. Its beak. /. Its antenna, g. Antenna of the larva, all highly magnified. {Riley.) young, and multiplies with the characteristicrapidity of these insects. To destroy the subterranean insects, tobacco dust or tobacco stems should be dug in about the roots, or the soil about the bases of the trees should be saturated with kerosene emulsion, and then be well drenched with water. THE BUFFALO TREE-HOPPER. (Ceresa hubalus.) A small, greenish insect, not over one-third of an inch long, which is often observed on apple and pear trees late in summer or early in autumn. The eggs are deposited at this time in the upper parts of the twigs of fruit and shade trees, and hatch late in the following spring. The young hoppers, which are greenish-yellow, resembling the adults, insert their beaks into the bark and feed upon the sap. 74 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Remedies. — Parasitic enemies which destroy the eggs are believed to greatly aid in holding this insect in check. It is rarely very injurious to fruit trees. Spray with kerosene emulsion just after the eggs hatch in May, or cut oft infested twigs and burn. THE TWIG GIRDLER. (Oncideres cingulatus.) The adult beetle is brownish-gray, with a broad band of gray on the wing-covers. In Pennsylvania the pest does most damage to young hickory trees, but occasionally it is found working on the branches of the elm, apple, plum, pear and persimmon. The eggs are laid in late summer and during autumn. The female punctures a branch or twig just beneath or near a bud, and into each puncture, several of which are often made in the same branch, she deposits a small, whitish egg. She then proceeds to cut a groove around the branch at a point below where the lowest egg has been inserted. The insect cuts through the bark and into the wood, completely girdling the stem, which soon dies, and is quite often broken off by the wind. The eggs soon hatch into small, white grubs, which feed for a time on the substance of the dead branches and then hibernate for the winter in neat burrows under the bark. In addition to the trees already named, this insect injures the American linden, peach and quince, and in the South has done serious damage to orange and pecan groves. In the Northern States the Twig Girdler is most destructive to hickory, especially to saplings from 1 to 2 inches in diameter. The writer has frequently observed this insect at work in Bucks County, Pa. , and especially in southern New Jersey, where it does very con- siderable damage to young hickory. In these sections the girdling is done after the eggs have been inserted in the stem, twig or branch ; the insect seems to have a preference for saplings, which are usually girdled from 1 to 5 feet from the ground. Remedies. — Mr. M. V. Slingerland, in the EuraJ Nac Yorker, November 27th, 1893, says: " It is a A-ery easy pest to combat. All that is necessary is to gather and burn the girdled dead liranches, whether yet on the trees or on the ground, in the fall, winter or spring, thus destroying the grubs they contain." OBCHABD FRUITS. 75 APPLE APHIS. (Aphis mali.) These little green lice often completely cover the leaves and twigs of apple trees during spring and early summer. The eggs, laid by winged females in the previous autumn, hatch as soon as the leaf- buds begin to unfold, and the lice continue breeding until July, when they migrate in large numbers to more succulent plants. With the coming of autumn the winged females return to the apple trees and deposit the eggs, from which the colonies of the succeeding spring will be hatched. Remedies. — What has been said regarding the general treatment of aphides applies to these insects. Kerosene emulsion, lye-washes and decoction of tobacco, as prescribed on pages 45, 46, should be thor- oughly aijplied as soon as the young begin to hatch. GENERAL TREATMENT OF APPLE ORCHARDS. Just as soon as the blossoms have fallen, spray the trees with Paris green and water, using from 5 to 6 ounces of the poison to 100 gallons of water, — and don't forget the glucose, molasses, or flour paste as di- rected on page 42. Where orchards are affected by scab or rust, it is well to combine with the poison a certain proportion of Bordeaux Mixture. See pages 50 and 58. Applications of the insecticide, or combined insecticide and fungi- cide, should be repeated two or three times at intervals of about ten days. Early in summer the trunks and larger branches should be washed with Corrosive sublimate and Carbolic Acid wash. See pages 47 and 50. THE PLUM. THE PLUM CURCULIO. {Conolrachelus nenuphar.) This, the most destructive insect enemy of the plum grower, is a native snout- beetle of wide geographical distribution throughout the United States. The mature beetle is about one-fifth of an inch long, dark -reddish, or grayish-brown with an elongated black hump on the middle of each wing-case ; behind the hump, which is knife-shaped, are broad bands of dull yellow with white markings in the middle. The adult beetle has a stout body with roughened, uneven surface, and like others of 76 INJURIOUS INSECTS. the group to which it belongs, is provided with a curved suout or beak projecting downward from the eyes with the jaws at the extremity'. There is but one brood each year ; the mature beetles leave their winter hiding places, under the loose bark of trees, from nnder heaps of rubbish or other sheltered retreats, appearing in spring about the time the trees are in bloom. The female lays from fifty to two hundred eggs, but carefully de- posits but one egg only in each plum. This is done by first puncturing the plum with her beak, then in- serting the egg and thrusting it to the extremity of the cavity with her snout. Finally she cuts the crescent shaj)ed groove in front of the puncture, thus undermining the egg and so deadening the adjacent tissue as to prevent the growth of the plum from crushing the ob- long white egg concealed Avithin. The eggs hatch in three or four days in mild weather, and the young grubs begin to feed upon the pulp of the plum. The grubs are full grown in from three to five weeks, by which time the infested and prematurely ripe fruit lias generally fallen to the ground. The larvae now leave the plums, burrow into the earth and enter the pupal state, emerg- ing as perfect beetles in about six weeks. This insect also attacks the nectarine, apricot, pear, peach, cherry, apple and plum. Remedies. — Spraying with Paris green or Loudon purple and water, using one pound of the poison to two hundred gallons of water, is undoubtedly elfective if the application is made as soon as the fruit begins to set and before the beetles have eaten into the forming fruit. Many conflicting reports have been ]5ubLished, regarding this method of treatment, but when due care is exercised to make the application at the proper times there can be no question of the efficiency of the treatment. The writer uses a much weaker mixture, usually from one to two ounces of Paris green to 35 gallons of water, and sprays the trees as soon as the petals fall, repeating the sprayiugs two or three times at intervals of about teu days. Jarring the trees to dislodge the insects is practiced by many ex- c 6 Fig. 58. — Plum Cukcclio. a. Larya. 6. Pupa. c. Beetle, magnified. d. Plum showing crescent mark. (Riley.) ORCHARD FRUITS. 11 periencecl orchardists. This is doue by striking the trees or limbs on which the curculio are feeding, Avith a padded mallet. Sheets are spread under the trees to collect the falling insects. Large orchar- dists use a frame in the form of an umbrella covered with strong cloth or canvas, and mounted on wheels. This is wheeled from tree to tree, the curculio jarred down and destroyed. This insect is subject to parasitic enemies, but these do not appear to be of much importance in reducing the numbers of the pest. THE PLUM-TREE BORER. (.1 egeria p ictipes. ) The adult is a moth resembling the Peach-tree Borer in habits and life history, to which it is nearly related. The larva tunnels into the bark and sap-wood of the trunk and branches. This insect also infests the cultivated and wild cherry. Remedies. — When found in injurious numbers, which is rarely the case, the larvse should be cut out with a knife, and the trunks and larger limbs be painted with soft soap and carbolic acid wash, as directed on page 47. THE PLUM GOUGER. {Coccotorus prunicida.) The adulfc is also a small snout beetle, about the size of the plum curculio, but differs from it in being of a brownish or yellowish color, with the back smooth. This insect is rarely found in the east, but west of the Mississippi River is widely distributed and most destruc- tive. It appears about the time the trees are in bloom, and as soon as the fruit begins to set, tunnels into the young plums, excavating a cavity in which the eggs are laid. The larva hatches in a few days and burrows into the pit. the con- tents of which are eaten. Before entering ux^on the pupa stage the full-grown larva bores an outlet through the w^all of the pit, through which the insect escapes after completing its transformations. The plum gouger is single-brooded, the adult beetle hibernating through the winter. Remedies. — This insect has some natural enemies which help to hold it in check. "We believe that spraying with the arsenites or jarring the trees, as 78 INJURIOUS INSECTS. practiced in combating the plum curculio, page 75 will be found equally applicable to this insect. THE PLUM TREE APHIS. (Aphis prunifolii.) As soon as the bnds begin to expand in spring these little dark- colored lice ajjpear and begin to sap the substance of the tender foliage. Several species are known to infest the plum, but all are much alike in life history and habits. Like the apple-tree aphis, the species that attack the plum possess marvelous fecundity and are not only oviparous, but bring forth living young. If not checked thej^ multiply in such numbers that the leaves soon become curled or withered, and drop to the ground. Remedies. — Preventive measures should be taken on the first appearance of the lice. Kerosene emulsion applied with a stiff brush to the trunk and larger limbs and sprayed with a force pump and nozzle over the foliage is a most effective and easily applied remedy. Spraying should begin as soon as the lice appear, and before they are afforded protection by the curling of the leaves. General Treatmext. The Peach-tree Borer, and Flat-headed Apple-tree Borer at times attack the plum. Treatment should be the same as directed for the peach and apple. If plant lice appear in spring as is frequently the case, spray with kero- sene emulsion, or if the trees are infested by the Grape-vine Flea- beetle, Cherry or Pear slug, or other foliage eating insects,, spray with Paris green. The general treatment of the plum in spring and summer should be the same as that prescribed for the apple. A good quality of Paris green should be used, and never stronger than 6 ounces to the 100 gal- lons of water. London purple has proved unreliable with the writer, and it frequently injures the tender foliage of the plum. Use a fine quality of Paris green and a nozzle throwing a very fine mist-like spray. ORCHARD FRUITS. 79 THE PEAR. Fig. 59. — Peae-teee PsYLLA. (Slingerland.) PEAE-TREE PSYLLA. (Psijlla pijricola.) The presence of this depredator is usually first made evident in the lessened vitality and sickly appearance of the trees. The leaves turn yellow, the young fruit makes but little growth, and by mid-summer both the leaves and the stunted, half-formed fruit have mostly fallen to the ground. A sweet, sticky, water-like fluid, called honey dew, covers the branches, and appears to exude from the twigs and trunks of the trees. This fluid appears on the infested trees soon after the leaves expand ; at first it is clear and colorless like water, but soon becomes covered with a black fungous growth, which gives the trees an appearance of having been treated with a thin coating of black or slate- colored paint. This honey-dew is not, as has been supposed, the sap of the tree exuded thiough the punctures made by the feeding insects. The nymph or immature insect feeds exclusively on the sap, and the supposed exudation from the tree has passed through the body of the insect. The body of the adult is crim- son, marked with broad, black bands across the abdomen ; the wings are almost transparent, and when the insect is at rest, slope like a roof over the sides of the body. The adult resembles a miniature Cicada or Harvest-fly. Mr. M. V. Slingerland, Bul- letin 44, October, 1892, Cornell Agricultural Experiment Station, found that a single nymjih, isolated in a cage, secreted at least four Fig. 60.— Full Grown Nymph, Dor- sal View. (Slingerland.) 80 INJURIOUS INSECTS. drops, that is, four minims of the fluid before reaching the adult stage. At this rate fifteen nymphs would secrete one dram of honey- dew. Remedies. — The strongest-known insecticides do iK)t destroy the eggs. The young nymphs are, however, very susceptible to kerosene emulsion, and their habit of feed- ing in the leaf axils makes the use of the spray most eflFectual for their destruction. In experiments at the Cornell Experiment Station, one part of kerosene emulsion in twenty-five parts of water effectually de- stroyed the nymphs, and two quarts of the dilution was found sufficient for a large dwarf tree. The time to spray is early in the spring, just after the leaves have unfolded. A second, and even a third spraying should be applied if the nymphs are num- erous, or if there has been little rain to wash off" the honej^- dew. "Most of the damage," says Mr. Slingerlaud, in the same Bulletin, " is usually done before June 15th, but spraying after this date will decrease the number from which the hibernating forms are produced ; and the orchard may thus be saved from a severe attack the following year. ' ' Fig. 61.— Full Grown Nymph, Ven- tral View. (SUngerland.) a. Anus. b. Beak. THE PEAK-TREE BOREK. (Aegeria pi/ri.) The adult is a small, bluish-black or purplish moth, whose eggs are laid upon the bark of the tree ; the larvae feed on the inner ]>ark or sap wood. This insect does little damage. Remedies. — The larva; maybe detected on the trunk by the fine sawdust-like castings thrown out of their tunnels. Wherever found, the borers should be cut out and the trunks painted with soft soap and carbolic acid mixture. (See page 47.) ORCHARD FRUITS. 81 THE PEAR-TREE SLUG. (Selandria cerasi.) The adult is a four-winged fly with transparent, iridescent wings, the fore-wings being marked with a smoky tinge across the middle. The adult bears a general resemblance to the Rose Slug and Imported Currant- worm fly, to which the Pear-tree Slug is nearly related. The eggs are laid in small incisions made in the skin of the leaf In the older seaboard States this insect is very injurious to the quince, plum, and cherry, as well as to the pear. The larva when full grown is a dark, bottle-green slimy worm, about one-half inch long, having something of the shape of a tad- pole (Fig. 62). The slugs feed upon the pulpy substance of the Fig. 62.— Peak-tree Slug. leaves, and when present in large numbers completely defoliate the trees. The larvae reach full growth in about four weeks from hatching. They then shed the slimy skin and appear as clean, yellowish cater- pillars. They now leave the trees and enter the soil, where the pupal stage is passed. A fortnight later the adult emerges. The female fly is a little over one-fifth of an inch long and the male slightly smaller. There are two broods each year in the Northern and Central States. Remedies. — Pyrethrum, or white hellebore powder, may be dusted over the foliage with a powder bellows, or the trees may be sprayed with decoctions of these insecticides, or with the aqueous mixtures of Paris green or London purple. THE SCURFY BARK-LOUSE. {Chionaspis furfurus.) This insect is most destructive in the southern, middle, and central States. 6 82 INJURIOUS INSECTS. It is a small, reddish-brown louse, found on the trunks and limbs Fig. 63.— The Scurfy Bark-louse, oy Section of Twig. (Garman.) of pear and apple trees. Often in winter the bark of infested trees is literally covered with small, whitish scales, be- neath which are concealed the eggs of this pest. These eggs hatch female lice only, which repro- duce living young. The eggs usually hatch in May or early in June, and after crawling over the tree for a few days the young lice insert their minute beaks into the bark and suck the Fig. 64.— The Scurfy Bakk-louse, En- larged. (Garman.) sap. Remedies. — Treatment the Oyster-shell Bark-louse. is the same as for (See page 72.) THE PEAR- LEAF MITE. {Phytoptus pyri.) A minute insect nearly related to the red spider, so often trouble- some on greenhouse plants. The first appearance of the Pear-leaf mite is indicated by small, red- dish spots early in spring on the upper surface of the leaves. This dis- coloration becomes darker as the season advances, and finally turns black. The eggs are concealed in these spots, and after hatching, the mites burrow into the tissues of the leaf, feeding upon its substance, and in turn providing for another generation. With the coming of autumn the insects migrate from the dead or diseased leaves to the twigs, and penetrate the leaf scales, where the winter is passed in a dormant con- dition. Remedies. — Pruning closely in winter and burning as many of the infested twigs as can be done without injury to the trees, is sometimes resorted to. The pest is a difficult insect to fight, living, as it doe«, from spring to fall within the tissues of the leaves, and spending the winter concealed under the leafy scales of the buds. From one to three sprayings with kerosene emulsion in autumn, when migrating to its winter quarters, will probably greatly aid in diminishing the losses from this insect. ORCHARD FRUITS. 83 OTHER INSECTS INFESTING THE PEAR. The Plum curculio and Codling-moth are also most destructive to the fruit of the pear. Spraying with the arsenites, as directed for these insects, is the proper treatment. General treatment of the pear should be the same as for the apple. THE CHERRY. THE FLAT-HEADED CHERRY-TREE BORER. {Dicerca divaricaia.) The adult is a copper-colored beetle about four-fifths of an inch long. The female deposits her eggs on the trunk of both the cultivated and wild cherry, and the larvae tunnel into the sap-wood, which forms their food. This pest is closely related to the Flat-headed Apple-tree Borer, which it resembles in habits and life history. Remedies. — Treatment should be the same as for the Round- headed Apple-tree Borer. (See page 69.) THE MAY BEETLE. (Laohnosierna fusca.) The adult is dark chestnut-brown in color, the head and thorax often nearly black and the breast covered with light yellowish hairs. Fig. 65. — May Beetles. 1. Pupa. 2. Larva. 3 and 4. Adults. {Rihy.) 84 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The body is oblong, oval, and from three-fourths to an inch long, and about half an inch in diameter. The beetles, which are voracious feeders, appear in May or June, and feed by night upon the fruit and leaves of different trees, sometimes completely denuding them of their foliage before the presence of the insect is discovered. The females lay from 40 to 50 eggs which are deposited among grass roots in a ball of earth. The eggs hatch iu about a month and the larvae, which are very small, feed during the first year on the rootlets of various plants. In the second year the grubs work near the surface; eating all sorts of roots, and doing great damage to cultivated crops as well as to pasture lands. The grubs reach full growth in the third year. They are then soft, dirty white worms with a horny head of a dark brown or mahogany color. Tlie grubs now construct egg-shaped cocoons or chambers of earth and change to pupai. The ma- ture beetles emerge in the spring, live for about three weeks, during which time they mate, and the eggs are laid for a succeeding generation. Remedies. — The un- derground life of the larva makes the pest exceedingly hard to destroy. Crows, robins, blackbirds and blue-jays feed upon the grubs ; swine and domestic fowls when allowed to roam over infested lields destroy the pest in large numbers. The grubs are also eaten by moles and skunks, and are subject to the attack of a white fungus which is frequently found growing in two 1 lO. 66. — Ma\ L_LL,lLl!.fe Al ^^,1II. ,/f ,^J.f^/^,y ORCHARD FRUITS. / 85 long, horn like appendages protruding from each side of the head/' ' Grubs found with these horn-like i)rocesses should not he killed, but should be permitted to live and propagate the parasite. In lawns of small area, kerosene emulsion may be used, but the soil must be drenched in order to reach the grubs. ■ For the adult beetle, spraying the trees with Paris green or Londb'A* purple should be resorted to. THE CHEREY APHIS. (Myzus cerasi.) In appearance, habits and life history the cherry aphis is very similar to apple and plum aphides. The lice appear during May and June, and at once begin to suck the sap of the unfolding buds. Fig. 67.— Cherry Aphis. a. Wingless female, h. Winged female, magnified, {Weed.) In about a week they are full-grown, and begin giving birth to living young ; these as quickly mature, and are j ust as prolific in reproducing their kind. The early spring broods are mostly wingless, but during summer the winged forms appear, and by July these begin to migrate to some other plants, on which they continue to breed through the summer. In autumn a winged brood appears, which returns to the cherry, and the eggs for the following spring brood are laid. Remedies. — This species, like the apple and plum aphis, is held in check to some extent by predaceous and parasitic enemies. Spray- ing with kerosene emulsion, as directed for similar pests, is the best artificial remedy. 86 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE CHERRY-TREE LEAF-ROLLER. (Caccecia cerasivorana.) This is the caterpillar of a small, brown motli, -which lays her eggs on the twigs of both the wild and cultivated cherry. The caterpillars fasten the leaves together and live on the substance of the leaves forming the nest. Remedies. — Spraying with either kerosene emulsion or the arsen- ites is uncertain, since the caterpillars find concealment in the folded leaves of the tent-like structure. The infested twigs are, however, made conspicuous by the nests, and should be cut off and burned. OTHER INSECTS INFESTING THE CHERRY. The Plum curculio and the Pear-tree slug are both destructive to the cherry. The remedies used for destroj^ing these pests are equally api^licable in the treatment of the cherry. G-eneral Treatment of the cherry in spring and summer should be the same as for the apple. THE PEACH. THE PEACH-TREE BORER. (San7ii)ia exitiosa.) This is the most destructive insect enemy with which the peSch grower has to contend. The adult is a pretty day -flying moth, of a glossy steel-blue color. The eggs are laid during summer upon the bark of the trunk, near the ground, or just be- low the surface, and the young larvas bur- row through to the inner bark and sap-wood of the roots, undergoing complete transforma- tions within the yea.T. Tlie larva is a soft, dull- whitish caterpillar, with a reddish-brown head, resembling in general appearance the Round- headed Apple-tree Borer, from which it is readily distinguished by having six scaly and ten fleshy legs. When full-grown it spins a Fig. G8.— Peacu-tree Borek. 1. Female. 2. Male, (line;/.) ORCHARD FRUITS. 87 follicle of silk near the surface and enters upon the pupal stage, which lasts for from three to four weeks, and then emerges as the moth. Remedies. — The best remedy is the use of the knife. After harvesting the crop the trees should be gone over, and wherever there is found an exudation of gum at the base of the trunk the borer is surely present. The diseased bark should be cut away and a flexible probe thrust into each cavity to kill the borer within. The trees should then be painted with a Avash made of whale-oil soap, to which a little crude carbolic acid has been added. Sometimes scalding water is used to kill the borer, after scraping away the gummy exudation about the base of the tree ; or, the base of the trunk may be protected by fastening a covering of straw or paper around the tree. Paris green, at the rate of one pound to fifty gallons of water, to which glucose or molasses is added, to give the trunks a substantial coat of adhesive poison, is also resorted to as a means of destroying the young borers while tunneling into the bark. THE BLACK-PEACH APHIS. {AphU persiccB-niger.) There are two forms of this insect— one winged and the other wing- less— infesting the roots, leaves, and twigs of the peach. Both are shining black in color. They multiply with the charac- teristic rapidity of other aphides previously described. Re:3aedies. — Spray with kerosene emulsion for the forms infesting the limbs, leaves, and twigs ; for those attacking the roots, tobacco dust or tobacco stems should be dug in about the roots. Kainit is also said to be efiicient for this purpose. THE PEACH APHIS. {Myzus persiccB.) This insect is frequently confounded with the Black-peach aphis which it resembles in appearance, and somewhat in habits and life history. It has a much wider geographical distribution, being abundant in all the peach-growing regions of the United States. The peach aphis is a soft blackish insect, viviparous in summer. The spring brood is produced from minute black eggs laid in the previous autumn. Remedy. — Spray with kerosene emulsion. 