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“MANUAL OF FRUIT INSECTS
The Rural Manuals
ann ae L. H. BAILEY
a
MANUAL oF GARDENING — Bailey
Manuat or Farm Animars — Harper
Farm AND GARDEN Rute-Boox — Bailey
Manuva oF Fruit Insects — Slingerland and
Crosby
Manuva or WeEEDs — Georgia (in press)
Manuva or Home-Maxine — In preparation
MANUAL OF CULTIVATED PLAants — In preparation
MANUAL
OF
FRUIT INSECTS
BY
_ Tue pate MARK VERNON SLINGERLAND
AND
CYRUS RICHARD CROSBY
OF THE NEW YORK STATE COLLEGE OF AGRICULTURE
AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Nef Work
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1914
All rights reserved
oy ade
Py,
Copyrrigut, 1914,
By THE MACMILLAN COMPANY.
Set up and electrotyped. Published July, 1914.
Nortoood Jpress
J. 8. Cushing Co. — Berwick & Smith Co.
Norwood, Mass., U.S.A.
K C0
JUL 23 19/4
Ocla376765
Woy |
WILLIAM SAUNDERS
LEADER IN “AGRICULTURAL INQUIRY |
7 ,
. _ AUTHOR oF « INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FRUITS ”
WHICH ‘
FOR NEARLY oxt-rii OF A CENTURY
THIS BOOK Is, DEDICATED ©
AS A TOKEN OF APPRECIATION ‘
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1
PREFACE
For nearly twenty years. Professor Slingerland, as Assistant
Entomologist of the Cornell University Agricultural Experiment
Station, devoted the greater part of his time to studying the
_ insect problems encountered by the fruit-growers of New York
_ State. The results of some of these studies were published as
bulletins of the Station, but a large amount of material remained
_ unpublished. It was the idea of making this material available
_ to other workers and at the same time bringing together in con-
~ nected form all the more important known facts concerning the
_ insect enemies of our deciduous fruits, that led Professor Slinger-
land in the fall of 1908 to begin writing this book. During the
few remaining months of his life he worked rapidly, and in spite
of failing health wrote accounts of more than one-half of the
apple insects and some others, mostly scale insects.
After Professor Slingerland’s death in March, 1909, I collected
and preserved the manuscript, thinking that it might be possible
to publish it without much additional work. While the treat-
ment of each insect was complete in itself, the whole was so dis-
connected that this plan had to be abandoned. Accordingly, in
the summer of 1910 I undertook the task of completing the book,
following Professor Slingerland’s outline. In doing so, I have
made free use of his unpublished notes, and most of the illustra-
tions are from his photographs.
We have attempted to treat only the more important insects
injurious to deciduous fruits; many of the minor pests have been
omitted altogether. In each case the aim has been to give, in as
concise form as possible, the main facts relating to the distribu-
_ tion, life-history, and habits of the insect, the nature and extent
Vil
Bar Se) ay.
vill PREFACE ©
of the injury inflicted, and the means of control — the last from
the standpoint of the commercial fruit-grower. At the end of
the discussion of each insect, references are given to a few of the
more important articles relating to the subject. These citations
indicate sources of our information and will serve as a guide to
those who wish to pursue the subject farther.
I am under great obligations to Professor P. J. Parrott, Dr. O. A.
Johannsen, Dr. E. P. Felt, and Dr. Robert Matheson, for carefully
reading and correcting the manuscript and for many helpful sug-
gestions. I have been unable to read the proof myself; this
tedious but important work has been done by Dr. Matheson,
Mrs. Matheson, M. D. Leonard, and by Mrs. Crosby —to them
all I give my hearty thanks.
Most of the illustrations are from photographs by Professor
Shngerland; a few have been kindly furnished by Professor
Herrick, H. H. Knight, and Dr. Matheson. The drawings are
by Miss Anna C. Stryke.
C. R. CROSBY.
CornELL University, Itnaca, N. Y.,
June 4, 1914.
CONTENTS
- CHAPTER I
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
CHAPTER II
AppLE Insects — THE FRuvIrT.
Codlin-moth
Lesser apple worm
Apple fruit-miner
Apple red bugs .
Apple maggot
Apple curculio
Apple weevil
Green fruit-worms
CHAPTER IIL
APPLE INSECTS — BuDS AND FOLIAGE
Bud-moth : ‘ ;
Fringed-wing apple bud-moth
Apple bud-worm . ‘
Cigar-case-bearer
Pistol case-bearer
Palmer-worm
Click-beetles P : :
Ribbed cocoon-maker of the apple
Lesser apple leaf-roller ‘
Apple leaf-sewer .
Fruit-tree leaf-roller
Oblique-banded leaf-roller .
Four-banded leaf-roller
Apple leaf-skeletonizer -
. ix
PAGE
56
——————
Ma ize N
CONTENTS
Leaf-crumpler
Trumpet leaf-miner 5
Lesser leaf-miners of the apple .
Spring canker-worm
Fall canker-worm
Lime-tree span-worm .
Mottled umber-moth .
Bruce’s measuring-worm
Half-winged geometer
White ennomid .
White-marked i accnekoniith
California tussock-moth
Antique tussock-moth
Oriental moth
Fall webworm ;
Apple-tree faneeateesltag :
Western tent-caterpillar
Forest tent-caterpillar
Yellow-necked apple befeepilla
Red-huimped apple caterpillar
Saddled prominent ;
Gipsy moth .
Brown-tail moth .
Climbing cutworms
CHAPTER IV
AppLE INsEcTS — APHIS, SCALES, AND OTHERS
Plant-lice or aphids
Apple leaf-aphis .
Rosy apple aphis.
Apple bud-aphis .
Woolly aphis
Buffalo tree-hopper
San José scale
Oyster-shell scale
Scurfy scale.
Putnam’s scale
Se eS Se ee oe eee
CONTENTS
Greedy scale ;
Apple leaf-hopper
Bird’s apple leaf-hopper
CHAPTER V
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS .
Apple bud-borer .
_ Round-headed apple-tree fieaGe :
Spotted apple-tree borer
Flat-headed apple-tree borer
Apple wood-stainer ~ :
Bronze apple-tree weevil
Twig-pruner
Twig-girdler —
Flea-beetles .
Clover-mite .
Two-spotted mite
Ring-legged tree-bug . :
Eye-spotted apple-twig borer
New York weevil :
Snowy tree-cricket
Other apple insects
CHAPTER VI
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS
Pear slug
Pear Psylla . ,
False tarnished Sldenebu :
Pear thrips .
Pear midge .
Pear-leaf blister-mite .
Sinuate pear borer
Pear-blight beetle
Howard scale
European pear scale
Other pear insects
Xil CONTENTS —
Quince insects
Quince curculio .
Other quince insects
CHAPTER VII
Pium INsEctTs .
Plum curculio
Plum gouger :
American plum borer .
Plum web-spinning sawfly .
Plum leaf-beetle .
Hop plant-louse .
Plum plant-louse
Mealy plum-louse
Rusty brown plum aphis
European fruit-tree scale
European fruit lecanium
Other plum insects
CHAPTER VIII
PEACH INSECTS .
Peach-tree borer .
Pacific peach-tree borer
Lesser peach-tree borer
Fruit-tree bark-beetle .
Peach bark-beetle
Peach twig-borer
Striped peach worm
Peach sawfly
Black peach aphis
Green peach aphis
Terrapin scale
White peach scale
Green June-beetle
Peach stop-back .
Other peach insects
. 26
PAGE
236
236
241
243
243
251.
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
264
266
266
275
276
277
289
284
287
287
289
291
293
295
296
299
302
CONTENTS
ae CHAPTER Ix
CHERRY INSECTS
Cherry fruit-flies .
Cherry fruit-sawfly
Cherry-tree tortrix
Cherry plant-louse
Cherry scale
Other cherry insects
CHAPTER X
_ RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY, AND DEWBERRY INSECTS
Red-spider . :
Blackberry leaf-miner
_ Raspberry sawfly
Raspberry webworm .
Raspberry leaf-roller .
_ Blackberry psyllid
American raspberry beetle .
Negro-bug
Tree-cricket .
Raspberry cane-borer .
Raspberry cane-maggot
_Red-necked cane-borer
Raspberry horntail
Blackberry crown-borer
Rose scale : ERPS :
Other raspberry and blackberry insects
CHAPTER. XI
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY: INSECTS
Imported currant borer
Imported currant worm
Green currant worm
Gooseberry span-worm
Pepper-and-salt currant moth
ety
CONTENTS
Four-lined leaf-bug
Currant plant-louse
Gooseberry midge
Gooseberry fruit-worm
Yellow currant fruit-fly
Dark currant fruit-fly .
Currant-stem girdler .
Walnut scale : :
Other currant and gooseberry erect
CHAPTER XII
STRAWBERRY INSECTS
Strawberry leaf-roller .
Obsolete-banded strawberry isuf-vallar
Black-marked strawberry slug
Green strawberry slug
Strawberry whitefly
Strawberry flea-beetle .
Imbricated snout-beetle
Strawberry weevil
Tarnished plant-bug
Strawberry thrips
Ground-beetles
Strawberry root-louse .
Strawberry crown-moth
Strawberry crown-girdler
Black vine-weevil
Strawberry crown-borer
Fuller’s rose beetle
Strawberry root-worms
White grubs
Other strawberry insects
CHAPTER XIII
GRAPE INSECTS. : ; r
Rose chafer . ; cane A :
Vine chafers
Se ee eee
rm '
CONTENTS
Grape-vine flea-beetle .
Grape leaf-hopper
Grape-leaf skeletonizer
Grape-vine sawfly
_ Grape leaf-folder : ; :
Eight-spotted forester .
Erinose of the vine
Grape plume-moth
Grape-cane borer
Grape-cane gall-maker
Grape-cane girdler
Cottony maple scale .
Grape scale .
Grape-berry moth
Grape-blossom midge .
Grape curculio
Grape root-worm é
California grape root-worm
Grape-vine root-borer .
Grape phylloxera
Other grape insects
CHAPTER XIV
CRANBERRY INSECTS
Black-headed cranberry worm
Yellow-headed cranberry worm .
Cranberry span-worm .
Cranberry gall-fly
Cranberry fruit-worm .
Cranberry katydid
Cranberry girdler
False army-worm
Cranberry fulgorid
CHAPTER Xv
| INSECTICIDES
Arsenic
Paris green .
PAGE
408
416
417
418
420
421
422
423
425
426
427
429
430
437
440
443
451
452
455
459
460
460
462
464
465
466
467
468
470
472
474
474
475
London purple
' Arsenate of lead
Zinc arsenite
Hellebore .
Soaps .
Sulfur . : :
Lime-sulfur solution
Emulsions...
Miscible oils —
Tobacco Rett
Bordeaux mixture
Fumigation. —
INDEX
,
MANUAL OF FRUIT INSECTS
CHAPTER I
| GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS
INSECTS are among the most formidable enemies to successful
fruit-growing. According to conservative estimates from 20
to 40 per cent of the fruit crop of the United States is annually
destroyed by insect pests. In 1909 Quaintance estimated the
annual loss to the deciduous fruit interests of the country from
insect depredations at over $66,000,000, divided as follows:
amin=moth - 6 ee es eS B16 716,667
BammpOse. scale) fo. oe See ee wee i AO S28,265 ,
Peach-tree borers os) O08 eee Soe 6,000,000
Btape (GSeChS 3 er ie 8,769,905
Plum cureulid; ~~... Rs eae 8,590,769
Miscellaneous apple raseaha ee et EO OBES a2
Miscellaneous pear insects . . . . . 1,328,613
Cranberry insects ene Ate ar gee 396,656
Miscellaneous stone fruit ineaita: Ati 3,693,843
AB GGH oa sane eee ee ROG AEA att
This sum includes the cost of spraying and other repressive
measures for the control of fruit insects.
The enemies of fruits treated in this book belong, with one or
two exceptions, to the class of animals known as insects. The
pear leaf blister-mite, the red-spider and clover-mite belong to
the Arachnida. In many respects insects differ widely from
the higher animals with whose structure we are more familiar.
B ; 1
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2 FRUIT INSECTS
a eM oe oy):
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They have a horny or chitinous external skeleton or shell which :
serves as a protection to the internal organs and as an attach-—
ment for the muscles. This outer shell is divided into a series
of rings or segments. In insects the body is divided into three —
well-defined regions, — head, thorax and abdomen (Fig. 1).
Fic. 1. — Ventral view of a beetle.
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The head bears a pair of compound eyes, two or three simple
eyes, a pair of antenne and the mouth parts. The thorax is”
composed of three segments and bears on the inner side three
pairs of legs, one pair to each segment, and on the upper side
two pairs of wings, a pair on each of the last two segments.
In the flies, only one pair of wings is present, the hind pair being”
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 3
represented hy a pair of knobbed appendages known as poisers.
The wings are variously modified for different uses. In the
beetles the front pair are very hard and horny and not suited
for flight, but fitting closely together serve as a protection
to the hind wings which in repose are folded under them
(Fig. 1).
The abdomen consists of from ten to twelve segments. In
many species the ;
tip in the female
is provided with a
sharp lancelike or
saw-edged oviposi-
tor, with which she
punctures the tissue
of plants and in-_ ¥¢
serts her eggs in the #1!
wound somade (see 2
Fig. 317, p. 358).
How insects feed.
The mouth parts
of insects are Fic. 2.—A caterpillar feeding, showing the biting
type of mouth parts.
adapted for feeding
on all sorts of tissue, from the tender leaves and ripening fruit
to the solid wood itself. From the standpoint of control it is of
great importance to know just how each insect obtains its food.
For the purpose of control insects may be roughly divided
into three classes as follows:
1. Chewing insects: Beetles and caterpillars belong here.
They are provided with hard horny jaws or mandibles with
which they bite off and swallow portions of the tissue of plants
as shown in Figure 2. It is usually possible to kill such insects
by poisoning their food with an arsenical.
2. Sucking insects: Plant lice and other true bugs are
furnished with a beak containing four bristles united into a
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F2dy
we is
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4 FRUIT INSECTS
slender tube. In feeding, the tip of the beak is applied to the
surface of the plant, the bristles are inserted into the tissue and
Fic. 3. — A plant-louse feeding, show-
ing the sucking type of mouth parts.
From a German drawing.
feed on leaves, while the adults, moths,
have sucking mouth parts with which
they extract the nectar from flowers.
How insects breathe.
Insects do not possess lungs, but
breathe through a series of openings
called spiracles extending along each side
of the body. These openings connect
with tubes called traches, which, sub-
dividing again and again, extend to all
parts of the body. Some contact in-
the plant juices are sucked
out (Fig. 3). Contact insec-
ticides must be used against
this class.
3. Lapping insects: In the
fruit flies the mouth parts
are developed into a tongue-
like organ with which the
insect is able to lap or lick
up liquids (Fig. 4). Arsenical
poisons have been used suc-
cessfully for the control -of
this class of insects.
In different stages of its
development the same insect
may have different kinds of
mouth parts, and may feed
on entirely different foods;
for instance, caterpillars have
biting mouth parts and may
fruit-fly, showing the lap-
secticides are supposed to clog these ping type of mouth parts.
Fig. 4. — Head of a
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS 5
tubes and so.smother the insect, while others, like the oils,
are said to penetrate the thin walls of the trachee and thus
reach a vital part in the internal organs of the insect.
The development of insects.
Most insects, with the exception of some scale insects and
certain forms of plant lice, reproduce by means of eggs. The
newly hatched insect usually bears little resemblance to the
adult. As it increases in size its skin becomes too small and
a new skin is formed beneath the old one and the latter is dis-
carded; this is known as molting. The period between two
successive molts is called an instar. The number of instars
varies in different insects from three to six or seven; five is
the more common number. In some insects the change from
the immature condition to the winged adult takes place with-
out any material change in form; in others the transformation
is abrupt and striking. In the former case the insect is said
to have an incomplete metamorphosis; in the latter a complete
metamorphosis.
Incomplete metamorphosis.
In this type of development the immature stages resemble
the adult in form. The wings develop externally as pad-like
outgrowths of the thorax but do not become functional till the
adult stage is reached. The immature forms are known as
nymphs. In this type of development the life cycle of the
insect consists of three stages, viz. the egg, the nymph (3-5
instars) and the adult. The true bugs and grasshoppers have
incomplete metamorphosis.
Complete metamorphosis.
In this case the immature stages of the insect bear little or
no resemblance to the adult. The wings develop internally in
pockets formed by an infolding of the body wall of the thorax.
The immature stages are known as larve. The larva molts
five or six times, and when full-grown transforms to an in-
active pupa, usually in a cocoon or earthen cell prepared by
6 FRUIT INSECTS
the larva. The pupa isa resting stage in which the organs of
the larva are broken down and made over into those of the adult.
In the pupa the antenne, legs and wings of the adult are usually
evident, closely applied to the body and covered by the pupal
skin. When the remarkable internal structural changes in the
pupa are complete the adult winged insect emerges. In this
type of development there are four stages, viz. egg, larva (5-6
instars), pupa, adult. Butterflies, moths (caterpillars) and
beetles have complete metamorphosis.
The control of insects.
In spite of the many natural checks to which insects are sub-
ject, such as extremes of temperature, drought and wet, the
depredation of parasitic and predacious enemies, and the results
of fungous and bacterial diseases, it is usually necessary to pro- —
tect the fruit crop by artificial means. The control of each —
insect is a special problem, and its solution requires a thorough —
knowledge of the life history and habits of the insect as well as
an understanding of the nature of the crop and the conditions
under which it is grown. :
Substances used for killing insects are known as insecticides,
and are discussed in the last chapter of this book, page 474.
Spraying.
Insecticides are most commonly applied in the form of a
liquid by means of a spray pump. In the case of poisons
the object is to cover the foliage evenly with the spray so that
the insect will be sure to get it in feeding; in the case of con-
tact insecticides it is necessary to hit each insect. Spraying
is an art, and the finer points can only be learned by practice.
Success will depend on the timeliness of the application and the
thoroughness with which the work is done. Young insects are
killed more easily than old ones, and it is easier to kill a few
early in the season than to wait until they have become abundant
before spraying. In spraying the grower should always have
a definite object in view. He should study his trees, find out
GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS T
their needs, and treat them accordingly. A general spray
given with a vague hope of “‘ doing some good ” rarely ever pays.
It is important that the application be made at the proper time.
Development of the buds and blossoms should be watched and
the spraying timed accordingly. It is not safe to go by the cal-
endar. Unless the spraying is done thoroughly it is likely to
be wasted effort — do a good job but do not overdo it. Use
enough liquid and put it inthe right place at the right time,
thus avoiding waste and unnecessary expense. A sprayer
should be selected adapted to the crop and to the size of the
orchard. Use the best nozzles, pump and engine you can buy ;
a good workman deserves good tools, and they pay in the long
run. Use only standard spray materials and buy them of
reputable dealers. It is expensive business to experiment with
quack remedies or to use cure-alls of unknown composition.
Dusting.
Insecticides are sometimes applied in the form of a dust.
The results obtained by dusting have in general not been so
satisfactory as those obtained by spraying, but more recent
experiments where finer materials were used have shown that
this method may be of great value. It is especially useful |
where the supply of water is not convenient or limited.
Clean farming.
In many cases the application of b aetiaides alone is not
sufficient to control orchard insects, but must be supplemented
by other measures. The accumulation of dead leaves, grass
and weeds along fences or in hedgerows provides ideal winter
quarters for many insects. Stone walls, stone piles, and similar
shelters make the control of the plum curculio unnecessarily
difficult. _Uncultivated apple orchards are usually more sus-
ceptible to injury by curculio, apple maggot, leaf miners, and
insects with similar hibernating habits. By practicing clean
farming many of these pests will be reduced to a minimum, so
as to be more readily controlled by spraying. Furthermore,
8 FRUIT INSECTS
trees that are in a vigorous, healthy condition from proper
cultivation are asa rule less subject to spray injury and are,
therefore, able to receive stronger and more frequent applica-
tions of insecticides without danger.
Crop rotation.
In the case of strawberries and some other small fruits a fre-
quent rotation of crops will tend to clear the land of many
insect pests which cannot be reached satisfactorily in other ways.
This is particularly true of wire-worms, white grubs and the
strawberry root-worm. | |
CHAPTER II
APPLE INSECTS—THE FRUIT
NEARLY five hundred species of insects have been recorded as
feeding on the apple, but fortunately, the greater part of them
‘do not cause enough damage to be considered of economic
importance and are not treated in this book. Many of the
most important apple insects have come to us from foreign
lands; the codlin-moth and bud-moth from Europe, and the
San José scale from China; others fed originally on the wild
thorn, as the apple maggot and apple curculio, but have found
in our orchards an abundance of food and other conditions
better to their liking. Many BENS insects also attack the
pear and quince.
_ In spraying apples the insecticide can usually be combined
to advantage with a fungicide for the control of apple scab.
‘The following spraying schedule for the San José scale, codlin-
moth, bud-moth, case-bearers, and apple scab is intended for
New York State conditions, but with modifications might be used
in other regions.
— Dormant spray.
As the leaf buds begin to show green
Lime-sulfur (32 degrees Beaumé), diluted 1 to 8, for San José
‘seale, oyster-shell scale and blister-mite; add two pounds
arsenate of lead to 50 gallons of mixture for bud-moth.
Summer sprays.
A. — As blossom buds begin to show pink
Lime-sulfur (32 degrees Beaumé), diluted 1 to 40, for apple
scab. Add arsenate of lead, 2 pounds to 50 gallons, for bud-
| moth and case-bearers.
| 9
US ey ot Ue ee
1 Oe
10 _ FRUIT INSECTS
B.— As the last of the petals are falling
Lime-sulfur (32 degrees Beaumé), diluted 1 to 40, for apple
scab. Add arsenate of lead, two pounds to 50 gallons, for
codlin-moth.
This is the most important spray for the control of the
codlin-moth and should be thoroughly done.
C. — Three weeks after the petals fall
Lime-sulfur (32 degrees Beaumé), diluted 1 to 40 for apple
scab. Add arsenate of lead, two pounds to 50 gallons, for
eodlin-moth.
D. — Last week in July
Lime-sulfur (32 degrees Beaumé), diluted 1 to 40 for apple
scab. Add arsenate of lead, 2 pounds to 50 gallons, for second
brood of codlin-moth.
THe CopiLin-MotTH
Carpocapsa pomonella Linnzeus
This is by all odds the most destructive insect enemy of the —
apple. Originally a native of southeastern Europe, it has now —
become nearly cosmopolitan, occurring in all the apple-growing —
regions of the world. It was introduced into New England —
some time before 1750, and spread gradually westward, reach- j
ing Iowa about 1860, Utah in 1870 and California about 1874. —
The amount of injury to the crop varies greatly with the .
climate. In the Northern states and Canada the injury in un-
protected orchards averages from 25 to 50 per cent of the crop, —
while in the South and in the warmer valleys of some of the far
;
i
Western states losses of from 60 to 95 per cent are not uncom- —
mon. This greater destructiveness of the moth in the South 4
is the result of the longer growing season, which permits more —
generations to develop than are possible in the North. The ~
larvee of later generations are much more numerous than the —
Be
Beta
coe
APPLE INSECTS 11
first, and the injury consequently greater. Quaintance in 1909
estimated the annual loss to the fruit industry .of the United
States from this insect alone at over
$16,000,000, three fourths of this being
direct injury to the crop and the other
one fourth the cost of spraying and
spray materials. :
Almost invariably the ‘codlin-moth
-hibernates as a larva in tough silken
cocoons under loose pieces of bark, in
crevices in the tree or in near-by fences,
or in other suitable shelter (Fig. 5). In
orchards of smooth-barked trees where
no better place is available they will spin
their cocoons in cracks in the ground and »
at the base of the trunk. The cocoon is SE
: , 4 Fie. 5. — Codlin-moth
rather thin, but quite tough, and is made larva in its cocoon on a
largely of silk in which are mixed bits of >ark-flake (x 2).
the substance on which it is made.- It is lined with white
| silk, and the outside is rendered
quite inconspicuous by the addi-
tion of bits of dirt and bark.
_ The cocoons of the over-winter-
ing larve are thicker and tougher
than those of the summer broods.
With the advent of warm
weather in the spring the larva
changes to a pupa, usually
within the old cocoon (Fig. 6),
but sometimes it may migrate
to some other portion of the
trunk and there construct a new
Pee 2 Oe iien lath oupe tn cocoon. Usually just before
- ¢ocoon (X 2). pupation the larva will open the
12 FRUIT INSECTS
end of the cocoon and spin a tube of silk out to the sur-
face, stretching a thin sheath of silk across the opening at the
ending of the cocoon, which is ruptured when the moth emerges.
The time spent in the pupal state varies with the climate, but
averages not far from
26 or 28 days for the
spring brood. The
pupa is about 4 inch
in length and varies ac-
cording to age from
yellowish to brown. - Its
backis armed withtrans-
Locke) «verse rows of minute
Fig. 7. — Codlin-moth, adult. Knight | Spines, by means of
photo (xX 3). which it is able to push
itself part way out of
the cocoon just before the moth emerges.
The adult is a beautiful moth about ¢ inch across the ex-
panded wings (Figs. 7 and 8). The front wings have the general
appearance of watered silk, this effect being produced by alter-
nating irregular lines of
brown and bluish gray.
Near the hind angle is a
large, light brown area
bounded on the inner
side by an irregular choc-
olate brown band and
crossed by two similar
bands of a metallic cop-
: Fic. 8.— Codlin-moth resting on a small
pery or golden color in apple. Knight photo (x 24).
certain lights. The hind
wings are coppery brown, darker towards tie margin. The
sexes are very similar, bul the male may be distinguished
by the presence of an elongate dark area on the underside of
APPLE INSECTS TS
fhe fore wing and a pencil of black hairs on the upper surface
of the hind wing. The moths continue to emerge for a period
of several weeks, but the majority appear about a week after
the petals fall from the apple blossoms, the exact time depend-
‘ing on the character of the season. If the weather is wari,
egg-laying begins in
from 3 to 5 days, but
: if it is cold, the moths
“may remain inactive
foralong period. The
average life of the moth
‘is about 10 days, and
each female lays from
30 to over 100 eggs. ‘ es
The glistening, flat, 1G. 9. ae he, he Pi A cnet: egg-
oval, scale-like eggs
(Fig. 9) of the spring generation are laid mostly on the upper
and under surfaces of the leaves, although a few may be found
on the fruit and branches. The egg is about 3's inch in diameter,
Fia. 10. — Newly hatched codlin-moth larva (x 44).
or about half the size of a pinhead. The egg-laying period
extends over several weeks, as is the case with the emergence of
the moths, but the majority are laid about two weeks after the
falling of the petals. The spring brood eggs hatch in 6 to 10
14 FRUIT INSECTS
days, while the eggs of the later generations, because of the
higher temperature, require a much shorter period, 5 or 6 days.
The time at which the first brood eggs hatch and the young —
larvee enter the fruit is of great importance from the standpoint —
of control, and has been given careful attention by entomologists.
In spite of many disturbing factors it may be said that in general
the majority of the eggs hatch about 3 or 4 weeks after the ©
petals fall. The newly hatched larve (Fig. 10) are less than 5
inch in length and are of a semitransparent whitish color, with
a ee ee ee
a shiny black head and blackish thoracic and anal shields. At ~
first they may feed slightly on the foliage, but usually they
crawl cHeery to the fruit, which they enter in the majority
of cases at the blossom end.
A few enter at the stem end
Fic. 11. — Full-grown codlin-moth ter at the side, a fact of great
larva (X 23).
practical importance. After
feeding slightly in the calyx cup the larva burrows directly to —
and a considerable number —
commence their burrows ~
where a leaf or another apple —
touches the surface of the
fruit. In the case of later —
generations a much greater
proportion of the larve en-—
ws
e oe
wei ge ae
the core, where it devours the seeds and eats out a considerable
cavity, leaving it partially filled with a filthy mass of excrement —
loosely webbed together with silk (Fig. 12): Larve of later —
generations entering at the side frequently eat out a small bur-—
row or cavity just beneath the skin before starting the burrow —
towards the-core.
When nearly full grown the larva eats out a new burrow
directly to the surface but keeps the opening plugged with ex-_
crement until it is ready to leave the fruit (Fig. 14). The time —
spent in the fruit varies considerably, but averages not far from |
APPLE INSECTS 15
30 days for the first brood and 3 ens for the sedi The
full grown larva is about 2 inch in length, pinkish white in color,
with the head dark eee and the thoracic and anal shields
lighter brown (Fig. -11).
The larger part of the larve leave the fruit before it falls and
crawl down the branches until they find a suitable place for
spinning the cocoon. After making the cocoon the larva may
do one of two things, either it will remain in the larval condition
until the following spring or it may change to a pupa in about
a week. In the latter
case these summer pups
give rise in about 10 days
to a brood of moths which
lay the eggs for the second
generation. In New
York only part of the
larvee spinning up before
August 1 transform the
same season, all the larvee
going into cocoons after
that date hibernate. In
Arkansas the correspond-
ing date is September 1.
Not all the larve of the
first broodstransformthe F'6- 12-— Codlin-moth larva in its burrow
: in an apple.
Same season even in .
Georgia, where there are three full generations, but they are
relatively few.
The number of generations a year varies in different parts
of the country, and has been a difficult question to solve, owing
to the overlapping of the broods. The earliest of the first
brood moths will be on the wing before belated individuals
of the spring brood have disappeared. It is now, however,
pretty well determined that in the North, —New England, New
ve
16 FRUIT INSECTS
York and Michigan, —there is one full generation and usually
a partial second, the completeness of the latter depending on
the length of the season. In Nebraska, Missouri and Virginia
there are two full generations; in Arkansas there are three
and in Georgia three and a partial fourth. In Washington,
Oregon, Utah and Idaho there are two full generations and
there is strong evidence that there are at least three in Arizona.
While the codlin-
moth is distinctly an
apple pest, it is also
an important enemy
of the pear. In 1898
Slingerland estimated
the loss to the pear
crop in New York at
$500,000. Wild haws, —
crabapplesandquinces
are also quite freely
eaten by the larve.
In California English
walnuts are generally
infested to a_ slight
Fic. 13. — A wormy apple, showing the mass extent by the larve of
of brown particles thrown out at the blossom :
the later generations.
end by the young larva.
It has been reported
as injuring plums in Canada and also in New Mexico.
Natural enemies.
The eggs of the codlin-moth are parasitized by a minute
chalcis-fAly, Trichogramma pretiosa Riley, four of these tiny —
flies having been reared from a single egg. The eggs are also
attacked by a mite, Trombidium sp. The larva is attacked by
the hymenopterous parasites, Pimpla annulipes Brullé,
Macrocentrus delicatus Cress., Ascogaster carpocapse Vier.,
Goniozus sp., Bethylus sp., and by two Tachina flies, Hypos-
APPLE INSECTS Lt
tena variabilis Coq. and Tachinophyto sp. In Georgia a small
chalcis-fly (Haltichella sp.) has frequently been reared from
‘the pupa. A European parasite (Calliephialtes messor Grav.)
has been introduced into California, but apparently with ee
success.. The larve of a num-
ber of beetles have been found
killing the larve and in the
South several species of ants at-
tack the larve and pupe in the
cocoons. In Utah a wasp stocks
its burrows with the larve. 44 14. Exit hole of codlin-
Both in this country and in moth larva ; left, before leaving the
Europe larve have been found ee Teak sees eaprecdand
infested by hair-snakes.
In spite of this array of insect enemies the codlin-moth is
able to maintain itself as the most destructive enemy of apples
Fic. 15. — Empty codlin-moth cocoons on the under side of a flake of bark;
view of the outer surface of the same flake showing the holes made by birds in
reaching the larve.
and pears. Its most effective natural enemies are the birds,
over a dozen species of which are known to feed on it. The
Cc
18 FRUIT INSECTS
downy woodpecker, nuthatch and chickadee destroy great
numbers of the hibernating larve, under loose flakes of bark.
In fact, it requires diligent search to find larve towards spring
even where empty cocoons are abundant. Usually a tell-
tale hole through the bark flake into the cocoon explains the
absence of its occupant (Fig. 15). These birds are such efficient
aids to man in controlling the codlin-moth that they should
Fic. 16. — Apple and pear fruits with the calyx lobes still expanded; the right
time to make the first spraying for the codlin-moth.
be carefully protected. During the winter they feed in small
flocks, going over the same territory day after day, carefully -
examining every portion of the bark for insect food. They
may be induced to visit an orchard regularly by tying strips
of beef fat to a few of the branches and the destruction of
codlin-moth larve will more than pay for the trouble involved.
Means of control.
When single brooded or when the second generation is only
partial, the codlin-moth has not been found a very difficult —
APPLE INSECTS 19
; pest to centrol by spraying with an arsenical poison. In
the South and ‘portions of the West, howwever, where two
or more full generations develop, spraying has in general
given less satisfactory results. In spraying for this insect
advantage is taken of the fact that the great majority of
the young larve enter the apple at the blossom end. For
about two weeks after the petals fall the calyx lobes are spread
wide apart and the young apple stands upright on the stem
Fic. 17. — Two later stages, the calyx lobes closed; it is now too late to spray
effectively.
with the calyx end directed upward (Fig. 16). If at this time
an arsenical spray is thoroughly applied with sufficient force
to drive the poison into the calyx cup, minute particles of the
poison will be deposited where the young larva will get it in
his first meal as it enters the fruit. In about two weeks the
calyx lobes close as shown in Figure 17, and it is then too late
to spray effectively, for it is then impossible to place the poison
where it will do the most good. The closed calyx lobes form
20 FRUIT INSECTS
a tight roof over the cavity and prevent the rain from washing
away the poison. To be most effective this first spray should
be applied as soon as possible after the larger part of the petals
have fallen. Great care should be taken to hit each apple, the
spray should be directed downward directly into the blossom
end of the fruit and sufficient power should be used to give a
strong spray. In commercial orchards the best results are
obtained where a good power sprayer is used and where the
nozzle, on the end of a light extension rod, is handled by a man
standing on an elevated platform or tower. In the Eastern
states a fine, mist-like spray is most commonly used, but in
the Far West remarkable results have been obtained by the
use of a coarse driving spray, such as is produced by the Bor-
deaux nozzle.
Not all the larve are killed in the calyx cavity, for quite a
number always enter the fruit at some other point. A large
part of these are killed by the poison on the leaves where many
of them feed slightly before reaching the fruit, while others are
doubtless destroyed by the poison adhering to the surface of
the apple, although the number killed in this way is not large.
This first spraying immediately after the petals fall is the most
important operation in the fight against the codlin-moth, and
no pains should be spared to make it as effective as possible.
Not only does it control the injury by the first brood larve, but
it also prevents in large measure the losses occasioned by the
later broods. In the Far West, where two full broods develop,
some remarkable results have been obtained from this spraying
alone when the application was made with great thoroughness,
using a coarse driving spray and sufficient pressure to place
the poison deep in the calyx cavity. In some cases as high as
95 or 99 per cent of the crop has been protected in this way
without the necessity for any later spraying. Attempts to
control the codlin-moth in the East by the one-spray method
have not as yet shown it to be superior to the more common
APPLE INSECTS 21
practice under Eastern conditions, where it is necessary to
make repeated applications of a fungicide for the control of
. apple scab and other fungous diseases, but they have called
attention to the great importance of doing very speetes work
with the first spray.
At the time the first spraying is made the codlin-moth eggs
have not yet been laid and the majority do not hatch until
about 3 or 4 weeks later. If about the time of hatching the
foliage and fruit are thoroughly coated with a fine arsenical
spray, many of the newly hatched larve will be killed before
reaching the apple, since many of the eggs are laid at some
distance from the fruit and the larve feed to some extent on
the leaves.
In case the first spraying, because of carelessness or for some
other reason, has not controlled the worms, it may be advisable
to spray for the second brood. This spraying should be done
just as the majority of the eggs are hatching. The proper
time may be determined by banding a few trees with burlap
bands. When empty cocoons are found beneath them it shows
that the moths are emerging. Eggs will be hatching in about
a week or two. In New York the second brood larve enter
the fruit in late July and in August, but the exact time varies
greatly with the season.
The larve of the later broods are much more numerous than
those of the first and the loss which they inflict is correspond-
ingly greater. Where the first spraying has been neglected
one cannot hope to protect his crop by spraying for the second
brood alone. But where the first brood has been reduced to
a minimum by a thorough early spraying much good can
oftentimes be accomplished by a later spraying to destroy the
progeny of the few stragglers missed earlier in the season.
Paris green has been for years the standard poison used
against the codlin-moth, but it has now been almost entirely
replaced by arsenate of lead. The latter has, on the whole,
ple FRUIT INSECTS
given better results. It sticks better to the foliage and fruit,
contains practically no free arsenic and may be combined with
the dilute lime-sulfur, as used for the apple scab. One pound
of Paris green or 4 to 6 pounds of arsenate of lead in 100 gallons
of water has, in general, given the best results. Paris green or
arsenate of lead may be combined with Bordeaux mixture and
arsenate of lead with lime-sulfur, but Paris green has proved
injurious to the foliage when used with the latter. Success
in controlling the codlin-moth does not depend so much on
the kind of poison used as on the thoroughness and timeliness
of the application. The personal factor is of the greatest
importance.
At picking time many infested apples are carried to the
packing shed or storehouse, where the larve emerge and spin
up in cracks and crevices. In case the storehouse is near the
orchard the windows should be screened to prevent the escape
of the moths the following spring.
Before the discovery of the arsenical method of controlling
the codlin-moth banding the trunks with strips of burlap was
widely practiced. These bands are put around the trunk and
larger branches, and beneath them a large proportion of the
larvee will spin their cocoons. They should be examined and
the larve killed regularly every week during the cocooning
season. It is generally believed that in properly sprayed
orchards the use of bands will not pay for the trouble and
expense involved. |
REFERENCES
Howard, Rept. U. 8. Dept. Agr. for 1887, pp. 88-115.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 142. 1898. Extensive bibliography.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 41. 1903.
Utah Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 87. 1904.
Utah Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 95. 1906.
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 77. 1906.
N. M. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 65. 1907.
Ill. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 114. 1907.
APPLE INSECTS 23
Quaintance, Year.Book U.S. Dept. Agr. for 1907, pp. 435-450. 1908.
N. H. Agr."Exp. Sta., 19th and 20th Rept., pp. 396-498. 1908.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 80, Pt. I. 1909.
Mo. State Fruit: Exp. Sta. Bull. 21. 1909.
Ga. State Bd. Ent. Bull. 29. 1909.
Felt, 25th Rept. N. Y. St. Ent. pp. 25-71. 1910. Extensive bibliog-
raphy.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 80, Pt. V. 1910.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 80, Pt. VI. 1910.
Ont. Dept. Agr. Bull. 187. 1911.
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 103. 1911.
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 97, Pt. II. 1911.
Felt, Jour. Ec. Ent. V, pp. 153-159. 1912.
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 115, Pts. I, IJ. 1912.
THE LESSER APPLE WoRM
Enarmona prunivora Walsh
This insect is closely related to the codlin-moth, and both
in its life history and the nature of its injury to the apple is very
similar to that insect. Originally described by Walsh in 1867
as a plum pest, it has ae
more recently shown
itself a serious enemy
of the apple in cer-
tain localities. It is
generally distributed
throughout the East-
ern states from Texas
and Georgia north-
ward to Ontario and
Quebec and also oc-
curs in British Co-
lumbia.
The full-grown
Fia. is. — Upper figure, partly grown codlin-
moth larva; lower two, larve of the lesser apple
larve are about. 2 worm( x6).
24
Fig. 19. — Cocoon of the
lesser apple worm. with
empty pupa skin protrud-
ing (x 7).
FRUIT INSECTS
inch in length, and pinkish or nearly
white in color (Fig. 18). They leave
the fruit in the fall a little later than
the codlin-moth larve and spin cocoons
in similar situations; occasionally pu-
pation occurs within the apple itself
(Fig. 20). The larva may be distin-
guished from that of the codlin-moth
by its smaller size, and by having a
brownish, comb-like structure on the
caudal curvature of the anal plate visible
only undera
strong lens.
The co-
C0 Oulcis
about + inch long, lined with white
silk and covered on the outside with
bits of bark and dirt (Fig. 19). The
following spring the larva changes
to a brownish pupa less than { inch
in length. The dorsal surface is
armed with transverse rows of short
spines by which the pupa works itself
Fig. 20. — Empty pupa skin
of lesser worm protruding from
end of small apple.
part way out of the cocoon before the emergence of the moth.
The empty pupa case is usually left attached to the cocoon.
The moth (Fig. 21) measures about 7% in
Fic. 21. — Lesser apple worm moth (x 5).
eral
ch across the expanded
wings. The front
wings have the gen-
appearance of
watered silk when
viewed with the un-
aided eye. The gen-
eral color is a warm
brown, darker on the
APPLE INSECTS 25
_ front margin and at the tip and lighter towards the base.
- Under a lens it is seen that this effect is produced by groups
a en ee
like, and closely re-
te A Ce Ee ee ae Be ee Se ee ep
of scales of three shades of brown; reddish, chocolate and
light brown; in addition the wing is crossed by three fine in-
_terrupted irregular pearl-blue lines, the basal one being double
in front. The hind wings are brown, paler towards the base.
The moths emerge and eggs are laid at about the same time
as those of the codlin-
moth. The eggs are
glistening milky
white, flat and scale-
semble those of the
codlin-moth, but are
only alittle more than
one half as _ large.
They hatch in 5 or 6
days. —
The injury caused
by this insect has
often been confused’
with the work of the
codlin-moth. Many Fic. 22. — Work of lesser apple worm at the
of the young larve blossom end of a mature apple.
enter the fruit through the calyx cavity, while others bore
through the skin just outside the calyx, and still others enter
at the side and near the stem. A larger proportion of the first
brood enter at the calyx than is the case with the second genera-
tion. In general, the burrows are not so deep as those of the
eodlin-moth. The larva remains near the surface and eats
out a blotched mine just beneath the skin which turns whitish
and greatly disfigures the fruit (Fig. 22).
In the North there are two generations annually ; in the Ozark
region there are three and sometimes a partial fourth brood.
26 FRUIT INSECTS
Many of the first brood larve pupate in the fruit and the empty
pupa case is frequently found protruding from the burrow.
Apples infested by small larve are frequently placed in storage —
where they continue to feed and often cause considerable loss.
The lesser apple worm moth has also been reared from plum,
from black-knot, a fungous swelling on plum branches, and from
certain insect galls on elm and oak. |
Remedial measures.
The treatment suggested for this insect is the same as tnat
for the codlin-moth, except that there is especial need of mak-
ing the second spraying, 3 to 4 weeks after the petals fall, very
thorough. To kill the young larve entering at the stem and side
at that time the foliage and fruit should be thoroughly coated
with a fine arsenical spray.
REFERENCES
U: S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 68, Pt. V. 1908.
Taylor, Jour. Ee. Ent., II, pp. 237-239. 1909.
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 80, Pt. III. 1909.
APPLE FRUIT-MINER
Argyresthia conjugella Zeller
The larva of this small Tineid moth is a serious pest in the
apple orchards of western Canada. It also occurs in northern
Europe, where it frequently destroys the entire apple crop. In
Europe it originally fed on the berries of the Mountain Ash
and in Canada on the fruit of the Wild Crab (Pyrus fusca)
but it has now become thoroughly established on the culti-
vated apple. In England and Scandinavia it has been found ~
infesting the cherry.
The injury is caused by the pinkish white larva, about 2
inch in length, which burrows in all directions through the
fruit during July, August and September. The tissue around
APPLE INSECTS DN
the burrows turns brown, decay ensues and the apple is ruined.
The parent moth (Fig. 23) has a spread of nearly 4 inch; the
front wings are iridescent purplish gray mottled with brownish :
on the front margin is a row of minute white and brown dots
and a larger oblique white mark occurs near the apex; on the
hind margin is a broad .creamy-white band interrupted near the
middle by a brownish spot. The moths appear in May and
June. The eggs.are unknown.
The young larve enter the fruit at the side and on becoming
full-grown leave the apple and seek shelter under the bark on
the trunk or under leaves on the ground. The winter is passed
Fig. 23. — The apple fruit-miner moth (x 73).
in the pupal state in white cocoons, the outer layers of which are
loose and have the threads arranged so as to form a beautiful
openwork pattern.
Remedial measures.
Satisfactory methods of control have not yet been devised, but
several thorough sprayings with arsenate of lead, so applied
as to keep the fruit coated with the poison, would doubtless do
much to lessen the injury. |
REFERENCES
Rept. Exp. Farms Ottawa 1896, pp. 258-262, 1897.
Rept. Exp. Farms Ottawa 1897, pp. 201-202, 1898.
Reh, Prakt. Ratg. Obst- und Gartenbau, XXII, pp. 452, 453. 1907.
cag
aoa
28
FRUIT INSECTS
Tue AppLeE Rep Bucs
Heterocordylus malinus Reuter, and Lygidea mendax Reuter
These two native sucking plant-bugs have in recent years —
caused considerable injury in certain orchards in New York
and New Jersey by
puncturing theyoung
apples during May
and early June.
Many of the punc-
tured apples fall to
the ground, others
dry up on the tree,
while the remainder
mature but are badly
deformed and _ ren-
dered unmarketable
(Figs: 24 and 2a
Red bug injury may
be distinguished from
Fic. 24.— Mature apple deformed by red bug the work of the plum
punctures.
curculio by the fact
that in making the puncture the insect does not remove any of the
tissue, but merely
sucks out the juices.
When abundant
the apple aphis fre-
quently causes
knotty and mis-
shapen apples, but
its work is usually
characterized by a
stunting or pucker-
Fic. 25.— Young apples which dropped prematurely
result of red bug injury.
APPLE INSECTS
ing of the. blossom
end which is not
present in typical
red bug injury.
The life histories
of the two species
are very similar.
The dull whitish,
strongly curved,
slightly compressed
eggs are inserted
their full length
into the bark on the
smaller branches
(Figs. 27 and 28).
apple.
29
Fic. 26. — Red bug nymph feeding on a newly set
Much enlarged.
They hatch soon after the opening of the leaves of the fruit
buds and the minute, tomato-red nymphs at once begin to
Fic. 27. — Eggs of H. ma-
linus inserted in a slit in the
bark at the base of a fruit spur.
puncture the tender
leaves. The clusters of
minute reddish dots
caused by these punc-
tures are quite conspicu-
ous and are usually the
first indication of the
presence of the nymphs.
The injury to the foliage
is very slight. They
may feed on the leaves
until full grown but usu-
ally attack the fruit as soon as it sets (Fig. 26).
In the case of very small apples, the four sharp
bristles of the beak penetrate quite to the center,
the surrounding tissue becomes discolored and hardened and
the apple is ruined.
Fig. 28: —
Eggs of UL.
mendax inlen-
ticels on a
two-year-old
apple branch.
30 FRUIT INSECTS
The young nymphs of the two species are very similar. Those
of L. mendax may be distinguished by their brighter red color,
)
Fic. 29. — Fifth stage nymph of H.
malinus (X 9).
the absence of dusky —
markings on the thorax
and by having the body —
clothed with fine short
black hairs. Both species
pass through five im-
mature stages and attain
wings at the fifth molt
(Figs. 29 and 30). The
adults of both species are
about 4 inch in length.
In H. malinus (Fig. 31)
the general color varies
from red to nearly black
and the entire dorsal sur-
face is sparsely clothed with conspicuous white, flattened, scale-
like hairs. In L. mendaz (Fig. 32) the general color is lighter and
these hairs are lacking.
As far as we have ob-
served Greenings, Pound
Sweets and Spies, in the
order named, are the
varieties most subject to
attack. Sometimes the
whole crop is rendered
unmarketable, but such
severe injury is unusual.
Remedial measures.
It has been found im-
practicable to attempt to
destroy either the eggs or
the adults. The former
Fic. 30. — Fifth stage nymph of L.
mendax (X 9).
use of “Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, one pint in 100 gallons —
APPLE INSECTS ob
are inserted in the bark where the embryo develops some
distance from the surface; the latter are relatively few and
| occur when the trees !
are in full foliage,
when it would be
very difficult to hit
them. Attempts to
destroy the young
nymphs by spraying
with kerosene emul-
sion or whale-oil soap
have not been suc-
Hie. 31. — H. ma- ee ee) Fic. 32. — L. mendaz,
linus, adult (x32). good results have adult (x 33).
been obtained by the |
of water, applied very thoroughly just before the blossoms open.
Sometimes a second application, just after the falling of the
petals, may be found necessary. “ Black Leaf 40” can be
used with the lime-sulfur as used for a summer spray. When
__ used with water add 4 to 5 pounds of soap to make the mixture
stick and spread better. The spraying should be done on bright
- warm days, for in cool weather many of the nymphs hide away
_ In the opening leaves.
- REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 291. 1911.
THe ApPpLE Maaaor
Rhagoletis pomonella Walsh
This native American insect, although originally feeding in
the fruit of the wild thorn, has during the past sixty years be-
- come a serious enemy of the apple in the Eastern states and
6m
£23
x
ts
32 FRUIT INSECTS
Canada. While summer and early fall varieties are particularly
subject to attack, winter apples are also sometimes badly in-
fested. Sweet and
subacid varieties are
most susceptible, but
such acid varieties as
Greening, Baldwin
and Oldenburg are
sometimes attacked.
In the Lake Cham-
plain region the Fameuse is very subject to injury, and in
western New York and Canada crab apples are sometimes
badly infested.
Theinjuryiscaused
by a whitish maggot,
+ inch or more in
length, which bur-
rows in all directions
through the fruit
(Figs. 33 -and 34).
In the Northern states, the parent flies appear in early July
and continue abundant well into September. The females do
not begin egg-laying till
two or three weeks after
emergence. During this
time they may be seen
resting on the leaves or
fruit and lapping up
drops of moisture, or
licking the surface of the
waxy covering of the
Fic, 35. — Apple maggot fly (x 42). fruit with their fleshy
proboscis. They are blackish, two-winged flies with the head and
legs yellowish ; the abdomen has three or four transverse white
Fia. 33.— Full-grown apple maggot, side view ( xX 7).
Fic. 34. — Full-grown apple maggot, ventral view.
ern
vided with a sharp ovipositor with
their tunnels through the flesh but
apple, usually on the side, and in-
APPLE INSECTS 33
bands andthe wings are crossed by four dark confluent bands
(Fig. 35). They are slightly smaller than the house fly, which
they closely resemble in shape (Fig. 37). The female is pro-
which she punctures the skin of the
serts her minute, whitish, elongate
egg directly into the pulp. The eggs
hatch in from two to six days. On
hatching the young maggots start
Fic. 36. — Apple maggot pu-
grow very slowly until the fruit be- pau OCT).
gins to ripen or soften from decay
(Fig. 38). When this occurs the maggots grow rapidly, and
by their winding burrows soon reduce the interior to a brownish,
sponge-like mass. It frequently happens that at picking time
the fruit may show no signs of
denly from maggot attack after
having softened in storage or in
transit. This is very likely to
happen in the case of Fameuse
and Mackintosh when grown in
infested localities. Sometimes
the burrows run for some dis-
tance just beneath the skin,
showing through as darkened
trails, from which the insect has
received, in some localities, the
Fia. 37. — Apple maggot fly resting name of railroad worm. When
on an apple (xX 2). :
full-grown, the larva escapes
through a ragged opening in the skin of the fruit, usually after
it has fallen, and then as a rule burrows an inch or so into
the soil, where it hibernates in a brownish puparium (Fig. 36),
D
infestation, only to go down sud-:
a
84 FRUIT INSECTS
which has been aptly likened to a grain of wheat. In New
York, at least, there is a partial second brood of flies appearing
in September.
Remedial measures. :
As the eggs are inserted directly into the pulp beneath >
the skin of the fruit, and as the maggots never leave
the apple until full-grown, it is impossible to kill them
Fic. 38. — Apples infested with apple maggot beginning to decay.
with any poison or contact spray. The flies, however, can be
readily destroyed by having the fruit and leaves covered with
an arsenate of lead spray at the time of their emergence in early
July. As stated above, the flies do not begin oviposition until -
three or four weeks after emergence; during this time they feed
considerably on the waxy covering of the fruit and lap up drops
of moisture from the fruit and foliage. Experiments in New
York have shown that if the trees are sprayed the first week in
APPLE INSECTS 35
Es uly with arsenate of lead, 4 pounds in 100 gallons of water, most
of the flies will be killed. It has been suggested that the addi-
tion of molasses or sirup to the poison spray would make it more
attractive to the flies, but the experience of the majority of
commercial growers indicates that this is unnecessary. When
orchards are well cultivated, so as to give a minimum of pro-
tection to the puparia through the winter, and when a good sys-
tem of spraying is practiced, the apple maggot is not troublesome.
It is probable that under these conditions most of the flies are
_ killed by the arsenate of lead used for the control of the codlin-
_ moth. 7
a See
REFERENCES
Maine Agr. Exp. Sta., Ann. Rept., 1889, pp. 190-241.
Maine Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 109. 1904.
R. I. Agr. Exp. Sta., Ann. Rept., 1904, pp. 191-201.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 101, 1908.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 324. 1912.
Tue APPLE CURCULIO
Anthonomus quadrigibbus Say
ee. Apples are subject to attack by three species of weevils
which are, in the order of their importance, the plum curculio,
the apple curculio and the apple weevil. The first will be
discussed in detail under plum insects (page 243).
The apple curculio is generally distributed over the Hastern
states and Canada, where ‘it breeds abundantly in wild crab
and thorn apples. As an apple pest its work has often been
confused with that of the plum curculio, for the two species
_ usually work together and deform the fruit in a similar manner.
It has come into prominence principally in Missouri and
~ southern Illinois, and as a rule only in connection with destruc-
tive outbreaks of the plum curculio. Conditions favoring the
presence of the one seem also to favor the abundance of the
TE ee ste ee ee ys cee ley ee Oe eT ee ee at eet Ae ee ee
: pact " td i aed at ee adgi a DY Taetl : J Rene, REA ai
36 FRUIT INSECTS
other. Usually the apple curculios are greatly in the minority,
and their presence serves merely to supplement the injuries
inflicted by the other species. In Connecticut this species has
been recorded as seriously injuring young peach trees by punc-
turing the twigs.
The apple curculio is a reddish-brown snout beetle, and: may
be distinguished from its relatives by having four distinct humps
on the posterior declivity of the wing covers, two on each side
(Fig. 39). The thorax is usually striped with three ash-gray
lines and the front part of the wing covers are more or less
grayish. The female is about ¢ inch in length, the male a little
smaller. The beak is over
one half the length of the
body in the female, is slightly
curved downward and carried
projecting obliquely forward
and does not hang down like
an elephant’s trunk as in the
Fie. 39. — The apple curculio (x 4). Plum curculio.
The beetles hibernate in
grass, under rubbish and in other sheltered places, and ap-
pear on the trees soon after the petals fall. They begin
to feed on the young apples as soon as they are as large
as small peas, and the female begins egg-laying soon after.
In feeding the beetle punctures the skin of the apple by
means of the small jaws at the tip of the beak and then eats
out a cylindrical cavity in the pulp as deep as the length of the
beak. Growth is stopped around the puncture, the surround-
ing tissue hardens and a knotty deformity results.
The cavity excavated by the female for the reception of the |
egg is similar to the one made in feeding but is considerably
enlarged at the bottom. After placing the oval white or yellow-
ish egg, zs inch in length, at the bottom of the cavity the female
a
seals up the small external opening with a drop of excrement.
APPLE INSECTS 37
In feeding and in excavating the egg-cavity very little of the
skin is swallowed ; it is merely torn back out of the way. This
is one reason why it is so difficult to kill the beetles with an
arsenical spray:
In southern Illinois oviposition extends from late May. to
about the middle of July, and the average number of eggs laid
by each female is about 65. The eggs hatch in four or five
days and the larva feeds on the pulp, becoming full-grown in
about 20 days. When full-grown it is nearly one half inch in
length, footless, and owing to the enlargement of certain seg-
ments on the back is so strongly curved that it is unable to
straighten out. It pupates within the cavity in which it has
fed and in about one week the beetle emerges. The new brood
of beetles, unlike the plum curculio, feed very little, but go into
hibernation by the first of August.
Remedial measures.
Spraying with an arsenical as is practiced for the codlin-
moth will destroy a small percentage of the apple curculios,
but extensive experiments in Illinois have shown that addi-
tional applications for the curculios do not kill enough to pay
for the expense incurred. Curculios thrive in overgrown,
crowded, unpruned and uncultivated orchards, and may best
be controlled by remedying these conditions. The trees should
be pruned so as to admit as much sunlight as practicable, the
ground should be kept free from weeds and the trees should not
be so close together as to shade the entire ground. A large
proportion of the infested apples drop and the insect completes
its development in the fallen fruit. It is necessary, however,
that the fruit remain in the shade, since even a few hours of
direct sunlight is fatal to both larve and pupze. Where the
ground has been kept clean and smooth it will pay to rake the
windfalls out into the sun, where they will dry up. This should
be done early in the season, for great numbers of curculios
develop in small apples not larger than a pea. Wild thorn
>
Ts
38 FRUIT INSECTS
apples in hedges and wood lots adjoining orchards serve as cen-
ters of infestation, and should be destroyed. Grassy borders
and driveways, and particularly stone fences and stone piles
serve as excellent hibernating quarters for the beetles. Clean
orcharding is the most effective preventive of curculio attacks.
REFERENCES
Riley, 3d Mo. Rept. pp. 29-35. 1871.
Ill. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 98. 1905.
W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 126. 1910.
THe APPLE WEEVIL
Pseudanthonomus crategi Walsh
While generally distributed over the eastern United States,
this weevil has been reported as injuring apples only in West —
Virginia. Walsh in 1866
reared the beetle from a
Cecidomyiid gall on the wild
thorn.
The beetle is much smaller
than the species last treated,
being only 5 inch in length.
: ‘= It is of a uniform light brown
Fic. 40. — The apple weevil (x 15). color and has the wing covers
| deeply striated but without
humpsor tubercles of any kind (Fig. 40). The beetles emerge from
hibernation in early spring. They feed on the foliage more or
less throughout the season, but their principal food is the pulp —
of the fruit, which they obtain through minute punctures made
in the skin.
The minute, yellowish-white oval eggs are deposited in
cavities in the pulp eaten out by the females. The opening of
the cavity is then sealed with a drop of excrement. The eggs
MER PT RRR eee ie Pegs aN FP POP Phare WTI A! EEL” Me ae Dy Nc RTS wey cee? AES
e ECL et ee Oe ee CaS ey : : ‘ ‘ Po 5 Phe Gort
APPLE INSECTS — 39
hatch in 4. or 5 days, and the yellowish-white footless grub
eats out a winding burrow in the fruit or may form a large
irregular feeding chamber. The grubs are unable to develop
in apples that continue to grow, being killed in many cases by
the pressure of the proliferating plant cells. Under favorable
conditions they become full-grown, and pupate in about 30 days.
on the average. The eggs are often laid in decaying fruit, and
as many as 20 beetles have been reared from a single apple,
although 4 or 5 is the more usual number. The pup occupy
cells inside the fruit, and in a little over a week transform to
beetles. The beetles remain about the trees during the re-
mainder of the season, going into hibernation at the approach
of cold weather. There is only one generation a year.
Remedial treatment.
The fact that the beetles feed more or less on the foliage makes
it possible to kill them by spraying with arsenate of lead applied
as for the codlin-moth. It has been shown in West Virginia
that when the trees are treated in this way the injurious work
et this weevil is completely prevented.
- REFERENCE
W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 126. 1910.
THE GREEN FRUIT-WORMS
Xylina antennata Walker
Xylina laticinerea Grote
Xylina grote: Riley
While very widely distributed throughout the United States
and Canada, these three very closely related species have only
occasionally attracted attention by their attacks on apples and
other fruits. They caused considerable loss in Illinois and
Missouri in 1870 and in New York in 1877, 1896 and 1918.
40 FRUIT INSECTS
They are more frequently
found feeding on foliage of
poplar, soft maple, hickory,
wild cherry and _ boxelder.
In addition to the apple they
also attack the fruit of the
pear, peach, plum, apricot,
quince and currant. The
green fruit-worms are large,
light yellowish or apple green
caterpillars (Fig. 41), with a
Fic. 41. — Green fruit-worms feeding on .
young apples. narrow cream-colored stripe
down the middle of the back,
a wide cream-colored stripe along each side and many similarly
colored mottlings or spots which sometimes form quite distinct
stripes along the body above the broad lateral ee When
fully grown they range from one to one and a half
inches in length. They work during May and the
first half of June. When young they feed upon the
foliage or buds so that when the fruit is large enough §@
for them to eat they are found to be about half
grown. The caterpillars do not bore into the fruit,
but usually begin eating on one side and often con-
tinue feeding until nearly half of the fruit is eaten.
They go from fruit to fruit, one caterpillar thus
ruining several fruits; in some orchards they have
been known to destroy over a quarter of the crop.
If the cavity eaten in the apple is not too large, it ees
may heal over, leaving a light brown corky scar. _—- Pupa of. the
The green fruit-worms do most of their damage to eee, pines
the young fruits in May, but some of them continue
working until nearly the middle of June. During the first
week in June most of the caterpillars get their full growth
various forest trees, notably —
Pe Te Le ly
iy Pagers aks Ah my) a Sa $
APPLE INSECTS 41
and burrow into the soil beneath the trees to a depth of from
one to three inches.
about until a smooth
earthen cellis formed.
Most of them then }
spin about them-
selves a very thin
silken cocoon ; some
spin no cocoon. Soon
after building the
cocoon or earthen
cell the caterpillar
transforms to a dark
Here they roll and twist their bodies
Fig. 43.— Green fruit-worm moth, X.
antennata (xX 132).
brown pupa (Fig. 42). In about three months, or about the
middle of September, the moths (Fig. 43) emerge and go into
hibernation in sheltered nooks; some of the pup, however,
_do not transform till early the following spring. The moths
Fig. 44. — Green
fruit--worm egg on
apple twig, greatly
enlarged.
appear on the trees in March or April, and
deposit their nearly globular, distinctly
ridged, yellowish eggs singly on the bark
of the smaller branches (Fig. 44).
Means of control.
As the green fruit-worms are about half
grown when they begin feeding on the fruit
it is then a very difficult matter to kill
them with a poison spray. Earlier, when
feeding on the buds and newly opened leaves,
many of the young worms could doubtless
be destroyed by a thorough application of
arsenate of lead, 5 or 6 pounds in 100 gallons of water |
or dilute lime-sulfur solution. |
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 123. 1896.
CHAPTER III
APPLE INSECTS—BUDS AND FOLIAGE
THE Bub-MOoTH
T'metocera ocellana Schiffermiiller
Tus is one of the most numerous, destructive, and wide-
spread of the insects attacking the opening buds of fruit trees.
It is a European insect which has been ravaging American
orchards for nearly a century, and is now more or less injurious
yearly from Nova Scotia through Canada and the northern
half of the United States to Oregon and Washington. Infested
nursery stock is the principal source of new infestations.
Working in the opening buds, it often “ nips in the bud” a
prospective crop of fruit, and it is especially destructive on
recently budded or grafted trees and nursery stock. It more
commonly infests apple trees, but pear, plum, cherry, quince,
and peach’ trees and blackberry bushes are also attacked and
sometimes seriously injured.