88 INJURIOUS INSECTS. OTHER INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE PEACH. The Plum curculio, Flat-headed Apple and Cherry Borers, the New York weevil and the Peach-tree Bark-louse are all more or less de- structive to the peach. The plum curculio is more difficult to manage on the peach, for the foliage is very easily injured by the use of mineral poisons. London purple should never be used on peach trees, and spraying with Paris green, if done at all, requires caution ; the poison must be of good quality, finely powdered, and applied with a nozzle that throws a fine, mist-like spray. The proportion of Paris green to water should be one pound of the poison to from 300 to 400 gallons of water. GENERAL TREATMENT OF THE PEACH. Spraying must be done very early in the season, and the machine should be provided with a nozzle throwing a very fine spray. Finely powdered Paris green of the best quality should be used. As a protection against the borer, wash the base of the trees with the cement wash prescribed on page 50. Where trees appear to be infested by the Root Aphis, dig in refuse tobacco about the roots. PART III. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO SMALL FRUITS. THE STRAWBERRY. THE STRAWBERRY CROWN-BORER. (Tyloderma Jragarice.) In the adult state this insect is a small, chestnut-brown snout-beetle, belonging to the same family as the Plum curculio. When not fully matured, the strawberry crown-borer is often of a nearly uniform yel- lowish-brown color, with imperfectly defined black spots on each side of the back. The eggs are deposited on the plants, and a single brood develops each year. The grubs tunnel into the crowns, destroying the embryo fruit, as well as the leaves and stalks of the plant. The larvae are about one-fifth of an inch long, stout and without legs, pure white in color, with pale, horny, yellow heads. Remedies. — The pest is most common on old standing beds ; the beetles are unable to fly, and the grubs being without legs, this species does not migrate far from infested plantations. Says Prof. Garman (Kentucky Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 31): "There is little danger of the borer getting among plants on new land at a distance from infested beds as long as the plants for new beds have not been obtained from infested ones. ' ' Grubs and pupse spend all their lives in the crown of plants, being found there from the middle of June until late in September. Plants removed from infested beds during this time are, therefore, liable to 89 cr h Fig. 69. — Strawberry Crown-borek. a. Grub, h and c. Beetle. 90 INJURIOUS INSECTS. convey the borers to localities to which such plants may be transferred. Those who have had experience with the borers have found that care with regard to selecting plants and ground for new beds was their best means for avoiding injury. No fear need be entertained of the borers attacking seriously other crops which may be grown on infested land, and there is every probability that one season in corn or potatoes would rid land of them." Spraying the plants with Paris green or hellebore water, as directed for the strawberry leaf beetle, is said to be an effectual remedy for the crown-borer ; but as these insects feed upon the interior substance of the plants, and are rarely discovered 'until the plants are already ruined, the best method is to dig up and burn all infested plants. THE STRAWBEERY CROWN-MINER. {Anarsia lineatella.) The larva of a small dark gray moth whose eggs are deposited on the crown of the plant. The worm is a small reddish caterpillar that tunnels through the crown in all directions. Remedies. — No effective artificial remedy is known. Burning over the fields in autumn affords some protection, but when fields are badly infested they should be plowed in fall or spring and planted to other crops. In small garden plots drenching the plants and saturating the soil about their roots with pyrethro-kerosene emulsion may destroy many of the small caterpillars. Dilute the emulsion with from 25 to 35 parts of water. The surest way of exterminating the pest, however, is to pull up and burn all in- fested plants. THE SMEARED DAGGER. {Apatela obliniia.) The adult is a gray moth with a wing expanse of from one and three- quarters to two inches. The fore wings and front of the body are ashen gray, obscurely marked with black, and the hind wings are nearly white. The larva is a brilliant-colored caterpillar, about one and a half inches long when full-grown. The head is brown or black and the body brown, ornamented with longitudinal bauds of bright Fig. 70.— The Straw- berry Ceown-miner. (Glover.) SMALL FRUITS. 91 yellow. Brown, yellow and black spines rise from tubercles along the back ; in some specimens the divisions of the body are marked with cross-bauds of brilliant crimson. In the central states two broods appear yearly, one in June and the other about September. When fall-growutliecaterpillar seeks a sheltered spot in rubbish or fence corners, and spins a gray silken cocoon in which the winter is passed in the pupa state. This insect also -attacks the apple, peach, grape, raspberry, and several ornamental shade trees ; also corn, cotton, and asparagus. Fig. 71. — The Smeared Dagger. a. Caterpillar. 6. Cocoon, c. Moth. All natural size. Remedies. — Spraying with Paris green, one teaspoonful of the poison to two gallons of water, or one ounce of white hellebore to a pailful of water, may be used for destroying the fall brood. For the spring brood, which appears during the fruiting season, pyrethrum powder should be used. Tlie caterpillars are subject to the attacks of several species of parasitic insects. THE TARNISHED PLANT-BUG. {Lygus pratensis.) A small brown or yellowish-green bug from one-fourth to one-fifth of an inch long. It varies from yellowish brown with obscure markings to almost black, and has a brownish yellow spot toward the tip of 92 INJURIOUS INSECTS. each front wing. This insect is an active feeder, infesting many- plants, and is particularly destructive to the strawberry. It punctures the immature berries, abstracting the sap and causing the malforma- tion known as "&H//o?im^, " by which the growth is checked, and the fruit caused to shrivel up and turn black. The adult passes the winter hidden under rubbish, mulching and fallen leaves, and with the first mild days of spring is abroad laying its eggs upon such food plants as are sending forth buds. The young soon appear and are a'o- racious feeders, absorbing the sap through their slender beaks and blackening the sur- rounding parts of twigs and shrubs wherever punctured. There is no dormant pupal period, but from hatching, the bugs are active and Ir^^^^m\ voracious feeders. There are two, and proba- / fl^mWsil \ bly more broods each season.' Remedies. — Pyrethrum powder, applied with a powder bellows, is the best remedy for this pest. Kerosene emulsion may also be used after Fig. 72.-TARNISHED ^^^ fruiting season. Plant-bug. ^, . , -, -, , ■, ■ Adult masnified 1 he arsenites cannot be used to destroy this pest, since it does not take solid food, but abstracts the sap by inserting its slender beak into the tissues of the food-plant. Professor H. Garman (Kentucky Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 31, December, 1890), says of this insect : — " It appears to have few natural enemies. Damp weather has, as in the case of the chinch bug, a good effect in reducing its numbers ; an effect, in this case, probably due in part to a new parasitic fungus (an Empusa), which I have observed attacking it in Kentucky." THE STRAWBERRY LEAF-ROLLER. (Phoxopteris comptana.) This is the most destructive insect enemy of the strawberry. In the adult form the Leaf-roller is a small, brownish moth, with a wing expanse of about one-half inch. In the Northern United States two broods are known to occur each season, and three, or possibly four, broods occur in the South. Entomologists believe the Leaf-roller to be a Northern insect, which has gradually migrated southward. The depredations of this pest are all contiued to the larval or caterpillar SMALL FRUITS. 93 stage of life. The worm feeds almost altogether on the strawberry, but occasionally attacks the raspberry and blackberry. The larva is a light greenish worm, not quite half an inch long. Soon after hatching, the worm begins to fold the leaves to- gether by drawing the outer edges of the leaf- let together, as seen in Fig. 74, and fast- ening the edges with silken threads. In the retreat thus made the entire larval ex- istence is passed, feed- ing upon the pulpy parts of the leaf, and causing it to shrivel up and Fig. 73.— The Stkawberry Leaf-eollek. a. Larva, natural size. 6. Head end of larva, enlarged. d. Hind end of larva, enlarged, c. Moth, enlarged, the hair lines showing natural size. (Bilei/.) Fig. 74.— Strawberry Leaf Folded by Leaf-roller. {Garman.) turn brown. Here the larva changes to pupa, and finally emerges as the adult moth. 94 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Remedies. — Insecticides, such as Paris green, London purple, and hellebore, have been of little use in checking the ravages of this pest. Securely rolled in the leaflet, the worm is seldom reached by the poison. The pest is, however, effectually exterminated by burning over the beds in October, while the larvae and pupae are still in the leaves. The bed should be mown over, and the leaves allowed to dry slightly ; a little straw or wood rakings may be scattered over the ground to make sure the killing of the worms. The burning can be done without injury to the vines, and with the certainty that the pest will be destroyed. THE STRAWBEERY SLUG OR FALSE WORM. {Emphytus maciilatus.) This insect is also known as the strawberry worm. The larva is a slender, yellowish or pale green worm, which riddles the leaves vdth holes, and at times completely defoliates the plants. The Straw- FiG. 75.— The Steawbekky False-worm. 1, 2. Different vie-svs of pupse which have been removed from the cocoon, enlarged. 3. Winged adult, enlarged. 4. Larva, natural size. 5. Adult, natural size. 6. Larva, as seen coiled up on a leaf. 7. The cocoon in which the larva becomes a pupa. 8. An antenna of the adult fly. 9. Outline of an egg, enlarged. berry false- worm is the larva of a small, black fly belonging to the same order as the common honey bee, and is nearly related to the pear and rose slugs. The full-grown fly is about one-fourth of an inch long, with four SMALL FRUITS. 95 smoky black wings, which are held close to the back when the insect is at rest. The larva, when full grown, is readily recognized from its habit of resting on the under side of the leaf in the coiled position of Fig. 75, 9. Remedies. — Persian insect powder (pyrethrum) dusted over the leaves by the aid of a powder bellows, may be used when the plants contain fruit. Fcr the second brood, which appears in the larval stage during August, spray with Paris green and water as directed for the strawberry leaf-beetle. (See page 96. ) Dusting the plants with lime just after a rain, or when the leaves are wet with dew, is said to be a good method for destroying the false- worm. THE STRAWBEREY WEEVIL. (Anlhonomus musculus.) This pest is a small, black beetle, the life history of which is yet very imperfectly known. It attacks the strawberry as soon as the buds begin to appear. Fig. 76 is a greatly enlarged illustration of the adult, taken from Prof. Riley's report for 1885. The strawberry weevil confines its ravages almost exclusively to the buds and blos- soms of the perfect flowering varieties, com- mencing its depredations before the blossom- buds are out. The stamens of infested blos- soms are destroyed, and the ovary or center in which the larvse burrow turns black, whereby the infested blossoms are readily distinguished. Remedies. — Until the life history of fig. 76.— Strawbeery this insect has been more fully studied, no Weevil. very trustworthy directions can be given Adult, enlarged. (Riley.) for its destruction. Insecticides containing arsenites or anything poisonous to the consumers of fruit should be carefully avoided during the fruiting season . Prof. M. H. Beckworth, of the Delaware Agricultural Experiment Station, has suggested the use of kerosene emulsion diluted with from nine to fifteen parts of water. Also the use of white hellebore on the plants as nsed upon currant bushes to destroy the currant worm. The following is the formula suggested by Professor Beckwith (Bnlletiu 18, Delaware Experiment Station) : — White hellebore 1 ounce. Common glue 1 " Water 3 gallons. Either of these remedies may be sprayed upon the plants as soon as the blossom-buds begin to appear. 96 INJURIOUS INSECTS. STEAWBEREY LEAF-BEETLE. (Paria aterrima.) A small, brownish-colored beetle, which does great damage to the leaves of the strawberry, at times completely defoliating the plant. The adult insect is about one-eighth of an inch long, with yellowish wiug covers, usually marked by two dark or black spots, the anterior one being smaller than the other. The larva of this pest is a small, whitish worm (about one-fourth of an inch long), with a yellowish head. It lives in the soil and feeds upon the roots of the straw- berry. Remedies. — After the fruiting season is over this insect may be destroyed by spraying the plants with Paris green, using one teaspoon- ful of the poison to two gallons of water. Dusting the plants with air-slaked lime and powdered hellebore are also said to be effective remedies. STEAWBEERY EOOT-WOEMS. {Paria eanella, Graphops nehulosus, and Colaspis bruiinea.) The small, white grubs, which are the larvse of the above three species of beetles, generally confine their depredations to the fibrous roots of the strawberry. Occasionally they gnaw into the crowns, making irregular channels, which are frequently mistaken for the tunnels of the Crown-Borer. The beetles, which are the mature forms of these root-eating worms, all feed upon the leaves of the straw- berry. The first species, Paria canella, is a small, black, shining beetle ; the second, Graphops nehulosus, resembles the preceding spe- cies in shape, and is also of about the same size, but is of a metallic, coppery brown color; the third species, Colaspis brunnca, is about three-sixteenths of an inch in length and of a uniform, yellowish brown color. The adults of all three species feed on strawbeiTy leaves, the first species being probably the most destructive to foliage. Remedies. — The beetles may be readily destroyed after the fruiting season by occasional sprayings with Paris green or Loudon purple. The subterranean habits of the larvse render them difficult to deal with. When strawberry fields are badly infested they should be plowed up soon after the fruit is harvested and the land planted to cultivated crops. SMALL FRUITS. 97 WHITE GRUBS. The white grubs which are so injurious to strawberry plants, especi- ally to those growing on lands which have recently been in grass, are the offspring of several species of brown beetles, known as May or June bugs. The chief injury done by these root-eating larvae, which are not infrequently confounded with grubs found in farmyard manure, is to grasses, and particularly to lawns. The white grubs spend the greater part of the summer in the earth, feeding on the living roots of grasses and weeds, while the grubs from manure feed exclusively on the dead vegetable matter present in the manure. White grubs are apt to do much damage the first summer to plan- tations previously in grass or weeds. As they mature the adult beetles leave the beds and resort to grass lands to deposit their eggs. When the grubs are at work, the fact is recognizable by the sudden wilting of occasional plants ; and if the wilted plants are examined the roots, and perhaps, a considerable part jf the crowns are found to be gnawed away. Remedies. — Dig out all infested plants and destroy the grubs. A dressing of gas-lime at the rate of about two tons per acre has proved an efficient remedy on lands infested with this pest. Broadcast the gas-lime and work well into the soil at least two months before plant- ing to strawberries. These insects prefer high and well drained lands, and are rarely troublesome on damp, low soils. Fertilizing with farmyard manure is said to afford some protection from the pest. Autumn plowing and rapid rotation of crops are the best methods for clearing the grubs out of badly infested fields. A correspondent of the Rural New For^TJ* gives the following scheme for protecting expensive plants from the ravages of the White Grub. ' ' Having bought four dozen of the Marshall strawberry plants, and paid $10 per dozen, I wanted to set them out on new land (for I find they do best on it) ; for fear of the worms, I put them in wire- baskets made of old mosquito screen netting. They were about 8 inches long and 6 inches deep, the ends being folded over, and a piece of wire being run through the fold to keep the ends from bursting open. Then they were filled with earth, and the plants put in. ' ' As the roots can grow through the wire and the worms can eat only what grows through, they cannot kill the plants. I don't know how many of the ends of the roots of the latter have been eaten, neither 98 INJURIOUS INSECTS. do I care, as the parent plants have all lived and done well ; but a few of the young ones have been eaten off, but as I kept a good watch of them, I found the worms and killed them. ThLs I recommend only for high-priced plants, and with me it has proved a sure protection." — Rural New Yorker, October 21, 1893. OTHER STRAWBERRY INSECTS. The strawberry is subject to the depredations of many other insects besides those enumerated in the preceding pages. Only those men- tioned are considered of sufficient importance to cause much damage, and the general remedial treatment for others is the same as for these. For cut- worms and leaf-eating insects Paris green and water, one teaspoonful to two gallons of water, or powdered white hellebore, one ounce to a pailful of water, may be sprayed over the plants after the fruiting season is over. For plant lice, spray with kerosene emulsion. THE RASPBERRY AND BLACKBERRY. THE SNOWY-TREE CRICKET. {CEcanthus niveus.) This little insect, illustrated in Fig. 77, does not confine its depre- dations to the raspberry and blackberry alone, but often causes much injury to grape vines, at times completely defoliating young vines, and cutting off the fruit as well as the leaves. It also infests the peach, maple, willow and some other trees. The adult is a pale whitish-green, seiui-trans- parent tree-cricket, from three-fifths to seven- tenths of an inch long. The eggs are deposited in autumn ; the female punctures the twigs or canes in an irregular line for an inch or more, and into each cavity thrust.s a slender, elongated egg, which is yellowish and Fig. 77.— Male of gemi-transparent. From five to fifteen eggs are Snowy Tree ijt.ii ■ -x • • i Cricket. {Biley.) ^^^^ placed by her long ovipositor in an irregular row, more than half way through the cane. The eggs hatch during early summer into wingless crickets. These do not feed upon the pith, as might be supposed from the SMALL FRUITS. 99 manner of ovipositing by the adult, but are carnivorous, feeding upon plant lice and other insects during the entire life period. In this respect the snowy-tree cricket assists the fruit grower in checking the depredations of more injurious species. Remedies. — It is a mooted ques- tion among entomologists whether this insect does more harm than good. However, the undisputed fact remains that raspberry and blackberry fields are sometimes seriously injured by it, and that the injuries are greatest in years following a visitation of aphides. The manner of depositing the eggs and the habits of the insect make it a most difficult pest to fight. The punctured canes are so weakened that they often die, or are broken off by winds. The irregular row of punctures indi- cates the j)resence of eggs, and these are often made more noticeable by partial splitting of the canes. The only known way of fighting this insect is to cut out and burn the canes con- taining the eggs. Fig. 78 -Eggs of Sxowy Tree Cricket. . Egg punctures. 6. Cane split open to show eggs. c. Egg, magnified, d. Egg-cap, more magnified. {Riley.) THE CECROPIA EMPEROR MOTH. {Altacus cecropia.) The large size and handsome coloration of the adult makes the Cecropia Emperor Moth (see frontispiece) one of our most beautiful and interesting insects. In ' ' Insects and Insecticides, ' ' pages 131 and 132, Professor Clarence M. Weed thus describes the moth : — ' ' This moth often measures six or seven inches across the front wings, the ground color of all the wings being a grizzled, dusky brown, with the hind margins clay colored ; near the middle of each wing 100 INJURIOUS INSECTS. there is an opaque, kidney-shaped, dull-red spot, having a -white center and a narrow, black edging, and beyond the spot there is a ■wavy, reddish baud bordered internally with white. The fore-wings, next to the shoulders, are dull red with a curved, white band, and near the tips of the same is an Fig. 79.— Cecropia Emperor Caterpillar. Fig. 80.— Cocoon of Cecropia Emperor. eye-like black spot within a bluish- white crescent. The upper sides of the body and the legs are reddish ; the fore part of the thorax and SMALL FRUITS. 101 the hinder edges of the rings of the abdoraeu are white ; the under surface of the body is checkered with red and white." The moths emerge in May or June, and tlie eggs for another brood are deposited on tlie limbs of apple, pear, and a variety of fruit and shade trees, and quite frequently on the canes of the raspberry and blackberry. The eggs hatch in about a week into small, spine-covered caterpil- lars, which are voracious feeders, growing rapidly and reaching ma- turity late in summer. Early in autumn they spin large, grayish, silken cocoons, which are attached to the limbs of trees or shrubs, and change to pupse. Remedies. — This insect seldom appears in large numbers. The caterpillars are destroyed by birds, and are subject to the attacks of several parasitic insects. Hand-picking the caterpillars or cocoons, which are readily seen, is generally practicable ; or, in rare cases, tho use of the arsenites in sus- pension with water may be resorted to. THE RASPBEEEY SAW-FLY, OR SLUG. {Selandria rubi.) The Raspberry Saw-fly, or Raspberry Slug, in the adult stage is a four-winged, black saw-fly, which makes its ai^pearance among the canes in May. The eggs are deposited beneath the skin of the leaf, close to the ribs and veins, producing a slight swelling and discolor- ation of the skin on the upper surface of the leaf. The larva is nearly white, semi-transparejit, and thickly covered with transverse rows of whitish spines. Its food is the tender tissues of the leaves. When full-grown the slug is a little over a half inch long ; the body is dark green, and thickly covered with green tubercles. About the middle of June the slugs retire to the earth and con- struct, just below the surface, oval, earthy cocoons, in which the pupal stage is passed. The fly emerges the following spring. Remedies. — The larvise are readily destroyed by dusting infested canes with white hellebore, or by spraying with a decoction made of from two to four ounces of this drug in from twelve to fifteen gallons of water. THE RASPBERRY CANE-BORER. {Oberea bimacukita.) The larva is a footless grub, in appearance much like the Round- headed Apple- tree Borer, and the adult a slender, black beetle with 102 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Fig. 81.— Raspber- ry Cane-borer. Natural Size. yellow thorax aud a yellow band behind the head. In dejjositing their eggs, which are laid in the green canes of the raspberry and blackberry, the female beetles make two rows of punctures, about a half an inch apart, double-girdling the canes and causing them to wither. Midway between the encircling band of punctures the eggs are deposited. The larvae are cylindrical, yellowish grubs, measuring ia length about three-fifths of an inch. They burrow down- ward through the pith, peuetratiag the woody parts of the cane. The tunnels are rapidly extended downward, and by autumn the grubs have generally reached the roots of the canes. The insects remain in the roots until the follow- ing summer, when they emerge as adult beetles. Remedies. —As soon as the tops of the punc- tured canes begin to wilt they should be cut ofif below the girdling point and destroyed. If the infested canes have not been noticed until the entire canes are dead or dying from the operations of the borers within, such canes should l)e cut out altogether and burned. / Prompt attention before the approach of autumn will prevent the borer from reaching the roots, aud save much labor in rooting out infested canes. THE RASPBERRY ROOT-BORER. {Aegeria riibi.) The adult is a transparent-winged moth, wasp-like in appearance, and with a black body banded with yellow. The larva is a pa le-y el low or whitish caterpil- lar, with dark- brown head aud sixteen legs. The eggs are laid in the morning, on the under side of the leaves, or on the canes, a few inches aliove or below the soil. The larva tunnels into the cane, feeding upon the pith aud working. Fig. 82.