The half-grown, dark brown, black-headed caterpillars
hibernate in obscure little silken hibernacula on the bark of
the twigs, usually near the buds. Early in the spring, or as soon
as the buds begin to open in April or May, these caterpillars —
leave their hibernating quarters and get into the opening buds
(Fig. 45), where they feed upon the central expanding leaves and
flowers, tying them together with silken threads. The petiole
of one of the leaves is often nearly severed, and the edge of
the wilting leaf is then rolled into a tube lined sparsely with silk
42
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 43
‘in which the caterpillar lives for 6 or 7 weeks,
going out to feed mostly at night. It often
draws other leaves toward it and fastens them,
thus forming a sort of nest. Some of the partly
eaten leaves soon turn brown, thus rendering
the work of the insect quite conspicuous. Where
terminal buds are attacked the caterpillar some-
times burrows down the shoot for 2 or 3 inches,
causing it to die.. :
The mature, nearly naked caterpillar is. about
half an inch in length, and of a cinnamon-
brown color, with the head, thoracic shield
and true legs black. Becoming full-grown in
June, the caterpillars transform, and ten days
are spent as brown pup in silken lined cocoons
formed of leaves either rolled or tied together
in the nests. The moths emerge over a period
of six weeks, from June 5 to July 15 in New
Fie. 45. —
Opening apple
bud infested with
a bud-moth cat-
erpillar, showing
the brownish
particles thrown
out at the tip by
the larva.
York. The dark ash-gray moths, with a broad,
~cream-white band across the front wings, which have an ex-
panse of 2 of an inch, are night-flyers-and closely mimic the
Fic. 46. — Bud-moth. Knight photo (x 4).
bark when at rest
(Fig. 46). <A few
days after emerging,
the females lay mi-
nute, flattened, disk-
like, oval, nearly
transparent, smooth
eggs either singly or
in small overlapping
clusters on the leaves
(Fig. 47). In a week
or ten days a little black-headed, greenish caterpillar hatches,
“makes a silken tube open at both ends and sallies forth to feed
44 FRUIT INSECTS
upon the skin and inner tissues of the leaf, usually on the under-
side along the midrib. A thin protecting layer of silk is spun
Fig. 47.— Eggs of the bud-
moth. Greatly enlarged.
over their feeding grounds, and the
skeletonized portion of the leaf soon
turns brown. Oftentimes when
working on the underside of a leaf
that touches an apple the little cat-
erpillar eats into the fruit in several
places, causing a blemish in the
mature apple as shown in Figure 48.
Most of this injury is usually at-
tributed to the summer brood of
codlin-moth larve. Turning brown
in color in a day or two, the little
caterpillars continue to feed on the leaves during July, August
and a part of September, molting 3 or 4 times and getting about
half grown. Some of them leave the foliage and go into winter
quarters on the twigs early in
August. Before the leaves drop
all are snugly tucked away in their
very obscure silken winter homes
about 4 of an inch in length and
covered with bits of dirt or some-
times made under a convenient
piece of dead bud scale. There
is thus but a single brood of the
bud-moth annually.
Five little parasites work upon
this insect in Europe, and at least
three parasites (Phytodietus vul-
garis, Pimpla sp. and Microdus
laticinctus) help considerably to
Fie. 48. — Apple injured by
young bud-moth caterpillars in
August.
check it in America. Birds also get some of the brown cat-
erpillars, and a large muddauber wasp, Odynerus catskillensis,
a
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 45
sometimes stores its cells with them to serve as delicious
morsels for its baby grubs when they hatch.
Remedial treatments.
This bud-moth is a difficult insect to control. In nurseries or
young orchards it is often practicable to go over the trees in
May, when the “nests’’ are rendered quite conspicuous by
one or two brown, dead leaves, and either pick off and destroy
the nests, or crush them on the trees with the fingers so as to kill
the inclosed caterpillars or pups. Skillful and thorough work
with a poison spray will also control the bud-moth. Make two
applications of arsenate of lead, 4 pounds in 100 gallons of water ;
the first when the flower clusters first appear, and the second just
before the blossoms open. Many growers add the poison to the
lime-sulfur used against the scale and blister-mite, making the
application just as the tips of the bud; begin to show green, and
thus avoid a separate spraying for the bud-moth. Recent ex-
periments, however, have shown that this early application of
the poison has little effect. If these applications are thoroughly
made and followed by the spraying usually given for the codlin-
moth just after the blossoms drop, this pest can be effectually
controlled. es .
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 50. 1893.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 107, pp. 57-66. 1896.
THE FRINGED-wINnG APPLE BUD-MOTH
Holcocera maligemmelia Murtfeldt
Since about 1895 the light, greenish-yellow caterpillars,
about % of an inch long with a black head and thoracic shield,
of this satiny, brownish-buff Tineid moth have been more or
_less injurious in apple orchards in western Missouri and adjoin-
ing states. The moths, which measure across expanded wings
about 3 of an inch, emerge from the ground early in April, lay
46 3 FRUIT INSECTS
their light yellow, oval, roughened eggs singly in the opening
buds, and in a week or two the caterpillars appear. They fasten
together some of the expanding leaves, feed within and work
their way down into the center of the base of the open flower
and leaf buds and developing shoots, often causing them to break
off near the base. Thus the growth of the shoot is stopped, the
terminal leaves killed and the prospective crop of fruit destroyed. —
In about four weeks the caterpillars get their growth, crawl
into the ground an inch or two, transform in a delicate, white,
silken cocoon through tiny, brown pupz to the moths which
appear about the middle of July and lay eggs on the leaves for a
second but less destructive brood of caterpillars which work
in and kill the terminal leaves and buds on the new shoots.
Becoming full-grown late in August, the caterpillars transform
to pupe in the ground and hibernate in that stage. ©
To control this fringed-wing apple bud-moth requires the
most thorough work with a poison spray before the blossoms
open, beginning just as soon as any green shows on the buds.
Three applications of Paris green (1 pound in 100 gallons, with 3
pounds lime) have given good results. Two thorough sprayings
with arsenate of lead before blossoming would doubtless prove
equally effective.
. REFERENCE
Mo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 42. 1898.
Tur APPLE BUD-WORM |
Exzartema malanum Fernald
This insect first attracted attention as an apple pest in
northern Illinois in 1881, and has rarely been injurious since.
The young caterpillars or bud-worms hatching from eggs laid —
singly on the terminal buds, are yellowish-white, tinged with —
pink or green. They devour the buds, then forming sort of a —
burrow by fastening a lower leaf-stalk to the branch; they feed —
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 47
upon this leaf and the newly formed wood, sometimes burrowing
into it ashort distance. In a short time this burrow is deserted,
and the caterpillar, now of a dark flesh color, with polished
black head and cervical shield, constructs a short, yellowish,
woolly tube or case on the leaves, from which it sallies forth to
another. When full-grown in June the caterpillars are about
2 an inch long, and they transform in their cases to the adult
insect, a Tortricid moth. There is but one brood annually.
The front wings of the moth expand about 3} an inch, and at the
base and tip of each there is a large grayish-brown spot, those
at the base being darker and the others mottled with white ; be-
tween these spots the wings are white, with silvery reflections.
The tips of infested branches die back to the base of the first
perfect leaf, and the trees present a blasted appearance. Apple
trees only are attacked by this bud-worm, and it has a relentless
enemy in the form of the small parasitic fly, Muicrodus eari-
noides. Mead
As their work on the terminal buds and leaves is quite con-
spicuous, many of the young caterpillars can be destroyed in
their burrows by pruning off and burning the infested tips.
Later, in June, when they are feeding from their woolly cases
on the leaves, a poison spray would prove an effective treatment.
THE CIGAR-CASE-BEARER
Coleophora fletcherella Fernald
About 1890 this interesting little case-bearer first appeared in
‘injurious numbers in apple, pear and plum orchards in New
York and Canada, where it continues to do more or less damage
each year. It has been reported from New Mexico, Montana,
Maine and British Columbia, where it was doubtless introduced
on nursery stock. On account of its small size and peculiar
habits, the insect itself. will rarely be seen by the fruit-grower,
48 FRUIT INSECTS
but the curious little cigar-shaped suits in which the caterpillars ©
live in May and June are quite conspicuous on the foliage.
The caterpillar protrudes itself
from its case, eats a tiny round
hole through the skin of the
leaf and then mines out the in-
terior tissue as far as it can
reach and still retain its case.
Fic. 49.—Hibernating cases of the cigar- Thus many small, blotch mines
are made which soon turn
brown, and often whole leaves are thus mined out. About
September 15, the insect goes into hibernation as a minute,
half-grown caterpillar in a tiny curved case attached to the
case-bearer. Herrick photo. Enlarged.
twigs (Fig. 49). About the middle
of April, the caterpillars move and
proceed to eat holes in the opening
buds, the expanding leaves, the stems
of the flowers and fruits and the young
fruits (Fig. 50). Additions are built
on to the winter case, but in about a
month the dark, orange-colored,
black-headed caterpillar, scarcely 4
of an inch long, deftly makes, by
mining and cutting out a cigar-shaped
area of the leaf, its larger cigar-shaped
case orsuit. In the latter part of June
the caterpillars cease feeding, securely
fasten the cases to the leaves or
branches, and in about three weeks
transform within through light brown
pupe to the tiny steel-gray moths,
Fic. 50. — Cigar-case-bearer
attached to young pear which
also shows several scars made
by other case-bearers.
with a wing expanse of
about 2 of an inch (Fig. 51). The females soon lay minute,
yellow, pitted eggs among the hairs on the young leaves.
Hatching in about two weeks, the tiny caterpillars work as
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 49
miners in the leaves for two or three weeks, then construct
their curious little curved cases from bits of the skins of the
leaves, and by the middle of September migrate to the twigs,
where they hibernate.
This cigar-case-bearer is capable of doing much damage’ to
the young fruit and the foliage of fruit trees, and as it is pro-
tected by a case (oneness yp eae set tt
and mines in the . ;
leaves, it requires
skillful and
thorough spraying
to successfully con-
trol it. Possibly
the strong sprays
used against the San José scale in winter might reach the
hibernating caterpillars in their tiny curved cases on the
twigs. Harly in the spring, or soon after the buds open and
the caterpillars begin work, a thorough application of kerosene
emulsion, diluted with 9 parts of water, has proved effective
in Canada. In the commercial orchards of western New York
case-bearers are usually controlled by the use of arsenate of lead,
as recommended for the bud-moth, page 42.
Fia. 51. — Cigar-case-bearer moth (x 7).
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 93. 1895.
Fletcher, Rept. Ent. Ottawa, for 1894, pp. 201-206. 1895.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 80, Pt. II. 1909.
Tue Pistot CASE-BEARER
Coleophora malivorella Riley
This interesting insect spends about seven months of its
life (from about September 1 to April 1) in hibernation as a
minute, half-grown caterpillar in a small, pistol-shaped case
E
50 _ FRUIT INSECTS
about % of an inch long attached to the twigs of its food-plants,
which are the apple especially, but also include the quince,
plum and cherry. Early in
April the little cases move
and the caterpillars bore into
and devour the swelling buds,
expanding leaves, and espe-
cially the flowers. For four
days about May 1, the cases
may be found again fastened
to the twigs while the cater-
pillars are molting inside.
Unlike the cigar-case-bearer,
this insect does not make a
complete new case as it grows,
but simply makes silken ad-
ditions to the ends and sides
Fic. 52. — Pistol-case-bearers attached ,
for pupation. of the old case. Most of their
feeding is done openly and not
as miners, irregular holes being eaten in the leaves, often skeleton-
izing them. The caterpillars never leave their cases, but
project themselves out far enough to get a foothold, then begin
to eat, holding the
case at a consider-
able angle from the
leaf. They aremost 23
destructive on the GPT aM
flowers, where they “Gag i | | Nuits
eat the petals and CA |
stems, thus destroy- \@ |
ing the prospective Fic. 53. — Pistol-case-bearer moth (x 5).
crop. Sometimes
they also bore into the young fruits. In the latter part of May
they cease feeding, securely fasten the pistol-shaped cases, now
4,
' aie
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE ~— 51
about 2 a of an inch long, to the smaller branches (Fig. 52).
These dark brown, bark-colored cases are Bide largely of silk,
particles of excrement and the
_ pubescence of the leaves. Turn-
ing around in its case, the
orange-colored caterpillar with
black head, thoracic shield and
legs, transforms in about a
month through a light brown
pupa to a pretty, little, dark
_drab-colored Tineid moth (Fig.
53) with a wing expanse of
about 4 an inch. It emerges
from the “‘ handle ”’ end of the
pistol (Fig. 54). On the basal
third of the front wings white
scales predominate in the fe-
Fic. 54. — Pistol-case-bearer, moth
resting on its empty case.
males especially, the legs and antennz have alternating rings
of dark and white scales, and there is a conspicuous tuft of
scales on the basal hae of each antenne. The females glue
Fic. 55.— Eggs of the pistol-
case-bearer. Greatly enlarged.
their minute, pretty, cinnamon-
colored, inverted cup-like, ribbed
eggs to the surface of the leaves
(Fig. 55). The tiny caterpillars
hatch from these eggs in about a
week, or late in July, and eat little
holes in the leaves. They soon
construct of silk and excrement
little pistol-shaped cases to which
they build additions until about
September 1, when they begin to
migrate to the twigs and there
fasten their cases to the bark and hibernate until April.
Since 1877 this sect has been very injurious in apple or-
52 FRUIT INSECTS
chards at intervals of several years in New York and Pennsyl-
vania. It is widely distributed in Canada and the United
States, extending westward to New Mexico, where it was doubt-
less carried on nursery stock. It is capable of very destructive
work and sometimes becomes so numerous that there is a case-
bearer for every two or three buds. ‘Two or three tiny parasites
help to control it.
Experiments show that this pistol-case-bearer can be effec-
tually controlled with two applications of a poison spray before
the blossoms open, as recommended for the bud-moth, page 45.
REFERENCES _
Lintner, Ist Rept. State Ent., N. Y., pp. 163-167. 1882.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 124. 1897.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 122. 1897.
THE PALMER-WORM
Y psolophus ligulellus Hibner
This little Tineid moth occurs throughout the eastern half
of the United States, but has done noticeable injury only in
New York and the New England states. It is a remarkable.
example of the “ups and downs ”’ of insect life, as it suddenly
appears over a large area, does much damage for a year or two,
then as suddenly disappears, often remaining in obscurity for
half a century or more. Its first outbreak occurred in 1791
in New England, followed 62 years later by the second over a
wider territory, including New York in 1853, and after waiting
57 years, or in 1900, it again ravaged apple orchards in New
York. Its favorite food seems to be the foliage and fruits of
apple, oak foliage, and, curiously enough, the spongy oak-apple
galls are sometimes eaten. The caterpillars or’ palmer-worms
are only about } of an inch in length when full-grown, and of a
general olivaceous or brownish-green color, usually with a light
bah
4
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 53
brown head; some are darker in color, with nearly black heads
and thoracic shields. Two lateral and two dorsal whitish stripes
give the dorsum the
appearance of being
traversed by two
broad, dark stripes
and a similar nar-
rower mesal stripe
of the general body
color (Fig. 56).
The active little
palmer-worms
move with a wrig-
gling motion when Fic. 56.— The palmer-worm in its scanty silken
touched, and work net (X 5)
on the foliage and
young fruits for 3 or 4 weeks in June. They skeletonize the
foliage and spin down when disturbed, but are not loopers or
measuring-worms, and although only about half as large as
Fig. 57. — Young apples eaten into by palmer-worms. Note the caterpillars
in the first and third apples from the right.
canker-worms, may be more destructive, as they frequently eat
large, deep holes into the sides of the young fruits (Fig. 57).
They feed openly on the leaves, sometimes fastening 2 or 3 leaves
54 | FRUIT INSECTS
together with silk, or, often rolling the edge of a leaf slightly, »
fasten it with silk threads and feed beneath this partial protec-
tion. Late in June, these palmer-
worms transform to tiny brown
-pupe (Fig. 58), which may be at-
tached by a few silken threads, at
their posterior ends, to the injured
leaves, or may be found on the
ground. In about ten days there
emerges from these pup the minute
gray or grayish-brown moths with
a wing expanse of little more than 4
an inch (Fig. 59). They are quite
variable in color and markings.
The front wings are more or less
: sprinkled with black scales and
Fic. 58. — Palmer-worm pupe. marked with 4 small, black spots
arranged obliquely near the middle
and 6 or 7 black dots near the fringed edge. The hind wings
are heavily fringed and of a dusky color with glossy azure-blue
reflection. There is but a single brood of palmer-worms an-
nually ; the moths
which emerge early
in July apparently
hibernate and lay
their tiny, delicate,
pearly-white, ob-
long-oval eggs in the
spring. The eggs
are laid on the
under side of the Fic. 59.— Palmer-worm moth; the wings on each
side represent a different variety (xX 5).
opening leaves in ; |
May; they are tucked away among the hairs or deposited in
the angles of the veins,
\
id \
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 55
-_. Climatic conditions undoubtedly have much to do with the
“ups and downs” of this insect. Excessively dry weather
in April and May favors the development, and heavy rains
often knock many from the leaves in June, and they never get
back. Many of the palmer-worms are also killed by the maggot
of a tiny parasitic fly known as Apanteles sp. Palmer-worms
ean be controlled with one or two applications of arsenate of
lead, 4 pounds in 100 gallons of water or dilute lime-sulfur
solution. The application should be made at the first appear-
ance of the caterpillars in early June.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 187. 1901.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 212, pp. 16-22. 1902.
CLICK-BEETLES
Corymbites caricinus Germar
Corymbites tarsalis Melsheimer
Corymbites cylindriformis Herbst
These three slender brown click-beetles, from 2 to 4 an inch
in length, sometimes swarm on to apple and pear trees in the
spring and attack the opening buds and the flowers, denuding
orchards of blossoms in some instances. Thus far their ravages ©
have been confined to Nova Scotia, British Columbia and other
localities in Canada. In their larval stage as wireworms, these
click-beetles doubtless bred on the roots of grasses, either in the
orchards if in sod or in near-by fields, so that thorough cultiva-
tion in late fall would help much to reduce their numbers. As
the beetles drop quickly and feign death when the tree is jarred,
they can be readily captured on sheets or plum curculio-catchers.
Or many of them would doubtless succumb to a strong poison
spray of arsenate of lead, 6 or 8 pounds in 100 gallons.
REFERENCE
Fletcher, Rept. Exp. Farms Ottawa 1895, p. 149, 1896.
56 FRUIT INSECTS
THE RiBBED COocOON-MAKER OF THE APPLE
Bucculatrix pomifoliella Clemens
u
4
aa
The small but conspicuous whitish, distinctly ribbed co-—
coons, about ¢ of an inch long, of this insect, often occur in large
numbers in autumn on the undersides of the smaller branches’
of apple trees (Fig.
60), and may first
reveal to the fruit
grower its presence
in the orchard. It is
Fic. 60. — Cocoons of the ribbed cocoon-maker. usually a local pest
in widely separated
orchards, but has a wide distribution over the eastern half
of Canada and in the United States from Maine to Texas.
Although it is capable of doing much damage to foliage, it is
rarely a serious pest, and attacks only the apple, other fruit trees
being apparently immune even when growing in close proximity
to apples. A little brown pupa hibernates in the white cocoons,
and when the leaves
are unfolding in May
it works halfway out
of one end of the
cocoon and_ there
emerges a tiny, light
brown moth about Fic. 61. — Ribbed cocoon-maker moth (x 8).
Sg OL ea Ue in
length with each front wing marked with a large, dark brown
spot (Fig. 61). In a few days, minute, pale green, elliptical,
iridescent, roughened eggs are laid singly on the under
surface of the leaves. The tiny caterpillars which hatch
from these eggs in from 6 to 10 days burrow directly into
the leaf, where for about a week they make narrow mines
carr. 4
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 57
‘nearly 2 of an inch in length. It then comes out of this mine
and makes a thin, white, silken molting cocoon (Fig. 62),
within which its skin is shed in a few days, and the greenish-
brown caterpillar feeds openly on the surface of the leaves
near the edges. A second larger molting cocoon is made in
about 4 days. Two days later the caterpillars appear in their
last stage and proceed to skeletonize the foliage for about a
Fic. 62. — Apple leaf showing mines and “molting cocoons’”’ of the caterpillars,
enlarged.
week, finally wandering about to find a suitable place to spin
_ their true ribbed cocoons early in July on the leaves, young fruits
or twigs and larger limbs. It requires 3 or 4 hours to build one
of these ribbed cocoons (Fig. 63). The pupal stage lasts from
1 to 2 weeks in these summer cocoons, most of the moths emerg-
ing by August 1 in New York. The mines of the young cater-
pillars are usually near the centers of the leaves, while most of
the skeletonizing is done near the edges and always on the upper
surface. When badly eaten, the leaves turn brown and curl.
The caterpillars often hang suspended from the leaves by silken
58 | FRUIT INSECTS
threads, and may be blown on to other food-plants near by,
where their cocoons are sometimes found.
In Maine there is apparently but one brood of this insect
annually, as the moths did not appear until spring from pupe
formed August 1. In southern New York, however, there are
two distinct broods, the moths emerging in July lay eggs early —
in August and the second brood of caterpillars work on the leaves
during August and September in the same manner as the first
brood. Being more numerous, the work of the second brood is
Fia. 63. — The ribbed cocoon-maker building its cocoon. Enlarged.
usually more conspicuous and extensive than that of the spring
brood. Eighty per cent of the cocoons made in autumn are
within two feet of the ends of the branches on the lower third
of the trees.
The summer brood is far less liable to be attacked by parasites
and diseases, moths emerging from 80 to 90 per cent of the cocoons
in July, whereas it is unusual for moths to emerge from more
than 50 per cent of the winter cocoons. Five tiny hymenopter-
ous parasites, Cirrospilus flavicinctus, Encyrtus bucculatricis,
Mesochorus politus, Apanteles cacecie and Zaporus sp., play
an important part in checking this pest. Many of the cocoons
are often stripped from the twigs by birds in winter, and in
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 59
summer the caterpillars are frequently found in webs spun across
the surfaces of the leaves by the spiders, Dictyna foliacea and
-Araneus displicatus. There is also a great mortality, sometimes
nearly 50 per cent, among the larve and pupe2 in the cocoons
in autumn, due apparently to some disease, causing them to
shrivel and become dry and hard.
Remedial measures. —
Sprays of whale-oil soap (1 pound in 1 gallon of water), the
lime-sulfur wash, and probably the miscible oils (1 gallon in
10 of water) applied thoroughly at any time during the winter or
early spring, while the tree is dormant, will soak through the
white cocoons and kill the hibernating pupe. Judicious prun-
ing and burning of infested twigs in winter would destroy
many. The application of a poison spray in the latter part of
June will kill many of the tiny caterpillars then feeding on the
leaves.
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 214. 1908.
THe Lesser APPLE LEAF-ROLLER
Alceris minuta Robinson
Throughout the eastern United States a small, pale yellowish-
ereen caterpillar, about 4 of an inch long, with a yellow head and
thoracic shield, often draws the opposite edges of apple leaves
together upwards and fastens them with silk. Living within
the shelter of this folded leaf it feeds over the inner surface,
_ often partially skeletonizing the leaf and causing it to turn
brown. Sometimes nursery stock and young orchards are so
badly infested, a majority of the leaves being folded and brown,
that from a distance the trees appear as if a fire had swept
through them, and much injury results. Older bearing trees
_ are rarely seriously damaged by the insect. Besides being a
serious menace to young apple trees, and sometimes attacking
i A ee ea
‘ tose as
60 FRUIT INSECTS
pears also, it is the yellow-headed cranberry worm, a destructive
pest of cranberry bogs (see page 462).
There are three generations or broods of this insect annually
on apple in the latitude of Missouri, but it is two-brooded in the
cranberry bogs of Massachusetts. The moths are dimorphic;
those of the one or two summer broods have bright, orange-
colored front wings, while those of the autumn brood have slaty-
eray front wings, often with a dusting of orange scales. The
moths have a wing expanse of about 2? of aninch. The third or
dimorphic brood, bearing the varietal name of cinderella, appear
in September and October, and hibernate in sheltered places.
In the spring these gray moths emerge from their winter quarters
and lay their minute, disk-like yellow eggs on the unfolding
young leaves. ‘Two or three broods of the caterpillars fold the
leaves during the growing season, the first working in May, the
second in July, and the third brood, where it occurs, works in
August or September.
A single folded apple leaf usually furnishes sufficient food for a
caterpillar. After feeding for 3 or 4 weeks, it spins a delicate,
silken web or cocoon within the leaf, and then transforms to a
small brown pupa about } of an inch long, and characterized
by a curious knob-like projection from the front of the head.
In a week or ten days these pup work their way about half out
of the folded leaves, and the moths emerge.
This apple leaf-folder has many parasitic enemies “Hi are
often effective aids in restricting its injuries. A Tachina-fly
and several hymenopterous parasites are known to prey upon
the caterpillars, and in Michigan a flock of birds, probably the
rusty grackle, have been seen destroying many of the pupe,
neatly picking them out of the folded leaves.
Remedial measures.
It is often practicable in nurseries and young orchards to
employ men or boys to go through and pinch the folded leaves,
thus destroying the caterpillars within. This should be done
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 61
_ early in the season when the first brood is working, so as to pre-
vent the development of later broods. The insect can also be
controlled with a poison spray. Spray thoroughly just as the
| eggs are hatching early in the spring, when the first leaves are
ae oe
unfolding, with arsenate of lead, 4 to 6 pounds in 100 gallons of
water. Repeat the application in a few days if necessary. If
the first brood is missed or not treated, quite effective work can
also be done against the later broods of caterpillars with the
poison sprays if applied just as the eggs are hatching.
REFERENCES
Forbes, 4th Rept. Ent. Ill., pp. 75-85. 1889.
Mo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 36, pp. 63-73. 1896.
Iowa Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 102. 1909.
THe APPLE LEAF-SEWER >
Ancylis nubeculana Clemens
This insect works on apple leaves in much the same way as
the lesser apple leaf-folder, but it differs much in its life history.
_ The greenish-yellow caterpillar is about 3 an inch long when full-
grown and has a yellowish head and cervical shield, the latter
with a conspicuous black spot near each outer hind corner.
These caterpillars hatch in early June, soon fold over a portion
of a leaf, and finally draw the opposite edges of the whole leaf
together upwards and securely fasten or sew them with silk.
- Within this hollow shelter they feed on the green tissues during
the rest of the season, becoming full-grown in autumn. Their
leafy home is then lined with silk and the caterpillars hibernate
therein in the fallen leaves. There is thus but a single brood
annually, the caterpillars transforming through yellowish-brown
_ pupz to the moths in about 10 daysin April. The pupe wriggle
_ their way through the back of the decayed leaves and:the moths
continue to emerge for about amonth. The oddly marked front
62 FRUIT INSECTS
wings of these Tortricid moths are white with brown mottlings
and shades, and have an expanse of about ¢ of an inch. ,
This leaf-sewer rarely does serious injury, but in a few instances
it has appeared in alarming numbers in orchards. in western
New York and in Ontario, Canada.
Well cultivated orchards rarely suffer from this pest, as most
of the hibernating caterpillars are buried with the fallen leaves.
The effective method of raking up and burning the leaves in
autumn would be practicable in some cases. A _ thorough
application of a poison spray in early June will also kill many of
the caterpillars then just beginning work on the foliage.
THE FRUIT-TREE LEAF-ROLLER
Archips argyrospila Walker
Recorded as common throughout practically the whole of the
United States, this insect is one of the most destructive of the
leaf-rollers infesting fruit trees. It
has been especially injurious in the
orchards of New York, Missouri and
Colorado, attacking apple, pear,
cherry, plum, apricot, quince, rose,
currant, raspberry and gooseberry,
besides about a dozen different kinds
of forest trees; curiously enough
peaches seem to be exempt from at-
tack. It is thus a very general feeder,
and it sometimes strips fruit trees
— and ruins many of the young fruits.
F Bag Gd, Eieeemass of the The eggs are laid in June on the’
ruit-tree leaf-roller on an
apple twig, enlarged. Herrick bark of the twigs in small flat, light
pHebo, brown or grayish patches, each patch
containing about 150 eggs and covered with an impervious ~
gummy substance (Fig. 64). The winter is passed in the egg
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 63
stage. The caterpillars hatch about May 1, and enter the
opening buds, where they roll and fasten the leaves loosely
together with silken threads into a nest within which they
66). After the fruits
_ set, they are often in-
growth in 2 or 3
feed (Figs. 65 and
cluded in the nests
andruined by the cat-
erpillars eating large
irregular holes in
them (Fig. 67). The
caterpillars get their
weeks, and are then
about 2 of an inch
long, light green in
color with the head,
legs and thoracic shield varying tea brown to black. About ten
days are spent as a brown pupa (Fig. 68) in a delicate silken web
or cocoon in the nest early in June. The moths emerge, and
soon lay the peculiar
patches of eggs on
the bark, thus com-
pleting the life-cycle
of the single annual
generation of this
leaf-roller. The
pretty little moths,
measuring about 2 of
Fic. 65.— Larva of the fruit-tree leaf-roller be-
ginning its nest on an apple leaf. Knight photo.
‘Wc. 66.— Apple leaf rolled .by the fruit-tree 3
leaf-roller. Knight photo. | an inch across the
expanded wings, vary
considerably in coloring and markings (Fig. 69). The front
wings are rust-brown in color, marked with bands and spots of
_ very pale yellow.
7
a
Vi SR al naa
64 FRUIT INSECTS
A number of hymenopterous parasites attack this leaf-roller.
Toads often eat many of the caterpillars that drop from the
trees, and red-winged blackbirds are efficient enemies in Colo-
rado. |
Means of control.
The leaf-roller has been found a difficult insect to control by
ordinary spraying with arsenical poisons.
Recent work in Colorado has shown, how-
ever, that over 95 per cent of the eggs can
be destroyed by one thorough application
ae
se
Fie. 68. —
Pupa of the fruit-
Fic. 67. — Small apples eaten by the leaf-roller. tree leaf-roller.
Knight photo. Knight photo.
of a miscible oil, one part in 19 parts of water, made early in the
spring while the trees are dormant. Efficient work against the
eggs can also be done with a 10 per cent kerosene emulsion
whenever for any reason it
is undesirable to use a mis-
cible oil. In case the eggs
have not been treated it is
necessary to resort to arsen-
ical sprays to kill the young
caterpillars. Use arsenate
of lead, 6 pounds in 100
Fic. 69. — Fruit-tree leaf-roller moth. gallons of water, making the
Knight photo (x 23). first application just as soon
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 65
as the buds begin to burst, and the second when the blossom
_ buds in the cluster begin to separate. This should be followed
by the regular spray for the codlin-moth just as the last of the
petals are pate:
REFERENCES
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 19, pp. 3-9. 1892.
Mo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 71. 1906.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 311. 1912.
Col. St. Ent. Cireular 5. 1912.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 116, Pt. V. 1913.
THE OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAY-ROLLER
Archips rosaceana Harris
The caterpillar of this leaf-roller varies from a light yellowish-
brown to apple green in color and is about ? of an inch in length,
with a brownish-black head and thoracic shield, the latter usually
with a whitish cephalic border, and often more or less green
bordered with black. It lives in a nest similar to that of the
_ bud-moth, formed by rolling or folding and tying together leaves
of apple, pear, cherry, plum, peach, rose, raspberry, gooseberry,
currant, strawberry, and several other trees, wild berries, red
_ clover, more than half a dozen weeds, and eats into growing
cotton bolls. The insect is common and widely distributed
throughout the northern United States, where it is sometimes
quite injurious, especially on apple trees. In addition to eating
the leaves and often checking the growth of shoots, the cater-
pillars sometimes attack the young fruits, either gnawing off the
skin or eating holes in them.