— Raspberry Root-borer. a. Male. b. Female. (Hi/ey.) SMALL FRUITS. 103 downward toward the root, in which it spends the winter ; in spring it burrows up again, usually in another stalk. Pupation takes place with- in the cell of the larva, which gnaws nearly through the cane, leaving the cell-walls so thin that the emerging moth easily works its way out. Remedies. — Cutting out infested stalks, or pulling up and burn- ing the withering canes, when the larvae have reached the root, is the ordy effectual remedy known. THE SQUARE SPITTLE-BUG. {Aphrophora quadrangularis.) This insect attacks the twigs of the blackberry and is common on weeds and grasses. There are several species of these peculiar insects, and among their food plants, we may mention tlie grape vine, cran- berry and blueberry, and the leaves and twigs of the alder and pine. Professor Feruald, in Bulletin No. 12, Hatch Experiment Station says: — ' ' The frothy spittle-like masses — called frog spittle, toad-spittle, snake s])ittle, etc. — are formed by small insects belonging to the family Hemiptera or true bugs, and are seen adhering to the twigs and branches of shrubs and trees, and also to the stems of grasses and other plants. ' ' During the early stages of its life, by means of special glands, this insect secretes an albuminous liquid and discharges it from the posterior end of the body forcing bubbles of air into it after it has been used in respiration, probably. " Two different species of spittle insects are common on grass in Massachusetts, Philcenus spumaris (Linn.) and Philcenus lineatus (Linn.), and they also occur in Europe, from which country they were probably introduced. Although these two insects feed on m any different species of plants, it is said that they are strictly attached to grasses and low plants, and that they never occur on trees and shrubs, except by accident. " It is not known where they lay their eggs, but as the females are provided with saw-like appendages connected with the ovipositor, it is probable that they cut slits in the stems of the plants, near the ground, in which to deposit their eggs. I incline to the impression that they hibernate during the winter in the perfect state, and lay their eggs in early summer. This is true of the allied Proconia costalis, and Helio- cliara communis, which I have often found fully developed in early spring, just emerging from their winter quarters. The eggs are very large as compared with the size of the insect, and as but very few are laid, these pests are never liable to become excessively abundant. This insect remains in the frothy secretion during the early stages (nymph), but after reaching the adult stage, does not make this secre- 104 INJURIOUS INSECTS. tion, and becomes very active. Although the wings are well developed it does not fly any great distance, but makes long leaps, and runs quickly, often with a peculiar sideways motion, to the opposite side of the plant from the observer. "The Lined Spittle-insect {Philcenus Uneatus Linn.), is about one- fourth of an inch long, of an ocher-yellow color, with a whitish stripe on the costa or outer edge of the wing covers, and a browni.sh stripe within and parallel to it. Some of the varieties are dark brown with a whitish costal stripe. "Although the mass of froth on the stems of grass is quite large it usually contains but a single insect, which is so small that it can injure the plant but very little, and it is very seldom that the pest is abun- dant enough to make any material diiference in the hay crop THE CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY. THE IMPORTED CUEEANT WOEM. {Nematus ventricosus.) This is a foreign species believed to have been introduced into the United States by nurserymen about 1857. It is a common pest of the garden, often com- pletely defoliating currant and gooseberry bushes about the time the fruit is half devel- oped. The worm, when full- grown, is about three-fourths of an inch long, green in color, with numerous black spots. The full-grown worms enter the earth, remaining near the surface or hiding under leaves and litter, where they spin a brown, silken cocoon, in which the pupal stage is passed. The perfect insect is a small, four- — The Adult of the Currant . , n mi -i • ■^rQUjj wmged saw-fly. The male is 6. Female. Lines at the left sbo^v ^ack with yellow spots, and the natural size. {Riieij.) the female is mostly yellow. Fig. 83. a. Male. SMALL FRUITS. 105 In spring the flies leave the earth and deposit their eggs upon the under-sides of the leaves. The eggs hatch in ahout ten days, and the worms hegin at once to devour the leaves. Remedies. — Pow- dered white hellebore promptly applied to the leaves quickly ex- terminates the pest. This insecticide kills both by contact and as a poison. It maybedusted overthe leaves with a powder bellows, or be mixed with water in the pro- portions of two table- spoonfuls of the drug to one pailful of wa- ter. Sprinkle over the bushes with a water- ing-pot, or spray with a force pump and nozzle. More than one application of the insecticide is often necessary a. Imported currant worms. 6. Black spots upon magnified joint of the body. {Riley.) Fia. 85.— Currant Leaf with Eggs op Worm. {Riley.) THE NATIVE CUR- EANT WOEM. {Pristiphora gro^sularioe.) Like the imported spe- cies, the native Currant worm is the larvae of a saw-fly. The larva is smaller, however, and does not pupate in the ground, but spins its cocoon among the twigs and leaves of currant bushes. It is about half an inch long, and of a uniform pale green color. 106 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Two broods occur yearly. The eggs of the second brood are laid upon the twigs, where they remain during the winter. Remedies. — Treatment should be the same as that recommended for the imported species. (Page 104.) THE IMPORTED CURRANT STALK-BORER. (Aegeria iipuliformis.) The adult is a clear-winged moth, belonging to the same genus as the Peach-borer. The moth is bluish-black, the wings transparent except at the borders, which vary in color from brown to brownish-black. The abdomen is marked by three bright-yellow, transverse bands. The wing expanse is about three-fourths of an inch. The moth laj^s her eggs on or near the buds, and the larva, a small, Avhitish worm, hatches in a few days. It burrows into the stem and feeds upon the pith. There is but one brood a year, and the insect undergoes all its trans- formations in the burrow of the larva, which, as it approaches the time for pupation, gnaws nearly through the stem, leaving a thin layer of bark, through which the emerging moth readily works its way. The inferior size of the fruit and impoverished growth of the stalk is a sure indication of the presence of this pest. Though commonly infesting the currant this insect is but rarely found on the gooseberry. Remedies. — Prune in autumn and burn all infested stems. THE CURRANT LEAF-HOPPER. {Empoa albopicta.) There are two broods of this insect each year, but the first does the greatest damage to the curraut and gooseberry. This insect is of a pale, greenish color, and is about the tenth of an inch in length. It is found on the under-side of the leaves, late in spring or early in summer, sucking out their sulistance. and causing tiuj- white spots on the upper surface of the leaves. Remedies. — Tobacco pow- der dusted over the leaves is said to be an effective remedy. Pyre- 6 a Fig. 86.— Currant Leaf-hopper. a. Adult. 6. Nymph, maguifiecl. [Wend.) SMALL FRUITS. 107 thrum, either iu powder or decoction, is probably the most desirable insecticide for use in destroying this pest. THE CURRANT APHIS. (Myzus ribis.) When the leaves of the currant appear curled, and have a distinct reddish tinge in early summer, the bushes are infested by a small, yellowish louse, which may be found by examining the under-side of the leaves. This species, in habits and life history, is a migratory aphis, much like the aphides previously discussed. It leaves the currant bushes iu mid-summer for some more succulent plants, returning iu autumn to deposit its tiny black eggs, which are laid on the stems and buds. Remedies. — Spray with kerosene emulsion early in the season, before the aphides haA^e appeared in large numbers. For the few bushes of the kitchen garden the curled leaves should be picked off and burned. THE FOUR-LINED LEAF-BUG. {Pixcilocapsus lineatus.) Also known as the Black-lined Plant-bug, the Yellow-lined Currant- bug and the Four-striped Plant-bug. This pest is a native of North America, and has a wide geographical dis- tribution extending from about the thirty - second parallel to Can- ada, and westward to the Rocky Mountains. It has an exceedingly wide range of food- plants. Mr. M. V. Slingerland, in a very full report on this in- sect, published in Bul- letin 58, Cornell Ex- periment Station, enu- merates fifty four spe- cies of plants upon which the pest is known to feed. He says : "Fourteen of the plants are useful for food Fig. 87.— The Adult Insect. Its natural size represented in small figure at the right. (Slingerland.) 108 INJURIOUS INSECTS. or medicine, twenty-nine are ornamental, while but eleven are wild species. ' ' Among plants used for food or medicine are the currant and goose- berry, cucumber, squash, radish, lettuce, parsnip, potato, pea, sage, mint, tansy and Valeriana officinalis. The insects make their appearance in the Northern States from the first to the middle of May, and their presence is soon indicated by the small semi-transparent brownish or blackish spots on the tenderest ter- minal leaves of the currant and gooseberry. When the pest is numerous the growth of the shoots Ls checked, and the topmost leaves Fig. 88.— Currant Leaves Killed by the Insect. {SUngerland.) turn brown and soon die. Mr. Slingerland, in an able discussion of the habits and life history of this insect, says: "As the insect usually confines its attacks to the leaves of the new growth, the fruiting portions of the bushes are injured but little for that season. But the check given to the new growth must materially affect the future bearing-capacity of the whole bush, and especially of these newer por- tions. ' ' * * * * * On the currant, gooselierry, and many otlier plants, the insect confines its attacks to the leaves, but on some orna- mental plants, as the dahlia and rose, the most frequent ]x>int of attack seems to be the buds. SMALL FRUITS. 109 The Nymphal Stage. — The young nymphs, when first hatched, are about the twentieth of an inch in length. " They are easily recognized, however, on account of the shiuing ver- milion red color of the body, marked with large blackish si)ots on the thorax. The antennae and legs are of a greenish-black color. The nymphs grow quite rapidly, casting off their skin five times and undergoing considerable changes in markings, as shown in the figure. The body retains the same vermilion red color until the last nymphal stage is reached. The large black spots on the thorax of the newly hatched nymphs are seen to be the beginnings of the wing-pads, which gradually become more and more apparent at each moult. * * "The full-grown nymph (Fig. 89) is of a bright orange yellow color, and measures about 5.5 mm. (.21 inch) in length. The black wing-pads, which now have a broad yel- lowish green stripe near the outer margin, are very conspicuous, and extend nearly half way to the end of the abdo- men, which, is also marked with black. The eyes are prominent and of a dark reddish brown color. The general shape of the nymphs, the relative proportion of the different parts, and the hairs and black markings on the antennse, legs, and other parts of their bodies, are well represented in the figure. At the fifth or last moult the adult Insect appears. The Adult.— "-The general color of the body (Fig. 87) is bright orange yellow ; the legs and the portions between the black stripes on the thorax and wing covers are of a dark apple-green color, which usually changes to a lemon-yellow after death. The wing covers are mostly of a leathery texture ; the black caudal portion which slopes downward at an angle of about 45 degrees is membranous with the exception of a triangular green portion that usually has a small black Fig. 89.— Nymph After Fourth Moult. Fifth and last nymphal stage. (Slingerland.) 110 INJURIOUS INSECTS. sp&t near its center. The prominent eyes are of a very dark reddish- brown color."' (Bulletin 58, Cornell Experiment Station.) Remedies. — Kerosene emul- sion diluted with five parts of water will probably prove the most effectual remedy for this pest, if applied as soon as the nj'mphs begin to appear iu spring. Mr. Sliugerland has discovered that the eggs of the insect are deposited in slits in the stems of shrubs, near the tips of the new growth. He says "all of the eggs are laid before August 1, within four or five inches of the tips of the new growth, and these remain uuhatched until the fol- lowing May. ' ' On bushes which have been in- fested this year, these egg scars can soon be found, as the whitish tips of the eggs are quite con- spicuous. After a few have been found and their characteristics noted, it will take but a few min- utes to look over a bush and clip off the tips of the shoots contain- ing the eggs. Burn these tips (the eggs would doubtless hatch in the spring were they left on the ground) and the pest will be effectually checked. Even if the tips of all the new growth be clijiped, the bush would not suffer more seriously than it would from the pest if present in consideralile numbers. On small areas, or with choice plants spend a little more time and cut only those tips containing eggs. The eggs remain in these tips nine months, thus making it practicable to do the pruning during the winter months when other work is not so pressing. The Fio. 90.— (^rKKANT Stem Showing WTiiTi-; Egg Clusters, Considerably Enlarged {Slingerland). SMALL FRUITS. Ill leaves will then also be off and the egg scars can be more easily seen. (Fig. 90.) If currants, gooseberries, or other shrubs have been attacked by this pest, any one can, by examining the tips of this year's growth for the eggs, at once determine whether to expect it next year or not. "This method of combating the pest is, of course, only applicable to the shrubs, as the eggs will not be found in herbaceous plants. But we believe that this pruning and burning of the tips of the new shoots of currants, gooseberries, and other shrubs attacked by the insect will prove one of the most practicable, and certainly very efficient, methods of preventing the ravages of this Four-lined Leaf-bug. "The 'jarring' method for destroying the nymphs or adults. On small areas, where choice bushes are attacked, or when the pest ap pears on ornamental herbaceous plants, the safest, most practicable and efficient way to combat it will be by this method. This can best be done by jarring or knocking the insects into a pan or dish of some kind partially filled with water and kerosene. The bug in all of its stages drops quickly when the bush is jarred. "Thus, there are three practicable methods by which this pest can be controlled : kerosene emulsion for the nymphs ; destruction of the eggs by pruning ; and the capture of the nymphs and adults by jarring into receptacles where they are destroyed. Circumstances will largely determine which method will prove the most practicable in spe- cific cases. ' ' THE GOOSEBERRY FRUIT-WORM. (Dakruma conuoluie/la.) The Gooseberry Fruit-worm is the larva of a pale grayish moth whose eggs are laid upon the young fruit. The larva bores into the berry and feeds upon the substance of the growing fruit. When full-grown the caterpillar is about three-fourths of an inch long, of a pale greenish color, with a brown, horny-like head. It then lowers itself to the ground by a thread, spins a thin, silken cocoon, hidden among leaves and litter, and passes the winter in the pupa state. But one brood of larvaj appear yearly. Remedies. — Hand-picking the infested berries. These are con- spicuous, being fastened together in clusters of a half a dozen or more, by means of silken threads spun by the worms. Poultry, if permitted to forage over the ground, will destroy large numbers of the pupse . Leaves and rubbish about the bushes should be raked up in autumn and burned. This insect is more common on the gooseberry than on the currant, but occasionally is quite destructive to the fruit of the latter. 112 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE GOOSEBERRY SPAN-WORM. (Enfitchia ribearia.) This pest shows a decided preference for the gooseberry, though by no means uncommon on the currant. It is the larva of a native moth, pale-yellow in color, with faint, dusky, or steel-colored wings. The tiny eggs are deposited on the branches and twigs of the bushes, and usually hatch during May. The caterpillar, when full-grown, measures about an inch in length, and is of a light-yellow color, with black spots and lateral whitish lines extending the length of the body. The period of pupation is spent in the ground, near the surface, or concealed under fallen leaves and rubbish. The pupal stage is completed in about two weeks. This insect is at once distinguished from the other pests infesting the gooseberry and currant by being what is commonly known as a meas- uring worm. When disturbed it lets itself down froin leaf or stem by a silken thread, as seen in Fig. 127. Remedies. — Treat as for the Imported Currant Worm, page 105. GENERAL TREATMENT. A number of other insects occasionally attack the currant and goose- berry. General treatment should consist in spraying or dusting with hellebore soon after the opening of the leaves. Keep a sharp lookout for stems infested by borers, and wherever indicated by the sickly appearance of the foliage, cut off the stems and burn. , THE CRANBERRY. THE VINE-WORM. (Rhopobota vacciniana.) This insect, also called the Fire-worm or Blackhead, is the larva of a rather sluggish moth of a dark, ash gray color tinged with brown. Across the fore wings are oblique bands of light brown. The hind wings are of a uniform smokj' brown. The moths are sluggish in move- ment, and do not readily fly when Fig. 91,-Vine-worm Moth. {Smith.) y hand-picking. When the cater- pillars have scat- tered OTcr the plants they may be destroyed by spraying with kerosene emulsion, with decoction of pyrethrum or by dusting the plants with the powder by means of a powder gun. Spraying with hot water also kills the worms without injury to the plants. Fig. 110.— Zebra Caterpillar, a. Larva. 6. Moth. (JRiley.) THE HARLEQUIN CABBAGE-BUG. [MurganCia histrionica.) This is a tropical species, said to have been introduced from ]\Iexico into Texas, from which state it has spread over the south and as far north along the Atlantic seaboard as Delaware. It increases with extreme rapidity and is now the worst insect enemy of cruciferous plants in the southern states. This insect derives its name from the gaudy colors and "harlequin-like manner in which the black and orange-yellow are arranged upon the body." In the southern states the insects live through the winter hidden under leaves and rubbish. Dr. G. Lincecum, writing of the life history of the insect in Texas, says : " Tlie perfect insect lives through the winter, and is ready to deposit its eggs as early as the 15th of March, or sooner, if it finds any cruciform plant large enough. They set their eggs on end in two rows, cemented together mostly on the under side of the leaf, and VEGETABLES. 135 —Harlequin Cabbage-bug. g. Adult with wings extended. All natural size. [Riley.) generally from eleven to twelve in number. In about six days in April (four days in July) there hatch out from these eggs a brood of larvaj, resembling the perfect insects, except in having no wings. This brood immediately begins the work of destruction by piercing and sucking the life-sap from the leaves, and in twelve days they have matured. They are timid and run off and hide behind the first leaf- stem, or any part of the plant that will answer the purpose. The leaf that they puncture soon wilts * * * Half a dozen insects will kill a cabbage in a day." Remedies. — Infested fields /• Adult, should have clean culture, and all rubbish liable to furnish a refuge for the bugs during winter should be burned. Hand-picking into pans or cans containing water or kerosene oil is resorted to in the south. Pyre thrum in powder or decoction and strong kerosene emulsion may prove effectual when the bugs are young. By far the most promising method of dealing with the pest is that of Professor H. E. Weed, of the Mississippi Agricultural Exi^eriment Station. Wild mustard, when young and tender, is pre- ferred by the bugs even to cabbage, and this is one of the earliest cruciferous plants to appear in spring. In 1891, Professor Weed killed the bugs upon the mustard plants with pure kerosene, but in 1892 he decided to sow mustard between the rows to be planted in cabbage. The majority of the hibernating bugs clustered upon the early mustard plants and were killed with pure kerosene ; the cabbage escaped almost entirely from the depredations of the insects. We recommend this course to cabbage growers, wher- ever the pest is troublesome. Where mustard has not been provided, try spraying with a pretty strong pyrethro-kerosene emulsion. Fig. 112.— Harlequin Cabbage-bug. a, 6. Nymphs, c. Eggs. d. Eggs, side view. e. Eggs, view from above, d, e. Enlarged. {Riky.) 136 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE CABBAGE MAGGOT. {Anlhomyia brasslcw.) The adult, which appears about the time the plants are set out, is a two-winged fly somewhat resembling the common house &y. The eggs are laid on the stems of the young plants near the surface of the soil and soon hatch into small, whitish maggots, which work down- ward into the earth, feeding on the roots of the tender plants. In about three weeks from hatching, the maggots pupate and in a few days emerge as adult flies. Three and probably more broods ap- pear each season. This insect also attacks turnips and ruta bagas. Remedies. — The maggots are easily destroj^ed by the use of kero- sene emulsion about the roots. Dr. Riley has suggested the use of slaked lime or ashes as a probable remedj'. THE WAVY-STRIPED FLEA-BEETLE. (Phyllolreta vitiala.) This little insect also known as the Striped Turnip Beetle, feeds upon the surface of the leaves of the cabbage, turnip, radish, etc. The adult is black or nearly so, with a broad, wavy, buff" or yellowish colored, longitudinal stripe on each wing cover. The females lay their eggs upon the roots of the food plants, and the larvae which are whitish or yellowish and semi-transparent, with horny l)rown heads, often do very serious injury to cabbage, turnips, radishes, and other vegetables. Remedies. — Powdered tobacco or tobacco decoction are said to be good remedies. Drenching the roots with kerosene emulsion will destroy the larvae. Dusting the plants with land plaster, lime and dry unleached wood ashes are also re- garded as protections from this little pest. THE CABBAGE APHIS. {Aphis brassicce.) A small, light green insect, usually cov- ered with a white flour or meal-like sub- stance. In habits and life history this species resembles other aphides producing oviparous and viviparous young, which are developed on a variety of cruciferous plants. Remedies. — Kerosene emulsion , 1 part to from '20 to '25 of water, readily kills this pest. Fig. 113.— Cabbage Aphis. Oviparous female, magni- fied. (Weed.) VEGETABLES. 137 As the eggs are laid upon the cabbage leaves the refuse leaves should be fed to stock or poultry, and the stalks should be burned. Fig. 114.— Cabbage Aphis. Male, magnified. ( Weed.) CELERY. THE CELEEY CATEEPILLAR. {Papilio asierias.) The celery caterpillar or " parsley worm, " as it is frequently called, is when full grown about an inch and a half long, of a pale, delicate green color, lightly gradated on the sides and with a series of transverse yellow markings on each segment of the body. When alarmed the worm thrusts out from a slit just back of the head, a pair of yellow V shaped horns, which are not stings as are gener- ally supposed, but ,•■ . ,, Fig. 115.— Celery Butterfly. (Weed.) are the insect's or- gans of defence from which it diffuses a disagreeable odor. The pupa is ash-gray, yellowish, greenish or ocher-yellow in color. 138 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The period of pupation lasts from nine to fourteen days, \Then the insect transforms to a beautiful black butterfly marked by rows of yellow and blue spots on the wings. Fig. 116.— Celery Caterpillar and Butterfly. {Weed.) VEGETABLES. 