There are two broods of the caterpillars annually, the first
brood working in May and June and the second in July and
August. :
When full-grown, the caterpillars transform in their nest to
brown pups, from which emerge in a week or ten days the
F
Ds AOE SG ke ee ees
RE ec
,
66 FRUIT INSECTS
oblique-banded, light cinnamon-brown
colored moths with a wing expanse of about
an inch (Fig. 70). The front wings are
reticulated with brown and each is crossed
by three broad, oblique dark brown bands.
The females lay their eggs in flat patches
(Fig. 71) on the bark, and the insect hiber-
nates in this stage.
Fig. 70.—- The ob-
lique-banded _leaf-roller
moth, from life. Knight Fic. 71. — Egg-mass of the oblique-banded leafwallen
photo (xX 33). | Herrick photo.
A large ichneumon parasite, Glypta simplicipes, destroys
many of the caterpillars of this oblique-banded leaf-roller.
Tue Four-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER
Eulia quadrifasciana Fernald
This smaller, bright yellow caterpillar, about $ an inch long,
sometimes works on apple trees with and in much the same way
as the oblique-banded leaf-roller. It webs a few leaves together
and riddles them. The insect is widely distributed over the
northern United States, and has done considerable injury in
apple orchards in Delaware, working with the preceding species,
and has helped to nearly strip trees in Canada. The moths are
lemon-yellow, with the front wings reticulated with orange-red
and each crossed by two narrow oblique darker bands. They
measure across expanded wings about 3 of an inch, and have
been reared late in May and June.
These two Tortricid leaf-rollers can be cantatas by the
measures recommended for the fruit-tree leaf-roller on page 64.
and the other, usu-
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 67
THE APPLE LEAF-SKELETONIZER
Canarsia hammondi Riley
The small greenish or brownish caterpillars of this insect are
about 3 an inch long, with 4 black, shining tubercles on the back
just behind the head, and usually with a broad darker stripe
along each side of the back. They live upon the upper side of
the leaves under a thin web of silken threads, where they eat out
the green pulpy portion, leaving a network of veinlets and giving
the foliage a Peelwonazed and rusty or highly blighted appear-
ance. There are two
broods of the insect
annually, one work-
ing in midsummer
ally the more nu-
merous, in Septem-
ber and October.
Sometimes the cater-
pillars work gregariously in a nest of several leaves webbed
together. Pupation occurs on the leaves and the second brood
hibernates in the pupa stage. This Pyralid moth (Fig. 72)
has an expanse of about one half an inch; the front wings
are glossy purplish-brown, each marked with two silvery-
gray transverse bands.
This leaf-skeletonizer is most common in the Mississippi
Valley, where it is sometimes quite destructive in nurseries and
young orchards. It works practically only on apple trees,
rarely attacking plum and quince.
Two or three parasites attack it. As the caterpillars feed
openly on the surface of the foliage, they can be easily killed
with a poison spray applied as early in the season as their
skeletonizing work is noticed. | |
Fie. 72.— The apple leaf-skeletonizer moth (x 5).
Rabel Be oy
68 — FRUIT INSECTS
REFERENCE
Forbes, 4th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 58-64. 1889.
THE LEAF-CRUMPLER
Mineola indigenella Zeller.
Although widely distributed over the northern portion of the
United States as far west as Colorado, and occurring also
in Canada, this leaf-crumpler is usually most common and de-
structive in Missouri and the surrounding states. Nursery
stock and young apple or quince orchards are sometimes seri-
ously injured, and plum, cherry, peach and rarely pear may be
included among its food-plants. The partially grown, reddish-
brown caterpillars hibernate in a slender, blackish, oddly crooked
or twisted horn-like or cornucopia-shaped tube or case nearly
an inch long, hidden among several partially eaten brown and
crumpled leaves, all fastened securely to the branches. Early
in the spring the hungry caterpillars cut loose the fastenings of
their winter home and travel with the odd-shaped cases to the
opening buds and begin feeding. Several leaves are often
fastened together, and sometimes the young fruits are attacked
or the tender bark gnawed from the twigs.
When full-grown, in the latter part of May or early Fue
the caterpillars are about 2 of an inch in length, and of a dark
greenish-brown color, with the head and cervical shield dark
reddish-brown ; there is also a flattened blackish prominence
on each side below the shield. After fastening the crooked
cases to the bark and securely closing them the caterpillars
transform in about 2 weeks Lee ee reddish-brown pup2 to
Pyralid moths measuring about 75 of an inch across the ex-
panded wings (Fig. 73). The front wings are pale brown, with .
patches and streaks of silvery white. The eggs are said to
hatch in about a week. The young, brown caterpillars feed
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 69
preferably upon the leaves of the tender shoots, and soon con-
struct their peculiar cases of silk, excrement and other débris.
Additions are built on around the larger end of the case as the
caterpillar grows, and although rough exteriorly, it is smoothly
lined with silk on the interior. As cold weather approaches,
the cases containing the partially grown caterpillars are fas-
tened up for hiber-
nation. There is
but a single brood
annually.
Atleast three para-
sites attack this leaf-
crumpler and render
efficient aid in hold-
ing it in check.
_ As their hibernating quarters are rendered quite conspicuous
by surrounding brown and crumpled leaves, it is practicable
to hand pick these winter nests from the bare trees, and thus
destroy many of the young caterpillars. Over 140 have been
taken from a single 6-year-old tree in Oklahoma, and one man
collected 1584 of the winter nests in 4 hours.
The insect can be easily controlled also by the thorough
application of a poison spray just before and again just after
the blossoming period of the trees.
Fic. 73. — The leaf-crumpler moth (x 33).
REFERENCES
Forbes, 4th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 65-74. 1889.
Mo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 36, pp. 73-80. 1896.
THe TRUMPET LEAF-MINER
Tischeria malifoliella Clemens
Over the eastern half of the United States and Canada this
is often the most common and destructive of the insects which
70 FRUIT INSECTS
make mines in apple leaves. The full-grown caterpillars are.
flat-bodied, about 4 of an inch in length, without legs, light
green, with héad, thoracic and anal shields brownish. Their
brown, blister-like, trumpet-shaped mines about % of an inch
long are always made just beneath the epidermis on the upper
side of the leaves, being scarcely noticeable from the under-
side unless the leaf is held to the light. The mines begin at
the point where the minute, elliptical, greenish-yellow, disk-
Fic. 74. — Mines of the trumpet leaf-miner.
like, iridescent eggs are laid, the tiny caterpillars entering the
leaf beneath the edge of the eggshell. The mines continue
for a short distance as a narrow line, gradually growing wider,
and then often suddenly expand into a broad, blotch mine,
the whole having a trumpet-shaped appearance. The first
half of the mine is usually crossed by crescent-shaped stripes
of white (Fig. 74).
In the North there are two broods of this miner annually,
the first brood of caterpillars working in June and July and
ad
‘
,
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 71
the second in August and September. Four broods have
_ been observed near Washington, the mines being made in May,
July, August and September; the life-cycle of a generation
| was about 33 days. The transformation through the tiny,
leaf, which curls
greenish-brown pup occurs in the mines. In autumn the
mines are heavily lined with white silk and the little caterpil-
lars pass the winter therein on the fallen leaves. The adult
insect is a tiny Tineid moth with shining dark brown front
wings, tinged with purplish and dusted with pale yellowish
scales (Fig. 75). They measure across expanded wings only
about 4 of an inch.
pometimes:. the 7.2 ae
mines are so nu- SENEs ae es AN a
merous as to in-
volve much of the
i an
stil f t
Y } f) Ni i}
’
iy
and finally. drops 2 \
or 3 weeks earlier Fic. 75. — The trumpet leaf-miner moth (x 10).
than usual, thus
_ preventing the full development of the fruit and reducing
the vitality of the tree. Sixty-eight caterpillars have been
found working on a single leaf. On large trees, the foliage
_ on the higher branches is usually more seriously infested.
The favorite food-plant of this native leaf-miner is the culti-
vated apple, but it also breeds on native crab and haw trees.
The trumpet-shaped mines in the leaves of blackberry and
raspberry usually attributed to this insect are now considered
to be the work of two other species, the Tischeria enea and
roseticola of Frey and Boll.
At least half a dozen tiny hymenopterous parasites destroy
many of these miners, thus doing much to prevent the insect
from increasing to destructive numbers.
Remedial treatment.
As this insect hibernates on the fallen leaves, many of them
72 FRUIT INSECTS
can be destroyed by plowing infested orchards either in late
fall or early spring. Thoroughly cultivated orchards will
rarely suffer serious injury from this miner. Experiments
indicate that many of the larve and pupe can be killed in the
mines by thorough applications of 10 or 15 per cent kerosene
lime emulsion. Just as effective work with less danger of in-
juring the foliage could doubtless be done with “‘ Black Leaf
40’ tobacco extract, one pint in 100 gallons of water, adding 4
pounds of soap to each 100 gallons to make the liquid stick and
spread better.
REFERENCES
Brunn, Cornell Univ. Exp. Sta., Second Rept., pp. 155-157. 1883.
Forbes, 4th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 45-50. 1889.
Conn. (Storrs) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 45. 1906.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 68, Pt. 111. 1907.
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 87, pp. 3-9. 1910.
Some LESSER LEAF-MINERS OF THE APPLE:
The following four species of small caterpillars work as
miners in the leaves of apple, and while often numerous enough
to attract attention, they rarely appear in sufficient numbers
to do serious injury.
The spotted tentiform leaf-miner (Lithocolletes blancardella
Fabricius).
The tiny light yellow caterpillars, only $ of an inch long,
; als a small mine
= about 3 an inch long
son the lower surface
of the leaf, which
causes a slight crimp-
ing of the leaf, thus
Fig. 76. — The moth of the ee tentiform leaf- even the mine a
: miner (x 12). tent-like appear-
i
—S aa. =. ee
O48 Fas
+ the veinlets, so that
a ee ee ee
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 73
ance. From the upper surface, the mine has a spotted
appearance due to the caterpillars not mining out the whole
interior, but eating a little here and there in the mine. The
mines are finished in September, the caterpillars transform
to pupe therein, and the winter is passed in this stage on. the
fallen leaves. The minute Tineid moths which emerge in the
spring have golden brown front wings marked with white
streaks and spots and a black apical spot (Fig. 76). This
European miner is quite common on apple leaves in the
eastern United States, but has not yet been recorded as
doing serious injury.
REFERENCES
Brunn, Cornell Univ. Exp. Sta., Second Rept., pp. 148-150. 1883.
Theunspotted tentiforim leaf-miner (Ornix geminatella Packard).
The tentiform mines of this insect are larger, and distort
the leaves more than
those of the preceding
species (Fig. 77). The
grayish caterpillars,
about + of an inch
long, have a row of 6
black spots across the
head and 4 larger ones
across the dorsum of
the first thoracic seg-
ment. They eat the
whole interior except
the mine appears
brownish but not
spotted on the upper
surface. When nearly ,,, oe ne
Mines of the unspotted tentiform
full-grown the cater- —_ leaf-miner.
m
‘ Y .
Bs
Begs ;
eG FRUIT INSECTS
pillars leave their mines, and rolling over the edge of the leaf
feed beneath for a short time, then line these retreats heavily
with a silken cocoon within which they pupate. There are
several broods each season. ‘The tiny, dark, steel-gray moths
emerge in the spring and measure only 3 of an inch across
the expanded wings. This miner is widely distributed
across the northern half of the United States, and is ap-
parently more common than the spotted tentiform miner.
In some cases two-thirds of the leaves in orchards have been
distorted by from 2 to 4 of the unspotted mines, yet no very
serious injury resulted. The insect also attacks pear and wild
cherry foliage.
REFERENCES
Brunn, Cornell Univ. Exp. Sta., Second Rept., pp. 151-154. 1883.
Forbes, 4th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 51-57. 1889.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 180, pp. 1381-134. 1900.
The serpentine leaf-miner ( Nepticula pomivorella Packard).
The tiny, dark, emerald-green caterpillars, about 35 of an
inch long, make narrow, tortuous or serpentine mines, often
2 inches in length and less than 34; of an inch wide just beneath
the upper surface of the leaves of the apple and pear. The
first half or two thirds of the mine is broader and nearly filled
with a continuous zigzagging thread of black excrement.
The insect is quite common in Canada and the northeastern
United States. In October, the tiny green caterpillars are
sometimes seen hanging by silken threads from the leaves.
They soon find their way to the twigs, where they spin small,
oval, dense, brown cocoons about 4 of an inch long on the back,
often in acrotch. These cocoons resemble, and could be easily ~
mistaken for, Lecanium scales. In May the caterpillars trans-
form through brilliant green pupz to the minute, shining, pur-
plish-black moths with tufted, reddish-yellow head, that emerge
early in June. Thus far no very serious injury has been re-
corded by this interesting little Tineid serpentine miner.
b-
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 75
The res»lendent shield-bearer (Coptodisca splendoriferella
Clemens).
Throughout the northern United eis from Maine to
Minnesota often there may be found attached to the bark
of apple, pear, quince, thorn-apple and wild cherry trees curi-
r
f
_ ous little, oval, ssiggaeumatas seed-
inch long (Fig. 78). Bein. these
little shields or cases, fastened to the
_ bark at one end by a silken button,
~ there emerges in May a tiny, bril-
liantly colored, golden-headed moth
like, yellowish bodies about {5 of an
are 79). : The: basal-half of ‘the. -Pi-) 7% Mibemating, eo
= ses. Ul
coons of the resplendent shield-
front wings are leaden-gray with a bearer.
_ resplendent luster and the remainder
_ golden with silvery and dark brownish streaks. These beautiful
little creatures run about on the leaves in the sunshine and lay |
_ their eggs, from which hatch the tiny, light, yellowish-brown,
legless caterpillars about 4 of an inch in tenet. These make
an irregular dark- 2 pay blotch mine, about % of an inch in
| diameter, in the leaves and
By observable from both sur-
= faces. When full-grown,
the caterpillars line a por-
tion of the mine with silk,
deftly cut it out and thus
_ Fic. 79. — The moth of the resplendent form their seed-like shield.
hield-b x 10).
snie earer ( Dropping from the leaves
in July by a silken thread, they finally reach the bark or
the ground, or are blown to other trees, where the cases
are fastened. A second brood of the little miners works on
the leaves in September and during October they fasten their
eases to the bark and hibernate therein as caterpillars.
Several quite serious outbreaks of this tiny shield-bearer
wm Be ks
wa
an
te Part sos
Bering Mitra, on! A
ie i i oe
76 FRUIT INSECTS
have occurred at Washington, in Connecticut and in Michigan
on apple, quince and wild cherry, sometimes 25 or 30 mines
occurring in a single leaf. The bark of the trunk and larger
branches were fairly covered with the hibernating cases, 47
having been counted on a spot not larger than a dime.
REFERENCE
Comstock, Rept. U. S. Ent. for 1879, pp. 210-213.
Natural enemies of the lesser leaf-miners of the apple.
All of these little leaf-miners have enemies which are more
or less effective aids in preventing their occurrence in injurious
numbers. At least two tiny Chalcid parasites, Sympiesis
nigrifemora and Astichus tischeriae attack both the spotted
and unspotted tentiform-miners. Ants often tear open the
cases of the resplendent shield-bearer and devour the inclosed
caterpillar or pupa; two minute hymenopterous parasites also
attack this miner. We have bred a tiny parasite from the
serpentine miner, and many of the scale-like hibernating
cocoons have been found in the stomachs of chickadees. —
Remedial treatments.
In well cultivated and thoroughly sprayed orchards, leaf-
miners rarely become abundant enough to cause appreciable
loss, and special treatment is therefore rarely necessary. As all
of these lesser leaf-miners feed inside the leaves they cannot be
effectively reached with poison sprays. For the tentiform-
miners, resort to the treatments recommended for the trumpet
leaf-miner. Possibly a spray of “‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco ex-
tract, 1 pint in 100 gallons of water, to which 4 or 5 pounds of ©
soap have been added would penetrate mines and kill the cater-
pillars of the shield-bearer and serpentine-miner. When very
numerous many of the cases of the shield-miner could be scraped
from the trees and destroyed.
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE a4
THE SPRING CANKER-WORM
Paleacrita vernata Peck
Canker-worms are among the oldest.and most destructive of
_ American orchard pests. The term “ cancker-worme ”’ appar-
ently originated in England in 15380, and was used for several
different insects in the first authorized English version of the
Bible in 1611. As early as 1661, John Hull quaintly related
that ‘‘ the canker-worm hath for four years devoured most of
_ the apples in Boston, that the apple trees look in June as if it
~ was the 9th month” (meaning November). Several other seri-
- ous outbreaks of canker-worms were recorded in New England
_ during the next century. Although the scientific name of
7 vernata was applied to these canker-worms in 1795, and another
- name, pometaria, was proposed for some of the moths in 1841,
_ it was not demonstrated until 1873 that two quite different
_ species of insects had been masquerading as the canker-worm
- in America for more than 200 years.
__ Canker-worms belong to the Geometrid group of moths whose
q caterpillars are called measuring-worms, span-worms or loopers
‘ from their peculiar manner of walking. Although several
q kinds of these measuring-worms are destructive to fruits, often
_ working in the same orchards, the term canker-worm is restricted
: to the two distinct species recognized in 1873 and then given
_ the common names of the spring canker-worm and the fall
_ canker-worm.
Both of these native species often occur together in injurious
numbers in the same locality. The apple and elm are favorite
_ food-plants, although several other fruit and shade trees are
_ often attacked. The caterpillars appear on the trees in early
spring and work mostly during May, skeletonizing the leaves,
) which soon turn brown. In June badly infested trees or or-
_ chards often appear from.a distance as though a fire had swept
eS
be
rY Bt
3
Bs
F;
:
a
ut
‘
q
i
a
4a
78 FRUIT INSECTS
through them. Like many other insect pests, canker-worms
have their ‘ ups and downs,” or periods of increase and de-
crease. Usually their destructive period lasts from 3 to 5d
years or more before their enemies and climatic conditions
succeed in bringing about the “down” period, which may last
10 or more years. The defoliated trees grow weaker each year,
Fic. 80. — Canker-worm moths caught on sticky band while ascending tree
trunk.
mature but little fruit, and may finally succumb to the ravages
of the hordes of canker-worms. If disturbed, the caterpillars
often cling with their hind pro-legs and stand out straight, stiff
and motionless, this strange attitude giving them a protective
resemblance to the smaller twigs or leaf-stems; or they may
drop suddenly and swing suspended in the air by a silken cord
until the threatened danger has apparently passed, when they
se Wak, ee ue et, ae Niece OR aed are, - Sf Cm
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 79
resume their normal looping positions or ascend their ropes
somewhat sailor-fashion.
The male canker-worm moths have fully developed wings,
while the females are practically wingless, only short stubs of
wings being present. This lack of wings renders it necessary
for the females to crawl up the trees to lay their eggs, and affords
an opportunity to apply certain effective barrier remedial
measures (Fig. 80). The moths are active only at night,
and often ascend the trees in the greatest numbers between
7 p.m. and. 10 P.M.
We have seen hun-
dreds of the females
ascending a single
‘tree during the eve-
ning in a badly in-
fested orchard ; they
are little disturbed
by lights brought
near. Many of
them often secrete :
themselves in the ‘Fic. 81. — Spring canker-worm, male moth (x 2).
crevices of the bark
during the day. There are striking and easily discernible
structural differences between the spring and the fall canker
_ worms in all four stages of their life-cycles.
The spring canker-worm is common in Canada and in the
northern United States from Maine westward to Kansas, thence
southward through the Mississippi Valley to Texas. It also
occurs in California. It is the species most often destructive
in apple orchards, especially in its western range. The moths
practically always emerge in early spring, sometimes during
warm spells in February, but usually in March and April.
They may continue to go up the trees for from 6 to 10 weeks.
We have reared male moths varying in wing expanse from = to
80 FRUIT INSECTS
14 inches. The wings have a silky delicate appearance, the
hind ones being unmarked and pale ash gray; on the slightly
darker, pale brownish-gray front wings
usually three transverse, jagged, dark
lines can be discerned, especially on
the front edge of the wings (Fig. 81).
The egg-laden wingless females are nearly
4 an inch long and of a rabbit-gray
color, with white bands on the legs and
usually a distinct black stripe along the
middle of the back (Fig. 82). Both
sexes of the moths have on top of each
of the first seven abdominal segments
Tako ee ca aber two transverse rows of sharp reddish
worm, female moth(x2). Spines projecting backward ; as there are
no spines on the moths of the fall canker-
worm it is easy to distinguish the two species of canker-worms
in the moth stage.
A single female moth of the spring canker-worm may eine over
400 eggs, which she tucks away in small, irregular pits or clusters
in the crevices under bark scales and moss on the trunk and
larger limbs of the trees. The delicate, slightly ridged, oval
eggs are about =4 of an inch long
and of a dark iridescent metallic
buff or purplish color (Fig. 83).
The eggs hatch early in May, and
the caterpillars feed for about a
month on the pulpy portions of the
leaves, thus skeletonizing them.
The full-grown caterpillars are
about an inch long, slender, and ¥%- ®3-~~ Hees of) ie a
: canker-worm. Enlarged.
have but two pairs of pro-legs,
thus being readily distinguished from the fall canker-worms,
with their short third pair of pro-legs (Fig. 84). The spring
81
Fic. 84. — Full-grown spring canker-worms (xX 14).
canker-worms vary in color from a light mottled yellowish-
brown to a dull black. Their more constant characteristics
are a mottled head, a narrow yellow stripe just below the
G
82 FRUIT INSECTS
spiracles, and a wide greenish-yellow stripe bordered by black
lines along the middle of the venter (Fig. 85). Usually 3 narrow, ~
more or less broken, yellow stripes can be distinguished ex-
| tending along each side of
the body above the spir-
acles.
By June 1, most of the
caterpillars get their growth,
spin down from the trees,
and enter the ground an
inch or more, where they
transform in a simple earthen cell to the greenish-brown pup
(Fig. 86). There is but a single generation annually, the
insect spending at least 9 months, including the winter, in
the pupa stage.
Natural enemies of canker-worms.
Some of the caterpillars often fall a prey to several hymenop-
terous and dipterous (Ta- :
china) parasites, predatory
sucking bugs and ground-
beetles. Potter-wasps some-
times store their clay nests
with them, and other enemies
are mentioned in the discus-
sion of the fall canker-worm.
But.by far the most effective
enemies of canker-worms are
the birds. Over forty kinds
of birds, especially the chick-
adees, thrushes and warblers, 3
have been found feeding on fic. 86.— Pups of the spring canker-
the caterpillars, the eggs or worm. Enlarged.
the egg-laden female moths. Yet in spite of the efficient aid thus
rendered by the birds and other animal parasites, the cessation
Fic. 85.— Spring canker-worm, side
view (X 13).
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 83
4 of destructive outbreaks of canker-worms is usually due more
to certain obscure climatic or other local conditions. Early
spring frosts often kill large numbers of the young caterpillars.
Remedial measures for canker-worms. |
Although among the most destructive of the insect pests
of orchards, canker-worms can be readily controlled. Well
cultivated orchards are rarely injuriously infested with canker-
worms. Thorough cultivation during June or later kills, or
turns out for the birds or other enemies, many of the pupe in
their earthen cells or cocoons near the surface. Thus orchards
can be kept practically free from the devastating hordes of
these caterpillars by simply practicing one of the most essential
_ factors in modern fruit-growing ; namely, thorough cultivation.
Barriers of various sorts have long been used to prevent their
ascent or to trap and kill the wingless female moths when they
attempt to crawl up the trunks of the trees to lay their eggs.
To get the best results with these barriers it is necessary to
know which species of canker-worm infests the trees. If it is
the spring canker-worm, the barriers need not be applied until
late in February or during March, depending upon the early
occurrence of a warm spell. But in the case of the fall canker-
worm the barriers must be put on late in October and kept in
working order until the ground is well frozen; in some of the
more southern or warmer localities in this insect’s range, where
many of the moths often do not emerge until early spring, it
_ will be necessary to maintain the barriers during March and
_ April also.
Among the mechanical barriers, there are two simple devices
that have been found effective. But few of the moths can get
over a band of cotton batting several inches wide placed around
the trunk, tied tightly with a string near the bottom edge,
and the upper portion of the band then turned down over the
lower, thus forming an inverted funnel-shaped barrier. When
not kept matted down by frequent rains these cotton bands
a ; Me
84. FRUIT INSECTS
are very effective. A strip of mosquito wire netting, at least
as fine as 16 wires to the inch, and about 14 inches wide, tacked
so as to fit tightly around the tree at the top and held out from
the bark for half an inch or more at the bottom by a spiral
spring or nails driven into the tree, forms almost a perfect bar-
rier to the wingless females. We have seen such wire traps
nearly full of the moths in badly infested orchards. They
should be crushed under the wire each night, and it is sometimes
necessary to remove and empty the traps. While these me-
chanical barriers may be very effective in preventing the females
from getting on to the tree to oviposit, they often lay many
eges below the barriers, and in the case of the wire traps, the
young caterpillars may crawl through the meshes and reach
the foliage; the cotton bands, if kept fresh and fluffy, would
doubtless continue effective against the caterpillars. In apply-
ing such barriers all rough places on the bark must be smoothed
or filled so as to allow no chance for the moths to crawl under
the edge of the bands. Their effectiveness will depend largely
on their proper application and maintenance in a good working ~
condition while the moths are active.
Certain sticky band placed around the trunks of the trees
are just as effective barriers as the wire traps or cotton bands, ©
and they have the decided advantage of capturing and killing
the egg-laden females, and also of effectively preventing the
ascent of the young caterpillars that may be hatched below
the bands. Among the sticky materials found effective are Tree
Tanglefoot, a mixture of 5 pounds resin and 3 pints castor
oil (some add Venice turpentine, 3 pints to this) and printer’s
ink mixed with black Virginia oil or some similar heavy oil to
prevent its drying out too quickly. It is best to apply these
on a band of tarred or other heavy paper 6 or 8 inches wide
tacked or tied around the trunk and all roughnésses beneath
filled with cotton. Keep the bands sticky by fresh applica-
tions when needed. On badly infested trees it is sometimes
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 85
necessary to renew the bands or apply two, as many of the
females may be able to cross the band over the dead bodies and
wings of the males, which may completely cover the sticky
portion. The use of these mechanical barriers or sticky bands
are especially recommended on very large, rough-barked. elms,
or other trees that it would be difficult to spray or oultpvate
thoroughly.
If no effort is made to prevent the moths from Pee the
trees and laying their eggs, either in the fall or spring, the
voracious caterpillars can be killed with a poison spray in May.
This has been demonstrated many times, but only the most
thorough kind of spraying will conquer a hungry army of canker-
worms. The most effective work can be done by applying the
spray early, when the caterpillars are young and will thus suc-
cumb to asmaller dose of poison. Effective work has been done
with Paris green at the rate of 1 pound in 100 gallons, but an
-arsenate of lead spray, 4 or 5 pounds in 100 gallons, has some ad-
vantages. For apple trees make one application just before the
blossoms open and a second after the petals fall; if the work is
thoroughly done, further applications will be rarely necessary.
For shade trees, begin spraying as soon as the first leaves un-
fold or the young canker-worms are seen, which is usually early
in May.
Under the modern system of fruit-growing, embodying
thorough cultural and spraying methods, canker-worms will
rarely find congenial conditions for their nefarious and destruc-
tive work; in fact they now seldom attract the attention of
Eaeaercial growers.
REFERENCES
Peck, Nat. Hist. Canker-worm. 1796.
Harris, Insects. Inj. Veg. pp. 332-3438. 1841.
Ohio Dept. Agr. Bull. 2. 1903.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 68, Pt. IT. 1907.
Conn. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept: for 1907-1908, pp. 777-796. 1909.
rg
86 FRUIT INSECTS
THE Fatt CANKER-WORM
Alsophila pometaria Harris
Although not distinguished from the spring canker-worm
until 1873, this fall canker-worm doubtless has been injurious
in the New England states
for half a century or more.
It is now common in
Canada and throughout
the northeastern United
States, extending west-
ward into Ohio; and in
1891, orchards of apple,
prune, plum, apricot and
cherry were ravaged in
western California, ap-
Fig. 87. — Fall canker-worm, male moth (2). parently by this eastern
fall canker-worm. It is often de-
structive in apple orchards, some-
times working with the _ spring
canker-worm or on_ neighboring
orchard or shade trees; the two
species have worked separately for
several years on elm trees about a
mile apart near Ithaca, N. Y.
The fall canker-worm is easily
distinguished in all its stages from
the spring species, and differs also
in its life-habits. It derived its
common name from the fact that
the moths usually emerge and lay
their eggs in the fall, mostly in
November ; often a few, however,
Fic. 88. — Fall canker-worm, fe-
male moth (X23).
ite a 2!
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 87
and sometimes many, of the moths do not
emerge until spring. The male moths
are about the same sizé and resemble
much those of the spring canker-worm,
but their wings are of a darker smoky
or brownish-gray color; the fore wings
Fic. 89. — Fall é : 4’
canker-worm moths fig ar
layingeggs. Knight Fic. 90.—Portion of an egg-mass of the fall
photo (x 2). canker-worm, greatly enlarged.
have a distinct whitish spot on the front edge near the tip
(Fig. 87). The wingless female moths are nearly 4 an inch
in length and of a uniform brown-
ish-ash color (Fig. 88). There
are no spines on the bodies of
either the male
or female fall
canker-worm
moths. The dark
grayish eggs re-
semble tiny
flower-pots or in-
Fic. 91.— Eggs of verted truncated
_ the fall canker-worm, cones, the flat-
‘ side view, greatly en- Fie. 92.— Fall canker-worm,
: larged. ; tened steel-gray full-grown caterpillar (x 2).
88 FRUIT INSECTS
top marked by a darker ring and
central spot (Figs. 90 and 91). They
are laid in exposed positions on the
bark (Fig. 89), mostly on the twigs,
in flattened masses of from 100 to
over 400, and are set close together
on end in quite regular rows.
The eggs hatch in April or May
when the buds are opening, and the
caterpillars work on the foliage for
about a month in the same manner
as the spring canker-worms. The
full-grown fall canker-worms are
about an inch in length, slender,
of a general black color with the
venter and all the legs light apple
green (Figs. 92 and 93). Just below
the spiracles there is a stripe of light
lemon yellow, and above them on
each side of the body are three nar-
= rower whitish stripes. There are
Fig. 93.— Fall canker-worms 3 pairs of pro-legs, but the first
(x 19). pair are much smaller and are not
used when the caterpillar loops or
spans in walking. About June 1,
most of the caterpillars spin down
from the trees and enter the ground
from 1 to 4 inches, where they con-
struct a thin but dense and tough
silken cocoon in which the greenish-
brown, somewhat tender pup
(Fig. 94) remain until November,
or sometimes until the next spring. Hye. 94. Pape af Gall come
There is only one brood annually. worm. Enlarged.
res
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 89
Natural. enemies. ;
The eggs are sometimes devoured by a mite, Nothrus ovivorus,
or a minute parasitic chalcid fly may develop in them. The
| chickadees often find many of the eggs or the egg-laden female
- moths on the bark. The caterpillars are attacked by a Tachina
fly, and the same ground beetles and birds that devour the
caterpillars of the spring canker-worm also include this species
~ in their menu.
Remedial measures. |
The remedial treatments for the fall canker-worm are the
same as recommended for the spring canker-worm, but the sticky
band or other barrier for preventing the ascent of the wingless
- female moths must be applied in the fall, in October, and kept
Oe A
~ in working condition until December, then renewed in Febru-
_ ary or March to get the belated ones that may not emerge until
spring.