139 The butterflies have an expanse of wing of from three ami three- quarters to four inches. The eggs are deposited singly upon the food plants of the larvae, and hatch into small, blackish caterpillars, less than one tenth of an inch long. The caterpillars feed upon the leaves of the celery, carrot, parsnip, parsley and related plants. Remedies. — Hand-picking is generally practicable since the cater- pillars are usually never present in large numbers. The larvse when young, are readily destroyed by dusting infested plants with pyre- thrum powder, which may be diluted with from three to four parts of refuse flour. THE CUCUMBER. THE STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE. {Didbrotica viliata.) The parent beetle is a small, yellow insect, marked with black stripes on the back. It makes its appearance early in the season, having passed the winter concealed under leaves, rubbish, etc., and at once attacks young cucumber, melon and squash-vines. It feeds upon the leaves and stemu, and at times is so destructive that plants subject to attack cannot be grown, unless carefully guarded from the pest. Nor are the depredations of the parent beetles alone all that must be guarded against. After the beetles begin to decrease in numbers, and sometimes after they have p^^ ^jy —Adult Striped entirely disappeared, the vines begin to Cucumber Beetle. wilt and die. If we examine the roots of dying vines, we find the corroded roots pierced by minute holes, in which are often imbedded slender, whitish worms with brown, horny, flat heads. These are the larvse of the striped cucumber beetle. The worms are full grown in about a month from hatching, and are then slightly less than half an inch long. They now leave the roots, make a little cavity in the earth near by, cast their larval skins and transform to pupae. The insect spends the winter in the beetle state, concealed under 140 INJURIOUS INSECTS. leaves, logs, or rubbish, and comes forth in early spring to renew its depredations. Remedies. — One of the best remedies against this pest is the liberal use of tobacco dust in and upon the hill. The tobacco acts not only as an insecticide but also as an excellent fertilizer. For small patches or the family garden an ex- cellent protection for the young plants may be had by providing gauze-covered frames to exclude the beetles. Such frames are readily made out of old barrel hoops. The IIJJJ -T |1|\ hoops should be cut in. half and 1 1 ll \ flMl placed crosswise over the plants, with Jj^^l rt] *^^ ends fastened in the ground ; '* '' ' ' ' ™'' over the dome-like frame thus made stretch a covering of cheese cloth or mosquito netting. The beetles are thus excluded, while air, sunshine and moisture, have free access to the tender plants. The earth should be drawn over the edges of the gauze to prevent the beetles from crawling under and onto These frames are readily removed for cultivation and as readily replaced. Bits of blotting paper or rags saturated with oil of turpentine, scattered about the vines and stems are said to be obnoxious to the beetles and to drive them away. Fig. 1. Back view. the plants. 118.— Larva. 2. Side view. (Riley.) THE CUCUMBER FLEA BEETLE. {Crepidoilera cucumeris.) This is a small black or darkish beetle that appears early in the season and eats little round patches from the upper surface of the leaves of young squash and cucumber plants. The larvaj are believed to burrow into the leaves. Remedies. — Powdered tobacco dusted over the vines is an efficient remedy. VEGETABLES. 141 THE ONION. THE ONION MAGGOT. (Anthomyia ceparum.) This is the larval stage of the Imported Onion Fly, a closely related species to the native American Onion Fly (Or<«7ts co-cMato) and the Black Onion Fly ( Ortalis flexa) . These species resemble each other in habits, and are subject to the same remedial treatment. The female deposits her eggs in spring on the small bulbs, or leaves near the ground. The eggs hatch in about a week into dull whitish maggots that burrow through the bulbs to their bases. When fully developed, which is in about a fortnight, the maggots are not quite half an inch long and pointed at the head end . They then leave the bulbs, enter the earth and change to chestnut-brown pupae. The flies appear in about two weeks and lay the eggs for another brood. Remedies. — When the sickly or yellow color of the plants indi- cates the presence of the onion maggot, the bulbs should be taken out with a knife or trowel and the infested onions destroyed. Possibly drenching the bulbs with kerosene emulsion would prove effective. Salt, at the rate of from 2} to 3 J bushels per acre, has also been used when the plants were young. Possibly the best preventive meas- ure is that suggested by Prof. Cook, which is to plant the crop on land at some distance from that occupied by onions the preceding year. Fig. 119. — Fly of the Onion Maggot. THE POTATO. THE COLORADO POTATO BEETLE. {Doyphora decemlineala.) The native home of the Colorado potato beetle is the eastern de- clivities of the Eocky Mountains. This insect, so familiar to every farmer, was first described in the ' ' Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences,'' of Philadelphia, in 1824, by the noted naturalist, 142 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Thomas Say, who accompanied Long's exploring expedition to the Eocky Mountains. Say found the insect not uncommon in the region of the Upper Missouri, and it was afterward ascertained that the original food of the beetle was the sand-bur {Solatium rostratum), a species of wild potato indigenous to the Eocky Mountain regions. With the westward march of civilization came the white potato, and its culture in the native home of the species gradually led the way to the introduction of the pest throughout North America, and thence to the Old World. The insect gradually began its advance eastward. According to Dr. Eiley, it was known in eastern Nebraska in 1859. In 1861 it invaded Iowa ; had crossed the Mississippi in 1864, and in 1874 had reached the At- lantic States, from whence it was carried to Europe. This insect needs no description here. The orange-colored eggs, varying in number from a dozen to fifty, are laid on the under side of the potato-leaf. The eggs hatch in about a week into sluggish larvae which feed upon the leaves, never leaving a plant until it is completely defoliated, and then only for food. The tomato and egg-plant are also fed upon to some extent by this insect. In addition to these plants, Dr. Eiley enumerates tlie ground cherry, thorn apple, henbane, apple of Peru, tobacco, belladonna, petu nia, cayenne pepper, and cabbage, as being occasionally liable to attack. When fully developed, the larvae pupate just beneath the soil or under rubbish above the surface. The insects fluctuate greatly in numbers and in destructiveness from year to year. "It spreads," says Dr. Eiley, " Irat does not travel in the sense of leaving one district for another," There are from two to four broods each season, Fig. 120.— Colorado Potato-beetle IN ALL Stages. .^ ,(^ VEGETABLES, I'l 143 Remedies. — The arsenites, Paris green, and London purple, are almost universally used for combating this pest. They may be applied in liquid suspension, or in powder diluted with abcut fifty times their weight of flour, sifted ashes, or road dust, oic^ with (O^pi hundred pounds of land plaster. ' ' > h i i > The writer prefers a liquid insecticide and uses from four to six ounces of Paris green to fifty gallons of water, to which a pint of glucose, or syrup, or a quart of flour paste is added. A half teaspoonful of Paris green and a half pint of kerosene emul- sion to a two-gallon pail of water makes an excellent mixture for use /■, i: Fig. 121.— Colokado Potato-beetle. a, a. Eggs, h, b. Larvse. c. Pupa, d, d. Beetles, e. Wing of beetle, magnified. (Rileij.) on garden plots. The adult beetle avoids plants sprayed wdth a mix- ture containing kerosene, and will not deposit eggs upon them, and the emulsion serves also to destroy the vitality of the eggs. The arsenites may be dusted over the foliage with a powder-gun or perforated can ; or in suspension, may be applied with a spraying machine or ordinary watering-pot. Peroxide of silicate, etc., and many proprietary preparations, which owe their efliciency to arsenic, are advertised throughout the country. Spraying is decidedly the cheaper method of applying arsenites for this pest and should be begun as soon as the beetles appear, 144 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE POTATO OR TOMATO WORM. [Plikgethontius ceh'us.) The parent of this pest is a beautiful sphinx moth nearly related to the Carolina Tobacco Sphinx {Phlegethontius Carolina), described on page 165. The Potato or Tomato worm is of northern distribution, and is per- haps more destructive to the tomato than the potato ; it is the tobacco worm of northern latitudes, and the two species were formerly con founded with each other. Both moths have orange-colored spots on the sides of the abdomen, but in the wing markings there are percept- ible differences. In the present species the general color of the body and wings in the adult is grayish, marked by stripes and dots in gradated shades of grayish brown, with a faint white spot near the center of each front wing. The moths fly about dusk, lapping up the nectar of flowers through their long, slender sucking tubes or tongues. The adults appear early in summer, and the females lay their eggs in the evening on the leaves of the potato and tomato. The worm, or caterpillar, is a voracious feeder and soon makes its presence known by stripping the stems of foliage and by the abundant castings on the ground below. The cater- pillars grow rapidly and in a few weeks are about three inches long and of the thickness of a man's little finger. Their color is light green or brown with oblique, whitish stripes on the sides of the body. When full-grown, which, in the northern States is early in September, the caterpillars retire to the earth, where they make oval cells some dis- tance below the surface, and transform to pupas, in which condition they remain until the following summer, when they come forth as moths. The caterpillar is subject to the attacks of a small parasitic, four- winged, black-fly which deposits its eggs within the worm. These eggs hatch into little maggots which feed upon the juices of the body, developing at the expense of the worm. The worms infested by this parasite may be readily known by their emaciated appearance and the little, egg-shaped cocoons of white silk which the larvse spin upon the backs of their hosts and in which the pupal period of the parasite is passed. Such caterpillars should never be destroyed, for although they linger for some time, they will do but little harm and will never complete their transformations. The little flies will soon emerge and continue the work of destroj'iug the noxious species. Remedies. — In the northern tobacco fields the same methods of VEGETABLES. 145 10 146 INJURIOUS INSECTS. figMtng the pest should be employed as are used by southern planters, for destroying the Carolina Tobacco Worm (see page 165). In potato fields one of the best ways of killing the moths is to take shingles or old pieces of tin or boards and nail them to strips of wood which may be driven into the ground as supports. The boards or shingles should be supported from one to two feet from the ground and smeared with molasses mixed with a little poisoned water, to which some whisky or malt liquor has been added. BLISTER BEETLES. {Meloidcc.) Several species of beetles belonging to the same family as the Spanish- fly of commerce, attack the potato. Dr. Riley thus describes these curious insects : ' ' These insects all agree in possessing vesicatory [hlisterinfi) powers, and in their curious life-history. Harris and many other writers believed that their larv£e lived underground upon tlie- roots of plants ; but it is now fully established that they agree with many other members of the family, as, for instance, the oil-beetles (genus 3Ieloe), in leading in their younger days a partly parasitic and partly predaceous life ; and when this is remembered, the fact that some of the beetles have been observed to feed upon Doyphora larvte, becomes less surprising. The female Blister beetle is very prolific, her abdomen greatly swelling in pregnancy. She lays her eggs in masses in the ground and carefully covers them up. These hatch in a few days into minute, light-brown, bristly creatures with six long legs, two long bristles at the tail, and prominent jaws. They ru.n about with great activity, mount difterent composite flowers frequented by bees, throw themselves onto the bodies of these whenever they get the chance, and by tenaciously clinging to their hirsute host, are car- ried into its nest. Here, as the female bee is about to lay an egg in the cell prepared for it, the blister-beetle larva drops into the cell. Floating for a while on the surface of the honey and feeding thereon, it molts a few times, each molt representing a loss of activity by reduc tion of the legs, until at last the active hex apod is changed into a clumsy, legless maggot which fastens to the bee-larva that had mean- while developed. In a short time this last is devoured, and then the blister beetle larva goes through those curious transformations known as hypermetamorphoscs, the larva transforming to the pupa within its old skin, and the beetle finally issuing therefrom. The oil-beetle (Meloe) preys in this mauner upon the common hive-bee, and aside from the injury done to the bee-brood, as just described, its larva; VEGETABLES. 147 Fig. 123.— Striped Blister Beetle. {Riley.) when first hatched sometimes so crowd on and worry the mature bees, as to cause death. The blister beetles, however, so far as we know, prey only on our wild, solitary bees, such as those belonging to the genera Andrena and Halictus. ' ' The Striped Blister Beetle {Epicauia vittata). — It is in the adult condition that this insect feeds upon the leaves of the potato and occasionally on the foliage of the tomato. It has a slender body, marked on the wing cases with black stripes alternating with slender lines of yellowish brown. The eggs are laid in masses in the ground, near the surface ; the larvae hatch in about ten days and at once begin to burrow through the soil in search of the eggs of grass- hoppers upon which they feed. Dr. Eiley says this species prefers most other kinds of potato tops to the Peach Blow. In southern Pennsylvania it is quite common on beets, carrots and the aster. The Ash-gray Blister Beetle {Lyita cinerea). — Dr. EUey says of this species : " It is the one commonly found in the more northern parts of the northern states, where it usually takes the place of the striped species. It is of a uniform ash-gray color, but this color is given it by the presence upon its body of minute ash-gray scales or short hairs, and whenever these are rubbed oif, which happens almost as readily as on the wings of a butterfly, the original black color of its hide appears. It attacks not only the potato vine, but also the honey locust, and especially the English Windsor bean, and I have found it quite abundant on early snap beans. It is very injurious to lucerne, also attacks the foliage of the apple tree and likewise gnaws into the young fruit. ' ' The Black-rat Blister Beetle (Lytta murina) ; the Black Blister Beetle {Lytla atrata); the Margined Blister Beetle Fig. 124. — Gray (a) and Black-rat (6) Blister Beetles, WITH THE Antenna Enlarged. (Riley.) 148 INJURIOUS INSECTS. {Lytta margbutta) ; the White Blistee-beetle {Lytta alhida) ; and the Spotted Blistek-beetle [Lytta maculaia), all at times prove destructive to the potato. Remedies. — These species are not so readily destroyed by Paris green as the Colorado potato beetle, and it is questionable if insects so destructive to more injurious species should be molested unless they appear in numbers which seriously threaten a crop. " In the extensive beet fields of the West," says Dr. Riley, ''it is the custom, when these insects are abundant, to send men or boys through the field, working with the wind, and driving the beetles be- fore them by short flights. On theleeward side of the field, windrows of hay or straw have been previously placed, and into these the bee- tles are driven and then burned." THE POTATO-STALK WEEVIL. (Trichoharis trinolata.) This pest is the larva of a small snout- beetle of wide geographical distribution, but was unknown to Dr. Harris, in New England. It is quite common in Pennsylvania and in many of the western states. According to Prof Gillette, seventy-five per cent, of the crop in 1890 was infested by this insect in Iowa. The female beetle places a single egg in a slit about an eighth of an inch long, made in a stalk near the soil. The egg soon hatches into a small, yellowish-white or whitish grub, that tunnels into the heart of the stalk, burrowing downward toward the root and causing the plant to wither and the premature death of the vine. When fully grown the grub is a little over one-foiirth of an inch long, yellowish-white in color, legless, and the head has a scaly appearance. In a few weeks the grub pupates within the stalk below the surface of the soil, and emerges as an ash-gray or bluish beetle later in summer, or early in autumn. The insect hides in any protecting rubbish during the winter and appears the following spring when the eggs are laid for another generation. Remedies. — Whenever the presence of the larva? is indicated by the wilting and dying of the vines, they should be pulled up and burned. Even after harvesting the late crop, the vines should be burned if the pest has been at work in the field, VEGETABLES. 149 THE IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE. (Epicceriis imbricatus.) A small silvery-white beetle with distinct markings ou the back This species feeds ou the stems and foliage of many vegetables, including potatoes, beets, radishes, onions, beans, and com. It also at- tacks the fruit and foliage of the apple, cherry, and gooseberry'. When alarmed, the beetles feign death. Reraedies. — Paris green and London pur- ple may be used, either in powder or liquid sus- pension, for destroying this pest. These poisons should not be used on fruit trees or vegetables, except in cases where they may be employed with absolute safetv. Fig. 125. — Imbricated Snout-beetle. (Co?;i- siock.) RHUBARB. THE EHUBARB CURCULIO. {lA.rn.i concariis). The parerit beetle usually has a j^ellow appearance, due to a yel- lowish powder which covers its body. When this powder is rubbed off the insect is of a dull, grayish-brown color. The adult hibernates during the winter and appears early in the spring, laj^- ing its eggs in certain common species of dock, as for example the yellow dock {Eumex crispus.) The eggs are also deposited in the stalks of the Rhubarb, but it is thought the insects are incapa- ble of development, except in the wild dock. The beetles, however, gnaw and tunnel holes in the stalks of the rhubarb, causing the sap to exude, and thus do much injury to the plant. Remedies. — H a n d -picking the beetles is the only known remedy. The wild dock, wherever abundant, should be dug up and burned. Fig. 126.— Rhubarb Cueculio. a. Larva, h. Pupa. c. Beetle, slightly " ' ( Weed. ) magnified. 150 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE SQUASH. THE SQUASH-VINE BORER. {^gei-ia cuourhitae.) The squash-vine borer is the larva of a moth belonging to the same genus as the Peach borer. The parent insect has an orange colored body ; the fore -wings are black or olive brown, and the hind ones transparent ; the hind pair of legs are fringed with long orange-yellow and black hairs. The eggs are laid on the stems of the young plants near the roots of the cucumber, squash and melon, and the larvse on hatching, burrow into the stems, feeding upon their substance and causing the plants to die. The full-grown borer measures about one incli in length, is whitish in color, with the head brown. Toward the close of summer the borers leave the upper part of the root or the stem near the surface, construct rude cocoons or cells, com- posed of earth glued together with a gummy silk-like secretion and enter upon the pupal stage of life. The moth emerges the following spring. Remedies. — All withered or dead vines should be destroyed in order that the larvse may not escape to propagate their kind. Cover- ing several of the lower joints with earth has also been suggested for the purpose of inducing the vines to take root at these points, since the borer deposits her eggs on the stems near the roots. Cutting out the larvse whenever suspected is also resorted to. Sprinkling or dusting with Paris green near the roots is also said to be effective in preventing the ravages of this pest. THE SQUASH BUG. (Anasa irisiis.) This insect makes its appearance in our more northern latitudes late in June, and the females deposit their small, spherical, brownish-yellow eggs on the under side of the leaves in patches of from three to a dozen together. The eggs soon hatch into pale, ash-colored larva?, or nymphs, that in- sert their slender, pointed beaks into the leaves and suck the sap. The nymphs at first remain in small swarms, those from a single brood feeding together ; but as they grow older, moult their skins several times, and scatter over the plants. Like all other true bugs they do not have complete transformations and have no quiescent or VEGETABLES. 151 dormant pupal stage. The nymphs bear considerable resemblance to the adults, a resemblance that becomes more evident as the insects approach maturity. The adult is a little over half an inch long, rusty black above and of an ocher-yellowish color beneath. When disturbed or handled this insect emits a disgusting odor, somewhat like that given off by the bed-bug and chinch-bug. The adult passes the winter secluded under logs, leaves, boards, or any rubbish that aflbrds protection. Remedies. — Hand-picking during the jmorn- Ing or in the evening hours when the bugs are less active, is the most practical way of keeping them in check. The nymphs are quickly killed by applications of kerosene emulsion, in fact several sprayings with this insecticide kills many of the parent bugs ' "-^^j^ and causes the others to leave the vinest Boards laid among the plants have been used by Professor Cook as traps to catch the bugs. The insects collect under the boards at night and are destroyed early in the morning. SUGAR BEET. THE SUGAE BEET WEB-WOEM. {Loxosiege sticticalis.) The life history of this insect has not yet been fully studied but there are cerijainly two annual broods and probably three or four. The eggs are pale yellow, slightly polished and somewhat iridescent ; they are deposited ' ' singly, or in rows of from two to five or more, in the latter case overlapping each other like scales. The young larvae are whitish in color with polished black heads. The full-grown larvae are yellowish-white with a broad black medio-dorsal stripe, and a still broader sub-dorsal stripe, the two fine lateral lines being also black. * * * * The head is yellowish or marbled with black. " (Eep. U. S. Dept Agr., 1892). Remedies. — Paris green, Persian insect powder and white helle- bore were tried on infested plots at Schuyler, Nebraska, where the pest caused some alarm in 1892. Paris green was applied in the propor- tion of one teaspoonful to a gallon of water and the insect powder and white hellebore were sprinkled as powders by hand over the beet tops. 152 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The efficiency of Paris green and of Persian insect powder, seem, from these first experiments, to be fully established. White hellebore was without effect. " The web- worms were most abundant at a dis- tance from sheltered localities, bordering groves, and were most num- erous upon high ground, hill tojis and slopes, rather than upon flat ground. They were never plentiful on a piece of ground planted to beets for the first time, unless it adjoined one that was cultivated in beets the year before. They were more abundant in the middle of large fields than in small ones, and also in fields that were allowed to run to pig weed (Amaranius, sp.) the preceding year than in fields where the weeds were kept down. Sandy soil was apparently more favorable to their increase than heavier soil." For the full report on the Sugar Beet Web-worm, see pages 172-175, Eept. U. S. Dept. Agr., 1892. CORK THE CLAY-COLORED BILL-BUG. (Sphenophorus ochreus.) Several species of beetles, commonly known as bill-bugs, are destruc- tive to com, but the habits and life history of each species are much the same, and in their attacks on this crop produce injuries of like character. The clay-colored bill-bug is one of the most prominent beetles of the group, conspicuous by reason of its large size and light clay color. The larva is a large, whitish, wrinkled grub with a small brovni head and without feet. The grub burrows into the bulbous roots of reeds, rushes and other swamp-growing plants which are its natural foods. In "Insect Life," November 1889, Professor F. M. Webster says : — " The insect passes the winter in the adult stage, coming forth from its hiding j^laces in spring and feeding upon the tender portion of the stems of the reeds and rushes, and later on the same parts of the young corn plants, if the field has been planted to that grain. Late in May and early in June the female deposits her eggs in or about the bulbous roots of the Scirpus, the roots of this plant consisting of bulbs connected by smaller slender roots. The larva burrow into these bulbs which are many of them the size of an ordinary hen's egg and very hard, and transform to the adult beetle therein, appearing on the rushes, reeds, or corn in August and September, and feeding after the manner of. their ancestors. The large size of the larviv and the diminutive size of the corn at the period of oviposition reudei-s it very VEGETABLES. 153 unlikely that this species will ever breed in the roots of corn, and, indeed, no trouble has been experieuced after the natural flora of the land has been eradicated." Remedies. — Professor Forbes, State Entomologist of Illinois, states : — " Elaborate experiments made at the office and on the univer- sity farm, failed to show that this beetle could breed in com. Hills of corn with which imagos had for several weeks been enclosed and upon which they fed with the greatest freedom, were not infested with the larvse of this species, neither could eggs be found upon or about them, although the beetles were pairing when imprisoned." From these observations it would appear that there is little danger of this species becoming a pest to corn, except in recently drained or swampy fields, or on those adjacent to low, marshy lands where the reeds and rushes abound which furnish the natural food for the im- mature insects. Therefore recently drained or low, wet lands, to be planted to corn should be broken up early in the previous summer, before the middle of June or first of July, so as to prevent, as much as possible, the growth of larvse and to destroy for the future the food of the mature insects should they appear the following spring. Of this method of dealing with the pest Professor Webster says : — " At the commencement of investigations, and after learning the habits of the larvse, it looked as though breaking the ground in June or July and throwing roots and larvae up to the scorching rays of the midsum- mer sun might destroy the pest. But having reared adults from the eggs in bulbs kept in dry earth from the middle of June to the 25th oi August, it would seem that little can be accomplished in that direc- tion, and tho only plan which now promises success, is to destroy all traces of their native food plants long enough before planting to corn to starve the adults, or compel them to seek other uncultivated localities." THE CORN CURCULIO, OE BILL-BUG. (Sphenophorus sea.) A semi-aquatic snout-beetle much resem- bling the peach and plum curculio. The adult beetle is of an ashen-gray color and about one fourth of an inch long. The female bites into the young plants near the ground and deposits her eggs in the cavity thus made ; the grubs which soon follow bore into the pith, killing the plant or causing it to remain in a dwarfed or unthrifty condition. Fig. 128.— Corn Bill-bug. a. Back view. 6. Side view. 154 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Remedies. — This insect is rarely troublesome on drained or well tilled land. It passes the winter concealed under the stalks or under stubble left on the field. Drainage, where needed, and thorough clearing fields of rubbish, cornstalks, or stubble, which should be burned, are the only known reznedies. THE BOLL- WORM. (Heliothis arinigera.) The boll-worm of the cotton belt and the corn-worm, or hud-worm of the northern states is the same insect. The young worm varies in color from a deep dark brown to pale green. When full-grown there is greater uniformity in appearance, though the variations in color are still strikingly difi'erent. When full-grown Fig. 129.— Boll-worm. a,h. Egg. c. Larva, d. Pupa. e,/. Moth with wings expaudod and closed. (Riley.) the worm retires to the ground and envelops itself in a cocoon com- posed of earth interwoven with silk. The piipa lives through the winter in the soil, unaffected by severe freezing. The moth lays her eggs on the boll, leaves or stems, and the worms, when hatched, bore into the boll and feed upon the lint. The ravages of this pest are not confined to cotton and corn alone, but the worm is VEGETABLES. 155 also known to attack green peas, string beans, pumpkins, tomatoes and gladioli. Remedies. — In the cotton fields the moths may be killed in large numbers by means of lantern-traps, in the same manner as the cotton- caterpillar moths. (See page 168.) " All the remedies, " says Professor McCarthy, " used against the cotton-caterpillar will serve equally as well for the boll-worm. But the boll- worm begins its ravages long before the cotton moth, and when the worms are once inside the boll they cannot be reached by poisons. Therefore, when the boll-worm abounds the use of poison must begin as soon as the flowers have withered. " (Bulletin 78, North Carolina Experiment Station.) This pest prefers corn to cotton, and if a row of corn for every ten or a dozen rows of cotton be planted in the field, the moths willlay their eggs on the corn, from which the worm may be picked and destroyed. THE WESTERN COEN ROOT-WORM. (Diabrotica longicornis.) A grass-green beetle, the larva of which does no little damage to the roots of corn in many of the western States. The larva is a slen- der, white worm which attacks the roots, burrowing toward the stalks. Pupation takes place within the soil during mid-summer and a few days thereafter the beetles emerge. "The beetles climb up the stalks," says Professor Forbes, ' ' living upon fallen pollen and upon the silk at the top of the ear, until the latter dries, when a few of the beetles creep down between the husks and feed upon the corn itself, while the others resort for food to the pollen of such weeds in the field as are at that time in blossom." The eggs are deposited in the corn-ground in autumn and hatch the following spring. Remedies.— Rotation of crops seems to be the only practical remedy. When the pest makes its appearance in corn-fields the land should be planted to some other crops the succeeding spring. The hatching larvse will then starve for want of suitable food. The pres- ence of the beetles among the corn in autumn should be a a sufficient warning to the farmer to plant the next year's crop on other land. SOUTHERN CORN ROOT- WORM. (Diabrotica 12-punclaia.) A slender white worm resembling the western corn root- worm to which it is nearly related. There are two broods each season, the eggs for the first brood being deposited about the corn roots and the 156 INJURIOUS INSECTS. base of the stalk, by the adult, which Ls a small yellow beetle marked ■with twelve black spots upon the back. The beetles feed upon a great many wild and cultivated plants; cucumbers, melons, squashes, all suffer greatly from the depredations of this pest. The first brood of larvae is the one most destructive to com. The adult is also called the Twelve-six)tted Cucumber- beetle. Remedies. — The arsenites might be tried upon young corn and also on melon, cu- cumber, and squash vines, when the plants are young. Pyrethrum powder, tobacco dust and possibly kero.sene emulsion might be used effectively in gardens and on small patches, but on a large scale no practical method of treatment has been suggested. Fig. 130.— Southern Corn Root- worm. !. Larva. 6. Pupa. c. Beetle. Magnified. (Garmaii.) THE STALK-BOEER. (Gorlyna nilela.) Also known as the Potato Stalk-borer. The larva; of this insect Infest a number of plants, among which are tomatoes, potatoes. Indiaii corn, dahlias, asters, lilies, salvia, rhubarb, spinach, cocklebur, and the twigs of the apple, peach, black- berry, and currant. The adult is a brown moth belong- ing to the group of insects to which the cut worm moths be- long. The moths ap- pear late in summer or early in autumn. Remedies. — Wherever the larvae are found they should be de- stroyed. Their habit is to cut off the terminal leaves within the stalk, thus causing the leaves to wither and die. As the insect is -PT.4.LK-BOKER. Larva. {JiUri/.) VEGETABLES. 157 propagated largely upon weeds, crops liable to injury should have clean culture. THE GARDEN WEB-WORM. (Eurycreon rantalis). The parent is a small, gray moth with a wing expansion of about three-fourths of au inch. The eggs are deposited on the leaves and stems of several plants, including Indian com. The larva; spin a pro- tecting web underneath which they feed upon the leaves. At first only the upper surface of the leaves is eaten, but as the worms grow older the entire leaf is de- voured. Pupation takes place in the ground, in thin, brownish cocoons. Remedies. — It is only occasionally that this insect does severe in- jury to crops. Dust or spray the plants with the arsenites wherever the pest is present in formidable numbers. Fig. 132. — Garden Web-worm. a. Larva, d. Pupa, both twice natural size. /. Moth, slightly enlarged. [Riley.) THE CORN-ROOT APHIS. (Aphis maidis.) The corn-root aphis is a small, bluish-green louse, nearly related to the apple aphis, and is found on the roots of Indian corn throughout the entire season. There are two forms, one winged and the other wingless, and like other aphides this species lays eggs and gives birth to living young. The lice suck out the sap of the corn roots, causing infested plants to turn yellow and have a sickly, unthrifty appear- ance. Remedies. — No artificial remedy is known for this pest. In small garden patches, kerosene emulsion might be used for drenching about the roots, but treatment with this insecticide has not been regarded as practicable on a large scale. In field culture a rotation of crops is the only preventive measure that can be suggested. ' 158 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE COEN APHIS. (Aphis maidis.) This insect is nearly related to the preceding species, and -svas for a long time regarded as the aerial form of the corn-root aphis, but these insects are now believed to belong to different species. The life history of the corn aphis has not been very fully studied, but the winged females are known to appear upon the com early in summer and to give birth to wingless living young which continue to multiply rapidly until autumn, when a winged brood appears which migrates to other plants. Remedies. — These plant lice are held in check by para.sitic enemies and by certain predaceous insects, such as Lady-beetles and Harvest-spiders. Artificial remedies are rarely if ever resorted to. The use of kerosene emulsion may sometimes be found practicable, that is, in garden patches . CUT-WORMS. The true cut-worms are the larvse of several night-flying moths belonging to the genus Agrotis. The adults appear late in summer : they are dull gray or brown with a wing expanse measuring from one and a half to two inches. The wings are marked by two light or whitLsh spots, one round and the other kidney -shaped. The female deposits her eggs mostly late in summer, but occa- sionally in the spring. The eggs soon hatch Fig. 133.— The Larva and Adult of the Dark- ^^^ *^^ larvjB enter SIDED Cut-worm. Natural Size. (Garman.) the ground and live on the tender roots of grasses and other plants until the approach of cold weather, when they descend deeper into the earth and remain in a torpid condition through the winter. In spring they come to the surface and feed by night on a variety of succulent plants. Several species of cut-worms are known, among which are the greasy cut-worm, the dingy cut-worm, the glassy cut-worm, and the climbing cut-worm. Remedies. — Cut- worms are most injurious in sod-land or in fields VEGETABLES. 159 adjacent to grass land. Birds, especially robins, destroy tbem in vast numbers when exposed by the plow. The worms generally feed at night and hide through the day under clods, etc. , near the places of their depredations. In gardens they may be dug out and destroyed, but in fields a little fresh clover cut in the evening and dropped in water containing Paris green or London purple should be scat- tered among plants. On sod-lauds plowed under for other crops and in fields where cut-worms are suspected in disastrous numbers, use an abundance of seed, that a good stand may be left after the depreda- tions of the worms are over. Fig. 134.- -The Adult WORM. Moth of the Dingy Cut- (Garman.) THE GREASY CUT-WORM. {Agrolu telifera.) The larva; of the moth or "miller" so common in lighted rooms during spiing and summer evenings. The female moth lays her eggs on grasses, weeds, etc., and the larvaj hatch out in a day or two. The worms drop to the ground and burrow into the soil, feed- ing upon the roots of grasses, etc., until the approach of cold weather, when they descend deeper into the earth, remain ing in a torpid condition through the winter. With the return of spring they come to the surface and devour what ever plants chance to be within reach. Remedies. — This trouble- some pest attacks a great variety of cultivated plants, and is es- pecially destructive to tobacco, com, and tomatoes. Fig. 135.— Greasy Cut-woem and Moth {RUey.) 160 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Lantern traps will destroy many of the moths ; several species of in- sects prey upon the worms and birds devour them in large numbers. Wrapping a piece of stiff paper around the stem of each plant, so that the lower edge of the paper will extend slightly below the surface of the ground, while the upper edge reaches an inch or two above the surface, is a sure protection to the plants, and is practicable in the home garden. Professor Gerald McCarthy, Entomologist of the North Carolina Experiment Station, gives the following method for combating this pest in tobacco fields. ' ' For destroying the worms the best method is to prepare loosely tied balls of fresh clover or caVjbage leaves moistened with a paste of Paris green or white arsenic and flour. Place these balls about t^'enty feet apart throughout the field, a week before the tobacco plants are set out. " The balls should be moistened every two days or fresh ones substi- tuted. The worms coming to the surface, finding no growing plants will eat the poisoned bait and be killed thereby. This remedy is ap- plicable to all kinds of cut-worms, and has been found very satisfac- tory by those who have given it a trial . ' ' The Boll-WOKM [Helioihis armigera). — Sometimes attacks and severely damages tobacco. For remedies see page 154. The Snowy-Tkee Cricket (fficrt/ifZ/ws nireus).— This insect never damages tobacco except when the field is infested by blackberry or raspberry bushes. (See page 98. ) Remedy.— Extirpate all blackberry or raspberry canes and give the crop thorough cultivation. THE ARMY WORM. {Heliophila unipuncta.) The name is rather loosely applied to the larval stage of different insects of more or less pronounced migratory habits. The Tent Cater- pillar, the Cotton- worm of the South, and the Southern Grass- worm, are, in different localities, all known as army worms. The true army worm {H. unipuncta) belongs to the same order as the cut- worms ; it is a native insect, the injuries of which were recorded in New England as long ago as 1743. The worms feed by j)reference on grasses and small grains, showing a decided partiality for grass land on low wet soils. The moth, though common, is scarcely known to farmers. It is VEGETABLES. 161 Fig. 136.— The Army Worm. Adult Moth. Natural Size. {Riley.) fawn-colored, with a white speck near the center of the front wings and with numerous black specks and a dark curved bar near the wing-tips. The abdomen and hind wings are of a dull gray color. The female lays her eggs at night between the folded sides of grass-blades, prefer- ring to oviposit in matted tnfts of coarse dead grass. The eggs are glued to the grass with a white adhesive fluid which fostens them together and draws the sides of the grass-blades securely around them. The eggs when fresh are glist- ening, white, opaque, and nearly spherical in shape. The full-grown army worm measures about one and a half inches long, is of a dull gray color with black stripes, and narrow, interrupted lines of white along the back. The under side is greenish and the head pale yellow with brown lines on the sides and with a pair of curved stripes approaching each other near the mouth and diverging toward the back of the head. Professor Garman in treating of the life history of this insect says : ' ' The moths which have lurked about among grasses and refuse during the winter, come out of their hiding places as soon as grass starts in spring, and deposit their eggs in the tufts of blades and even in the dried stems. The eggs may be thrust beneath the ensheathing part of grass blades, but are often quite exposed. Grass which grows on low and damp ground appears to be preferred, and it is generally from neglected meadows in such land that the worms get a start. The moths fly chiefly at night and are often attracted at that time to any exposed sweets, such as syrups, or honey, for which they have a great fondness. The ■worms which hatch from the eggs laid by these females are soon among the grasses feeding much like cut- worms, but being active during the day as well as night. When not feeding they conceal themselves under clods and in the ground. 11 Fig. 137. — The Army Worm Larva. Na- tural Size. {Riley.) 162 INJURIOUS INSECTS. " Commonly this brood of worms does uo perceptible harm, but occa- sionally when very abundant, the migrating instinct is developed and great armies of almost incredible numbers of worms from two-thirds grown upward, march along the ground devouring everything in the way of vegetation before them. Thej"^ generally all march in one direction in the same field , and stop for no obstructions, even rushing into water, and creeping over one another in their eagerness to get forward. These armies appear about the time wheat is ripe, and are especially destruc- tive to wheat, oats and corn, literally devouring the crop in some instances. "When full-grown the worms stop feeding, enter the ground an inch or two, or conceal themselves under loose rubbish, where they moult their skins and change to the brown pupse. In time the pupas yield the winged moths which deposit eggs for another generation. " The injury done is mainly the work of the spring brood. Several other broods develop during the summer, but the worms are scattered and live like cut-worms, never, so far as I know, marching in armies. "The worms are almost omnivorous, but do not like clover, and feed by preference on grasses and small grains. The winter is passed both as worms and as moths." Remedies. — The army worm is preyed upon by birds and by para- sitic and predaceous insects, and is, also, decimated by bacterial forms of disease. Burning over meadows or pastures in spring is probably the easiest and most practical method now known of dealing with the pest. In the future, possibly the dissemination of the germs of contagious diseases to which the insect is subject will prove a formidable agency for their destruction. In the bulletin above referred to Professor Garman gives the following general remedial treatment lor this insect : — "It is unfortunately not possible to predict the appearance of the worms in destructive numbers any length of time beforehand, hence it is not possible to head them off by the use of fire in fields in which they will start. Burning over old meadows is however to be recommended as well worth practicing occasionally, as a means of guarding against the increase of this and of other grass-infesting in- sects also. If we could say positively when a destructive brood would appear we could by this means prevent most of the coming injury. "After the worms appear and begin to march, it is the common prac- tice to dig or plow trenches before them and about grain fields which are threatened with invasion. The worms accumulate in these trenches VEGETABLES. 16G and can then be destroyed by the use of kerosene or by mechanical means. "Another practice often recommended as giving good results is the placing of fence boards in the ground, end to end, before the armies of worms and smearing the exposed edge of the boards with coal tar mixed with grease. "Where it is possible to use London purple or Paris green without danger to stock or to man, these poisons may be sprayed upon the vegetation before the advancing worms, and should prove a complete check. Where it is a matter of saving a crop of wheat or oats this method is to be recommended even if it involves sending the stock to other pastures for a time." WIRE-WORMS OR DRILL-WORMS. Wire-worms or drill-worms properly belong to the larvae of several species of clicking or snapping beetles {Elaior), so called from the facility with which the beetles, when laid upon their backs, spring into the air with a resonant, clicking noise, landing, in most cases, on Fig. 138.— Snapping-beetle or Wire-worm, with Larv.e. their feet. The winged beetles live upon rotten wood, and hence a valid reason why decaying posts and fence rails be removed from the corn-field to the wood-pile. The larvae are slender wire like worms, varying in color from white to yellow, resembling bits of light wire. The larval stage lasts for two, three, and some entomologists say, five years ; it is, therefore, no small task to free land once l^adly infested with these insects. The 164 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Fig. 189.— Adult of Wire-worm. worms do great damage to potatoes, cereal grains and the grasses, and Avill even bore into seed Indian corn, often destroying it in the ground before germination. Professor Garman (Bulletin No. 40, Kentucky Experiment Station) says. "Normally the larvse appear to live in grass land, where the harm they do is not apparent. If this is plowed up and planted in corn or potatoes the worms, deprived of their accustomed food, turn to the crop and often are exceedingly troublesome, in some ca.ses compel- ling farmers to replant several times. "The worms are white or yellow, cylindrical, and are rather hard-bodied for larvse. Each has three pairs of jointed legs just behind the head, and no more. This feature of their structure will always serve to distinguish them from the cylin- drical thousand legs, or millijiedes, which are sometimes also called wire-worms. "' Remedies. — An English practice is to sow along with the seed bits of rape-cake soaked in arsenic. Poisoned corn harrowed in shortly before planting the regular crop would probably answer the same purpose. Autumn and eaily spring plowing with frequent harrowing expose the worms to birds which are our ever con- stant but little appreciated allies in combating formidable insect pests. Professor Garman in the bulletin above quoted says : "In fields recently in sod it is not possible to avoid all injury from wire-worms, but the planter ma}^ avoid some loss perhaps by putting such land in the crops least subject to injury, such as hemp, tobacco, or wheat, until the worms have disappeared. A fact of con- siderable importance in this con- nection has recently been made out by Professor J. H. Comstock, of New York. He found by ex- periment that the wire-worm pupa} die when the earthen cells in which they lie are broken. This i'act has suggested the expedient of ploughing up infested land in the fall of the year so as to expose and destroy the pupis. ' 'A method sometimes practiced in gardens, is to thrust sticks through pieces of potatoes and then bury these here and there in the ground which it is intended to plant, leaving part of each stick exposed to find them by. The bait is then taken up at intervals and the worms which have been attracted to it are destroyed. Fig. 140.— Wire-wokm. TOBACCO. 165 "The method has of course no great value as a means of ridding large fields of wire-worms, but it is said to be quite effective for the small plots of gardeners. ' ' TOBACCO. THE TOBACCO WORM. {Phlegethonlius Carolina). Two species occur in the United States, both of which feed on the same plants and are much alike in appearance, habits, and life history. This species is of southern distribution and may be readily distin- FiG. 141.— The Adult of the Tobacco Worm. Natural Size. (Garman.) guished from its northern relative, the Potato or Tomato worm (P. celeus) by darker colors and by the presence of small white spots near the base of the fore- wings. There are two annual broods ; the first is the chief pest of the southern tobacco fields, feeding almost exclusively on tobacco ; the second brood feeds chiefly on the leaves of the tomato until frost, when the worms retire to the earth until spring. The pupa is bright brown, nearly cylindrical in form and is provided with a long tongue case, resembling a jug or pitcher handle. Remedies. — Hand-picking the worms, though tedious, is resorted to in many parts of the south. The adult moths are destroyed by iutro- 166 INJURIOUS INSECTS. ducing into the flowers of the Jamestown weed {Datura stramonium), a little liquid cobalt, or sweetened whisky and water poisoned with arsenic. Many planters purposely plant the Jamestown or ' ' Jimp- son ' ' weed for this pur- pose in their tobacco ^ ,,c T, rr. Txr fields. The late brood Fig. 142.