Further details regarding the habits, natural enemies and
- remedial treatments for this species, will be found in the pre-
- ceding more extended account of the spring canker-worm.
THe LIME-TREE SPAN-WORM
Erannis tiliaria Harris
This native American insect is widely distributed and com-
~ mon in apple orchards, and on basswood, elm and other forest
trees. It often works with both the spring and fall canker-
worms in orchards, but is rarely so numerous and injurious.
The moths appear in November and are active at night only.
The practically wingless, yellowish-white females, nearly 4
an inch long, are marked with two rows of black spots down the
back (Fig. 95). The light, rusty buff-colored front wings of the
male moth expand about 14 inches and are crossed by two nar-
row, wavy, darker stripes; the hind wings are much lighter
90 FRUIT INSECTS
(Fig. 96). The females
crawl up the trees and lay
their oval, light greenish-
yellow, finely pitted eggs
(Fig. 97) from 1 to 5 in
a place tucked away out of
sight beneath the scaly bark
or in crevices on the trunk
and larger limbs. The eggs
hatch in early spring, often —
in April, and some of the
caterpillars continue feed-
ing until nearly the middle
of June. When full-grown
they are nearly 14 inches
long and the skin has a
Fic. 95.— The lime-tree span-worm, female rough velvety appearance.
qn (ie ae The head is rusty red in
color and much roughened. Along the back extend 10 narrow,
crinkly, black stripes separated by similar light yellow stripes,
the yellow rarely predominating. A broad lemon yellow
stigmal stripe extends along each side, and the underside of
the body, including the two
pairs of pro-legs, is light yellow-
ish-white in color (Fig. 98).
Fic. 96. — The lime-tree span-worm, Fic. 97.— Eggs of the lime-tree span-
male moth. worm. Enlarged.
a
Fie. 98. — Three views of the lime-tree span-worm caterpillar (x 14).
Early in June the caterpillars are quite restless, and finally
go into the ground an inch or more, where they transform to
brown pupe (Fig. 99) in simple, earthen cells. Some of them
pupate in May. There is but a single generation annually,
the pupa stage continuing until November. |
fe V he . is 7
ee prea aly)
i: “eA ea
92, FRUIT INSECTS
Birds, especially the bluejay, get many of the
caterpillars. The fiery and rummaging ground-
beetles (Calosoma calidum and_ scrutator) also
climb the infested trees and capture them.
Remedial treatment.
As its habits and life history are similar to
those of the fall canker-worm, this lime-tree
measuring-worm can be controlled by the same
barrier and spraying methods. About a week
before they go into the ground to transform,
these large caterpillars are very restless and often
either drop or are blown from the trees to the
ground. In their wanderings and attempts to
Fie. 99. —
Pupa of the :
lime-tree span- get on to the trees again, many have been caught
worm. En- in the wire-screen barriers applied earlier to pre-
larged.
oe vent the ascent of the spring canker-worm moths.
THe Mortrriep UMBER-MOTH
Erannis defoliaria Clerck
This common and destructive European orchard pest has
established itself in British Columbia, and since 1893 it has been
more or less destructive in plum and cherry orchards. The
caterpillars are general feeders on various fruit and shade trees
and often gnaw into unripe cherries in England. The life
history and habits of this mottled umber-moth are very simi-
lar to those of the American lime-tree span-worm, the moths
emerging in November and the caterpillars working in June
and early July in British Columbia.
The European insect differs but little from the native species.
The wingless females are brownish with rows of brown instead
of black spots, and the dull ochre-brown front wings of the
males are crossed by two wider dark waved bands, while the
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 93
pale hind wings as well as the front ones are mottled with brown
dots. Descriptions and figures of the caterpillars indicate
that they are much like the lime-tree span-worms; the dorsal
- region is described as reddish-brown instead of yellow between
- the black stripes and the spiracles are in the center of blotches
of reddish-brown.
4 A Tachina fly parasite is killing some of the caterpillars in
4 British Columbia. This imported pest will doubtless succumb
to the same remedial treatment as the native species.
BrucrE’s MEASURING-WORM .
Rachela bruceata Hulst
q _ This insect was first described from western New York in
1886, where a few years later it was quite injurious in apple
orchards and on maple trees.
- Millions of the caterpillars ap-—
_ peared in Alberta, Canada, in
_ 1902, and the following year
- hundreds of acres of. American
_ aspen or poplar trees were de-
4 nuded in June. The moths have
_ been found in British Columbia
also. :
The wingless female moths are
_ about one third of an inch long,
4 light brownish-gray, and closely
- resemble the females of the fall :
m f : : : Fie. 100.— Bruce’s measuring-worm,
_ canker-worm, differing in being female moth (x 4).
_ only about two thirds as large
‘ and in having slightly longer stubs of wings (Fig. 100). The
_ winged male moths have a wing expanse of about 14 inches
_ and are of a general very pale brownish color, the wing veins
94 FRUIT INSECTS
being quite distinctly outlined by darker scales (Fig. 101). The
moths emerge and go up the trees for egg-laying at night in
October and November. The reddish-orange, oval, finely pitted
Fie. 101. — Bruce’s measuring-worm, male Fic. 102. — Eggs of Bruce’s
moth (x 13). measuring-worm. Enlarged.
eggs (Fig. 102) are usually laid singly where readily seen in the
crevices of bark scales on the trunk and larger branches (Fig. 103).
The eggs hatch in April, or as soon as the buds begin to open.
The young canker-worms
often bore into the buds and
continue feeding for 4 or 5
weeks. They seem to be par-
ticularly fond of the opening
flower buds on apple, and
thus often ruin a prospective
crop. The full-grown Bruce’s
canker-worms are about 2 of
an inch long and of a general
Fie. 103. — Eggs of Bruce’s measur- apple green color, with three
ing-worm tucked behind a bit of lichen narrow yellowish-white stripes
on a tree trunk. Enlarged. :
along each side of the body
(Fig. 104). There are two pairs of pro-legs, and the head,
thoracic and anal shields, and a large spot on the anal pro-legs,
)
|
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 95
2 are usually blackish, but sometimes nearly concolorous with the
body in lighter colored specimens.
Fic. 104. — Bruce’s measuring-worm, full-grown caterpillars, slightly enlarged.
By June 1, and sometimes a month before in earlier seasons,
these canker-worms all enter the ground a short distance, and
96 FRUIT INSECTS
in a slight silk-lined cocoon (Fig. 105) they soon transform to
light brown .pupe (Fig. 104) from which the moths do not
emerge until autumn. Like the other
kinds of measuring-worms known as can-
ker-worms, there is thus but a single gen-
eration of this species annually. It ap-
Fig. 104 a. —
Pupa of Bruce’s
measuring-worm.
Enlarged. Fic. 105. — Cocoon of Bruce’s measuring-worm.
parently gets through with its destructive work a little earlier
in the spring than the other canker-worms, and evinces a special
fondness for the blossom buds. It can be controlled by the
remedial measures recommended for the fall canker-worms.
THE HALF-WINGED GEOMETER
Phigalia titea Cramer
About 1898 several kinds of canker-worms devastated apple
orchards in western New York, and among them was this species,
which we have designated the half-winged canker-worm, be- -
cause of the nearly half developed condition of the wings of the
female moths. The insect is widely distributed from New York
to Minnesota and includes among its food-plants, apple, black-
berry, rose and several forest trees. It is rarely very numerous,
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 97
, but the peculiar cater-
pillars and female moths
often attract the atten-
tion of the orchardist.
The male moths are pale
ash gray with 3 blackish-
brown, narrow, trans-
verse stripes across the
front wings which expand
nearly 14 inches; the an-
tenne are strongly pec-
Fic. 106. — The half-winged aegmieter: male
moth (xX 1%).
tinated (Fig. 106). The females are about 2 of an inch long,
the hind wings reach to the second abdominal segment, and
_ the body is clothed with a mixture of black, brown and white
scales, the lighter scales predominating on the wings and
yam
underside (Fig. 107).
The moths emerge and go up the
Fic. 107.— The half-winged zeometer, female
moth (xX 23).
H
trees at night in March
and April, and one fe-
male may lay 600 eggs.
' The slightly egg-shaped
greenish eggs have a firm
shell covered with a net-
work of fine ridges form-
ing 6-sided areas (Fig.
108). The caterpillars
are full-grown about the
middle of June, when
they are about 1} inches
- long, and of a general
violaceous-brown color
with a rough, _black-
mottled head. Hight
pairs of narrow, irregular,
black stripes extend along
< SE Se aed
re se
98 - FRUIT: INSECTS
Fic. 108.— Eggs of the half-winged
geometer. Enlarged.
the body (Fig. 109), the four
pairs on the underside being
less distinct and ending at
the first of the two pairs
of pro-legs. The hair-bear-
ing spots are elevated into
shining black papille, those
in the hind row on the first
four abdominal segments
being considerably larger.
These canker-worms pupate
(Fig. 110) late in June in
simple earthen cells in the
soil, and the single annual life-cycle is completed when the
moths emerge in autumn.
Fig. 109.—Caterpillars of the half-winged
geometer (X 14).
Paaeee ch Cerra Hh
Pupa of the half-
winged geometer.
Enlarged.
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 99
This half-winged canker-worm will readily succumb to the
game remedial treatments as advised for the fall canker-worm.
THe WHITE ENNOMID
~Ennomos subsignarius Hubner
This common and widespread measuring-worm often strips
various forest trees and shrubs, and it has also defoliated apple
orchards in Georgia and Kentucky. ‘The moths are snow-white,
_ with a wing-expanse of about 13 inches; the males have strongly
pectinate antennez. It is said that if a bird alights in a tree
_ where the moths are numerous, they suddenly drop like snow-
flakes to the ground for protection. The caterpillars also drop
at the slightest jar and swing in the air by their silken threads.
_ They are about 12 of an inch long, of a reddish-black color and
have two pairs of pro-legs and three pairs of small tubercles
on the back. The caterpillars transform through oddly granu-
lated, brown-dotted pupze to the moths in about 10 days in
May or June in one or more leaves rolled or loosely fastened
together. The snow-white moths appear mostly in June and
lay their pouch-shaped, greenish-olive eggs in large patches
of a hundred or more on the undersides of the upper branches
of the trees. The eggs are set on their rounded ends, the top
being cut off rather squarely and marked with a narrow, white,
oval ring surrounding a darker area. There is but one genera-
tion annually, and about 9 months are spent in the egg stage,
the eggs hibernating and hatching in April or May.
This measuring-worm can be readily controlled in orchards
by thoroughly spraying the trees in May when the caterpillars
are small with arsenate of lead, 5 pounds in 100 gallons of water.
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 286. 1910.
aan
59 gv
100 FRUIT INSECTS
THE WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK-MOTH
Hemerocampa leucostigma Smith and Abbot
There are three species of these tussock-moths that may
injuriously infest orchards. Two of these are native American
insects and one is an old and common European species.
Fic. 111. — Caterpillar of the white-marked tussock-moth, full-grown (X13). %
With their many hairs arranged in striking pencils, tufts
and tussocks or brushes, the caterpillars of the white-marked
tussock-moth present a very handsome and characteristic
appearance (Fig. 111). They are about 14 inches long when
full-grown and of a general dark gray color with a broad vel-
vety black band bordered by yellow stripes on the back and a
similar yellow stripe along each side below the spiracles. The —
head, thoracic shield and two raised glands on the back of the
6th and 7th abdominal segments are bright vermilion-red.
Their striking characteristics are dense, brush-like, cream-
colored tufts or tussocks of hairs on the back of each of the first
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 101
four abdominal segments, and
pencils of long plume-tipped black
hairs projecting from each side
of the first thoracic segment and
from the back of the eighth
abdominal segment. These
strikingly beautiful caterpillars
are common in orchards, espe-
cially on apple, pear, quince and
plum trees, in Canada and over
the eastern half of the United
States. Considerable injury often
Fic. 112. Pupz of the white-
marked tussock-moth. Enlarged.
results from their work on the foliage in orchards, and
in one case 25 per cent of the apples were ruined by the
caterpillars gnawing into the sides.
Fig. 113. — Female white-marked tussock-
moths depositing egg-masses on cocoons.
But the insect often be-
comes a far more de-
structive and formidable
pest in cities and towns
on shade trees, especially
the horse chestnut, pop-
lar and elm.
In the North there is
but a single annual brood,
but in southern New
York and southward
there are two or three
broods. The caterpillars
feed mostly from the un-
derside of the leaves dur-
ing June, and in July
they transform to pup
(Fig. 112) in their silken
cocoons, in which their
long hairs are _ inter-
102 FRUIT INSECTS Hea 3S og
woven, on the bark in the crotches of the trees or on fences
or houses near by. In about two weeks the moths emerge.
The hairy, grub-like, light-grayish females have mere stubs
of mane and usually remain on their empty cocoons until
after they mate and lay a
mass of from 150 to over 700
- eggs thereon (Fig. 113). The
nearly spherical, yellowish-
white eggs are covered by a
mass of conspicuous white,
frothy material. The ashy-
gray colored male moths have
feathery antenne and well
developed wings, which ex-
pand about 12 inches (Fig.
Fic. 114. — Male white-marked tussock- 114). The front hibit ae ac
moth. crossed by undulated bands
of darker shades and bear a
conspicuous white spot near the anal angle, hence the name
leucostigma or white-marked. The winter is always passed
in the egg stage, the caterpillars hatching late in _ in
New York.
Natural enemies.
This tussock-moth is beset by many enemies. At least 10
different birds eat the caterpillars and doubtless do much to
keep the insect in check in orchards and the open country.
Several species of shield-bugs and the southern wheel-bug ©
attack the caterpillars and pupx; the pupe are also eaten by
small red ants. The grubs of two Dermestid beetles and a
species of mite may devour the eggs. And as many as 90 per
cent of the caterpillars and pupz sometimes fall a prey to more
than 20 different kinds of hymenopterous and dipterous .in-
sect parasites, the most effective of these little enemies being
Pimpla inquisitor, Chalcis ovata, Tachina mella, Frontina frenchia,
4
me:
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 103
and Euphorocera claripennis. Unfortunately, however, there
are 14 hyper-parasites which work on the true parasites and
C thus materially lessen their effectiveness. There. are also ter-
a: tiary parasites which destroy these hyper-parasites, thus pre-
: ‘senting a very complicated and interesting case of insect
parasitism.
Remedial measures.
A practicable and effective method of controlling this pest is
~ to collect and burn the eggs in autumn or winter. The grayish
: egg-masses are quite conspicuous on the bark and they are often
_ attached to a dead leaf or two fastened to the branches. Where
‘ shade trees are infested in cities, it will pay to employ laborers
to collect the eggs, and sometimes the school children can be
: induced to do very effective work by offering prizes or by paying
liberally for certain quantities of the egg-masses. The latter
method was employed successfully several years ago in Rochester,
_N. Y., during a severe outbreak of the pest.
Before they are half-grown the beautiful caterpillars will
succumb to thorough applications of a strong poison spray, such
as Paris green (1 pound in 100 gallons) or arsenate of lead (5 or 6
pounds in 100 gallons). One or two applications of such a spray
_ will usually control this pest. Later when the caterpillars are
larger, the poison is not so effective. As the caterpillars drop
to the ground by a silken thread when the tree is jarred, some
orchardists have found it practicable to capture them on cur-
culio-catchers or sheets. Or after jarring them off, they can
be prevented from ascending the trees by means of a sticky
rope band around the trunk. Treat the rope with a tangle-
foot mixture of resin and castor oil, as recommended for canker-
worm bands. 7
REFERENCES
U.S. Bur. Ent. Tech. Bull. 5. 1897. Parasites.
U.S. Farmers’ Bull. 99, pp. 14-31. 1899.
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 56, pp. 9-18. 1902.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 312. 1909.
104 FRUIT INSECTS
THE CALIFORNIA TUSSOCK-MOTH
Hemerocampa vetusta Boisduval
This native California tussock caterpillar has been recorded
only from that state, where it is common on live oak and yellow
lupin trees, and has injuriously infested apple and cherry or-
chards. There is but a single brood annually, the moths appear-
ing in May, June and July and laying their eggs on their empty
cocoons in light grayish masses covered with hairs from the
mother’s body. Some of the egg-clusters hatch as early as
February, while others may not until April or May. ‘The cater-
pillars feed on the foliage from one and a half to two months.
They have black heads, crimson hair-bearing warts and pro-legs,
and the four tussocks or brush-like tufts of hairs on the back are
often dark gray with brownish crests. The practically wingless
grub-like female moths have dark brown bodies covered with
sordid white hairs. The males resemble those of the antique
tussock-moth but are of a darker chestnut-brown color. The
general life-habits of this California tussock-moth are similar to
those of the two eastern species.
Natural enemies.
Tachina flies and other parasites sometimes destroy half of
the caterpillars and pupe, but the birds do not seem to eat them
to any extent in California. The grubs of a Dermestid beetle
devour some of the eggs, and others are parasitized by a minute
hymenopterous insect, 7'elenomus orgyie@.
Remedial treatments.
Poison sprays are reported as not very effective against the
caterpillars in California, the older ones after eating poisoned
foliage being able to transform to the moths. The measures
recommended are the collecting and destroying of the eggs
during the winter season, and the beating or jarring of the
caterpillars from the trees, then preventing their ascent with
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 105
REFERENCE
: TH feb aie
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 183. 1907.
THE ANTIQUE TUSSOCK-MOTH |
Notolophus antiqua Linneeus
This common European pest has been more or less injurious
in America on shade trees and in orchards for nearly a century.
It is often seen in
_ Nova Scotia, the
_ New England states
and also occurs as
far westward as
Washington. The
. eile resemble
‘ those of the white-
3 Barked tussock- Fig. 115. — The antique tussock-moth, full-grown
4 _ caterpillar.
a moth, but the head
is black, and the first two fuahigeks or brushes of hairs on the
ac aro black on the young caterpillars, but become whitish
in later stages (Fig. 115) After the third stage there is also
an additional pencil of long, black, plume-tipped hairs pro-
_ jecting from each side of the second abdominal segment.
In its life history this species differs but little from that of
the white-marked tussock-moth. There is a single brood
- annually in its northern range, the eggs hibernate, but there
is no covering on the egg-masses laid on the cocoons. In Eng-
- land it is said that a few of the eggs hatch at a time over a period
q of 10 weeks, but they seem to hatch uniformly in America.
_ The grub-like, practically wingless female moths have blackish
bodies covered with yellowish-white hairs. The males have
rust-brown colored wings, the front ones being crossed by two
hei te ie Mad Naa ESN ect suite ae Aa Ab sae
<> ts” an teem Se os ete
106 FRUIT INSECTS
deeper brown bands and having a very conspicuous white spot
near the anal angle.
This antique tussock-moth is attacked by many of the same
enemies as the white-marked tussock-moth, and it can be con-
trolled by the same remedial measures.
THE ORIENTAL Motu
Cnidocampa flavescens Walker
This is an Asiatic insect which was apparently introduced into
Massachusetts on nursery stock from Japan some time before
1900, but its presence was not discovered until February, 1906.
One of the peculiar cocoons of this moth has also been found
in an Albany, New York greenhouse on imported Japanese
maples. It seems to prefer to feed on the foliage of Norway
maples, but pear, apple and cherry are often infested, and it
includes a dozen other shade and forest trees among its food-
plants. The yellowish-red, slug caterpillars are armed with
rows of spiny tubercles or horns, and are about 2? of an inch long.
They hibernate in curious tough, smooth, oval-shaped cocoons,
a little more than 4 an inch in length, fastened firmly to the
bark, mostly on the smaller branches in or near the axil of a
branch. The cocoons are strikingly colored, with whitish and
brown often so mingled as to suggest certain oriental designs.
There is a brown lid at one end which is pushed open by the
pupa late in June when the moth emerges. ‘There is but one
brood annually, the cocoons being made in September or Octo-
ber. The pretty moths have a wing expanse of nearly 13 inches,
the head, thorax and inner half of the front wings above being ~
of a dull chrome yellow color, while the upper portion of the
outer half is light chestnut brown with a yellowish tinge and the
lower half is tinged with pink.
While the oriental moth belongs to a family, the Cochlidiide,
eee eae ts es bk aie eta
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 107
a the members of which are not usually of economic importance,
its natural enemies probably were not introduced with it into
this country, and it is maintaining itself and slowly spreading
in Massachusetts. Judging from its range in Asia, the insect
n live almost anywhere in the United States as far as climate
s concerned. Whether it ever becomes a serious pest in
_ America, especially on fruit trees, only the future can reveal,
but the probabilities are that it will not.
The caterpillars will doubtless succumb to a thorough appli-
cation of a strong poison, like arsenate of lead, 4 pounds in 100
gallons of water, and it would be practicable to prune off and
destroy the curious cocoons in winter or early spring on small
REFERENCE
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 114. 1907.
THe Fatt WEBWORM
a Hyphantria cunea Drury
The unsightly nests of this caterpillar are familiar objects in
: Be summer on a large number of forest and shade trees (Fig.
116). Economically this insect is of greater importance as a
_ shade tree pest in cities than as an enemy of fruit trees, but
_ occasionally its attacks on apple and pear are sufficiently severe
_ to cause considerable loss. It feeds on over one hundred differ-
_ ent trees and is distributed over ‘the Eastern states from Georgia
_and Texas to Montana and Canada; it also occurs in Califor- —
nia. In the North, where only one generation develops annually,
it only occasionally causes serious injury to fruit trees, but
from southern New York southward, where there are two full
generations, orchards are sometimes completely stripped of
their leaves. In the South it sometimes becomes a serious
enemy of the pecan.
The winter is passed by the reddish-brown pupz, 3 inch in
108 FRUIT INSECTS
length, in thin cocoons placed in crevices of the bark, under
trash, or just beneath the surface of the ground. The emer-
gence of the moths extends over a considerable period, from
early June until the middle of August in New York. The webs
begin to become conspicuous in July and are most abundant
in August (Fig. 117).
In the District of
Columbia the first
brood of moths ap-
pears soon after the
leaves are fully ‘de-
veloped; that is,
about June first, the
second brood occur-
ring in July and
August.
The moths expand
about 14 inches and
vary in color from
satiny white to white
heavily spotted with
black or brownish
spots. Some of these
forms have received
specific names, but
it is now generally
believed that we have only one species which is highly vari-
able. More recently Dr. H. H. Lyman has attempted to
separate two forms on the color of the larve, but the evidence
presented is hardly convincing. More extensive rearings are
greatly needed. :
The moth lays her pale green eggs in clusters on the upper
or under surface of the leaves, and covers the cluster with white
hairs from her body (Fig. 118). The cluster is about 3 inch
Fic. 116. — Fall webworm, beginning of a nest.
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 109
in diamcter and
contains 300 or 400
eggs. The egg is
globular, s45 inch in
diameter, and has
a delicate thimble-
like sculpture. The
eggs of the first
brood hatch in
about 10 days and
those of the second
in about a week
after deposition.
Soon after hatch-
‘ing the extremely
hairy young cater-
pillars begin feeding
Fic. 117. — Fall webworm, nest.
on the leaves, usually at the end of a branch, which they
inclose in a silken web. At first they feed only under cover
of the web, which is enlarged to-.inclose more foliage as
moth laying eggs.
Fig. 118. — The fall webworm,
there is need of fresh food. When
the caterpillars become larger they
leave the nest at night and feed in
the open. As food becomes scarce
on a branch, all or part of a colony
may migrate to another branch,
where a new nest is formed, or in
case the whole tree has been de-
foliated, they may crawl to another
tree.
The full-grown caterpillars (Fig.
119) are about 1} inches in length
with a broad dusky stripe along the back and usually with
yellowish sides thickly spotted with small blackish dots. A
110 FRUIT INSECTS
Fig. 119. — Full-grown fall webworm caterpillars. Slightly enlarged.
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 111
darker form occurs in which the yellow on the sides is entirely
_ obscured,.and the whole caterpillar is of a dull dusky color,
_ but all gradations are found.
Natural enemies.
Few birds feed on these hairy caterpillars to any great extent.
Among predaceous insects their most important enemies: are
the Mantis (Mantis carolina) and the wheel-bug (Prionidus
cristatus), both abundant in the South. Of true parasites
the most important are Telenomus bifidus Riley, attacking
the eggs, Meteorus hyphantrie Riley, Apanteles hyphantrie
Riley, and Limneria pallipes Prov., attacking the cater-
pillars. Good work is also done by an unnamed Tachinid-fly.
Unfortunately the efficiency of this series of parasites is greatly
lessened by the great number of secondary parasites, which
prey upon them. Under favorable conditions great numbers of
the caterpillars are killed by a fungous disease, sii tae gryllr.
Remedial measures.
In the forest we must depend on its natural enemies to hold
this pest in check. On shade trees in cities spraying with an
arsenical poison and a thorough and timely removal of the
small webs while the caterpillars are still young will do much
to prevent serious damage. Especial attention should be given
to the destruction of the first generation, thereby lessening
the difficulty of controlling the second. In orchards where
arsenical spraying is regularly practiced most of the first brood
of caterpillars will be destroyed. The webs should be cut out
or burned out with a torch as soon as observed. This can be
done most easily while they are small and before any large
branches have been included in the nest. The webs should be
destroyed during the day while biape a all the caterpillars
are within.
REFERENCES
Riley, Rept. U. S. Com. Agr. 1886, pp. 518-539.
Lyman, 32d Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont., pp. 57-62. 1902.
112 FRUIT INSECTS
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 56. 1902.
Felt, Forest Insects, I, pp. 142-146. 1905.»
Berger, U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 60, pp. 41-51. 1906.
Tue APPLE-TREE 'TENT-CATERPILLAR
Malacosoma americana Fabricius
The unsightly nests (Fig. 120) of this caterpillar are con-
spicuous objects on wild cherry trees and in neglected orchards.
Fic. 120. — The nest of the apple-tree tent-caterpillar.
This species occurs in the Eastern states and Canada, ranging
westward to the Rocky Mountains, where it is replaced by other
forms. It occurs sparingly in California. Its favorite food
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 113
willow and poplar. When excessively abundant apple trees
are frequently completely defoliated and killed (Fig. 121).
- Destructive outbreaks usually continue for two or three years
Pa
ay
we.
¥
Fic. 121. — Tree defoliated by apple-tree tent-caterpillars.
3
_ only and are then followed by a longer period during which the
species is rarely noticed. This periodic fluctuation is thought
to be the result of complicated interrelations existing between
the caterpillar and its parasites, and is a striking illustration
of the ups and downs of insect life.
I
114 FRUIT INSECTS
in the egg stage, al-
though the embryo is
fully developed in the
fall. The eggs are
elongate, thimble-
shaped, about = inch
long and are laid in
masses of over 300 to
400, usually encircling
a small branch as a
broad band (Fig. 122).
The whole egg-mass is
gn aieed covered by a brownish
ofthe apple eiuey rroth, whien
treetent-cat- protects it from the
pieaee a weather. About the
eggs. time the first buds open
the eggs hatch and the
young larve begin to feed on the
opening leaves. The larve are
Fig. 124.— Cocoons of the apple-tree
tent-caterpillar (x 3).
The winter is spent:
Fic. 123. — Full-grown apple-
tree tent-caterpillars (x 14).
social, and all those from a single egg-cluster remain together
and soon begin a silken nest... Sometimes when two egg-masses
Pranineet ee ie
i eg St a eo es uP Nl are
APPLE INSECTS— BUDS AND FOLIAGE _— 115
are placed close together the
~ two colonies unite in forming
a common nest. The nest is
at first small, but gradually
enlarges as the caterpillars
grow larger, until in some
cases it may be nearly two
feet in length. |
During storms and the heat
of the day the caterpillars
usually remain within the
nest, coming out to feed
early in the morning, in the
Fic. 126. — Male moths of the apple-
tree tent-caterpillar.
Fie. 125.—Pupz of the apple-tree
tent-caterpillar (x 3).
evening, or at night when it
is not too cold. The full-
grown caterpillar is about two
inches long, black with a light
stripe down the back and with
dots of blue and white along
the sides, and is clothed with
fine, soft, yellowish hairs (Fig.
123). When nearly full-grown
they wander from the nest, and
after feeding for a few days
more crawl to some protected
place and spin their cocoons.
The oval, white cocoons are
about one inch in length (Fig.
124). They are made of tough,
closely woven, white silk, and
are held in place by a few
irregular coarser threads. The
Jie | Si ae
eds wae
116 FRUIT INSECTS
newly made cocoon is dusted over with a yellowish powder.
A few days after finishing the cocoon the larva transforms into
a brownish pupa, 2 to 2 inch in length, which is clothed with a
brownish pubescence except on the sheaths of wings and legs
(Fig. 125). The pupal period lasts about three weeks.
Fic. 127. — Male and female moths of the apple-tree tent-caterpillar.
In New York the majority of the moths emerge during the
last week of June and the first week of July, and the eggs are
laid soon after. There is but one generation a year, from
July till April being spent in the egg stage. The moths are
dull, reddish-brown, marked on the front wings by two nearly
parallel oblique whitish lines (Figs. 126 and 127). The females
expand 1% to 2 inches; the males are slightly smaller and of a
darker brown.
Natural enemies.
The tent caterpillar is held in check by a long series of para-
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE © 117
Petes which prey upon it in the egg, larval ae pupal stages.
This control is so effective that for many years the insect is
rarely noticed. Then the time comes when, owing to the rarity
of the host, the parasites are reduced in numbers to a still
greater degree, and the caterpillars again have an opportunity
to multiply unchecked. The resultant outbreak may be very
- serious, as was the case in New York and New England in 1897
and 1899. Four species of parasites have been reared from
. the egg and over 20 from the larva and pupa. Birds and toads
also feed on the caterpillars to a considerable extent, and many
nearly full-grown larve die of a bacterial disease.
Means of control. —
In orchards which are well sprayed as for the codlin-moth
and curculio, tent-caterpillars are rarely troublesome. The
young larve are readily poisoned by either Paris green or
arsenate of lead. On peach and plum, which are not commonly
_ sprayed with an arsenical, it will pay to keep careful watch for
_ the conspicuous egg-rings while pruning. They should be re-
moved and burned.
a The nests may be Teed by wiping out with the hands.
It should be done while the caterpillars are at home, which is
usually the case during stormy weather and in the heat of the
is day. Burning out the nests is not to be recommended as there
is danger of injuring the tree; burned areas in the bark often
develop cankers that may destroy the whole branch. :
The wild cherry is the favorite food-plant of this insect.
When growing along roadsides and fences and in other waste
places these trees are usually worthless and should be cut down,
as they serve as centers of infestation for near-by orchards.
REFERENCES
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 152, pp. 279-297. 1898.
Conn. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 139. 1902.
N.H. Agr. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 6. 1903. Parasites.
118 FRUIT INSECTS
THE WESTERN TENT-CATERPILLAR
Malacosoma fragilis Stretch
From the Rocky Mountains westward the apple-tree tent-
caterpillar is replaced by a number of forms all very much alike
in habits and in the form and coloration of the moths. The
caterpillars, however, are different. From the Rockies to the
Sierras and from Mexico to Canada the dominant form is
M. fragilis. It forms a
web like its eastern rela-
tive and has a similar life
history.
In Colorado the larve
become full-grown by July
1, and the moths emerge
and lay their eggs during
the latter part of the
month. The full-grown
larva is similar to the
eastern form but is pale
blue or blue-gray on the sides, and the median line has a
row of bluish spots instead of the whitish line (Fig. 128).
The species is single brooded. The larve feed on apple, wil-
low, poplar, wild cherry, wild rose and wild gooseberry.
Control.
The same remedial measures are suggested for this species
as for the apple-tree tent-caterpillar.
Another species, Malacosoma pluvialis Dyar occurs in the
Pacific Northwest. Very little is known concerning it except
that in habits and life history it does not differ greatly from the
other species.