— Pupa of the Tobacco Worm. Natural Size. {Garman.) of tobacco worms con- fines its depredations almost altogether to the tomato. Late fall plowing kills many of the pupje ; the larva; are also destroyed by the microgaster parasite, like the Potato or Tomato worm. THE FLEA-BEETLE, OR TOBACCO FLY. (Crrpidodera cucumeris.) A little beetle that attacks the tender plants in the seed-bed. This insect lives through the winter in the winged state, hidden away under leaves, rubbish, etc. It also attacks the tomato and potato. Remedies. — Professor Gerald McCarthy gives the following (North Carolina Experiment Station, Bulletin No. 78): — ''Sprinkling the plants with powdered lime moistened with tur- pentine, or dusting with soot, wood-ashes, or road dust instead of lime. A hot (125° F.) ^'''- i^3— F l e a - bee- decoctiou of tobacco stems will kill all the flies (juify ) it touches. The best remedy is, however, cover- ing the seed beds with netting, or with the prepared cloth sold for that purpose. ' ' COTTON. THE COTTON CATERPILLAR. {Aletia xylina.) This insect has been exhaustively treated by Dr. Riley in Bulletin No. 3 of the United States Entomological Commission. The adult is a grayish-brown, night-flying moth, a native of sub-tropical America, from whence it migrates northward during summer as far as the 35th parallel. The females lay from 150 to 400 eggs, which are greenish at first, but soon chano;e to a dull whitish color. COTTON. 167 The eggs are deposited singly on the under side of the cotton leaves. They hatch in from two to three days and the young caterpillars at once begin to feed upon the leaves. The caterpillar stage is completed in about twenty days, and the quiescent pupal period follows, lasting for ten days, when the mature moths come forth. In the more northern cotton States there are about three broods each season, while in the States bordering on the Gulf of Mexico there are from five to six broods. The moths feed upon the juices of fruits and the nectar of flowers. Cotton Moth. a. With wings expanded, b. With wings closed. Remedies. — Paris green and London purple are very generally used for destroying the caterpillars, or ' ' worms ' ' as they are almost universally called. A practice in several of the southern states is to attach a bag containing Paris green to each end of a pole about eight feet long, and to balance the pole on the pom- mel of the saddle while the rider passes slowly through the rows, dusting the poison over the plants at each step of the horse or mule. One man and a mule, it is said, can treat 40 acres per day by this method, and about one pound of poison is suflac'ent for an acre. The animal should be well washed after Fig. 144.— Cotton Caterpillar. a. Egg. 6, c, d. Worm in different stages of growth, e. Pupa rolled in leaf. /. Pupa removed from leaf. (Riley.) 168 INJURIOUS INSECTS. the day's labor, to remove the particles of poison which adhere to its coat. Professor J. P. Campbell, Entomologist, Georgia Experiment Sta- tion (Bulletin No. 6, January, 1890) gives the following : — "One pound of Paris green is thoroughly mixed with twenty pounds of flour and ten pounds of cotton-seed meal, this mixture being applied to one acre. This may be simply done by using a piece of burlap cloth large enough to hold about a half-peck of the mixture. The edges are gathered together and held in the hand. This is then shaken over the cotton and a very thorough distribution is secured. ' ' In windy weather the dry application of poison by this method is impracticable. The best way to use" the arsenites for the cotton caterpillar is in suspension with water, and by means of a force-pump and spraying nozzle. Use one pound of the poison to from 200 to 250 gallons of water. For the use of pyrethro-kerosene emulsion on the cotton caterpillar, see page 46. The moths are strongly attracted by a mixture of molasses and water, to which a little whisky or other spirits is added. A minute quantity of Paris green or white arsenic may be added to this liquid, and if it is then set in shallow dishes through the cotton field, large numbers of the moths will be killed. The monitor moth -trap, see page 36, vsill probably prove effective in destroying large numbers of the moths. The suggestion of Professor Shaler for trapping the male Gypsy moths by exposing the females in traps is well worthy of experiment with the cotton moth. See page 36. CEREAL GRAINS. THE HESSIAN FLY. {Cecidomi/ia destructor.) The Hessian Fly is a small two-winged gnat, much like the mos- quito in shape and size. The adult insect has a dark-brown body and dull, smoky, brown wings, and though much smaller, somewhat resembles the common house-fly. Two broods are developed each year, the first hatching from the eggs of the flies which have passed the winter as "/ax-sfe(/6\" — a name given to the pupa, — emerging as flies early in the spring, and their eggs are deposited on the young wheat during April a«d IMay. The grubs hatching from these eggs become ^' flax-seeds ^^ as harvest approaches GRAINS. 169 and many remain in this stage in the stubble after the crop has been cut. The flies from this brood emerge in time to deposit their eggs on the fall wheat for the second brood, which hatches in about four days after the eggs have been laid in the leaves of the young winter wheat. The grubs make their way down to the sheathing and crowd themselves between the blades and stems, where they form cavities in the stems by the continued pressure of their bodies. The change from grub to ' ' flax- seed " follows and in this stage the insect passes the winter. Remedies. — Professor Garman (Kentucky Experiment Station, Bulletin 40), suggests the following remedial treatment, and says : ' ' The practice of planting fall wheat late has every consideration in 12 3 5 4 7 Fig. 145.— Hkssian Fly. 1. Adult female. 2. Male abdomen. 3. Pupa removed from "Flax-seed." 4, 5. Larva. 7. " Flax-seed" in position. its favor as a means of avoiding the flies. At this latitude especially, where the falls are long and winters mild, it is not opeu to the ob- jection sometimes offered farther north, that the injury by frost to late-sown wi^o<.it counterbalances all the good which comes from les- sened injury from the flies. It has now become the almost invariable resort of growers of small grain in all parts of the United States. " On the other hand it must be admitted that good practical farmers have sometimes insisted that the contrary practice of sowing wheat very early was the better of the two. Looking at the matter from the standpoint of a full knowledge of the life history of the insect, it 170 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Fig. 146.— Adult Hessian Fly. Small figures natural size. {Miss Ormerod.) would seem that the common practice of late sowing wa,s much the more likely to accomplish the desired result. ' ' In connection with late planting two other procedures .should be followed during out- breaks. "The first is that of burning over stubble fields as soon as possible after the wheat is cut, for the purpose of de- stroying ail flax-seeds which remain in the stems. I know that an eminent entomolo- gist has questioned the advantage to be gained in destroying the flax seeds in Owfi ""I m ^ll^ stubble, urging against it the fact that at Mi.'H ^ Klsi^ the same time, many of the parasites of the fly would be destroyed. Most farmers will, I am sure, not be deterred by any such considerations. We can well dispense with parasites if we can get rid of the insects they harbor. " The second practice to be recommended is the planting of small plots of very early wheat as lures to the flies, so as to entice them into depositing their eggs before the regular crop comes up. The wheat of the plots can then be destroyed by deep plow- ing, or otherwise. " These practices have the sanction of the most recent and thorough study of Hessian fly injury. It is believed that when farmere generally practice late planting, with judg- ment, and supplement it by the precautions just mentioned, severe injury from Hessian fly need not be greatlj' feared. ' ' With the above, a few other methods of lessening injury may be mentioned as having had advocates among practical farmers. (1) The use of air-slaked or water-slaked lime Flax-shed of Hessian Fly. Small figures indicate natu ral size. {Miss Onnerocl.) Adult Hessian Fly. (Mi.Hs Ormerod.) GRAINS. 171 sowed broadcast over growing wheat, at the rate of one or two bushels per acre, has been strongly advocated. (2) Close grazing by sheep has also been declared beneficial, the sheep being thought to destroy the grubs and flax-seeds. (3) The selection of 'fly-proof varieties of grain, the Mediterranean wheat and red wheats being claimed to be most nearly exempt from attack. The testimony on this head is, however, very conflicting, and no recommendations can be safely based on it. (4) The use of fertilizers here, as in other cases of insect attack, is to be recomuiended strongly, as calculated to stimulate the growth of infested wheat until it is beyond danger." Professor Gerald McCarthy (Bulletin No. 78, North Carolina Ex- periment Station), expresses the following views : — " In cutting the grain the sickle-bar should be set as high as possi- ble, so as to avoid carrying off the insects. As soon as the grain is got out of the way the stubble should be burnt over, thus destroying at a blow all the contained pests. If the ground is then plowed and sown in cow-peas, so much the better for the land. The dust removed by the blower of the thresher usually contains most of the pupae carried off in the harvest, and this dust should also be burnt. To be wholly efiicacious the burning of the stubble must be carried out by an entire neighborhood, as a single neglected field will produce flies enough to infect a whole township. As this insect is very delicate in the winged state, i^ the sowing of fall grain is delayed until after the first severe frost there will be little damage from the fall brood. Another precau- tion is to sow early in the fall around the field where it is proposed to sow a small grain-crop, a narrow strip of some rapid-growing soft wheat, such as Diehl. This will serve as a trap to receive the eggs of the flies. When the flies have ceased to work in it, this strip should be plowed under as deeply as possible, and the ground rolled firm. The main crop may be then sown in safety. The red and yellow wheats have harder stalks than the white varieties, and are, therefore, less troubled by the Hessian Fly. This fact is worth remembering in localities where the fly is abundant." CHINCH-BUG. iBHssas leucopteris.) When full grown the chinch-bug is about one-seventh of an inch long, black with white upper wings, having two well defined black spots on them as seen in Fig. 147. The young bugs vary from pale yellow to a bright red, and the pupa is reddish-brown and wingless. The mature insect hibernates through 172 INJURIOUS INSECTS. the winter, hidden away within the leaf sheaths of corn stalks in the shocks of corn, crevices of fences or under the shelter of all sorts of rubbish affording protection from rain. This insect is not affected by cold but quickly succumbs to moisture. The chinch-bug is two-brooded in the middle states and is believed to be three-brooded in the extreme southern states. The female deposits her eggs near or under ground, upon the stems and roots of wheat, corn, oats and grasses and the young remain in or near the earth sucking the sap from the stems and roots. Remedies.— The disgusting bed-bug-like odor of both the young and adult insect ap- pears to protect them from most insect-eating birds and predaceous insects. They are, how- ever, eaten to some extent by quail and possi- bly by other birds : among insects, the lady- bird beetle possibly destroys them in consider- chinch bug Fig. 147.— Chinch-bug. Adult. able numbers. The is subject to the attacks of bacte- rial diseases, which are the most potent factors in reducing their numbers. All rubbish accumula- tions along fences and head-lauds should be hauled into the field and burned. Autumn plowing and heavy rolling the land for spring grain perceptibly decreases the damages of the pest. Spray- ing with kerosene emulsion kills the bugs without injury to the crop. This insect sometimes appears in armies, moving in solid col- umns from field to field, devour- ing wheat, corn, or barley. Such migrations are stayed b}^ lajing a thin layer of coal tar across the path of the pest. Between the tar-line and the bugs deep holes are dug, into which many of the bugs will lall or may be swept ixnd buried. Fig. US. Chinch-bugs affected by Entomophthora. (Lugijei: } GRAINS. 173 Undoubtedly, the best remedies are those that kill the bugs and at once i3ut an end to their depredations. With good sprajnng machines, kerosene emulsion is probably the best practicable remedy in the hands of the farmer. Infested grass and grain lands should be burned over during fall and winter and all rubbish destroyed that offers shelter to this insect. In the future, serious devastation by the chinch -bug will probably be prevented by propagating the bacterial forms of disease to which the pest readily succumbs. THE WHEAT-HEAD ARMY WORM. (Laucania cecidomt/ia.) This insect closely resembles the true army worm, from which it differs in appearance when j^oung in having the head black. The young worm feeds upon grasses, leaves, etc., and when half gTOwn, shows decided preference for such food as the heads of wheat and other cereal grains. It was first observed in Penn- sylvania, then in Delaware and IMaryland, and later in several of the great wheat producing states of the west. Dr. Riley in his celebrated reports as State Entomologist of Missouri, records the presence of the insert in that state, and it has also been ob- served on the wheat ranges of Kansas and Nebraska. Remedies. — The pest is held in check by sev- eral parasitic enemies. The moth may be destroyed by the use of lantern traps near which vessels containing poisoned sweet liquids have been placed. White arse- nic, London purple, or Paris green in minute quantities may be used for this purpose. THE WHEAT MIDGE. {Cecidomyia tritici.) In the adult stage this in- sect much resembles the Hes- sian fly and was formerly regarded by entomologists as belonging to the same genus. The eggs are laid in the flow- ers of the wheat, and soon Fig. 149.— Army-worm, Larva Eating Ear OF Wheat, and Pupa. 174 INJURIOUS INSECTS. numerous orange-colored maggots, known as midges, are found in the forming grain, which becomes shriveled and worthless. Remedies.— Burn all the refuse after cleaning infested grain. As many of the larvae pupate in the ground, deep plowing is believed to aid materially in reducing their numbers, by turning them so deeply into the earth that the insects are unable to regain the surface. The wheat midge has some parasitic foes which help to hold it in check. •MiViiiiirMiMii THE WHEAT. BULB WORM. {Merom'jza rnmricana.) This insect is the larva of a two-winged fly which lays her eggs on the young wheat in au- tumn. The larvae feed upon the central portion of the stem just above ground, becoming full- grown in spring when they pupate, and emerge as flies about a fortnight later. A brood of larvae from these early flies complete their transformations in July A. Ee Fig. 150. — Whe.\t-bulb Worm. B. Larva. C. Pupariuiu. D. Fly. Magnified. {Gannan.) GRAINS. 17.^ aijd deposit their eggs on volunteer wheat from which another 1>rood comes forth iu time to hiy their eggs on fall wheat. This insect also affects oats and other grains. Remedies. — No very efficient means are known for combating this insect. All volunteer wheat should be destroyed after the worms begin to appear. THE GRAIN LOUSE. {Sipho)iophora arence.) A small plant louse belonging to the group of insects, nearly all of which take food in the liquid form, some deriving it from animals and others from plants. Plant lice live exclusively on living plants, which they injure chiefly by appropriating to their own use the sap which, otherwise, would be used by the plant in normal growth, the pro- duction of wood, leaves, flowers, and seed. Professor Garman (Kentucky Ex- periment Station, Bulletin No. 40) says of this pest : — "A peculiarity of this insect is worth mentioning here, since it ex- plains its sudden appearance in great numbers. Unlike the chinch-bug and Hessian fly it does not develop in broods at tolerably constant times of the year, but the individuals are all females, and all, as soon as adult, begin to produce living young after the manner of the higher animals (mammals) and continue doing so all the rest of their lives. No male or egg-laying female of the grain louse has ever been seen. It has been estimated by Huxley that the tenth generation alone of one of these insects, ' if all the members survived the perils to which they are exposed, contains more ponder- able substance than five hundred millions of stout men, that is, more than the whole population of China. ' " This calculation serves only to give an idea of the possibilities and advantages of this method of reproduction ; for the insects are so help- less, and are subject to so many accidents and enemies that there is never anything like an approach to a realization of the possibility in nature. ' ' Fig. 151. — The Wingless Form of THE Grain Louse, Enlarged {Garnian.) 176 INJURIOUS INSECTS. Remedies. — From experiments at the Kentucky Experiment Sta- tion in 1890 it seems possible to keep this pest under control on yonng wheat or oats by spraying the crop with a strong decoction of tobacco stems or by the use of kerosene emulsion and water. Use with spray- ing apparatus and at the rate of about 100 gallons to the acre. ' ' It became apparent in the winter of 1889, ' ' says Professor Garman, "from reports of correspondents, that much of the greatest damage was done to wheat which had been planted on oats land. My own observations on the insect were made largely at Lexington, where I found a similar condition of things. This is just what we should ex- ' pact from the habits of the insect. MTien wheat is ripe in spring the grain lice leave it for oats, and when this ripens in turn, they resort to neighboring com or blue grass, and come back to the grain fields when volun- teer oats spring up. On this they breed until fall, when, if the land is sown to wheat, they are ready for it. They seem specially fond of these volunteer plants and may be found on them until they are destroyed by frost. The eifect of planting on or near old oats land was well shown in the spring of 1890 on the Experiment farm, where one of a series of wheat plots which Avas next land that had been u\ oats, was seriously endangered by a migration of lice to it from volunteer oats. At the same time the other plants farther away contained very few grain lice. " The conclusions to be draAvn from these fiicts is that during out- breaks of the gxain louse, oats land should be avoided in planting fall wheat, and all volunteer oats should be carefully destroyed." The same writer recommends for trial freshly slaked lime with a little carbolic acid added, to be sown broadcast on infested wheat or oats. Fig. 152.— The Winged Form of the Grain Louse, Enlarged. {Garman.) VEGETABLES. Ill CRANE-FLIES. Ceane flies are also known as Gallinippers and cut-worm flies. The eggs are deposited in low, damp grain, grass or clover land, and the larvae feed upon the roots, occasionally appearing above the surface in damp, wet weather. Remedies. — For clover or grass fields no remedy is yet known. Fig. 153. — Thick-nosed Crane-fly (Pachyrrhina Sp.). Adult Female. In wheat lands the injuries of the pest may be prevented by plowing early in autumn. The insects of this family, of which several species are known to be destructive to grains and grasses, are believed to have many natural enemies both among birds and insects. 12 178 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE CLOVER-EOOT BORER." {Hylastes Irifolii.) This is a foreign species introduced from Europe about fifteen years ago. The adult is a small brownish-black beetle that early in spring deposits small whitish, elliptical eggs within the crowns of the clover plant. From four to six eggs are laid in each crown and the eggs soon hatch into small whitish worms. "When full-growu the grub has a whitish body and yellow head, and is about one-eighth of an inch long. The grubs burrow downward, tun- neling the branches of the roots and filling the ca^dties thus formed with brownish castings. The larval stage is completed late in summer, and the insects pupate in burrows made in the roots, soon afterward emerging as beetles. Remedies. — The injuries done by this insect have been confined to a few States in the east, but its ravages are extending, and unless checked, the pest will become com- mon throughout the country. It is during the second year that the root- borer works greatest injury in the clover fields, and it is only by more frequent crop rotations that the in- crease of the pest is to be checked. The second year's growth should be mowed over but once, and the second growth plowed under or pastured. Fig. 154. — Clover-root Borer. a. Infested plant. 6. Larva, c. Pupa. d. Beetle, h, c, d. Magni- fied. (Riley.) THE CLOVER-LEAF BEETLE. {Phytonomiii punctatu^.) This is another European species known in this countiy for the past quarter of a century. The adult is a dark brownish snout-beetle, a little less than half an inch long ; it deposits its eggs in clu.sters on the leaves or flower-stems near the base of the plant. According VEGETABLES. 179 to Dr. Riley both the larvae and adult insects feed upou the clover leaves at night, concealing themselves under the leaves and the dead grass and rubbish of the soil during the day. Each female deposits from 200 to 300 eggs which hatch in about ten days into legless grubs that at once begin to devour the leaves. The larvaj complete their growth in from 7 to 8 weeks and then form pale yellowish netted Fig. 155.— Ci.over-leaf Beetle. b,b,b,b. Larva feeding. /. Cocoou. ('. Beetle ; all natural size. a. Egg. c. Young larva, g. Meshes of cocoon, h. Pupa, k, j. Beetle, back and side views. Mag- nified. {Riley.) cocoons just below the surface of the soil. A month later the beetles emerge. Remedies. — No remedy has yet been suggested for this insect. Infested fields should be plowed under in May or June, by which means developing larvae may be destroyed. 180 INJURIOUS INSECTS. THE CLOVER-SEED MIDGE. {Ctcidomyia leguminicola.) The larvae is a small, bright, orange-colored maggot, that lives within the clover-heads, feeding upon their substance, and causing the plants to produce shriveled, worthless seed. The parent is a small, two- winged fly, somewhat similar in appearance to the Hessian Fly. The eggs are deposited by the female among the flowers, by means of a long ovipositor provided for that purpose. When fully developed the larvae find their way to the ground and pupate in slight cocoons among dead grasses, or just below the surface. The flies emerge about a Fig. a. Fly. 156.— Clover-seed Midge. 6. Larva, Magnified. (Riley.) fortnight later. In the northern states there are two broods each season ; in the southern states there are three broods and pomhly four. Remedies. — ^Professor Clarence M. Weed, in his work, "Insects and Insecticides," page 238, states : — "The best preventive of the injuries of this insect yet suggested, is that of mowing the field about the middle of [May (iu the latitude of central Ohio) w'hen the green heads are just forming, and leaving the partial crop, thus cut, on the ground as a mulch and fertilizer. A new croj) of blossoms is produced, which comes between the regular crop, and also between the two broods of the midge. This method h;\s been tried for several years by some of the })est farmers of Ohio, with excellent results." GRAINS AND GBASSES. 181 THE CLOVER-STEM BORER. (Languria mozardia.) The adult is a pretty moth, purplish or reddish-brown in color, with golden-yellow markings on the wings. The eggs are deposited in the clover hay, soon hatching into small, brown worms, which web the leaves and stems together with multitudes of silken threads, feeding upon the substance of the hay, and unfitting it for the food of stock. This species is also of European origin ; two broods occur each season. Remedies. — The old hay from previous seasons should all be re- moved before introducing new hay into the mow, which should be carefully cleaned. Hay that is badly infested with worms should be burned. THE CLOVER HAY-WORM. {Asopia costatis.) The adult is a small golden and purplish, moth, which deposits her eggs in clover hay. The eggs soon hatch into small brown worms which feed ujJon the leaves and stems and then web them together with silken threads. Two, and possibly more bi'oods, appear each season. ReraedieS. — "When hay becomes badly infested, it should be promptly burned. Before storing new hay the mows should be well cleaned each setison, and stacks should not be erected on old foundations until all the hay and refuse of a previous year have been removed. LOCUSTS OR GRASSHOPPERS. {Acrididoe.) Of the many species comprising the locust ftimily we shall pause only to consider three species of very considerable geographicid distribution. These are the Rocky Mountain Locust or Western Gkasshopper {Mela- noplus spretus), the Bird Grass- hopper or American Locust {Acridium aniericanum), and the Red-legged Locust {Melano- plus femur-rubritm). The Rocky Mountain Lo- cust, Western Grasshopper, or "Hateful Grasshopper," as it is sometimes called in the west, is the most destructive species of the family. Fig. 157.