Fic. 128. — Western tent-caterpillars.
REFERENCE
Ore. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 33. 1894.
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE — 119
Tue Forest TENT-CATERPILLAR
Malacosoma disstria Hiibner
__ The common name of this species is a misnomer, for the cater-
pillars do not construct a true tent, as in the case of the pre-
ceding species. It is closely related to the apple-tree tent-
caterpillar, and has a similar life history, but its habits are
decidedly different. Its range extends throughout the United
States and Canada and it has been reported from Mexico. It
is naturally a forest in- |
sect, the maple being
its favorite food plant.
When unusually abun-
dant, however, it attacks
a large number of trees
and shrubs, and in the
orchard feeds on the
oeP le, plum, ‘pea ch, Fic. 129. — Egg-rings of the forest tent-cater-
cherry and pear. Severe pillar.
outbreaks occur at
rather long intervals and usually last for only two or three
3 years. In 1898 and 1899 a very extensive and severe outbreak
occurred in New York and New England; the caterpillars de-
foliated thousands of acres of forest and did great damage in
fruit orchards. They also appeared in destructive numbers
in 1912 and 1913. .
The winter is passed in the egg stage (Fig. 129). The eggs
hatch in early spring and the young caterpillars feed in colonies
on the opening leaves. They leave a silken thread wherever
they go and in this way the colony frequently webs in some of
the leaves where they are feeding. These slight webs are not
true tents; they are never entered by the caterpillars and are
not used for protection. When not feeding or when preparing
120 FRUIT INSECTS
for molting the larve congregate in masses on the branches or
trunk (Fig. 131).
When the caterpillars become nearly full-grown they become
restless and wander
away to feed singly
forsomedays. The
full-grown _ cater-
pillar is about two
inches long and is
easily distinguished
from the apple-tree
tent-caterpillar by
having a median
row of wedge-
shaped or club-
shaped cream-col-
ored spots instead
of the continuous
median whitish
stripe present in
that species (Fig.
130). On the ab-
dominal segments
these spots are
broken into two un-
equal parts, which
gives them the ap-
pearance of a row
of exclamation
marks. In New
York the caterpil-
lars become full-
grown in late May and early June, depending on the season.
The cocoons are made of white silk, the outer layers being
Fie. 130.— Full-grown forest tent-caterpillars (x 14).
t of the cocoons are placed in curled leaves, but many are
1 ind i in other more or less protected situations. In New York
he Bist of July. The moths
similar to those of the apple-
ee tent-caterpillar, but the
yblique bands across the front.
ngs are brown instead of
hitish (Fig. 133). The eggs
osely resemble those of that
pecies, but the egg-rings are
smaller and more abruptly
rounded off at the ends. Each
ge-mass contains from 150 to
ver 400 eggs. The young cater-
illar becomes fully formed by
he end of August but remains
ithin the egg until the follow-
N Biural enemies.
The caterpillars - are ged
upon by several kinds of birds
and by toads. Two predaceous
beetles, Calosoma scrutator Fab.
and C. calidum Fab., feed on the
larve as do two of the sucking
_ bugs, Podisus placidus Uhler and
_P. serieventris Uhler. A number
of hymenopterous and dipterous parasites prey on the cater-
- pillars and are valuable aids in holding the pest in check.
The most important of these are, Pimpla conquisitor Say,
_ Fic. 131. — A mass of forest tent-
caterpillars resting on a tree trunk.
122
FRUIT INSECTS
|
Fig. 132. — Cocoons of the forest tent-caterpillar.
Methods of control.
In the forest little can be done to fight this insect. As a
Fic.
133. — Female moth of the
forest tent-caterpillar.
shade tree pest in villages and
cities spraying with arsenate of
lead, 8 pounds to 100 gallons of
water, while the larve are still
small, would be effective. The
cocoons should be collected when-
ever found and placed in a box
covered with 33; inch mesh screen,
which will permit the escape of
the parasites while retaining the
moths. In some towns children
have been hired to collect the
cocoons at ten cents a quart with
excellent results. ‘
\
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 123
In orchards where arsenical spraying is practiced, as for the
- codlin-moth, the young caterpillars are killed before doing
much injury. On small trees they may be jarred off on to
sheets or curculio-catchers and destroyed. When molting, and
during the heat of the day, the caterpillars collect im large
masses on the trunk and branches, where they may be readily
brushed down and crushed. After defoliating a piece of wood-
land the caterpillars frequently migrate to near-by orchards
in countless numbers. Banding the trunks with tree tangle foot
_or loose cotton bands will prevent the ascerit of these wandering
larve. The egg-rings are easily seen while pruning, especially
‘on small trees. They should be removed and burned, for if
thrown on the ground the young larve may be able to crawl to
the tree and so survive. |
; REFERENCES
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 159. 1899.
THE YELLOW-NECKED APPLE CATERPILLAR
Datana ministra Drury
In the Northern states and Canada apple branches are often
defoliated in late summer by colonies of black and yellow striped
caterpillars about two inches |
in length when mature; the
head is black and the next
segment is yellow, whence the
common name. While a few
colonies are found every year
they are only occasionally
abundant enough to doserious |
damage. Besides the apple, Fie. 134. — Moth of the yellow-necked
this caterpillar also attacks apple caterpillar. Nat. size.
pear, cherry, and quince, as well'as many forest trees.
124 FRUIT INSECTS
The moths ap-
pear in June and
July in New York;
they have an ex-
panse of from 12 to
2 inches; the front
wings are cinna-
mon-brown, crossed
by three or four dis-
tinct darker lines ;
the hind wings are
pale _— straw-color,
Fig. 135. — Yellow-necked apple caterpillars in rest- and the front of the
ing position. thorax is a rich
reddish-brown (Fig. 134). The female deposits her white,
ovoid eggs in a flat cluster of from 25 to 100 on the underside
of the leaves. The
young caterpillars
are chestnut-brown
in color with obscure
darker stripes. At
first they feed en-
tirely on the under-
side of the leaves,
but after the second
molt they begin eat-
ing the edge of the
leaves. The seg-
ment behind the
head now becomes
orange or yellow
and the body is dis-
tinctly striped with
Fic. 136. — Cluster of yellow-necked apple cater-
black and yellow pillars.
that it is easy to locate them. On small trees it
Pegs Sisal ice
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 125
and sparsely clothed with rather long whitish hairs. The
caterpillars always feed in colonies and soon strip a branch
of its leaves. When disturbed they have the curious habit
of bending back the front part of the body .
with a jerky motion and at the same time elevat-
ing the hind end of the body as shown in Figure
135. They become full-grown in August and
September, and enter the ground for a few inches
and there transform to brownish pupe (Fig. 137) a
> little less than an inch in length, without forming
-coecons. There is only one brood annually.
Control.
The work of these caterpillars is so conspicuous
_ is perfectly practicable to shake them off and crush eu. a co
them on the ground. On larger trees the young yellow - necked
caterpillars can be killed by spraying with arse- ae Stans
nate of lead, 4 or 5 pounds in 100 gallons of water. larged.
REFERENCES
Beutenmiiller, Can. Ent. XX, pp. 16-17. 1888.
N. H. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 139, pp. 213-215. 1908.
Tue RED-HUMPED APPLE CATERPILLAR
Schizura concinna Smith and Abbot
Feeding in colonies at the ends of the branches like the pre-
ceding species the red-humped apple caterpillar often attracts
attention in August and September. It is rarely a serious
pest on older trees but the caterpillars sometimes defoliate
young trees in August and thus prevent the proper ripening of
the wood. It attacks apple, cherry, plum, apricot, pear, black-
berry and a number of forest trees.
In the Northern states the inconspicuous grayish-brown
126" . FRUIT INSECTS
moths fly in June and July. The female has an expanse of
about 13 inches; the male is a little smaller and more distinetly
marked. The female deposits her white, nearly round, slightly
Fig. 1388.— Moth of the red- Fic. 139.— Egg-mass of the
humped apple caterpillar. Nat. red-humped apple caterpillar.
size. Enlarged.
flattened eggs in clusters of 40 to 100 on the underside of the
leaves (Fig. 139). The young caterpillars feed at first on the
underside of the leaves only, but as they grow larger eat the
3 edges of the leaves.
They feed in col-
onies and are soon
able to strip a
branch of its leaves.
When _ full-grown
the caterpillars are
an inch or more in
length; the head is
coral red, the body
is striped with black
and yellow or whitish lines and on the fourth segment there
is a prominent reddish hump (Fig. 140). The body is
ornamented with rows of blunt black tubercles, largest on the
Fic. 140. — Red-humped apple caterpillars feeding.
“yf igip Ea ae liee so ha See eas
na r 5 A :
ae TO
im
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 127
hump. When at rest the tip of the body is held in an elevated
position.
In the North, there is only one brood, the caterpillars ma-
turing in August and September. They construct slight
cocoons under trash on the ground and as a rule remain in the
larval condition through the winter, pupating the following ~
May or June. In the South where there are two broods, the
first brood of caterpillars may form their cocoons in curled
leaves. | |
The red-humped apple caterpillar may be controlled by the
_ measures recommended for the yellow-necked apple caterpillar
(page 125). j
REFERENCES
Mass. (Hatch) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 28, pp. 17-19. 1895.
Packard, Nat. Ac. Sci., VII, pp. 212-217. 1895.
THE SADDLED PROMINENT
Heterocampa guttivitta Walker
While generally distributed throughout the northern and
eastern United States this beautiful green saddle-marked
caterpillar had never attracted attention by its injuries until
the outbreak of 1907-1908 in New York, Vermont, New Hamp-
shire and Maine, where large areas of forests were defoliated.
It is primarily a forest insect feeding on the beech, birch, maple
and oak, but is also destructive to the apple.
In Maine the parent moths emerge the latter part of May
and during June. The moth has an expanse of about two
inches; it is brownish-gray in color and the front wings are
crossed by indistinct darker lines. The female deposits her
smooth, pale green, slightly flattened eggs singly on the leaves.
They hatch in about nine days. The young caterpillars in
the first stage bear nine pairs of black horns along the back;
the first pair back of the head are much longer than the others
128 FRUIT INSECTS
and branched like antlers, whence the name antlered maple
caterpillar, sometimes given to this species. At first they
merely skeletonize the leaves, but after the first molt, feed at
the edge of the leaf, eating out portions between the larger
veins. The full-grown caterpillar is about 13 inches in length,
and varies greatly in coloration. They are usually pale green
and have a conspicuous saddle-shaped mark on the third to
the fourth abdominal segments. The tip of the abdomen
tapers to a point and is usually held in an elevated position.
The caterpillars do not cling tightly to the branches and may
be readily shaken to the ground. They become full-grown
in about five weeks, having molted four times; they then |
descend to the ground, where, just below the surface or under
the leaf mold, they construct a slight cocoon of silk, within
which they change to pup, remaining in this condition until
the following spring. There is but one brood annually in Maine.
Control.
In the orchard the saddled prominent may be easily destroyed
by spraying the trees with arsenate of lead, 4 pounds in 100°
gallons of water, soon after the eggs hatch. In case the or-
chard adjoins woodland or other untreated trees, it may be
found advisable to band the trunks with some sticky material
like “tree tanglefoot”’ to prevent the ascent of wandering
caterpillars.
REFERENCES
Maine Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 161. 1908. :
N. H. Agr. Exp. Sta. 19th & 20th Repts., pp. 514-531. 1908.
THe Gipsy Mora
Porthetria dispar Linnzeus
The gipsy moth is a native of Europe, Asia and northern
Africa, where it has long been recognized as a serious enemy of
orchard and forest trees. There its outbreaks are periodic
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 129
and often very severe; vast areas of forests are sometimes
devastated and many park and orchard trees either killed or
seriously injured. It was introduced into Massachusetts in
1869 at Medford near Boston by a French naturalist who was
conducting experi-
ments with silk-
worms. Some of the .
insects accidentally
escaped and became
established in the
immediate vicinity:
but did not attract
particular attention
for about twenty
years. In _ 1889,
however, the cater-
pillars appeared in
enormous numbers,
defoliated many
forest, shade and
orchard trees, and
excited great alarm
among the residents
of the region. At
first the state at-
tempted to exter-
minate the pest, ex-
pending large sums
of money for that purpose, but in 1900 abandoned the proj-
ect and left the gipsy moth to breed and spread unmo-
lested until 1905, when the enormous losses inflicted and
the continued increase in the size of the infested area com-
pelled the resumption of repressive work. In spite of the
expenditure of immense sums of money by both the state
K
Fig. 141. — Gipsy moth egg-masses in a cavity in
tree trunk.
io FRUIT INSECTS
and federal governments, the gipsy moth has gradually ex-
tended its range over eastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island,
the southeastern part of New Hampshire and has invaded
southern Maine. Isolated colonies have also been found in
Connecticut, western Massachusetts and New York. It has a
wide range of food-plants, including most forest and fruit trees,
with the exception
of ash, juniper and
red cedar, and the
maples are rarely
attacked when other
food is available.
The caterpillars
seem to prefer oak,
willow and apple,
but will eat almost
any kind of foliage
when driven to it.
The winter is
spent in the egg
state. The egg-.
masses are roughly
oval in outline,
about an inch in
Fig. 142.— Full and partly grown gipsy moth Janoth. lisht brown
caterpillars. gun, 1g
. in color and covered
with hairs from the moth’s body. They are attached to
the trunk or branches of trees, or are placed in cavities in ~~
the tree (Fig. 141), in piles of cord wood, lumber piles,
stone walls and stone piles, or in any conveniently sheltered
place. Each mass contains normally 400 to 500 eggs, but in
cases where the larvee have been starved they are small and
sometimes contain only 50 to 75 eggs. The eggs hatch in the
spring just as the buds are bursting and the young, reddish-
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 131
brown caterpillars feed on the tender leaves, which they riddle
with small holes. As they grow larger they devour the whole
leaf with the exception of the larger veins. Until about half
grown they are able to suspend themselves by a thread of silk
and are thus likely to fall on passing vehicles and be transported
considerable distances. The larger caterpillars avoid the sun
&
Fig. 143. — Gipsy moth depositing egg-mass, and pupz in their cocoons.
as much as possible, feeding at night or in cloudy weather.
They become full-grown in about seven weeks or about the
first week in July. The full-grown caterpillar (Fig. 142)
_ averages about two inches in length; the ground color is dark
gray and there are eleven pairs of. prominent tubercles on the
back, the first five pairs are blue, the last six dark red. When
full-grown or sooner, if the food supply gives out, the cater-
pillars crawl to some sheltered spot, where they spin a frail
1382 FRUIT INSECTS
cocoon consisting of
a few threads of
silk, and there
transform to dark
reddish-brown
pupe (Fig. 148),
bearing groups of
yellowish hairs.
The pupal stage
lasts from a week
to 17 days.
As’ a fule, the
male moths emerge
Fie. 144. as Male and female gipsy moths. a little earlier than
the females. The male has a light brown body and the wings
are yellowish-brown; the
front wing is traversed
by four wavy dark brown
Imes. In the female the
body is light buff and the
wings are grayish white;
the dark brown markings
on the front wings are
similar to those of the
male. (Big: 744)... The
male moth has an expanse
of one and a half to two
inches, and the females
average somewhat larger.
The male flies with a
characteristic zigzag mo-
tion but the female is un-
able to use her wings n Fia. 145. — Calosoma sycophanta, a Euro-
Gi ee! d pean ground-beetle introduced into New Eng-
usually deposits her €ZEs land to control the gipsy moth. Enlarged.
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 1338
within 2 few inches of the pupal case from which she emerged
(Fig. 148).
In its native home the gipsy moth is held in check by its
natural insect enemies, both parasitic and predaceous. For
several years now the United States Bureau of Entomology
has been importing and liberating thousands of these beneficial
forms with the hope that ultimately they may be able to hold
Fic. 146. — Combing sticky bands and brushing down caterpillars of the gipsy
and brown-tail moths.
the species in check. Some of these introduced insects have
already become established in the infested territory and are
multiplying rapidly. One of the most promising of these is
a large green ground beetle (Calosoma sycophanta L.) shown
in Figure 145. In both the adult and larval state it preys on
the larve and pupe of the gipsy moth.
Means of control. 3
The control of the gipsy moth in orchards is not a difficult
matter. During the winter the trees should be carefully
gO) a nae
184 FRUIT INSECTS
examined for egg-masses and the eggs killed by saturating
them with crude coal-tar creosote to which a little lampblack
has been added as a-marker. ‘The work of destroying the eggs
can be greatly facilitated by having the trees properly pruned,
by removing all flakes of rough bark and by filling all cavities
with cement or covering them with tin. The trees should be
sprayed, soon after the eggs have hatched, with arsenate of lead,
10 pounds in 100 gallons of water. If the caterpillars are half-
Fic. 147. — Orchard defoliated by gipsy moth caterpillars, in July.
grown, it is advisable to use 13 or 15 pounds. It is very
difficult to poison nearly full-grown caterpillars, and for the
best results the spraying should be done while the caterpillars
are small. If the orchard is located near untreated woods or
other orchards the trees should be banded with tanglefoot to
‘prevent the ascent of caterpillars migrating from the untreated
area, when the food supply runs short (Fig. 146).
REFERENCES
Forbush and Fernald, The Gipsy Moth, Boston, 1896.
U.S. Dept. Agr. Farmers’ Bull. 275. 1907.
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 135
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 87. 1910. (Contains references to the important
reports on the gipsy and brown-tail moths published by the various
New England States.)
U.S. Farmers’ Bull. 564. 1914.
THe Brown-Tait Mots —
Euproctis chrysorrhea Linnzeus
This well-known and destructive European caterpillar was
accidentally introduced into Massachusetts in the vicinity of
Boston probably in the early
nineties, but did not attract
attention by its ravages till
1897. Since that time it has
gradually extended its rav-
ages so that now the infested
area includes part of Rhode
Island, the greater part of
Massachusetts, southern |
New Hampshire, southern -
_ Maine and extends into New
Brunswick and Nova Scotia.
The brown-tail moth has
been able to spread more ,
rapidly than the gipsy moth, Fig. 148. a ee sealer:
owing to the fact that the
females are good fliers, and when aided by favorable winds
may be transported to a considerable distance. Unlike the
-gipsy moth, the brown-tail caterpillars do not feed on
coniferous trees, their favorite food-plants being apple, pear
and oak. The caterpillars, and to a less extent the moths,
are provided with minute barbed hairs, which are poisonous
to the human skin, causing an annoying and sometimes serious
irritation known as the brown-tail rash.
oe a
00 eae
136 FRUIT INSECTS
The brown-tail moth has an expanse of about one and one
half inches; the wings are white and the tip of the abdomen
bears a tuft of yellowish-brown hairs, hence the name of the
insect. The males are a little smaller than the females, and
the brownish tuft is not so conspicuous. The moths appear
the first week in July, and in badly infested areas are often
attracted to electric lights in countless numbers. After mating
the female moth deposits from 200 to 300 globular yellowish
Fic. 149. — Brown-tail moth caterpillars, one in process of molting.
eggs in an elongate mass on the underside of a leaf (Fig. 148).
This egg-mass is about 2 of an inch in length and is thickly
covered with brownish hairs from the abdomen of the female.
The eggs are deposited during the first three weeks in July and
hatch in 15 to 20 days. The young caterpillars feed in colonies
on the tender, terminal leaves, webbing them together with
silk to form a snug nest (Fig. 150) two or three inches in length
within which they pass the winter in a partially grown condi-
tion, having molted two or three times before going into hiberna-
tion. These winter nests, usually situated at the tips of the
branches, are conspicuous objects while the trees are bare of
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 137
foliage. -In early spring, Just as the buds are bursting, the
caterpillars leave their winter quarters and resume feeding
on the unfolding leaves, and if abundant may keep the trees
stripped of foliage. They molt four or five times in the spring
and become mature toward the last of June. The full-grown
caterpillar (Fig. coe is about 14 inches in length, nearly black
in ground color,
clothed with tufts
of brownish
barbed hairs and
has a row of nearly
white tufts on
each side of the
body; there is a
coral-red tubercle
on the dorsum of
the 11th and 12th
segments. When
mature the cater-
pillars spin loosely
Woven cocoons in~
curled leaves,
crevices in bark of trees, or under any convenient shelter; they
are usually found in masses. The pupz are about 2 inch
in length and dark brown in color. The pupal period averages
about 20 days.
Control.
As an orchard pest, the brown-tail moth can be most readily
controlled by collecting and burning the conspicuous hibernating
nests during the winter months. The newly-hatched caterpillars
can be killed the first or second week in August by a thorough
application of arsenate of lead, 8 pounds in 100 gallons of
water. Attempts to poison the over-wintering caterpillars,
when they appear on the buds in the spring, are not so success-
Fie. 150. — Winter nest of the brown-tail moth.
138 FRUIT INSECTS
ful. The caterpillars often devour the leaves as fast as they
appear and it is difficult to keep the surface of the rapidly ex-
panding leaves covered with the poison; furthermore, the
caterpillars are larger then and consequently harder to kill.
If for any reason the destruction of the winter nests has been
neglected, and spring spraying must be employed, some good
can be accomplished by using arsenate of lead, 10 to 14 pounds
in 100 gallons of water.
REFERENCES
Fernald & Kirkland, The Brown-tail Moth. 1903.
U. S. Farmers’ Bull. 264. 1906.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 87. 1910.
U.S Farmers’ Bull. 564. 1914.
CLIMBING CUTWORMS
The sleek, plump, dull-colored, obscurely marked caterpillars
(Fig. 151), ranging from one to nearly two inches in length
and commonly known
as cutworms, attack
nearly all kinds of
field and garden crops,
and some of them
often climb fruit trees,
bushes and grapevines
at night to eat the
opening buds. More
than a dozen different
kinds of these climb-
ing cutworms have
been caught at their
destructive work and identified as follows: |
Fic. 151. — One of the climbing cutworms, Poro-
sagrotis vetusta (X 14).
The yellow-headed cutworm (Hadena arctica Boisduval).
The white-spotted cutworm (Homohadena badistriga Grote).
2 hia st) oS eA) ct SA aS ae
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 1389
The veriegated cutworm (Peridroma margaritosa saucia Hiibner).
The dark-sided cutworm (Paragrotis messoria Harris).
_ The white cutworm (Paragrotis scandens Riley).
The well-marked cutworm (Noctua clandestina Harris).
The black-lined cutworm (Noctua fennica Tauscher).
The mottled-gray cutworm (Rhynchagrotis alternata Grote). :
The red cutworm (Rhynchagrotis placida Grote).
The speckled cutworm (Mamestra subjuncta Grote and Robinson).
The dingy cutworm (Schizura ipomee Doubleday).
The spotted-legged cutworm (Porosagrotis vetusta Walker).
A species of Prodenia and Noctua baja Fabricius.
Cutworms develop from eggs laid by night-flying Noctuid
moths that are frequently attracted to lights in large numbers.
Light, loose soils are most often infested by these caterpillars,
and where there is a scarcity of low-growing vegetation they
will climb almost any plant, even to the tops of high trees.
As peaches are often grown in such light, sandy soils, both
young and old trees have suffered severely from cutworms in
various parts of the United States. The buds and leaves
of grapevines are also favorite delicacies for them. Young
apple, pear and cherry trees, or blackberry, raspberry and
currant bushes, or young shade trees and shrubs grown in such
soils are also often attacked. The half or two-thirds grown
cutworms, hungry after a long winter’s fast in the ground,
emerge early in the spring as soon as the buds begin to open.
Like thieves in the night, they crawl up the trees, vines or bushes
and from about. 8 p.m. until nearly morning continue their
destructive work of eating the buds. In some instances the
culprits have been first discovered on still nights by hearing
the noise made by the clicking of the hundreds: of tiny, hungry
jaws as they devoured the buds. Fifty cutworms have been -
found at one time on a tree set the previous year; from 500 to
800 have been counted going up the trunk of a 12-year old
apple tree in a single night; and 1500 have been taken from
such trees during the 2 or 3 weeks they work in spring. Young
140 FRUIT INSECTS
trees and grapevines are often stripped of buds and killed in a
single night, and the cutworms sometimes gnaw off the tender
bark of the twigs, -
or may even girdle
the trunk if pre-
/ vented from ascend-
ing by some barrier.
Towards morning
they drop to the
ground, burrow in
an inch or more, and
remain during the
day. Usually in 2
or 3 weeks, or by the time the trees are in leaf and blossom,
the cutworms become full-grown, cease feeding and soon trans-
form to the parent moths (Fig. 152).
Remedial measures.
Orchards or vineyards on the heavier soils are rarely troubled
by climbing cutworms. On the light, sandy soils usually pre-
ferred by these pests, keep the ground entirely free from all
grass and weeds for 2 or 3 months after July 15, so as to starve
out the recently hatched caterpillars. If some cover crop,
like rye, oats, clover, rape or cow-peas, could be sown late in
fall between the rows of trees, vines or bushes, and plowed under
after these fruits were in leaf, it would furnish the cutworms
something besides fruit-buds to eat and thus prevent much of
their destructive work.
A collar of cotton batting or wool properly put on the trunks
of trees or grapevines makes almost a perfect and a very cheap
barrier to the ascent of the cutworms. Unroll the batting into _
thin sheets and cut into strips 4 or 5 inches wide. . Wrap these
around the trunks, letting the ends overlap an inch or more,
then tie with common white twine at the bottom and carefully
roll the top of the band down over the bottom edge, thus form-
Fic. 152. — Moth of Porosagrotis vetusta (x 13).
APPLE INSECTS — BUDS AND FOLIAGE 141
ing an inverted cotton batting funnel around the trunk. These
barriers are not easily matted down by rains and a few hours
of sunshine makes them as fluffy and effective as ever. In
‘very rainy seasons use wool, which can be put away and used
for several seasons.
Entice them away or prevent their getting to the buds by the
above methods, then proceed to kill the culprits. Go out with a
lantern at night, pick off the few that are able to reach the buds
and collect or crush those trying to get up the trunks. As most
of them can be found during the day just beneath the surface
of the soil within a radius of a foot or two around the base of
_ the trees or vines, it is'an easy matter to dig them out. The fat,
sleek caterpillars will make dainty morsels for a flock of chickens
or other fowls. Many of these climbing cutworms can also be
poisoned with a mixture of bran (25 pounds) and Paris green or
white arsenic (2 pounds) and water enough to make a soft mash.
Cheap sugar or molasses may be added to prevent it drying out
so quickly, but apparently does not add to its attractiveness.
First put on the cotton batting barriers, then drop a few large
spoonfuls of this poisoned mash around the base of the trees
or vines at nightfall. Many of the hungry cutworms will eat
this deadly mash, either before they try to go up the trees or
vines, or discouraged by the barrier, return and feast on it.
Sometimes 90 per cent of them can be poisoned in this way.
Of course, all poultry and other domestic animals must be kept
away from the places where this poison bait is being used.
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 104. 1895.
CHAPTER IV
APPLE INSECTS — APHIS, SCALES, AND OTHERS
PLANT-LICE OR APHIDS
THREE different kinds of these small, soft-bodied sucking
insects may attack the opening buds, the foliage and sometimes
the young fruits on apple trees
(Fig. 153). Often two species
of these aphids work on the
same tree in the spring. Nurs-
ery stock is frequently seri-
Fic. 153. — Aphid eggs on apple twig. Fia. 154.—Apple leaf aphis on quince.
142
© ile eee a ey Se meet ee ad a a Cdl ‘i ¥ Tt ae , VE
GaAs Sie
ae aii ee
APPLE INSECTS 143
ously injured, the leaves being badly curled and the growth of
the tree checked. The aphids secrete a sweet liquid known as
honey-dew in which a black fungus de-
velops and gives the infested foliage and
twigs a sooty appearance. In large, bear-
ing apple orchards, these plant-lice some-
times appear in incredible numbers and
not only curl and kill some of the ter-
minal leaves but attack the young fruits,
preventing their full development and
giving them a knotty, stunted appear-
ance (Figs. 157, 158 and 159). The three
species of these aphids now common on
apple trees throughout the United States
are Aphis pom, Aphis sorbi and Sipho-
coryne avene.
The interesting and somewhat compli- — pyg. 155, — Newly
cated life histories of these plant-lice have hatched aphids clustering
not been fully worked out. The last two ae gaa ta
species breed on the apple trees for only a few generations in
the spring and early summer, then migrate to other food-plants,
but return to the trees in the fall, where the hibernating eggs
are laid. The first species remains on the trees throughout
the year. The wonderful rapidity with which these aphids
multiply parthenogenetically enables even those that work on
the trees only a part of the season to develop in sufficient num-
bers to do serious injury to the foliage or fruit before they mi-
grate to their summer food-plants.
Natural enemies of the apple aphids.
Cold, heavy rains, both in early spring and late autumn, re-
move and doubtless kill many of the aphids, thus often prevent-
ing serious infestation in orchards. Fungous diseases also
destroy large numbers under favorable weather conditions.
Several species of ladybird beetles, aphis-lions and maggots of
Nes, A. a?
aes
oe Va
oe ee
144 FRUIT INSECTS
Syrphus flies often reap a rich harvest of apple plant-lice.
These predaceous enemies, aided by several minute parasitic
flies, are very effective aids in reducing these prolific little pests
to much less injurious numbers. If it were not for these adverse |
weather conditions, fungous troubles, and insect enemies, apple
Fic. 156. — Dipping the tips of nursery trees in soap solution for the control of
plant-lice.
trees, especially large, bearing trees, would be much more fre-
quently overrun and severely injured by plant-lice.
Remedial treatments. 7
As all three of these common apple plant-lice pass the winter
as shiny black eggs, quite readily seen when numerous, and
laid mostly on the twigs, many of them could be removed by
aE Re CP me OR ag
seria) ial ede ares > .
APPLE INSECTS 145
judicious pruning, especially on young trees. Nursery stock is
frequently badly infested, and the dormant trees may be heavily
stocked with the eggs. It is sometimes practicable to crush
the eggs on a few young trees with the fingers or a thin wooden
paddle. The eggs are very resistant to the strongest contact
insecticides, like oils and soaps. Experiments indicate that
spraying to kill the eggs is of doubtful utility, usually enough
eggs hatching to :
abundantly — stock
the trees with
aphids. Thorough 7
- fumigation with hy-
drocyanic acid gas
is said to kill many
of the eggs.
After the aphids
hatch in the spring,
they are readily
killed when hit with
“ Black Leaf 40.”
tobacco extract, 2
of a pint in 100 gal-
lons of water, add-
ing 3 pounds of soap
to each 100 gallons to make the liquid stick and spread better.
One thorough application when the aphids are thick on the
opening buds will usually controi the more common apple bud
aphis, S. avene, which as a rule does not curl the leaves as
much as the other species. The apple leaf aphis and rosy apple
aphis, however, breed on the trees longer and often curl the
leaves, so that it is almost impossible to hit a majority of them
with the spray. Nurserymen often dip the infested branches
into the insecticide (Fig. 156), thus doing more effective work
than can be done with a spray. Several dippings or sprayings
Fic. 157. — Plant-lice clustering on a young apple.
146 FRUIT INSECTS
are often necessary to thoroughly control these prolific. little
pests. Usually the weather conditions in the spring, aided by
the insect enemies, prevent serious injury by the aphids on large,
bearing trees. When they do infest such trees in destructive
numbers and swarm on to the young fruits, the tree should be
Fic. 158. — Plant-lice clustering on young fruit.
promptly and most thoroughly sprayed with one of the insecti-
cides mentioned above. Such sprays applied in October would
kill many of the sexual forms before the eggs are laid. Nursery-—
men especially could thus strike a very effective blow at these
plant-lice and often prevent much of their destructive work
the next season.