— Rocky Mountain Locust. a, b. Young nymphs, c. Fully developed nymph or pupa. {Riley.) 182 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The native home of this insect is the high table-lands and hot sandy plains of the Eocky Mountain region. From these elevated levels, comparatively destitute of vegetation, the pest swarms forth over nearly one- third of the United States, crossing the snowy ranges, 15,000 feet above sea-level, and migrating eastward to the Mississippi valley. The insects, however, are unable to breed permanently in the lower and more humid levels, and the progenj' of the migratorj^ hordes soon perish. It is only upon the parched plains, from five to six thousand feet above the level of the sea, where the rays of the summer's sun beat down upon a desert almost destitute of life, and where the air is like that of a furnace, that the Eocky Moun. tain locust finds its most favor- able conditions of life. When from a scarcity of food the pest leaves its natural habitat and invades another locality, the females at once begin laying eggs, which are deposited in cylindrical holes in the ground. In a humid climate the females choose exposed and elevated locations where vegetation is scanty and where the soil is rather firm. Each female lays from two to three batches of eggs, each batch containing from twenty to thirty eggs which are deposited in bean-shaped masses in the ground. The time required from hatching to full development averasies about two mouths, but varies with the warmth and dryness of the season. The Bird Grasshopper or American Locust [Acn'dium ameri- FiG. 158.— Eocky Mouxtain Locust. Adult. {Riley.) Fig. 159.— Bird Grasshoppek or American Locust. {BUei/. canum), and the Red legged Locust {dielanophis fcmur-nihritm). The former is a native of the southern states but is common as far GRAINS AND GRASSES. 183 north as southern Pennsylvania and central Ohio and in the same latitude further west. It is a handsome insect, and when flying may be easily mistaken for a small bird. The Red-legged locust is similar to and closely related to the Rocky Mountain locust, but is less destructive, and the depredations of the former never cause the wide- spread losses of the Rocky Moun- tain locust. The female deposits her eggs in September, in cylindrical holes in the earth. " The food habits of these locusts," says Professor S. A. Forbes, "are extremely simple, and consist in eating nearly every- thing that comes in their way. They are quiet at night, and indeed, as tliey mature, they select elevated positions as roosts, climbing to the tops of stems of grass in meadows, to the tassels of the stalks in corn- fields, and even deserting fields of low herbage if they can find more elevated roostjng points near by. When very abundant, and when Fig. IGO. -The Red-legged Locust. (After Riley.) 1 and 2. Adults. Fig. 161. — Field-crickets. 4. Active pupa. Below 1 Crickets just hatched. the weather continues dry, they occasionally swarm like the Rocky Mountain Locust, but rarely flying continuously to any great distance, or indeed taking any definite course. ' ' Locusts are usually of a duU, dingy color, resembling the ground upon which their lives are mostly spent. Katydids, Sword-bearers, and Cone heads which, however, belong among the jumping Orthoptera, 184 INJURIOUS INSECTS. are mostly bright green, and their liA'es for the most part are spent among woods and trees. The eggs of these latter insects are usually glued to twigs, or inserted into the pith of plants. Tree-crickets, Field-crickets, and Mole-crickets also belong in the order of the Or- thoptera. All crickets are more or less injurious to plants, but they destroy large numbers of more injurious insects. These insects produce their love-songs by grating together the bases of the upper wings, which are modified for this purpose. The sounds are made only by the males to attract the females. Remedies. — Man is powerless before the cloud like hosts of locusts that at times desolate whole communities. Fortunately these visita- tions are becoming rarer, and, with a better knowledge of the habits Fig. 162.- Mole-cricket. and life history of the migrating species, the people of the west \vill be better able to meet and repulse invasions. The most opportune time for fighting locusts is when they are either in the egg or larval stages. Much may then be done by harro'O'ing or shallow plowing lands known to be the breeding grounds of the pest. Thousands of the egg cases are thus broken up and exposed to the fiction of the weather and the natural enemies of the insect. The methods by which the young may be destroyed have been classified by the United States Entomological Commission as follows : — (1) Burn- ing ; (2) Crushing ; (3) Trapping ; (4) Catching ; (5) U.se of de- structive Agents. By the first method old straw, hay or rakings may be scattered "over and around the field in heaps and windrows, into which the GRAINS AND GRASSES. 185 locusts for some time after they hatch may be driven and burned." During cold or damp weather the locusts will seek shelter under the straw or hay and in their benumbed condition may be burned along with the litter. The second method, crushing, is most successful on upland fields that are smooth or hard. Dr. Eiley says, " When the surface of the ground presents this character, heavy rolling can be successfully em- ployed, especially in the mornings and evenings of the first eight or ten days after th^ newly hatched young have made their appearance, as they are generally sluggish during these times, and huddle together until after sunrise. ' ' Trapping and catching, the third and fourth methods proposed, in- clude ditching and trenching, and the use of " hopper dozers,'''' or pans covered with coal tar or kerosene. Ditches about two feet wide and of the same depth, with perpendicular sides, are dug, into which the Fig. 163.— Hopper Dozer, for Catching Locusts and Similar Insects. {Smith.) young locusts are driven, where they soon die of starvation, or may be killed by mechanical means. The use of the hopper dozer, such as is seen in Fig. 163, is probably the simplest and most practical implement of destruction included under this heading. " It is made of light sheet iron, ten to fifteen feet long by about three feet wide. The front should roll up half an inch or an inch to give a smooth face, while the back should be from six inches to a foot deep with side pieces to correspond. The inside of the pan should then be coated nearly half an inch deep with coal tar, and with a rope attached on either side the dozer is ready for use. Two persons can easily run such a pan, but horses may readily be attached to a larger one. The principle is all that is necessary to suggest and then each one can arrange details to suit the occasion. Whatever is used to draw the hopper dozer should be at either end, else the locusts would be driven each side before the tarred pan reached them. Of course at the ap- 186 INJURIOUS INSECTS. proach of the machine the locusts leap and usually alight on the tar. The winged ones may fly entirely over, and often a stiff wire or stick placed a few inches in front of the dozer will help, as the plants will be stirred and start the locusts up sooner and drop them where desired. If very numerous, the insects will soon cover the tar, so that an occa- sional new supply will be needed. It is best of course to use the hopper dozer on the locusts as soon as they are noticed in numbers. At this time they will not be full fledged and can be caught easier. If they are mostly winged ones, fewer would escape if taken in the cooler parts of the day when they are not so active and are more apt to hop than fly. By going over the badly affected fields in this way several times at short intervals, a great deal is saved at slight expense."* (Michigan Agricultural Experiment Station, Bulletin 98.) The use of destructive agents, such as poisons, has in the past been limited to small areas, but wherever bran can be had cheaply the free use of a mixture made thus is advisable : — Bran, 100 pounds Paris green, 3 " Old molasses, 2 quarts. Mix, adding a little water if necessary to make the mass cohere. In Colorado this mixture is strewn between the rows of potatoes, corn, or through the alfalfa fields, and is devoured by the hoppers in preference to all other food. (See " Insect Life, " Vol. YI, Xo. 1, November, 1893). This insecticide may be used on all cultivated lands or in grain fields, but must not be used in pastures or where there is a possibility of the poison being eaten by stock. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO STORED GRAIN. THE GRAIN WEEVIL. {Calandra (jranaria.) Also known as the Granary weevil and the Black weevil. This species is a black, dark reddish or brownish snout-beetle which deposits its eggs singly upon grain. The larvce feed upon the substance of such grains as barley, corn, wheat, oats, etc. ■•■■ Ten cents per acre is the estimated cost by the Iowa Experiment Station ■when all the help is hired. Experiments at Grand Junction, Colorado, in July, 1893, seem to indicate that crude petroleum oil is the best material for use in the hopper dozer. (See " Insect Life," Vol. VI, No. 1, November, 1893.) STORED GRAIN. 187 Remedies. — Carbou Bisulphide is the best practical remedy for destroying this pest. Dr. Riley gives the following directions for its use. — "A ball of tow is tied to a stick of such length that it can reach the middle of the vessel containing the grain. The tow receives the charge of bisulphide like a sponge, and is at once plunged into the vessel. "When necessary the stick may be withdrawn and the charge (of 1 ounce to 100 pounds of grain) may be removed. The ictiou of carbou bisulphide lasts, in ordinary cases, six weeks, after which period a fresh charge is required. The bisulphide does no harm to the grain as regards its color, smell, or cook- ing properties, and the germinating power of most seeds is not appreciably aflfected, provided that not too much is used nor its action continued for too long a period. ' ' The writer uses about one ounce of bisulphide of carbon to each barrel of grain. The infested graiu is placed in barrels, and the bisulphide poured into a saucer or earthenware dish placed on the grain. The barrels are tbsn covered with grain sacks or boards to prevent the escape of the ^eavy poisonous fumes which penetrate the mass. Fig. 164.— Grain Weevil. THE ANGOUMOIS GRAIN WEEVIL. {Gelechia cerealella.) The adult is a small moth, commonly kno^vn as the Corn Weevil, and Fly moth. It is liable to infest wheat, rye, barley, oats, Indian corn, sorghum seed, and kaffir corn. Professor M. H. Beckwith, of the Delaware Experiment Station, reports the appearance of this insect, during the past year, in cow peas at the Delaware station. The adult moth is brownish- yellow, or buff colored, with a satiny luster, and is about one-fourth of an inch long, with a wing expansion of about one-half inch. ' ' This moth, ' ' says Professor Ger- ald McCarthy, ' ' is supposed to have been first introduced from France into North Carolina, where it began to give trouble as early as 1728." Fig. 165.— Angoumois Grain-moth. 188 INJURIOUS INSECTS. The pest is most common in the mill or granary, but sometimes deposits its eggs on the grain in the field. The eggs are laid in a patch on the tip of the grain, and hatch in from five to seven days. Professor Beckwith, in Bulletin 21, Delaware Experiment Station, says : — ' ' There are usually two annual broods, but in stored grain in warm buildings there are more. 5N ^ Z>J» ■%: =1 -^^J- ^^3 ^ *^^-BJ^, ^UU Brt-9 M _a^0 — .-J"-^^ < 1riven through the underground passages of the nest, kill- ing the insects in vast numbers. THE BED-BUG. (Acanihia lectularia.) We presume this pest to be sufficiently well-known to need no de- scription here. Our readers who have never had the acquaintance ship of this insectthrust upon them will readily recognize it from the illus- tration ; while those to whom its blood-thirsty pro- pensities are al- ready known would find noth- ing edifying in the study of its habits and life history. Remedies — Spraying the cracks of beds and walls with benzine Fig. 183.— Bed-bug. Young 6. Adult. ISraguified {Riley.) 206 INJURIOUS INSECTS. destroys both the eggs and the insects. A weak solution of sulphuric acid sprinkled into joints and holes infested with bed-bugs is also said to kill them. CLOTHES-xMOTHS. Three nearly related species are common in the United States. The Case-making Clothes-moth {Tinea pelleonella) is probably the commonest. It is thus described by Dr. Eiley : "The small light- brown moths, distinguished by the darker spots at inter\-als on the wings begin to appear in May and are occasionally seen flitting about as late as August. " They pair and the female then searches for suitable places for the deposition of her eggs, working her way into dark corners and deei? into the folds of garments, apparently choosing by instinct the least conspicuous places. From their eggs hatch the soft, white-bodied larvaj, each one of which begins immediately to make a case for itself from the fragments of the cloth upon which it feeds. The case is in the shape of a hollow roll or cylinder and the interior is lined with silk. As they grow they enlarge these cases by adding material to either end and by inserting gores down the sides which they slit open for the purpose. The larvse reaches its full growth toward winter and then crawling into some yet more protected spot, remains there torpid through the winter within its case, which is at this time thickened and fastened at either end with silk. The transformation to pupa takes place within the case the following spring, and the moths soon after- ward issue. " The larva feeds in all woolen cloths, and also in hair-cloth, furs, and feathers. ' ' Remedies. — Dr. Eiley, in /«set'/ ii/e, says : "During the latter part of May, or early in June, a vigorous campaign should be entered upon. All carpets, clothes, cloth-covered furniture, furs, and rugs, should be thoroughly shaken and aired, and, if possible, exposed to the suulight as long as practicable. If the house is badly infested, or if any particular article is supposed to be badly infested, a free use of benzine, in the manner mentioned iu my last article, will be ad^•is- able. All floor cracks and dark closets should be sprayed with this substance. "Too much pains cannot be taken to destroy every moth and every egg, and every newly-hatched larva, for immunity for the rest of the year depends largely — almost entirely — upon the thoroughness with ■Vvhich the Avork of extermination is carried on at this time. The ben- INSECTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 207 zine spniy will kill the insects in every stage, and it is one of the few substances which will destroy the eggs. I would, however, repeat the caution as to its inflammability. No light should be brought into a room in which it has been used until after a thorough airing, and until the odor is almost dissipated. "The proper packing away of furs and winter clothing through the summer is a serious matter. A great deal of unnecessary expenditure in the way of cedar chests and cedar wardrobes and various com- pounds in the way of powders has been urged by writers on these pests. But experience fully proves that after a thorough treatment in May or June, garments may be safely put away for the rest of the season, with no other protection than wrapping them closely in stout paper, to preclude infection through some belated female. My assist ant, Mr. L. O. Howard, tells me of an excellent plan, which he has adopted. He buys for a small sum from his tailor a number of paste- board boxes in which they deliver suits, and his wife carefully folds and packs away all clothing, gumming a strip of wrapping paper around the edges of the cover, so as to leave no crack. These boxes will last for a life-time with careful use. Others use for the same purpose ordinary paper flour sacks or linen pillow cases, which answer well. The success of these means depends entirely on the thoroughness of the preliminary work. Camphor, tobacco, naphthalene, and other strong odorants are only partial repellants and without the precaution urged are of little avail. "Cloth-covered furniture which is in constant use will not be harmed, and the same may be said of cloth-lined carriages. Where such furniture is stored away or kept unused in a dark room, or where the carriages are left in a dark coach-house through the summer, at least two sprayings with benzine, say once in June and once about August first, will be advisable. Another plan which will act as protection in such cases is to sponge the cloth linings and cover both sides, vrhere possible, with a dilute solution of corrosive sublimate in alcohol, made just strong enough not to leave a white mark on a black feather. ' ' Blotting paper soaked in a mixture of equal parts of oil of camphor and spirits of turpentine and laid among clothes or furs is also said to destroy moths. 208 INJURIOUS INSECTS. COCKEOACHES. Three species, the Oriental Cockeoach {Periplaneta orientalis), the German Cockroach or Croton Bug {PJiyllodromia germanica), and the American Cockroach {Periplaneta americana), are commou throughout this country. The imported species live about dwellings. The American is usually found in woods and fields but occasionally takes up its abode in dwelling-houses. Remedies. — Dr. Riley recommends the following method for de- stroying this troublesome pest : ' ' Just before nightfall go into the in- FiG. 184. — Cockroaches. a. Winged male. 6. Unwinged female, c. Egg-mass. fested rooms and puff buhach into all crevices, under base-boards, into drawers and cracks of old furniture, in fact wherever there is a crack, and in the morning the floor will be covered with dead and dyiug or demoralized aud paralyzed roaches, which may easily be swept up or otherwise collected and burned. With cleanliness and persistency in these methods the pest may be substantially driven oat of a house and should never be allowed to get full possession by immigrants from without. ' ' THE HOUSE FLY. (3/usca (lomeslica.) We wish to call attention to a very simple and effective method of destroying house flies. At night, when the house is closed, a table- spoonful or more of Persian insect powder, or of buhacli, is pufted from a powder bellows through the room toward the ceiling, after INSECTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 209 which the doors should be quickly closed for the night. In the morn- ing the flies will be found dead or stupefied, when they may be swept up and burned. Cover with linen or newspapers any objects in which the flies are liable to fall. THE BUFFALO CAEPET BEETLE. {A nthrenus scroph ularice . ) It is in the larval stage that the injury is done by this insect. The adult beetle is black, or nearly so, with white spots, and a reddish stripe along the middle of the back, and is about one-fourth of an inch long. This pest is said to have been introduced into the United States from Europe in the Centennial year (1876), and is now quite common, and very destructive, in many of the New England and other States. Remedies. — Dr. Eiley says : " At house-cleaning time as many of the rooms should be bared at once as possible, and the housekeeper should go carefully over the rooms, removing all dust, and, with a hand atomizer, charged with benzine, should puff the liquid into all the floor cracks, and under the base-boards, until every crevice has been reached. The carpets themselves, after thorough beating, should be slightly sprayed with the same substance, which will quickly evapor- ate, leaving no odor after a short time. The inflammability of ben- zine, however, should be remembered, and no light should be brought near it. ' ' 14 INDEX. Abbot sphinx, 124. Abdomen, 18. Acantbia lectularia, 205. Achemoii spbiux, 122. Acrididie, 181. Acridium americanum, 181, 182. ^geria cucurbitae, 150. pictipes, 77. polistiformis, 128. pyri, 80. rubi,'a02. tipuliformis, 106. Agrotis, 158. telifera, 158 Aletia x}'lina, 166. Americau cockroach, 208. locust, 181. Amphicerus bicaudatus, 70. Anar^ia lineatella, 90. Anasa tristis, 150. Angoumois grain weevil, 187. Anisopteryx pometaria, 61. Annual losses from insects, 7. Anthrenus scrophularise, 209. Anthromyia brassicEe, 136. ceparum, 141. Anthronomus musculus, 95. quadrigibbus, 71. Ant-lions, 33. Ants, 23, 205. white, 33. Apatela oblinita, 90 Aphis, apple, 87. black peach, 87. brassicse, 136. cabbage, 136. corn, 158. root, 157. currant, 107. maidis, 158. mali, 75. peach, 87; persicse-niger, 87. prunifolii, 78. woolly, 72. Apbrophora quadrangularis, 103. Apple, 57, 70, 73. aphis, 66, 75, 76. curculio, 24, 71. general treatment, 75. leaf skeletonizer, 68. Apple maggot, 70. of Pferu, 142. Apple-tree tent caterpillar, 59. Apple-twig borer, 70. Apricot, 76. Army worm, 160. wheat head, 173. Arsenic trioxide, 43. Artificial methods for combating in- sects, 39. Asopia costatis, 181. Asparagus, 129. lieetle, 120. Attacus cecropia, 99. B. Bark-lice, 31. Bean weevil, 24, 190. Beans, snap, 147. Beautiful wood nymph, 125. Bed-bug, 29, 205. Bees, 23. bark, 24. Beetles, carnivorous water, 24. Colorado potato, 24, 141, 142. cucumber, 24. flea, 24, 26. ground, 24. imbricated snout, 149. May, adult and pupa, 21, 24. sculptures of the Egyptian sa- cred, 25. snapping, 24. snout, 24. striped cucumber, 147. squash, 24. tiger, 24. true, 24. tumble-bug, 25. Bill bug, 24. clay colored, 152. corn, 153. Bird grasshopper, or American locust, 181. Biting insects, 34. Blackberry, 98. Black-lined plant bug, 107. Black peach aphis, 87. Black weevil, 186, 189. Blissas lencopterus, 171. Blister beetles, 146. 311 212 INDEX. Blister beetles, asli gray, 147. black, 147. black-rat, 147. margined, 147. spotted, 148. striped, 147. white, 147. Blow-flies, 28. Boll-worm, 160. Book-lice, 33. Bordeaux mixture, 50. Dr. Riley's modified, 59 Borers, 19, 34. Bot-flies, 28, 29, 197. Breathing organs, 40. Bruchus obstectus, 190. pisi, 191. Bud moth, 63. Buffalo carpet beetle, 209. tree-hopper, 31, 73. Buhach, 44. Butterflies, 19. Cabbage, 130. imported worm, 130. maggot, 136. mamestra, 133. plusia, 132. white cabbage butterfly, 27. Cacoecia cerasivorana, 75. Caddice-flies, 33. Calandra granaria, 186. oryzoe, 189. Canker-worms, 61. fall, 62. spring, 61. Carbolic acid, 46, 47. Carbon bi-sulphide, 48. Carpocapsa pomonella, 57. Carrots, 130, 139. Caterpillars, 19. Cattle and horse lice, 202. lice, 202. Cayenne pepper, 142. Cecidomyia destructor, 168. leguminicola, 180. tritici, 173. vaccinii, 114. Cecropia emperor moth, 99. cocoon of, 20. Celery, 137. caterpillar, 137. Cement wash, 50. Cereal grains, 168. Ceresa bubalus, 73. Cherry, 66, 76. aphis, 85. tree leaf roller, 86. Chinch bug, 13, 29, 171. Chionaspis furfurus, 81. Chrysalis, 19. Chrysobothris femorata, 70. Cicada orni, 30. seventeen year, 30. Clay-colored bill-bug, 152. Clisiocampo americana, 59. Clothes-moths, 206. Clover-hay worm, 181. Clover-leaf beetle, 178. Clover-root borer, 178. Clover-seed midge, 180. Clover-stem borer, 181. Coal tar, 47. Coccotorus prunecida, 77. Cockroaches, 32. American, 208. Croton bug, 208. German, 208. Oriental, 208. Codling-moth, 57. or the pear-tree, 83. Colaspis brunnea, 96. Coleoptera, 22, 24. Colorado potato beetle, 141. on apple of Peru, 142." on belladonna, 142 on cabbage, 142. on cayenne pep- per, 142. on egg plant, 142. on ground cherrv, 142. on henbane, 142. on petunia, 142. on thorn apple,142 on tobacco, 142. Common biting horse louse, 203. Complete or incomplete metamorphoses, insects with, 33. Compsomyia macellaria. 198. Conotraehelus nenuphar, 75. Corn, 152. aphis, 158. root aphis, 157. weevil, 187. Corrosive sublimate wash, 50. Cotton, 166. caterpillar, 166. Crab-apple, 66. Cranberry, 112. fruit worm 113. tip worm, 114. vine worm, 112. Crane-flies, 28, 177. Crane-fly, thick nose, 177. Creada orni, 30. Crepidodera cucumeris, 140, 166. Crickets, 32. Crioceris asparagi, 129. Cucumber, 139. flea-beetle, 140. striped beetle, 139. on melons,139. on squash vine, 139. Currant aphis, 107. bug, yellow-lined, 107. butterfly, 27, 28. leaf hopper, 106. and gooseberry, 104. general treat- ment, 112. INDEX. 213 Currant imported stalk-borer, 106. worm, 104. worm, native, 105. Cut-worms, 158. climbing, 158. dingy, 158. glassy, 158. greasy, 158. Dactylopius adonidum, 195. destructor, 195. Dakruma convolutella. 111. Dalmation insect powder, 44. Datana ministra, 66. Diabrotica longicornus, 159. 