. a
eS SS ee ee eee
Sees
APPLE INSECTS 147
Ture APPLE LEAF-APHIS
Aphis pomi De Geer (Aphis mali Fabricius)
This old and common European species was not definitely
recognized in America until 1897, but it is now widely dis-
tributed throughout the United States. It infests the apple,
pear, quince, and hawthorn. From the small, shiny black
oval eggs (Fig. 154) laid mostly on the bark around the buds
in the fall by the
wingless female
aphids, there hatches
in the spring, about
the time the buds
begin to open, the so-
called stem-mothers.
These are wingless,
somewhat pear-
shaped, bright green
in color, and give
birth to a generation
of green viviparous
aphids, about three ;
f tlh f hich a Fic. 159.— Mature apples, dwarfed and mis-
ourtns Of Whic €- shapen, as a result of aphis injury when small.
velop into winged fe-
males, the remainder being wingless with long, black cornicles.
The winged forms (Fig. 161) spread the species to other parts
of the same tree or to other apple trees. About half of the next
generation, and some of the later generations, may develop wings
and migrate, but the winged forms give birth to wingless vivipa-
rous females only (Fig. 160). This species lives on the apple tree
all the year, breeding continuously during the summer. Most of
these wingless, viviparous females are light green in color, but in
the spring some may have bright yellow bodies. In October a
oe ae FRUIT INSECTS
generation of true males and females, which are wingless, appear,
mate and continue to lay their shiny black eggs on the bark for a
Fig. 160.— Apple leaf-aphis,
apterous viviparous female.
month or more. The light green,
oviparous females have peculiar sen-
sory pits on their hind tibie and are
about two thirds as large as the par-
thenogenetic wingless summer forms.
The yellowish-brown males, with
blackish antenne longer than the
body, are one third smaller and much
less numerous than the females.
This species usually appears some-
what later in the spring than the
more common apple bud aphis, and
it is thus not so numerous on the
buds, waiting until the leaves are unfolded. As it breeds
on the trees during the whole season it may be more injuri-
ous‘than the other two species. Its work resembles that of
Fig. 161. — Apple leaf-aphis, winged viviparous female, third generation.
the rosy apple aphis, the leaves often being curled very badly.
In 1907 it was so numerous in many large, bearing orchards in
New York that it swarmed on to the young fruits in June,
checked their growth, prevented the normal June drop, and gave
“Bio ON a ELIA pi Ae gs
Sa RS 2 ay Es
rie fe
a PAY
vd °
APPLE INSECTS 149
them a knotty appearance, thus ruining them for market.
Apples dwarfed by aphis injury usually present a characteristic
puckered condition at the blossom end (Fig. 159). The rosy
apple aphis also helped in this destructive and unusual outbreak.
REFERENCES
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 148. 1900.
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. 13th Rept., pp. 130-136. 1902.
U. S. Bur. Ent. Cire: 81. 1907.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 133, pp. 23-28. 1908.
Tue Rosy AppitE APHIS
Aphis sorbi Kaltenbach (Aphis malifolie Fitch)
This species is now widespread and common throughout
the United States and Canada. It is probably an old European
species which was introduced into America more than half a
century ago. Apple is its favorite food-plant, but pear, white
thorn and three species of Sorbus are sometimes infested.
This rosy aphis often occurs on the same trees and in the
midst of colonies of the next species, S. avene, but it is not so
restless and active. The stem-mothers hatched from the hi-
bernated shiny, black, oval eggs in early spring, are globose
in shape and of a dark purplish-brown color mottled with black.
They are thinly covered with a whitish pulverulence and have
blackish antenne, cornicles. and legs. The progeny of these
stem-mothers are wingless parthenogenetic females, usually of .a
pinkish color, but sometimes varying to a light brown, slaty
gray or greenish black with the body covered with a whitish
coating. This mealy appearance and its pinkish color will
usually readily distinguish the wingless forms of this rosy
aphis from those of the other two species. The tips of the
antenne and cornicles are black. Another brood of these wing-
less viviparous females is developed on the leaves in early
June, but the progeny of these, or the third generation from the
150 FRUIT INSECTS
- stem-mothers, develop into parthenogenetic winged forms (Fig.
162) that migrate from the apple trees to some unknown food-
plant during the latter part of June in New York. In 18938 we
tried to colonize these spring migrants on various grasses, but
failed, and did not see the species
again until September, when shiny
black winged viviparous females
or migrants appeared on the apple
leaves. These were darker than
the migrants which left the trees
in the spring and differed slightly
in other details. Early in October
a progeny of globose, light yellow
or brownish colored wingless ovip-
arous females, with many sensory
pits on the hind tibize, began -to
: be born from the winged return mi-
Fic. 162. — The rosy apple grants. Soon winged males, which
aphis, a parthenogenetic female
of the third generation, with resembled the somewhat larger re-
wing pads. turn migrants, came from unknown
sources and mated with the wingless females, which began laying
their shiny black eggs on the twigs, and often on the trunk also.
Although working on the apple tree only about two months in
the spring, this rosy apple aphis is capable of doing much injury.
It often curls the leaves as badly as the preceding species, A.
pomi, and in 1903 it helped this species in its very destructive
work on the young fruits. In 1907 another of these unusual
devastations on the fruit by plant-lice occurred in June in New
York apple orchards, and this time the principal depredator
was this rosy apple aphis.
REFERENCES
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. 13th Rept., pp. 149-156. 1902.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 81. 1907.
Pen oe ae WN Pi TEAR oon eG ee
am Tee ove ’
A =) 4 4
eo 1 APPLE INSECTS 151
Tue APPLE BuD-APHIS
Siphocoryne avene Fabricius
This green aphis is the one which most commonly infests the
opening apple buds in the United States and Canada. It is
an old European species, which has a very wide range of food-
plants, including apple, pear, hawthorn, quince, plum, at least
seven other trees, five weeds or herbs,
wheat, rye, oats and nine different
grasses. It is most. injurious to the
apple, often nearly covering the open-
ing leaf-buds and blossoms, and it
sometimes injures young wheat in
the fall.
The yellowish-green, wingless, vi-
viparous stem-mothers hatch from the
shiny, black, oval winter eggs as soon as
the apple buds begin to open, and most
of their progeny develop into winged
parthenogenetic, blackish females (Fig.
163) which leave the apple in May. A |
few may remain on the trees through — yg. 163. — The apple bud-
two or three more generations, or @phis, a parthenogenetic fe-
until July. In 1893 we found that a ee ue
these spring migrants could be readily colonized on June and
meadow grasses (species of Poa), and we succeeded in following
the insect through thirteen parthenogenetic generations on these
grasses from late in May until November. Then some developed
into the winged return migrants, but others continued to breed
and finally lived through the winter on these grasses and on
wheat kept under outdoor conditions. Curiously enough, all the
- generations grown on the grasses were alternately wingless and
winged viviparous females. They were much smaller and
152 FRUIT INSECTS
darker colored than those on the apple, and have been described ~
as a different species, Aphis annue Oestlund. On the grasses
they lived on the blossom heads, but mostly on the stems, and
some of them at the base of plants. It has been suggested that
the species is biennial, the progeny of the spring migrants from
the apple living on grasses and grains until the autumn of the
second year before going back to the apple.
Late in September we found many winged viviparous females
returning to the apple trees. ‘These return migrants were very
similar to the spring migrating form, and soon gave birth to ovip-
arous females, which were wingless and of a yellowish-green or
dark green color. About the time these females matured, or three
or four weeks after the return migrant females came from the
grasses, there came to the trees the more slender, light greenish-
brown colored winged males. These males actively seek the wing-
less females, and we have seen them mate with the females of
the rosy apple aphis also. Egg-laying began late in October and
continued until December, the shiny black eggs being deposited
on the bark all over the tree, but mostly on the twigs near the
buds. The sexual forms may also appear on the pear, quince,
hawthorn or plum trees in autumn, and eggs be deposited thereon.
All of the winged forms of this apple bud aphis, including the
summer broods on grasses, can be distinguished from those of
the other two species by the fact that the terminal fork of the
second vein behind the stigma is shorter and nearer the margin
of the wing. Usually the brownish coalescing spots around
the clavate cornicles are more distinct on all the forms of this
species. It leaves the tree for its summer food-plants so soon in
the spring that it does not curl the leaves as much as the other
two species. <
REFERENCES
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. 13th Rept., pp. 187-149. 1902.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 81. 1907.
APPLE INSECTS 153
Tor Woouuy APHIS OF THE APPLE
Schizoneura lanigera Hausmann
Practically wherever the apple is grown in any part of the
world, there may often be found during the summer on the
trunk, branches and water-sprouts above ground and on the
roots also bluish-white, cottony patches (Fig. 164) consisting
Fic. 164. — The woolly aphis, a cluster of lice on an apple twig showing the
white woolly covering.
of many small, reddish-brown plant-lice or aphids scarcely one
tenth of an inch in length. Above ground the bodies of the
aphids are nearly covered by a woolly mass of long, waxy fibers
that are much shorter on the root-inhabiting aphids, and
gives them a whitish mealy appearance. Although for many
years considered as distinct species and now often discussed
as different forms, the aphids living underground on the roots
and those on the branches or trunk are absolutely identical
154 FRUIT INSECTS
structurally and one can readily colonize the branch-inhabiting
aphids on the roots and vice versa; furthermore, the aphids
may often be seen during the growing season wandering from
roots to branches or going down the trunk on to the roots, and in
either case soon establishing themselves in their new location.
This woolly aphis has ranked as a serious apple pest for more
than a hundred years both in Europe and America. In spite
of much discussion and controversy, it is not definitely known
which of these countries is its native home; it is found upon
native apple and thorn trees in both countries. In America
the insect is commonly known as the woolly aphis, but in
Fic. 165. — The woolly aphis, a cluster of lice with the woolly covering removed.
England it is the ‘ American blight’ and in Germany it is
called the ‘ blood-louse ”’ from the red color of the crushed
bodies of the aphids.
The woolly aphis sucks its food from the tissues of the bark
and often causes an abnormal growth or swelling where it works.
Above ground colonies of the aphids often develop about the
leaf axils on sprouts or new growths and particularly at abra-
sions (Fig. 165) on the bark or where a branch has been cut off.
The aphids often prevent the injured bark from healing nor-
mally, and as considerable enlargements of the surroundinxg tis-
sues result, infested branches often present a swollen and scarred
appearance. A favorite location for their work is on the crown
of the tree just above the roots. Underground the aphids
cause conspicuous, rounded, nodular swellings or galls to de-
APPLE INSECTS 155
velop on the roots, finally resulting in their decay. Usually
most of the injury resulting from the work of this pest is due
to the greater numbers of the aphids infesting the roots, the
more conspicuous but less numerous colonies above ground,
rarely doing much damage, especially on larger trees. In some
regions, and especially in Europe, the trees are often seriously
injured by a majority of the aphids working above ground. In
cases of severe infestation the woolly aphids swarm over the
whole tree above and below ground, even attacking the foliage
and fruit. The foliage on badly infested trees often presents
a yellowish, sickly appearance, and the trees are easily uprooted,
as many of the roots have decayed from the work of the pest.
- Apple trees of all ages and varieties are liable to attack, but
usually young trees, especially nursery stock, suffer most.
Some varieties, like the Northern Spy, are often more or less
exempt from attack. Pear, quince and the mountain ash
are also recorded as host-plants; it also passes a part of its life
history on the elm, causing a characteristic curling of the
leaves (Fig. 166). The insect may injuriously infest the roots
of trees growing in various kinds of soils, and it works destruc-
tively over a wide range of latitude. Many thousands of
nursery trees are annually either killed by the insect or ren-
dered unsalable and destroyed in America. Infested nursery
stock is largely responsible for its wide distribution. In most
localities large, thrifty orchard trees are not seriously injured
by this aphis, but sometimes under favorable conditions it
breeds so rapidly that it ranks among the most destructive of
the insect enemies of the apple.
The interesting and rather complicated life history of this
woolly aphis is little understood by orchardists, and a few details
are still lacking to make it complete. During the summer only
the little wingless, agamic female aphids occur on the apple
trees. A dozen generations of these may be developed during
the summer, each mother aphid bringing forth living young,
156 FRUIT INSECTS
sometimes at the rate of two to twenty a day for two or more
weeks. The baby aphids or nymphs are usually born enwrapped
in a thin pellicle, which is soon cast off. The little creature
begins to suck its food through a beak longer than its body,
and its waxy coating is secreted in a few hours. As these little
nymphs feed and grow their skin is shed four times, a new waxy
coating being secreted each time, and they may become full-
grown in from eight to twenty days. Many of these wingless,
agamic nymphs persist on the roots, and some of them even on
the tree above ground, all the year through even in New York
state and other cold northern latitudes. These aphids mostly,
if not wholly, cease breeding, however, even in southern localities
during the winter months. During the autumn months, some-
times beginning in August, there is developed both above and
below ground many minute, winged, greenish-brown-bodied,
agamic female aphids with the body more or less covered with
the woolly secretion. These winged forms may fly or be blown
to near-by elm trees. They are destined to play an interesting
and important réle in the perpetuation of their kind. In a few
days these winged, agamic migrating forms give birth to from
six to twelve young, about half males and half females. Both
sexes are wingless and do not grow after being born, having no
mouth parts with which to take food. The reddish-yellow
females are about one-twentieth of an inch in length and twice
as large as the slenderer, olive-yellow males. A few days after
mating the female lays a single long, dark, cinnamon-colored
oval egg nearly as large as her body in a crevice of the elm bark.
Some of these eggs have been found in crevices of the apple
bark where there had been colonies of the lice during the sum-
mer; others record them as laid on the bark on the crown of
the tree near the roots, but as a rule they are laid on the elm.
These winter eggs hatch in early spring and the stem-mothers,
as the first brood of lice are called, are found on the opening
elm leaf buds. They are wingless, and feed on the under surface
APPLE INSECTS THE
of the leaves and are soon surrounded by a numerous family
of young aphids. The presence of the lice cause the elm leaves
to swell and curl, as shown in Figure 166. The next generation
is also wingless, but with the third brood winged forms appear
and continue abundant throughout the summer. Some of these
fly back to the apple and there establish colonies on the branches,
others probably
found colonies on the
tender elm branches,
and some of those ap-
pearing early in the
season may migrate
to other elm leaves.
When living on the
elm the woolly aphis
has been known as
the woolly elm leaf
aphid (Schizoneura
americana Riley).
Enemies.
The woolly aphis
has its natural ene-
mies, which help to
keep it in check.
Spiders often spin their webs over a colony of the aphids
and then live at their ease. Many of the aphids are para-
sitized by the minute chalcis fiy, Aphelinus mali, and the
larve of lace-wing flies and a syrphus fly, Pipiza radicum, often
work destruction in the woolly clusters. The larve and adults
of several ladybird beetles, particularly the small, brown Scym-
nus ceryicaulis, and the nine-spotted Coccinella 9-notata, are also
active enemies of the woolly aphis, but the combined efforts of
all these foes do not often sufficiently control it, so as to make
remedial treatments unnecessary, especially on young trees.
Fic. 166. — Elm leaves curled by the woolly aphis.
158 FRUIT INSECTS
Remedial measures.
Above ground the woolly aphis can be readily controlled by
thoroughly drenching the bark, and particularly the woolly
colonies of aphids in summer, with a forceful spray of 15 per cent
kerosene emulsion. Two applications may be necessary in ex-
treme cases. Soap solutions and tobacco decoctions are not so
effective as the emulsion. Drench the lower portion of the trunk
and let the spray run down on to the crown and roots. It is
often practicable to destroy most of the aphids above ground
by simply painting the woolly patches with the emulsion or
pure kerosene, crude oil, or a miscible oil (1 to 10 parts water).
It is much more difficult to reach and kill the aphids working
underground on the roots. Nurserymen should destroy all
badly infested stock where the roots show many of the char-
acteristic galls. Orchardists should never accept and plant such
trees. Where infestation by this pest is suspected, all stock
should be properly fumigated with hydrocyanic-acid-gas, or
the whole trees or the roots only may be dipped in the 15 per
cent kerosene emulsion mentioned above, or in a nicotine solu- |
tion. For dipping, the roots should be freed from lumps of dirt,
then held in the liquid a minute or two and spread out to dry
before being piled in heaps. Hot water (130° to 150° F.) is
said to be an effective dip also, but do not use the lime-sulfur
wash, as it often injures or kills the trees. If the emulsion is
used, it must be thoroughly emulsified, as any free oil might —
seriously injure the roots. Plant the trees free from the pest,
keep them growing thriftily for a few years, and the woolly aphis
will be much less liable to seriously infest the orchard.
A narrow band of some sticky material around the trunks of
infested trees will capture many of the aphids often seen wander-
ing up and down the trunks, and thus aid materially in prevent-
ing the infestation of the roots by those working above ground.
Experiments in Missouri in 1896 seemed to show that the
aphids could be killed and their ravages largely prevented by
APPLE INSECTS 159
a liberal use of tobacco dust. It was applied on a 10-year-old
orchard by removing the earth to a depth of 4 inches and for a
distance of 2 feet around the trunk. Five or six pounds of the
dust were evenly scattered over this area and the dirt replaced.
Nursery trees were treated by putting the dust in trenches along-
side the rows. Further detailed experiments in Georgia ten
years later, however, gave very unsatisfactory results in or-
chards and nurseries with tobacco used in various forms in the
- excavated areas or trenches. Some trees received over 12
pounds of the dust in four months, two applications being made.
Whale-oil soap was also used in these experiments even at the
rate of 2 pounds to a gallon without success; and it was found
_ that carbon bisulphide injected into the ground would kill the
aphids only over a limited area near the application hole, and it.
could not be used in sufficient quantities to kill all the aphids
without killing or injuring the trees. These Georgia experi-
ments demonstrated.the value of an application of 15 per cent
kerosene emulsion (the stock emulsion formula diluted with
about 10 gallons of water). The soil was removed to a depth of
about 3 inches over an area from 13 to 4 feet around the trees,
depending on the size of the trees, and after the application the
soil was replaced. Three gallons of the 15 per cent emulsion
on the smaller area and 6 gallons over the larger circles served
to saturate the soil for 2 to 4 inches, and it gradually permeated
the soil a foot or more, where a perceptible odor remained for
many weeks. All the aphids the emulsion reached were killed
and the kerosene odor acted as a repellent for a long time. The
cost per tree varied from 4 to 8 cents. A 10 per cent emulsion
(stock formula diluted with 17 gallons of water) was’ very
effective on nursery trees when poured in shallow trenches made
close to the trees along each side of the rows. This kerosene
emulsion treatment should be made during early summer and
not later than the last of July, as it may injure dormant trees
or those that have made most of their growth for the season.
160 FRUIT INSECTS
bd
As there is danger that nursery trees may become infested by
migrants from elm, it is not advisable to allow these trees to
grow in the vicinity of the nursery or to grow elm stock with
apple stock in the same nursery.
REFERENCES
Mo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 35. 1896.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Circular 20. 1897.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 18, pp. 78-81. 1898.
Ga. State Bd. Ent. Bull. 23. 1907.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 1383, pp. 5-23. 1908.
Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 203. 1912. -
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cireular 158. 1912.
Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 217. 1913.
Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 220. 1913.
THe BuFrraLo TREE-HOPPER
Ceresa bubalus Fabricius
Young fruit trees in the upper Mississippi Valley and east-
ward through the United States and Canada to Nova Scotia
are often seriously injured by this curious little grass-green,
triangular-shaped, active bug, about ? of an inch long, with
large, horn-like projections of the anterior angles of the thorax
which give it a fancied resemblance to a male buffalo, hence
its common name (Fig. 167). The injury is all done by the fe-
male bugs in laying their eggs from July till October in the bark
on the upper sides of the smaller branches. Two slightly curved
slits about 53, of an inch long are made near together in such
a way that the bark between the incisions is cut loose. From
6 to 12 long, cylindrical, whitish eggs are stuck into each slit
and do not hatch until the following May or June. These
peculiar egg-scars rarely heal and gradually enlarge, giving the
branches a very rough and scabby appearance (Fig. 167a). Two-
or three-year-old apple and pear trees usually suffer most, but
APPLE INSECTS | 161
cherry, prune and quince trees and various forest trees often
show many of the egg-scars. Hundreds of the incisions are
often made in a square inch or two of the bark, growth is checked
and such extensive scarification often ruins the trees. In some
localities the insect pe I TOD
. : VRP LE
is considered the Les GE!
WIE iz Mis ly
most destructive bes Z
: LL Lite Ge
insect enemy of re
Mea LAY YG
1 7 yy: i
young fruit trees. io Yj VEG y
The strongly i A yy
spined young bugs | oP A717
or nymphs which
hatch from the
eggs live mostly on
grasses or weeds
near the scarred
trees. Thus only
uncultivated or-
chards or those
bordered by low
vegetation are seri-
ously injured by
this buffalo tree-
hopper. Two mi-
nute parasites de-
stroy many of the
eggs. Thorough cultivation and the burning over of weedy
borders in June will starve out and largely prevent injury from
this sucking bug. It cannot be reached satisfactorily with any
spray, but many of the eggs can be destroyed by judicious
pruning out of the freshly scarred branches in autumn or
winter. :
Stictocephala inermis Fabricius, a species of tree-hopper
similar to the last, also scars the branches with its characteristic
M
Mn ee ll
Fic. 167. — The buffalo tree-hopper (x 52).
162 FRUIT INSECTS
egg punctures. It causes little injury, however, because the
inner bark continues alive and there is no dead area between the
slits. |
Ceresa taurina Fitch and C. borealis Fairmaire, two forms
closely related to the buffalo tree-hopper, deposit their eggs in
Fic. 167 a. — Apple twigs showing egg-scars of the buffalo tree-hopper.
the buds, within the outer bud-scales. They cause no appre-
ciable injury.
REFERENCE
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 17. 1910.
THE SAN Josh SCALE
Aspidiotus perniciosus Comstock
The San José scale has attained greater notoriety, has been
the cause of more legislation, both foreign and interstate, and
has demonstrated its capabilities of doing more injury to the
fruit interests of the United States and Canada than any other
insect. The ease with which it is widely distributed on nursery
stock, the practical impossibility of exterminating it in a locality,
its enormous fecundity enabling it to often overspread the bark,
leaves and fruit of trees in a very few years, and the fact that it
attacks practically all deciduous fruit and ornamental plants,
j
APPLE INSECTS 163
makes it of the greatest economic importance. No other scale-
insect has ever equaled it in capacity for injury to plants.
China is believed to be the native home of this pest, and
more appropriate common names for it are the Chinese scale,
or the pernicious scale, from the very pat name given it by
Professor Comstock when he described it in 1880. It first
- became established in America at San José, Cal., about 1870,
and derived its name therefrom. Previous to its introduction
into Eastern nurseries in 1886 or 1887, the scale had gradually
spread over most of the states west of the Rocky Mountains.
It was not until 1893 that it was discovered in Virginia in the
Kast, but it was soon found to have been already widely spread
from these nurseries through thirteen states from New York to
Florida. So rapidly has it been spread that important orchard
sections in nearly every state and territory, and in Canada
and British Columbia, are infested, and it is only a question of
time when it will extend over practically all the fruit-growing
areas of North America within, its climatic range. It occurs
also in Hawaii, Chili, Japan and Australia, but stringent legis-
_ lation has thus far prevented its becoming established in Europe.
The San José scale attacks all parts of fruit trees, including
the trunk, branches, leaves and fruit, and usually causes reddish
discolorations of the bark or skin of fruit (Fig. 169). Clusters
of the scales often occur around the stem and blossom end of the
fruit, rendering it unsalable, and sometimes giving a pitted ap-
pearance. In bad infestations the scales are crowded together
and present a grayish, roughened, scurfy deposit on the bark. If
scraped, a yellowish liquid results from the mashing of the soft
yellow insects beneath the scales. The fruits commonly infested
are apple, pear, quince, peach, plum, prune, apricot, nectarine,
sweet cherry, currant and gooseberry. Lemons. and oranges,
except the trifoliate varieties, many shrubs, forest trees and
evergreens are practically exempt from attack.
The fears that shade trees and forests would be ravaged
164 FRUIT INSECTS
and become permanent breeding grounds have not been realized,
as the pest confines its depredations mostly to fruit trees and
ornamental shrubs. |
The scale is a waxy secretion covering the soft, yellow,
sac-like body of the insect beneath.
The largest scales cover the full-.
grown females and are nearly circu-
lar, gray, about the size of the head
of an ordinary pin (7 of an inch in
diameter) with a central dark nipple
surrounded by a yellowish ring (Fig.
167b). The smaller scales are nearly
black with a central gray dot sur-
rounded by a black depressed ring
bordered by a grayish ring. The
San José scale can often be readily
distinguished from the closely related species, Putnam’s scale,
European fruit-scale and cherry scale, even with a hand-lens by
these peculiarities of the young scales. In the other species the
nipple is usually one side of the center and orange or yellow in
color, and the scales are not so black or lack the depressed ring
of the nipple. The elongate-oval
male San José scales, only about
half as long as the diameter of a
mature female scale, are dark
gray with the circular raised ex-
uvial portion near one end and
usually darker but sometimes yel-
lowish (Fig. 168). The male scales Fie. 168.— Two male San José
are sometimes more numerous than peated: areas
the females during the early part of the breeding season.
In late autumn all stages of the San José scale, from those
just born to the fully developed insects, are to be found on the
trees, but practically only the small black scales covering the
Fic. 167 b.— Full-grown female
San José seale (x 10).
APPLE INSECTS 165
half-grown insects hibernate, all the other stages being killed
by winter conditions. In New York the winged males emerge
in May, and the females mature and begin giving birth to living
young during the latter part of June. The young develop
inside the body of the mother in thin membranous, sac-like ~
eggs and most of them burst through the sac and are born alive, .
but some of these eggs may be laid before the young hatch, —
so while the insect is usually ovoviviparous it may be partially
oviparous. A single mother is capable of giving birth over a
-_ period of six weeks to nearly 600 young but doubtless does not
average more than 100 to 200 ; many of these are males, and some
soon die. The tiny yellow, six-legged young crawl from under
the mother scale and cften spend about a day in finding a suit-
able place to settle down and insert their long, thread-like mouth
parts with which they suck their food from the interior tissues
of the plant. In a few hours the body becomes covered with
a mass of white cottony and waxy fibers which in 2 or 3 days
mat into a pale grayish scale that gradually becomes larger and
darker until in about two weeks the first molt of the insect
occurs. Up to.this point the males and females and their scales
have been indistinguishable, but after this molt they both lose
their legs and antenne and the females their eyes also. The
males have large, purple eyes and undergo two more molts,
gradually developing into delicate, orange-colored, two-
winged, fly-like insects in from 3 to 4 weeks. The yellow
female insects, with their thread-like, sucking mouth parts two
or three times as long as the body, remain circular, flattened
and sac-like in form, molt a second time in from 8 to 5 weeks,
and in a few days mate with the males. In molting the old
skins split around the edge of the body, the upper half adhering
to the scale beneath the central nipple and the lower half form-
ing sort of a ventral scale next to the bark; the second and
third cast skins of the male are pushed out from beneath the
scale.
166 FRUIT INSECTS
At Washington, the females may attain their full growth in
30 days from birth, but it requires about 50 days in the fall
in New York. As the females bear living young over so long a
period, the broods overlap and it is difficult to trace the number
of generations, but there are apparently three broods annually
in the latitude of New York and four broods at least south of
Washington. Breeding begins in the North in June and a
month or more earlier in the South. The progeny of a single
San José scale giving birth to only 100 female young in the
spring could, but doubtless never does, amount to the enor-
mous total of over 100,000,000 females by fall if there were four
generations annually. At this fearful rate of multiplication,
unequaled by any other injurious scale-insect, it is no wonder
that infested plants rapidly succumb to the drain of so many
thousands of tiny pumps sucking out their life. -
The widespread distribution of the San José scale is due
almost entirely to infested nursery stock. Rigid nursery
inspection, compulsory fumigation, and interstate quarantine
legislation doubtless help much, but fail to fully protect the ~ |
fruit-grower, and the pest continues to reach both old and new
localities on infested nursery stock bearing supposed “‘ bills of
health ”’ in the form of inspection and fumigation certificates.
Many have feared that new infestations might be brought about
through infested fruits, especially apples and pears, which are
distributed world-wide. Foreign nations enacted strict quar-
antine regulations against infested American fruit, even though
it were dried. However, there are no authentic cases of infes-
tation from scaly fruit, and while there is a bare possibility that
it might occur, the chances are so small as to be practically
ignored. The scale may be spread locally from tree to tree
or to other orchards in several ways. As the newly born lice
are active and often crawl about for a day before settling down,
they may be able to crawl on to other trees, especially in nur-
series where the branches interlace and touch. Strong winds
APPLE INSECTS 167
may blow these crawling young to neighboring trees, and many
of them are doubtless carried to other trees or orchards by other
insects and by birds which often go from tree to tree. The
crawling young have been found on the bodies of black Jady-
bird beetles, black ants, grasshoppers, Chrysopa adults, flies,
and beetles, these insects thus furnishing ideal steeds or “ flying
machines ’’ on which the scale
_Mmay ride to new pastures.
While the San José scale is one
of the greatest insect scourges
that the fruit industry has ever
encountered, it has taught some
valuable lessons. Nurserymen
are growing and shipping cleaner,
healthier, better stock. Fruit
growers are selecting their trees
with greater care, and giving
each tree individual attention in
the orchard, an invaluable fea-
ture in orcharding. Many have
been forced into spraying, which
most progressive fruit growers
find to be one of the best -pay- Fic. 169. — Pear infested with San
José scale.
Ing operations in orchards. The
scale is so small and so difficult to reach od kill, that the efforts
to successfully combat it have resulted in Geciee spray mix-
tures, machinery and methods not only for this scale, but for
other insect and fungous enemies of orchards. Fruit growers
in general are spraying more skillfully, more easily and more
effectively, and many of them are satisfactorily controlling this
tiny but terrible fo ,
While the San José scale is beset by many natural enemies,
its marvelous fecundity usually enables it to develop in in-
jurious numbers in spite of them. The following nine species
168 FRUIT INSECTS
of minute Hymenoptera are true parasites of the scale in
America: Aphelinus fuscipennis and mytilaspidis, Aspidioti-
phagus citrinus, Anaphes gracilis, Physcus varicornis, Prospal-
tella aurantii, P. perniciosi, Ablerus clisiocampe and Rhopoidens
citrinus. Most of these parasites are widely distributed in the
United States and other countries, and they are all general
feeders on other species of the armored scales. Sometimes these
parasites destroy enormous numbers of the scales, and they will
always be very potent factors in Nature’s efforts to help man
in controlling this pest.
About a dozen ladybird beetles have been found suis the:
San José scale in America. The most important and useful
of these are the twice-stabbed ladybird, Chilocorus bivulnerus,
the tiny black Microweisea misella, another tiny, dark, wine-red
colored species of the same genus, M. suturalis, and a Malachiid
beetle, Collops quadrimaculatus. The most useful and inter-
esting of these is the tiny black msella, which is widely dis-
tributed in the United States. The little beetles stand astride
the full-grown female scales, push their heads under the margin
of the scale and devour the soft, yellow insect beneath. The
grubs of the beetle feed upon the smaller scales. The chief
natural enemy which kept this scale in check in its native home
in China was found to be a ladybird beetle, Chilocorus similis,
which is almost identical in the beetle stage to our native Ameri-
can twice-stabbed ladybird, but differs in the reddish color of
the grub and it also breeds much faster. This Asiatic ladybird
beetle was introduced into the United States and readily
attacked the scale, multiplied rapidly at Washington, and was
sent into other localities both North and South. Lack of food
and a native parasite destroyed the Washington colony and the
insect failed to thrive in the North. It bred in great numbers
for a time in Georgia, but man’s spraying operations soon cut
off its food supply and it was nearly exterminated.