12-punctata, 155. vittata, 139. Dicerca divaricata, 83. Diptera, 22, 28. Dissected grasshopper, 18. Domestic animals, 197. Doryphora decemlineata, 141. Dragon-flies, 33. Drill-worms, 163. Egg-plant, 142. Elator, 163. Electric-light bug, 29. Emphytus maculatus, 94. Empoa albopicta, 106. Emulsion kerosene, 45-47. Entomophthora, 172. Epicserus imbricatus, 149. Epicauta vittata, 147. Eufitchia riberia, 112. Eudemis botrana, 127. Eudryas grata, 125. Eurycreon rantalis, 157. F. Fall- web worm, 64. Flat-headed apple-tree borer, 70, 78 cherry-tree borer, 83. on wild cherry, 83. Flea-beetle or tobacco-fly, 165. wavy striped, 136. on cabbage,136. radish, 136. turnip, 136. Flea.s, 29. Fletcher, Professor James, 17. Field crickets, 183. Four-lined leaf-bug, 29, 107. Four-striped plant-bug, 107. Frit-flies, 28. Frit-fly larva pupa and adult, 28. Gad-flies, 28, 29. Gall-flies, 23. Gallinippers, 177, Garden web- worm, 157. Gelechia cerealella, 187. Giant water-bug, 29. Gooseberry, 104. fruit-worm. 111. span-worm, 112. Gortyna nitela, 156. Gnats, 28. Gnawers, 34. Grain-beetle, 189. Grain louse, wingless, 31, 175. winged, 31, 175. Grain weevil, 189. Granary weevil, 186. Grape, 31, 78, 96, 98, 115, 118, 124, 126, 128. berry-moth, 127. caterpillar parasite, 126. root borer, 128. vine flea beetle, 78, 118. leaf-hopper, 31, 124. pyramidal caterpillar, 126. snowy-tree cricket on, 98. Graphops nebulosus, 96. Graptodera chalybea, 118. Grasshopper bird, or American locust, 32. Greasy cut- worm, 159. Ground beetles, 38. cherry, 142. Grubs, 19. white, 97. Gypsy moth, 36. H. Haematobia serrata, 199. Hsematopinus eurysternus, 202. vituli, 203. Harlequin cabbage-bug, 134. Harvest-flies, 29, 30. Hateful grasshopper, 181. Head, 18. Heliochara communis, 103. Heliophila unipuncta, 160. Hpliothis arniigera, 160. Hellebore, white, 43. decoction of, 43, 95. Hemiptera, 22, 29. Henbane, 142. Hessian-fly, 28, 29, 168. Hopper dozer, 185. Horn-fly, 199. tails, 23. Hor.se lice, 31. 202, 203. House-flies, 28, 208. Hylastes trifolli, 178. Hymenoptera, 22. Hyphantria cunea, 64. I. Ichneumon-flies, 23. Imago, 19. Imbricated snout-beetle, 149. Insecticides, 41. the principal, 41. 214 INDEX. Insecticides from the hygienic stand- point, 52. Insects, piercing, 23. stinging, 2:3. injurious to cereal grains, 168, 177 grasses, 177, 186 orchard fruit, 57, 85. small fruit, 89, 128. stored grain, 186, 190. vegetables, 129, 164. Introduction, 17. K. Katydids, 32. Kerosene emulsion, 44, 45. Cook's formula, 45. milk, 45. Riley-Hubbard, 45. pyrethro, 46. modified form- ula, 46. ointment, 50. Lace-wings, 33. Lachuosterna fusca, 83. Lady bugs with larva and pupa, 26. Languria mozardi, 181. Larva, 19. Larvae, 19. Leaf-crumpler, 66. hoppers, 29. grape-vine, 31. rose, 195. Lepidoptera, 22, 27. Leaf-hoppers, 31. Leaf-rollers, 28. Lesser apple-leaf roller, 65. on cranberry, 65. Lice, cattle and horse, 20, 29, 202-204. Lixus concavus, 149. Locust, seventeen-year, 30. Locusts, 32. Locusts or grasshoppers, 181. London purple, 43. Loxostege sticticalis, 151. Lygus pratensis, 91. Lytta albida, 148. atrata, 147. einerea, 147. marginata, 148. murina, 147. M. Macrodactylus subspinosus, 119. Maggots, 19. Mamestra picta, 133. Mamestra trifolii, 133. Margined blister-beetle, 147. May beetle, 83. May-flies, 33. Mealy-bugs, 195. Measuring worms, 28. Melanoplus femur-rubnim, 181. Melanoplus spretus, 181. Meloidte, 146. Melons, 139, 150. Meromyza americana, 174. Metamorphoses, insects with incomplete, 29. Metamorphoses, 22. complete, 22, 23. incomplete, 22, 29. Mignonette, 130. Mineola vaccinii, 113. . Mole-cricket, 184. Moncomorium pharaones, 205. Mosquitoes, 28. Mosquito-hawks, 33. Moths, clear-winged, 28. cut-worm, 28. plume, 28. snout, 28. sphinx, 28. Moth trap, Barnard's, 37. Murgantia histrionica, 134. Musca domestica, 208. Mustard, 130. Mytilaspis pomorum, 72. Myzus cerasi, 85. persicae, 87. ribis, 107. N. Nasturtiums, 130. Natural and artificial methods of com- bating insects, 35. Natural methods of combating insects 35. Nectarine, 76. Nematus ventricosus, 104. Neuroptera, 22. Nymjjh, 19. o. Oberea bimaculata, 101. Odynerus catskillensis, 63. CEcanthus niveus, 98, 160. OEstrus bovis, 197. Oncideres cingulatus, 74. Onion, 141. fly, 141. maggot, 141. Orgyia antiqua, 193. badia, 193. deflnita, 192. leucostigma, 191. nova, 193. Ortalis arcuata, 141. flexa, 141. Orthoptera, 22, 32. Oviparous, 31. Ox-lice, 203. Ox-wable, or bot-fly, 197. Oyster-shell bark-louse, 72. P. Pachyrrhina sp., 177. Palencrita vernata, 61. Papilio asterias, 137. INDEX. 215 Parasites, 38. Paria aterrima, 96. canella, 96. Paris green, 41, 42. in dry mixture, 41, 42. with water, 42. Parsley, 139. swallow-tail, 27. worm, 137. Parsnip, 139. Peach, 70, 76, 85. aphis, 87. flat-headed apple-tree borer on , 88. cherry-tree borer on ,88. general treatment of, 88. tree bark louse, 88. tree borer, 78. plum curculio on peach, 88. Pea weevil, 24, 191. Pear, 73, 76. Pear-leaf mite, 82. Pear-tree borer, 80. psylla nymphs, 79, 80. Pear-tree slug, 81. on cherry, 86. quince, 81. Pear-trees, general treatment of, 83. Pelidnota puntjtata, 121. Pempelia haramondi, 68. Periplaneta americana, 208. orientalis, 208. lineatus, 104. Persian insect powder, 44. Philcenus, 103. spumaris, 103. Philampelus achemon, 122. pandoras, 123. Phlegethontius celeus, 144. larva, 145. pupa, 20. Carolina, 165. Phoxopteris comptana, 92. Phyllodromia gernianica, 208. Phyllotreta vittata, 136. Phylloxera vastatrix, 115. Physeis indigenella, 66. Phytonomus punctatus, 178. Phytoptus pyri, 82. Pieris rapae, 130. Plant-lice, 29, 31. Plum, 24, 66, 75, 76, 81, 83, 86. Plum-gouger, 24, 77. Plum-tree aphis, 78. borer, 77. Plusia brassicse, 132. Poccilocapsus liniatus, 107. Potato, 141. Potato-beetle, Colorado, 24, 141. stalk weevil, 148. Potato or tomato worm, 144. Pristiphora grossulariae, 105. Proconia costalis, 103. Psylla pyricola, 79. Pupa, 19. Pyramidal grape-vine caterpillar on apple, 127. Pyramidal grape-vine caterpillar on plum, 127. Pyramidal grape-vine caterpillar poplar, 127. Pyramidal grape-vine caterpillar raspberry, 127. Pyrethro-keroseue emulsion, 46. Pyrethrum, 44. Pyrophila pyramidoides, 126. Quince, 66. Radish, 130, 136. Rarer-biting horse louse, 203. Raspberry, 98, 101, 102. cane-borer, 101. root-borer, 102. saw-fly, 101. Red-legged locust, 181, 183. Red spider, 195. Resin washes, 48, 49. Rhopobota vacciniana, 112. Rhubarb, 149. Robber-flies, 39. Rocky Mountain locust, 181. Rose chafer, or rose bug, 119. on apple, 120. grape, 119. peach, 120. pear, 120. plum, 120. raspberry, 120. Rose-leaf hopper, 195. Rose-slug, 194. Round headed apple-tree borer. Sannina exitiosa, 86. Saperda Candida, 68. Satellite on pandorus sphinx, 123. Saw-fly, larva, cocoon, and adult, 21. Saw-flies, 23. Saw-tooth weevil, 189. Scale insects, 31. Schizoneura lanigera, 72. Screw worm, 198. Scurfy bark-louse, 81. on pear trees, 82. apple trees, 82. Selandria cerasi, 81. rosse, 194. rubi, 101. Seventeen-year cicada, 30. Short-nosed ox-louse, 202. Silvanus Surinamensi.s, 189. Siphonophora avense, 175. Solanum rostratum, 142. Soldier-bug, 29. Smeared dagger, 90. Smeared dagger on apple, 91. asparagus, 91. corn, 91. cotton, 91. grape-vines, 91. peach, 91. 216 INDEX. Smeared dagger on raspberry, 91. Snowy tree cricket, 98, 160. Span wonus, 28. Sphenophorus ochreus, 152. Spinners, 28. Spital insects, 31. Spotted grape-vine beetle, 121. Spraying apparatus, 51. Square spittle bug, 103. Squashes, 136, 150. Squash bug, 29, 30, 1.50. vine borer, 150. Stalk borer, 156. Strawberry, 89, 90, 92, 94, 95, 96. crown borer, 89. crown miner, 90. leaf beetle, 96. leaf roller, 92. root worms, 96. slug or false worms, 94. weevil, 95. Striped turnip beetle, 136. Sucking insects, 34. Sugar beet, 151, 152. web worm, 151. T. Tar coal. Tarnished plant bug, 29, 30, 91. Teras minuta, 65. Tetranychus telarius, 195. Thora.x, 18. Thrips, Thyreus abbotii, 124. Tinea pelleonella, 206. Tmetocera ocellana, 63. Tobacco, 44, 165, 166. decoction , 44. fly, 166. ■worm, 165. Tomato, 146. worm, 144. Tree-hoppers, 31. buffalo, 31. Trichobaris trinotata, 148. Trichodectes parumpilosus, 203. pilosus, 203. Scalaris, 203. Trypeta pomonella, 70. Tumble bugs, 24. Turnip, 130, 1.36. Tussock moths, 191. Twig girdler, 74. Tyloderma fragarite, 89. Typhlocyba rosse, 195. vitis, 124. V, Veratrum album, 43. Viviparous, 31. W. Walking sticks, 32. Wasps, 23. Water scorpion, 29. Wavy striped flea-beetle, 136. Weevil bean, 24. black, 189. corn, 24. granary, 24. pea, 24, 191. rice, 24. Western grasshopper, 181. Wheat-bulb worm, 174. midge, 28, 173. White arsenic, 43. grubs, 97. hellebore, 43. Wire-worms, 24, 163. Woolly aphis, 72. Yellow-necked caterpillar, 66. on apple, 66. Zebra caterpillar, 133. Horticultural Books. WHY WE PUBLISH THEM. In the success of the planter is the germ of our success. To help to this, we publish at merely nomi- nal prices books giving the plainly told practice of accepted experts in gardening. This idea has proven wonderfully attractive, and from a modest beginning this feature of our business has grown to very consider- able proportions, editions of 20,000 copies not being unusual. We trust the following pages, on which we describe the difFerent works issued up to date, will interest all progressive planters, from the woman who desires to beautify the home garden, to the man who grows a thousand acres. At the prices named, we will send the books, postpaid, direct, or they may be had through any book store in the United States. W. Atlee Burpee & Co., Philadelphia. MANURES: How to Make and How to Use Them. A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CHEMISTRY OF MANURES AND MANURE MAKING. -Written specially for the use of farmers, horticulturists, and- -market gardeners, by FRANK W. SEMPERS, Director of- -the Fordhook Chemical Laboratory; author of " Injurious- -Insects and The Use of Insecticides." We want to place a copy of this excellent new book in the home of every farmer in America. It is a book for which farmers have waited for j'ears, telling them what they want to know abont manures and the manage- ment of land in a way that can be clearly under- stood. It is in every sense a farmer's book, written for the men who plow and sow and reap. The farmer's business is to grow profitable crops without impairment to his soil. This book tells in a plain way how to do it. 218 pages. From The Inter-Ocean, Chicago, Februan/ 25, 1S9S. It deals with authentic facts fully verified, and not with Tvild theories. The farmer could scarcely find the subject more fully discussed than he will find it in this neat little volume. Elegantly Bound in Cloth, price $1.00. Bound in Thick Paper, 50 cts., postpaid. CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA. MANURES : How to Make and How to Use Them. A short review of the book will give some idea of the completeness and very practical character of its contents. Chapters I and II treat in a general way of the elementary parts of plants. Chapters III and IV deal with the elementary parts of plants derived from the air, and explain the meaning of some chemical terms often misleading to farmers. Chapters V, VI, and VII discuss in a very interesting manner the elementary parts of plants derived from the soil and their com pounds. Chapters VIII and IX contain within comparatively small space much valuable instruction about natural manures, their compo- sition, fermentation, and management. Chapters X and XI, continuing the discussion of natural manures, are of extraordinary value to every tiller of the soil. Chapter XII, on green manuring, — a subject deserving especial study from farmers in the United States and in all countries where land is cheap, — is equal iu interest and instructiveness. Chapter XJII takes up the subject of artificial or chemical fertili- zers, discussing, in the same admirable manner, Commekcial and Ageicultukal Valuations and the Trade Values of ferti- lizing materials. Plain and excellent rules are here given by which farmers can quickly determine the exact values of com- mercial fertilizers. Chapters XIV, XV, and XVI deal at length with the long list of materials used in making artificial fertilizers, and are brimful of interesting and instructive information. Chapter XVII treats of Home Mixing and gives many tried for- mulas for chemical manures which farmers can make themselves. Chapters XVIII and XIX are the most remarkable chapters in the book, and are alone more than worth its price. Condensed within twenty-eight pages is more practical information about making and using artificial fertilizers than can be found in any work on the subject in the English or any other language. Appropriate formulas for all general farm crops, — grains, grasses, roots, orchard and garden fruits, and vegetable crops are here found arranged in alphabetical order. The subject closes with most elaborate tables for use in compounding fertilizers, so simply arranged that every farmer can understand and apply them. Chapter XX takes up the subject of Soil Tests with Fertili- zers ou the farm and points the way to the rational use of chemical manures. Then follows an appendix of twenty-six pages, containing in tabulated form much indispensable informa- tion, and the book closes with a copious index. • W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA. Till BEAVTIFVL f LOWER GAUDEN. BY THE WELL-KNOWN BOSTON ARTIST, F. SCHUYLER MATHEWS, IN COLLABORATION WITH ARTHUR FEWKS, OF NEWTON HIGHLANDS, MASS. - We are confldeut this new book vriil mark an 'rtSs, epoch in artistic flower-gardening, to which people /^ evcrj-where are turning such close attention. Art is simple and natural ; — yet where is a teacher ^^ more needed than in simple, natural arrangement? _^5 Ihere are many gardens laid out with evident care, 2-s^ yet even in these it must be admitted that some- thing is lacking, and Mr. Mathews says, " all ■will agree with me that this something is art in . _, gardening." AVho is better able to tell us what ■'« - _. properly pertains to the subject than a trained artist who is also an enthusiastic amateur gar- dener? The pages are literally OTerflowing with V"''* pen-and-ink sketches made from nature, so that the veriest novice may easily icarn to arrange plants and - o,s. flowers harmoniously. The artist-author has drawn from ^^"^ the best in the artistic world of gardening, showing the influ- ^^ ence of the formal English .style, also that of the Italian renaissance '■^cff^ period, not overlooking the influence exerted by the Japanese, who are a wonderfully artistic people. " Above everything, harmony should rule in the garden ; all nature pro- claims the principle : "art itself is nature." Therefore, the most elaborative atten- tion is given by the author to making plain the principles of harmony. Not the least important part of this valuable book is that devoted' to the careful descri])t ion of flowers which may be easily procured and grown from seeds, bulbs, and cuttings. Bright sketches show the form and habit of growth of each class. The closing chapters are devoted to careful cultural directions by Arthur Fewks, a professional grower of wide reputation. All the works previously published on this subject are elaborate and expensive, treating for the most part of the management of great estates and parks; this book is for the million seeking to surround their homea with nature in her charming moods. We therefore consider it to our interest to make the price actually less than the cost per copy for the lirst edition. ^Finely illustrated, and in handsomely designed covers. Price 50 cts., postpaid. CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. Published by W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., Philadelphia, Pa. ONIONS FOR PROFIT. A Full and Complete Hand=Book of Onion Growing. At last we publish a really complete hand-book on Onion grow- ing, the first ever issued ; it is by Mk. T. Greiner, the author of the New Onion Culture, of which book he says: "The New Onion Culture was intended mostly to present a new phase of the business, and to encourage further researches in an entirely new direction. As a ' Hand-book of Onion Growing ' it has short- . comings and is far from being complete. It leaves too much room for per- sonal inquiries. I have looked the field of horti- cultural literature in America over pretty closely, and am unable to find a hand-book for the Onion grower the teach- ings of which are based on modern methods and embody (as they should in order to justify any claims of being ' up-to- the-times ' ) the two meth- ods, the old and the new, in profitable combina- tion." I u'^r"°''7L>>J*if?-GR0wiNG BY PUBLISHED _PHIL-ADELPHIA,PA. There is Big Money in Onions: $^500, and even more, per acre, if you know how to get it out. This money is for the " up-to-the-tinies " market gardener, the progres- sive farmer, and the bright farmer's boy everywhere. No more practical and successful Onion grower than Mr. Greiuer can be found, and he gives his latest knowledge in Onions for Profit without reserve. The book will undoubtedly mark an epoch in works on this subject. Every reasonable question as to Onion growing is answered in its over one hundred pages, which are enlivened with fully fifty illustrations prepared for this book, making it handsome as well as valuable. Price, Postpaid, 50 Cents, CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA. Celery for Profit. All agree that Celery offers greater chances for making money than any other garden crop. The difficulties encountered by the old methods of growing, however, made success uncertain, and sure only with comparatively few expert growers. Modem methods make all this uncertainty a thing of the past. From the same area which would give $100.00 in any other vegetable, you may take $400.00 or even §500.00 in Celery, if you know how. This new book, just published, is written by T. Geeixer, author of Oxioxs for Profit, and other books on gardening. It tells how to dispense with nine-tenths of the labor generally thought neces- sary in Celery growing, and how to make the business pay really big profits. Under the right culture and conditions several thousand dollars' worth of Celery can be raised on a single acre. The book is thoroughly complete in every detail, and is embellished with many helpful and original illustrations. Here is a glimpse of the table of contents : — Generalities— An Introduction— The Early Celery— The New Celery Culture— The Irrigation Problem— The Fall and Winter Crop— Winter Storage— Mar- keting Problems — Varieties, etc., etc. Price, Postpaid, 30 Cents, CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA. How TO Cook Vegetables, BY MRS. S. T. RORER. Principal of the Philadelphia Cooking School, Editor of Table Talk, Author of Mrs. Eorer's CkjOK Book, Etc. This new book, published by us, has met with success bevonfl our most sanguine expectations. Every family wants Mrs. Rorer is acknowledged authority by thousands of the best housekeepers everywhere. As all the proof-sheets have been care- fully revised by her personally, "HOW TO COOK VEGETA- BLES" will be found thoroughly trustworthy. The recipes given have all be«n proven by Mrs. Eorer from practical tests in the kitchen and on the table. It is a book of 182 pages of the same size as Tlie Kiichen Garden, and gives numerous recipes for cooking all vari- eties of vegetables in every style— many of which will be new even to the most experi- enced housewives. As an illus- tration of how thoroughly the subject is treated, we woulc" mention that it gives forty ways of cooking potatoes, twenty-six of tomatoes, and twenty-two of corn. It also gives twenty-eight recipes for making Soups and thirty- seven recipes for Salads. Besides " How to Cook Vege- tables," it also tells numerous ways How to Pickle, — How TO Preserve Fruits, — How to Can for Winter Use, as well as how to serve vegetables cold. An important supplement to the general scope of this treatise is the addition, also by Mrs. Eorer, of nearly fifty complete Menus, for spring, summer, autumn, and winter. In all, it is a most connplete book, that will prove really valuable to every progressive housewife. This new book, of which the copyright is owned by us, is not for sale, and can only be had as a I'remium by those who purchase Seeds, Bulbs, or Plants from us. In order to place it within the reach of all we oflfer the paper-cover edition entirely FREE as a Premium on an order amounting to $3.00. A copy svibstantially bound in cloth, for kitchen use, can be had free with an order for $5.00. CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR " ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. Published by W. ATLEE BUKPEE & CO., Philadelphia, Pa, All About Sweet Peds I^cvised and Enlarged. Last season we published a little monograph, All About Sweet Peas. It was so enthusiastic- ally received that 52,577 copies were asked for and sent out. From the correspondence that fol- lowed we estimate that fully 200,000 persons read this monograph. This wonderful fact emphatic- ally calls for a book. We have, therefore, prepared a beautifully illustrated volume with the fixed purpose of furnishing a complete epitome of the literature of this fragrant annual. The author is, of course. Rev. W. T. Hutchins, a most enthusi- astic and successful grower, and an authority upon the subject. Our new book is complete, exhaustive, and carefully edited. From our 137 trials at Fordhook and comparative soil tests conducted by our chemist, Me,. Sempees, in sev- eral sections of the country, we can safely say that cultural directions and fertilizers suggested are authoritative. Price, postpaid, only 20 cents. CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE -UNITED STATES. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA. Selection in Seed Growing. Is an interesting and instructive book of 112 pages, illustrated, giving the vital principles which underlie the growing of vegetables, flowers, or grains from seed. It tells how new varieties are obtained and developed, and gives in full the im- portant essays on this subject read before the I World's Horticultural Congress, Chicago, with the views of such leading European au- thorities as M. de Vil- morin, of Paris ; Mr. ■Pcdersen - Bjergaard, of Copenhagen, and Dr. Wittmack, of Ber- lin ; including essays and discussions by such well-known American orticulturists and ed growers as Messrs. orse, Allen, Hill, raig, McMillan, Gar- Id, Burpee, Prof release, and Prof, alley. The book gives in detail the Modern Methods of the Seed Trade, with illustrations of the practical work in seed growing and seed sting at Fordhook Farm. P5.BS /3i«l^E«; ^T'rade.- \^ jiji SloGROWING^tFoRDHOOKjARM. PHILADEL°HIA. Price, Postpaid, lo Cents. CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA, HOW AND WHAT TO GROW IN A Kitchen Garden of One Acre. FULLY ILLUSTRATED. Price 50 Cents in Paper; 75 Cents in Cloth. This new book of nearly 200 pages will prove very valuable to all engaged in gardening : it gives sound, common-sense views and practical teachings — so plain that the most inexperienced need not fail — so complete that experi- enced gardeners can read it with pleasure and profit. It is fuUy illustrated, and enters so thoroughly into details that it will undoubtedly be warmly welcomed by the thousands who inquire, every year, What is the best book on Garden* ing? Among other subjects its contents embrace : — Selection of Location— Preparing the Soil — Laying out the Garden to in- clude the various Vegetables and. Fruits, and securing to each the Most Suitable Location — Planting and Care of Small Fruits— The Best Tarieties of Small Fruits, and Har- vesting Same — Directions for Mak- ing and Care of Hot-beds — Raising Tegetable Plants — Transplanting — Sowing Seeds — Practical Directions for the Special Cultivation of all Vege- tables— Notes on the Merits of the Different Varieties of Vegetables — Manures — Description, Proper Uses, and Care of Garden Implements — How to Grow Second Crops to best Economize the Land and Manure — The Winter Storage of Vegetables — The Use and Management of Cold Frames in Winter — Winter Care and Pruning of Small Fruits — Culture of Succulent Roots and Bulb*,— Herbs, their Uses and Manner of Growing. CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE «Sc CO., PHILADELPHIA. PA. m The Poultry Yard: HOW TO FURNISH AND MANAGE IT. By W. Atlee Burpee. Fully illustrated. We have just issued another edition of this popular book, very much amended, with up-to-the-tunes methods and usages. Besides the de- scriptions of the leading Land and Water Fowls, it also contains chapters on the Best Plans of Poultry Houses— How to Make In- cubators—Selection AND Mating of Stock — What and How to Feed — General Management — French Method of Kill- ing— Dressing and Ship- ping Poultry — Eggs and Chickens — D irections FOR Gaponizing with Plain Illustrations — Diseases with Tried and Proven Prescriptions — How to PvAise Good Tur- keys, etc., etc. Price in paper covers, handsomely designed, 50 cts. ; bound in cloth, 75 cts. , postpaid. CAN BE ORDERED FROM THE PUBLISHERS, OR ANY BOOK STORE IN THE UNITED STATES. 1 4 PUBLISHED BY W. ATLEE BURPEE & CO., PHILADELPHIA, PA. ^4 %S0 / \\ E632.7 Se54i Injurious Insects 264427 PENN STATE UNIVERSITY \^BRt.R\BS A0DD031.77fi5E7