Several fungous and other diseases sometimes attack the San
APPLE INSECTS 169
José scale with much effectiveness, especially in its southern
range. Some of these can be transferred from treé’to tree and
it is in the range of possibilities, with more careful study, that
artificial cultures can be made and distributed and yield results
of practical value in the control of thisscale. No harm can come
from such introduction of natural enemies or diseases, and the
time will doubtless eventually come, as it apparently has in some
localities in California especially, when these enemies and
diseases, together with man’s vigorous warfare, will rob this
insect of most of its present terrors, making it a much less
dangerous orchard pest.
Remedial measures.
Its minute size rendering it difficult to detect unless very
numerous, the ease and rapidity with which it may be dis-
tributed on nursery stock or cuttings, its marvelous fecundity
enabling a few scales to soon re-infest a whole tree and the skill
required to hit all the tiny scales with a spray, make the San
José scale one of the most difficult insect pests to successfully
control. Extermination is practically impossible except on
limited areas where the infested plants can be destroyed root
and branch, and then a new infestation may occur at any time if
more plants are set. The destruction of infested trees is advis-
able in a very young orchard where only a few trees are involved,
so as to put off as long as possible the general infestation, which
will usually follow sooner or later. In older bearing orchards
many fruit growers have succeeded in getting the pest under
thorough control without the loss of a tree, but it means a big
and continuous fight by a man determined to win.
Fruit growers should become familiar with the appearance
of the scale from dead specimens readily obtained from infested
localities. The pest can be combated more easily and effectively
while it is in hibernation as half-grown scales on dormant trees.
In starting new orchards get certified, fumigated stock from
reliable sources, carefully examine each tree, and then thoroughly
170 FRUIT INSECTS
fumigate the stock again with hydrocyanic acid gas before
setting. Fumigation with this gas, if properly and thoroughly
done, is the most effective and practicable treatment for nursery
stock. The dipping of such trees in the lime-sulfur wash or other
sprays is not so effective and may injure the trees, especially if
the roots are dipped.
After much experimentation with fumigation tents, waa
oil soap, undiluted kerosene and crude oil, and mechanically
mixed oil-water sprays, these have been largely superseded by
the cheaper, more effective and safer sprays of oil emulsions,
miscible oils and the lime-sulfur wash, which must be brought
in contact with each scale. Several applications of a 10 to
15 per cent kerosene emulsion spray during the summer has
been safely used on apples to check the development of the pest,
and a 25 per cent crude petroleum emulsion (formula, p. 486),
makes an effective spray for use on old apple trees as the buds
are swelling in the spring. The miscible oils should not be
diluted more than 1 gallon of oil to 10 or 12 of water to get
satisfactory results. The lime-sulfur wash should be used in
preference to other sprays on peaches, for when applied in early
spring it kills the scale and also acts as an effective fungicide
against the destructive peach leaf-curl fungus. Badly infested
trees should be sprayed twice, first in late autumn after the leaves
drop and again in early spring before growth begins. Some are
able to successfully control the pest with only one application
in early spring. ‘The cheapest and safest spray, the one which
has withstood the severest tests of experimenters and orchard-
ists, and has given the most uniformly successful results, is the
lime-sulfur wash. The oil emulsions or miscible oils are non-
corrosive, more agreeable to use, spread better, so that less
material is necessary, and they penetrate more effectively the
crevices of the bark or the fuzzy coated twigs of apple trees, but
unless properly applied there is always more or less danger of
injuring the trees. ‘The market brands of miscible oils are simply
APPLE INSECTS wal
poured into the required amount of water and quickly form,
upon stirring slightly, a perfect and stable emulsion-like mixture
ready for use. None of these sprays recommended for use on
dormant trees can be safely used on trees in foliage. . Where
very large, old, rough-barked apple trees-are infested, only the
most thorough kind of spraying will conquer the pest. On such
trees it is recommended to use the crude oil emulsion spray just
as the buds are swelling in the spring.
.The most effective work can be done with about 100 pounds
pressure per square inch, using a fine spray through a nozzle of
the cyclone type. The judicious pruning away of the tops and
long sprawling branches of infested trees will often enable the
orchardist to do more thorough work. Remember that the
San José scale is not larger than a pin head ; that the insect itself
is well protected under the scale; and that it is therefore
necessary to hit each tiny scale so thoroughly that the spray
covers the insect. To do this requires powerful pumps, good
nozzles and, most important of all, an experienced and
determined man behind the gun who can shoot straight and
thoroughly cover the bark of the tree with the spray from the
surface of the ground to the tips of the smallest twigs.
REFERENCE
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 62. 1906.
Nearly every Agricultural Experiment Station has published
_ bulletins or circulars giving full directions for fighting the San José
scale under local conditions.
THE OYSTER-SHELL SCALE
Lepidosaphes ulmi Linneeus (Mytilaspis pomorum Bouché)
This cosmopolitan insect is doubtless the commonest, most
widespread and best known of the scale-insects infesting fruit-
trees in America, where it has been injurious in the northeastern
172 FRUIT INSECTS
United States for a century. By 1850 it was abundant through-
out the northern states east of the Mississippi. Spreading
Fic. 170.— Apple branch
badly infested with the oyster-
shell scale.
rather slowly, it has now reached
most of the orchard sections in the
far West, the South and all through
Canada, but it is most injurious
throughout its northern range from
Nova Scotia southward to the lati-
tude of Washington and westward to
Montana. In the North the scales
often develop on the fruit itself, caus-
ing red spots similar to those pro-
duced by the San José scale (Fig.
174). |
The oyster-shell scale is readily
distinguished from all other scale-in-
sects injuriously infesting deciduous
fruit-trees in America by its peculiar
shape and color, resembling a minia-
ture elongate, curved oyster shell of
a dark brownish bark-like color. The
convex scale covering the body of.the
female is about + of an inch long and
consists of two minute cast skins at
the smaller end and a large scaly por-
tion gradually secreted from the body
of the insect underneath. The male
scale is much smaller and rarely seen
on fruit-trees; they are often abun-
dant onash. Old lifeless scales often
adhere to the bark for several years.
If at any time from September to May the female scales
formed during the preceding summer be overturned, they will be
found to cover from 30 to 100 minute, white eggs and the much
APPLE INSECTS Mes
shriveled, dead body of the mother tucked away at the smaller
end (Fig. 173). Thus hibernation in the egg stage lasts for
8 or 9 months, the time of hatching in the spring depending much
on weather conditions. Hatching may begin as early as the
“middle of May in the North, but in 1907 it was a month later
in New York. The mere specks of active six-legged, pale yel-
lowish-white young (Fig. 171) that hatch from the eggs soon
crawl out from under the scale and in a few hours settle down
on the bark, insert their long, thread-like sucking tube, secrete
Fic. 171. — Apple branch infested with oyster-shell scale showing newly hatched
lice.
a covering of cottony fibers, and the females never move from
that spot (Fig. 172). The sexes are alike at birth, and after
feeding a few days shed their skin, becoming grub-like creatures
without legs or antenne. Growth continues with no apparent
difference between the sexes until it is necessary to molt again,
when it is seen that a winged insect, the male, is being developed
under some of the scales. This second cast skin of the female
is added to the scale-covering; a few days later the fully de-
veloped, delicate, two-winged male insect without mouth parts
174 FRUIT INSECTS
emerges and seeks its mate. The yellowish females continue
to increase in size, remain grub-like in form and secrete the large,
brown portion of the scale, becoming full grown in August or
early September in the North. Egg-laying soon begins, the
body of the mother gradually shrinking into the smaller end of
the scale, and the 30 to 100 eggs occupying most of the space
beneath the scale. In New York, egg-laying sometimes begins
early in August, but in 1907 it was delayed until October in
some localities. There is but a single generation of the oyster-
shell scale in the North, but. in southern New Jersey and Penn-
sylvania and farther south there are two generations annually.
Fic. 172. —— Old and recently set oyster-shell scales on willow.
~This oyster-shell scale has a wide range of food-plants. It
often nearly covers the bark of the larger branches (Fig. 170),
and even the twigs of apple and pear trees, and is often equally as
numerous on lilac bushes, willow, mountain ash and poplar
trees. It may also attack quince, plum, raspberry, currant and —
fig among the fruits, and includes more than twenty-five shade
trees and shrubs in its list of host-plants. It infests trees of all
sizes and ages, often killing young trees and severely injuring
large ones. Orchards that are kept in a thrifty growing condition ©
and the trees not crowded rarely suffer serious injury from this
scale, but we have seen the lower limbs especially, and sometimes
the whole of large trees, killed by the insect where the trees were
crowded and neglected. Usually the bark of the tree only is
Pr oe
APPLE INSECTS ses)
infested, but occasionally a few of the scales develop on the
fruit even in the North, where there is but a single generation
annually. |
The oyster-shell
scale is beset by
many natural ene-
mies. Some of the
ladybird beetles, the
- twice-stabbed lady-
bird especially, de-
vour many, and the
eggs beneath the
scales are preyed
upon and often a
large proportion of ,
them, 50 to 75 per Fie. 173. — Oyster-shell scales turned over to show
cent in some cases, : Peco
eaten by a mite, Hemisarcoptes coccisugus, in France, and
in America by the larve of at least five minute parasites,
Aphelinus mytilaspidis, abnormis, and fuscipennis, Anaphes
gracilis, and Chiloneurus diaspidinarum. These parasites
emerge through pin-like holes in the
scales and often a majority of the
scales on a tree show these holes.
It usually requires two of the para-
sitic larve to destroy all the eggs
under a scale, one larva often leaving
from 2 to 20 eggs. A few birds, the
brown creeper, black-capped chicka-
Fic. 174.— Apple infested dee and white-breasted nuthatch, are
ee ere alee reported as feeding on it. The
combined efforts of all these natural enemies often prevent
serious injury by the oyster-shell scale and occasionally nearly
exterminate it in a locality.
176 - FRUIT INSECTS
Remedial treatments.
Orchardists should reject all nursery stock bearing many
oyster-shell scales. Nearly three fourths of the life of this pest
is spent as eggs well protected by the scale, and no thoroughly
successful method has yet been found for destroying these eggs
directly. Experiments indicate that fumigation with hydrocy-
anic acid gas, as practiced by nurserymen to kill the San José
scale, often does not kill more than two thirds of the eggs of the
oyster-shell scale. We have failed to kill many of the eggs even
with undiluted kerosene.
The oyster-shell scale can be satisfactorily controlled, however,
by thorough applications of lime-sulfur as recommended for
the San José scale (p. 170). The lime-sulfur seems to loosen
the scales from the bark so that the eggs are either blown away
or fall a prey to their numerous enemies. This method is usually
adopted by commercial growers and is the most practicable
means of fighting this pest in large orchards.
Effective work can also be done against the oyster-shell scale
in June, usually from the Ist to the 15th, when the young have
recently hatched and are crawling about or have just begun to
secrete a scale, by thorough spraying with a soap solution, 1
pound in 5 gallons of water, with ‘‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco
extract, 2 of a pint in 100 gallons of water, adding 3 pounds of
soap to each 50 gallons, or with kerosene emulsion made accord-
ing to the standard formula and diluted with 6 parts of water.
In the South, where two broods develop annually, the young can
be killed with one of these sprays in August or September.
THE ScuRFY SCALE
Chionaspis furfura Fitch
For more than half a century this native American insect |
has been one of the commonest and best known scales infesting
APPLE INSECTS s lye
pear and apple orchards in the northeastern portion of the
United States, and its range now includes most of Canada and
the United States; it has been introduced into England. It
is often so abundant as to nearly cover the bark of apple, pear,
currant, black raspberry, Japan quince and mountain ash,
‘sometimes killing these plants, but usually it is not very destruc-
tive. Its different food-plants now number nearly twenty-five,
- including the peach and quince, besides the fruits just mentioned.
Usually the bark only is infested by this scurfy scale, but rarely
it gets on to the fruit and causes similar but larger reddish dis-
colorations of the skin than the San José scale (Fig. 176).
Fic. 175. — Apple branch infested with the scurfy scale.
The rather flat, somewhat pear-shaped grayish-white female
scales are about 4 of an inch long and when numerous give the
bark an ashy or scurfy appearance, whence the common name
(Fig. 175). The scale consists of the two minute cast skins at
the smaller end and a large, broad, thin, whitish portion secreted
by the yellowish grub-like female insect beneath, and is, there-
fore, easily distinguished from the narrower, more convex, dark
brown oyster-shell scale. The male scurfy scales are much
smaller than the females, brilliantly white in color, with
nearly parallel sides, three longitudinal ridges or keels, and
a single conspicuous, yellowish-brown cast skin at the end
Nea?
178 FRUIT INSECTS.
of the scales. The males are sometimes quite numerous on
certain branches.
The details of the development and life history of this scale
are very similar to those of the oyster-shell scale. There is
evidently a single Tages annually in its northern range, but two
broods are recorded
in Illinois, Ohio,
Pennsylvania, Del-
aware and south-
ward. In 1895 we
reared in New York
two generations of
the scurfy scale and
one generation only
of the oyster-shell
scale from eggs
which hatched May
13 on trees in an in-
sectary, and found
corroborative evi-
dence on trees in
the field, but this
was doubtless an exceptional season. The minute, purplish
young which hatched May 13, molted first early in June, and
the females the second time about a week later. By the middle
of June the males had emerged and by July 9 many of the eggs
were laid, and these hatched in about ten days. On August 22,
a mature male and female in the same stage as those on the tree
in the insectary, were seen in the field, and eggs were laid during
the first threé weeks in September. Owing to the purplish
bodies of the young and half-grown scurfy scales and the
thinness of the scale, they are not nearly so conspicuous on the
bark as the oyster-shell species. The number of purplish-red
eggs laid by the females varies from 10 to 85, averaging about
Fic. 176. — Apple infested with scurfy scale.
APPLE INSECTS 179
50, and these hibernate with the dead and shriveled bodies of
the mothers under the scales..
The scurfy scale apparently has fewer enemies than the
oyster-shell scale, as but a single parasite, Ablerus clisiocampe,
is recorded. Two ladybird beetles, the twice-stabbed lady-
bird and a species of Hyperaspidius, however, devour many
of them. :
Remedial treatments.
The remedial measures recommended for the oysier-shell
scale will also control the scurfy scale.
PuTNAM’sS SCALE
Aspidiotus ancylus Putnam
This native American scale insect is common and widely
distributed, but is rarely injurious except upon plum trees and
currant bushes, which are sometimes
incrusted as badly as with the much
more dangerous and destructive San
José scale. Apple, pear, peach, nec-
tarine, cherry and orange trees, be-
sides several shade trees, are also
among its food-plants. The mature,
dark gray or blackish, nearly circular 3
female scale (Fig. 177) can be dis- Fic. 177. — Putnam’s scale, en-
tinguished from the European GM ee
scale or the cherry scale by microscopic characters only, but with
a hand-lens it is usually readily separated from the San José scale
by its exposed orange exuvium situated at one side of the center.
It passes the winter in a nearly full-grown condition. The males
appear in April and the females are oviparous, depositing from
30 to 40 eggs under the scales in late spring or early summer.
The crawling young lice hatch mostly in June and July, and there
is but a single generation in a year in northern latitudes.
180 FRUIT INSECTS
Parasitic enemies kill many of the insects under the scales.
As the species spreads slowly, cut out and burn the worst
infested branches or currant canes and thoroughly drench
the plant with any of the winter washes recommended for the
San José scale, or the young and recently set scales may be killed
by spraying with the contact insecticides recommended for
summer treatment of the oyster-shell scale (p. 176).
THE GREEDY SCALE
Aspidiotus rapax Comstock
This European scale insect appeared in California many years
ago. It is now abundant there and has gradually spread to the
southeast as far as Florida. It attacks various orchard trees,
more commonly orange, apple and pear, sometimes appearing
on the fruits. The mature female scale is very convex and of a
drab or yellowish-brown color, with a dark brown exuvial spot
often showing at one side of the center. In California, this
greedy scale may be found in all stages at almost any time of the
year, even hibernating as eggs, adult females or young. The
number of generations annually has not been determined. Four
birds, the myrtle and Audubon warblers, wren-tit and bush-tit,
eat this scale, their stomachs sometimes being filled with it.
The winter washes recommended for the San José scale will
usually control this greedy scale.
THe APPLE LEAF-HOPPER
Empoasca mali Le Baron
This is considered the worst all-round leaf-hopper pest, as it
works in injurious numbers on so many different plants.
Swarms of the active little creatures may attack the foliage of
apple, currant, gooseberry, raspberry, potato, sugar beets, beans
meee. ie EP Lee ae
Vig veka s
APPLE INSECTS 181
and celery; more than a dozen other plants, including weeds,
grasses, grains and shade trees, are also among its food-plants.
Puncturing the tissues with their tiny beaks,
these leaf-hoppers suck the juice, giving the
leaves a peculiar, mottled, yellowish appear-
ance and finally causing them to curl.
Nursery trees, especially apples, are often
seriously injured, the insects working mostly
on the undersides of the leaves. The adult
insects are about 4 of an inch long and of a
pale yellowish-green color with 6 or 8 distin-
guishing white spots on the front margin of .
the pronotum (Fig. 178). When disturbed = Fic. 178. — The
the pale green young or nymphs run in all ®t ius
directions, but the adults can jump quickly
and fly away. The apple leaf-hopper hibernates in both the
egg and the adult stages. The winter eggs are deposited in the
bark of the smaller branches just below the epidermis, two-
year-old wood being most often selected. The position of the
egg is indicated by a low blister-like eleva-
tion of the bark about = of an inch in
length and half as wide. The egg itself is
white, elongate, slightly curved and is
about 35 of an inch in length. The winter
eges hatch soon after the leaf buds burst
in the spring and the hibernating adults
appear on the trees about the same time.
The young hoppers pass through five
nymphal stages and acquire wings at the
Fie. 179. — Fifth :
stage nymph of the fifth molt (Fig. 179), about a month after
appleleaf-hopper. En-
eed: hatching. The summer eggs are not in-
serted in the bark, but in the petiole and
larger veins of the leaves. There are four generations annually
in the latitude of Iowa. The first generation works on the
182 FRUIT INSECTS
lower leaves of nursery trees, doing little real injury, but the
later broods, feeding on the tender terminal leaves of the grow-
ing shoots in the latter part of June, July and August, seriously
retard the growth and thus cause the production of stunted,
undersized trees. These hoppers are also an important factor
in the dissemination of fire blight among nursery trees.
Remedial treatment.
These leaf-hoppers can be most effectively combated during
their nymphal stages, for the adults are so well protected by
their wings that applications strong enough to kill them usually
injure the foliage. A 10 per cent kerosene emulsion or a solution
_ of whale-oil or any good soap (1 pound in 6 or 8 gallons of water)
will kill all the nymphs that are thoroughly hit. Efficient work
can also be done with “ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, one
pint to 100 gallons of water. In the case of nursery stock it is
practically impossible to hit enough of the young hoppers in the
curled leaves to pay for the labor and expense involved. Dip-
ping the infested tips into pails or dippers containing a soap
solution, one pound in 8 gallons of water, kills practically all
the young hoppers and is an entirely satisfactory method of
controlling the insect on apple nursery stock. The dipping
should be done in the latter part of June and again about a
month later. At these times the maximum number of nymphs
will be found on the trees.
Many of the adults can be captured as iia jump and fly
away from the disturbed plants by holding near by a shield
covered with some sticky tanglefoot-like substance, 1 pound
of melted resin in 1 pint of castor oil or ‘ castorine.”’ In Mis-
souri nurseries the hoppers are sometimes captured on sticky
shields mounted on a two-wheeled cart drawn by a horse. '
REFERENCES
Minn. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 112, pp. 145-164. 1908.
Iowa Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 111. 1910.
a Pei Cea oe
es WEN '
APPLE INSECTS 183
Brrp’s APPLE LEAF-HOPPER
Empoasca flavescens variety birdii Goding
This leaf-hopper appeared in injurious numbers on apple
in Illinois about 1889, and also attacked hops, beans, weeds
and walnut trees. Adults were found from May until
after heavy frosts. They differ from Hmpoasca mali in often
--being brighter yellow in color and in having not more than 3
- white spots on the pronotum. Birdii is considered a color
variety of Fabricius’ flavescens and is distinguished by a smoky
band which crosses the middle of the elytra.
CHAPTER V
APPLE INSECTS —BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS
THr APPLE BUD-BORER
Epinotia pyricolana Murtfeldt
Tue cream or pinkish colored caterpillars, about + of an inch
long, of this Tortricid moth attack young apple trees both in
orchards and nurseries, and often the water-sprouts on old
apple trees. They mine through the opening terminal buds
and continue boring down the twig for an inch or two. Later
side shoots are also attacked, and it is often necessary to re-
bud trees being top-worked by budding. The insect has been
quite destructive in Missouri, Delaware, Maryland and Vir-
ginia, and as it occurs in nurseries may spread to other states.
As its whole life-cycle occupies only about six weeks, there
are probably four broods annually in its southern range,’ the ©
second and third broods doing the most damage and its work
being the most noticeable in August. The ends of the twigs
are killed and a leaf petiole often remains attached to the tips
of infested twigs through the winter, thus indicating the pres-
ence of the insect, which usually hibernates as a full-grown
caterpillar in its burrow, but occasionally in a silken hibernac-
ulum or case covered with bits of bark and dirt on the trunk
or branches of the tree. The caterpillars transform in May,
and the little, bluish-gray moths prettily marked with brown
bands and white dashes and having a wing-expanse of about
> an inch, emerge and lay eggs from which come a brood of
the bud-borers in June. In July and September the second
184
cag
‘ Pee
as
APPLE INSECTS —BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 185
and third broods of the borers get in their destructive work,
and probably a fourth brood appears in October.
Observations in Arkansas indicate that in the Ozark region
part of the first brood larve attack the fruit, that the remainder
of the first and nearly all the-second brood. attack the twigs
and water-sprouts and that the larger part of the later broods
go back to the fruit. Its work on the fruit is similar to that
of the codlin-moth. Many of the caterpillars of the later
broods are killed by parasites, and sometimes 50 per cent of
those in hibernation are parasitized by Bracon mellitor.
A good preventive measure in young orchards or nurseries
is to remove the water sprouts from old apple trees near by, as
the insect often breeds in these sprouts. As described above,
the clinging leaf petioles will reveal many of the infested twigs
in winter, and by a judicious pruning and burning of these and
other terminals, most. of the hibernating caterpillars can be
destroyed.
REFERENCES
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. 12th Rept. for 1900, pp. 194-199. 1901.
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 80, Pt. III, p. 46. 1909.
THE ROUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER
Saperda candida Fabricius
This native American borer ranks among the most destruc-
tive enemies to apple and quince culture throughout the north-
ern and eastern portions of the United States and also in Canada.
It also occurs in restricted localities in the Southern states.
Pear trees are sometimes attacked and its wild food plants
include crab apples and thorns of different species, mountain
ash, choke cherry, Juneberry and most of the kinds of trees
and shrubs in the family Pomaceze. Although present in most
apple and quince orchards throughout the infested territory,
it often occurs in injurious numbers in quite restricted localities
186 : FRUIT INSECTS
or spots. We have seen one quince orchard ruined by this
borer, while another orchard about two miles away owned and
cared for by the same fruit-grower was never seriously infested.
The presence of this
borer is usually easily
detected at the base of
the tree in the spring by
the little piles of saw-
dust-like castings
Fic. 180. — Round-headed apple-tree borer, full- thrown Gut freee
grown larva (xX 2).
opening through the
bark into its burrow. Often several of the borers work in a tree
and the whole tree has a weak and sickly appearance with leaves
small and yellowish. Trees of all ages, from nursery stock to
large orchard trees, are attacked and often killed. Rank vege-
table growths of weeds, grass and water-sprouts around the
trunks of trees often seem to afford more favorable conditions
for this pest. The borers work mostly in the base of the trunk
often below the surface of the ground and in the large roots.
Sometimes they infest
the upper portions of
the trunk and rarely
the larger limbs. The
burrows or tunnels
begin in the bark and
sapwood, but soon ex-
tend for several inches
ae Ea ee Fic. 181. — Round-headed apple-tree borer, fe-
wood, often reaching male and male beetles.
the heart of small trees.
The borer when full grown is a light yellow, legless, figaie
grub about an inch in length with a dark brown head and black-
ish mandibles (Fig. 180). The first thoracic segment is broader
than the rest of the body and bears a large patch of many small
ay se ae eee a ee Serre yt Pie um
ys . oe g ear eles
“—* ms x :
- « A ‘ ‘
me
APPLE INSECTS—BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 187
brownish tubercles on the dorsum and a smaller patch on the
ventral side. The constrictions between the segments of the
body are deep and the elevated dorsal and ventral portions of
the first seven abdominal segments are roughened. The adult
insect or parent of this borer is a handsome beetle measuring
about an inch in length, the male beetle being considerably
slenderer and shorter than the female (Fig. 181). The whole
insect, appendages included, is clothed in a velvet-like coating
Fic. 182. — Round-headed apple-tree borer in its burrow in a small apple tree.
of fine, smoothly-laid hairs, giving it a very neat appearance.
The long antenne nearly as long as the body, and the legs are
gray. The head and ventral portion of the body are a beau-
tiful silvery white, and from the white face of the beetle two
broad, white stripes extend horizontally backward over the
head, across the thorax, and along each wing-cover to the tip.
The general color of the wing-covers and dorsal portion of thorax
is light brown, and the blackish eyes are very conspicuous on the
white head. :
188 FRUIT INSECTS
The round holes (Fig. 184) nearly as large as a lead pencil
in the base of the trunk of trees infested by this round-headed
borer are the exit holes of the beetles which have developed
from the grubs or borers. The beetles emerge mostly at night
and remain hidden and inactive during the day. Even in
northern localities some of them emerge in April, many of them
in May and June, and there are records of their emergence in
different localities during the next two or three months. Prob-
ably most of the eggs are laid in June, but oviposition may
continue to September even in the same locality. The smooth-
shelled, pale, rust-brown egg measures an eighth of an inch in
length, by one third as wide and is slightly compressed. The
eggs are laid in the bark, usually near the ground. The female
beetle first makes an incision or slit in the bark, probably
with her sharp, horny jaws, but one observer says it is made
with the ovipositor. The egg is deposited in the incision,
sometimes at the bottom next to the wood, but generally in
an opening made in one side of the cut halfway through the
bark, nearly a quarter of an inch from the cut. It is then
covered with a gummy fluid that sometimes fills the slit and
hides the egg, but some observers report that the eggs are
easily found. From eggs laid June 15, larve hatched in about
three weeks in New Hampshire.
The young larve soon tunnel through the bark (Fig. 182) to
the sapwood in which they work for a year or more, often ex-
tending their shallow flat burrows downward below the surface
of the ground and remaining dormant in winter. The borers
begin work early in the spring, often in March or April, and
during the second year of their growth they extend their burrows
farther into the solid wood, sometimes going through and girdling
young trees. The tunnels often extend upward and downward
at various angles in the tree for several inches. Most of the
sawdust-like excrement of the grub is packed in its burrow, but
some of it is pushed out through small holes eaten through the
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 189
bark and it often accumulates in little piles at the base of the
tree. It is generally believed that it requires three years for
this apple-borer to complete its life-cycle. During the third
summer the grub sinks its tunnel deeper into the wood, enlarges
it and finally extends it outward to the bark. Behind itself
the grub packs the tunnel full of sawdust and coarse, woody
fibers, and the outward end near the bark is also similarly
Fig. 183. — Round-headed apple-tree borer pupa in its burrow.
plugged. On smooth-barked trees a small, slightly sunken area
of dead bark often marks the end of this tunnel, and thus
enables one to locate the borer from the outside before it trans-
forms and emerges. A small chamber an inch or more in
length is left near the end of the tunnel where the grub hiber-
nates practically secure from the entrance of enemies in either
direction. Doubtless some of the grubs do not make this final
preparation for their further development into the adult insect
until the third spring. Early the third spring, often in May,
190° *% FRUIT INSECTS
the grub or borer sheds its skin in this specially prepared chamber
and appears in the pupal stage, a delicate, yellowish-white ob-
ject, somewhat resembling the adult insect (Fig. 183). This
pupa gradually grows
darker in color and in
about three weeks trans-
forms to the beautiful
adult or beetle which
soon emerges from a
round hole (Fig. 184)
about the size of a lead
pencil cut through the
bark with its strong,
sharp mandibles.
As it spends most of
» the three years of its
life inside the tree, this
apple-borer has few nat-
ural enemies. Wood-
peckers get some of the
erubs, and at least one
hymenopterous parasite, Cenocelius populator, sometimes helps
to reduce their numbers.
Preventive and remedial measures.
Borers are among the most difficult to control of all insects
attacking fruit-trees. No thoroughly satisfactory method of
preventing the ravages of this round-headed apple-borer has
yet been found. The owner of the quince orchard mentioned
in the first paragraph of the discussion of this borer thoroughly
tested the commonly recommended preventive washes and
shields besides constantly practicing the “digging-out method.”
Yet so severe was the infestation that all measures failed and
the orchard was ruined, the owner giving up the fight and
destroying the trees. The statement often made that paper
Fic. 184. — Exit hole of the round-headed
apple-tree borer.
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 191
protectors not only prevent the borers from getting into the
tree, but also the beetles from emerging, was refuted in this
orchard, where the beetles sometimes emerged safely through
collars of brick mortar more than a quarter of an inch thick.
In spite of the failure to control the pest in this unusually
severely infested orchard, the experiment did demonstrate that
certain preventive or deterrent measures were of value. Kero-
sene emulsion sprayed upon the trunks of the trees several
times during the summer seemed to be quite an effective deter-
rent. One of the best preventives tried was tarred paper
closely wrapped around the tree from the roots to a foot or
more above ground and well tied on, especially at the top.
Alkaline washes of any kind of soap made into a thick paint
with a solution of caustic potash or washing soda and about 1
pint of crude carbolic acid added to every 10 gallons of the
wash have often been used as deterrents with good results.
Two or three applications should be made from early May to
July, thoroughly covering the trunk from the branches down
to the roots. Instead of tarred paper, old newspapers or wire
mosquito netting may be used as mechanical protectors. Let
‘the netting loosely encircle the tree except at the top so the
beetles cannot reach the bark of the tree through the meshes.
These open wire protectors will last two or more seasons, while
the close paper ones should be removed in the fall. Some
orchardists make a mound of earth from five to twelve inches
high around the base of the trees in early spring, thus forcing
the beetles to lay their eggs higher up on the trunk where the
grubs can be more easily found and dug out. The mounds
should be removed in early autumn. A combination of this
mounding system or a wire or paper protector with the applica-
tions of a deterrent wash above the protector if thoroughly
‘done should effectually prevent many of the borers from getting
into the trees.
Clean culture is one of the best preventive measures. Do
192 FRUIT INSECTS
not allow rank growths of weeds, water-sprouts or other vege-
tation to accumulate about the base of the tree.
The surest and best remedy for this pest after it gets into the
tree is the old and much practiced digging or cutting out
method. Experienced orchardists are often able to readily
locate the borer by the oozing of sap or by particles of sawdust
coming from minute holes in the bark leading into the burrows.
It is then often an easy matter to reach the borer with a sharp
knife or chisel, or a wire may be pushed into the tunnel until
the grub is impaled. Great care must be practiced or more
injury may result from the knife than from the borer. The
trees should be thoroughly examined in early spring, not later
than May, for the borers are usually more easily located then
by their sawdust-like castings, and it is also important to destroy
those that are then transforming to the beetles. Continue to
use the knife during the summer whenever a borer can be located,
and go over the trees thoroughly in early autumn to get the
younger borers working just beneath the bark. Where valuable
trees have been riddled or girdled by the borers, or in trying
to dig them out, the tree may be saved by putting in several
bridge grafts at the base, as is often done when trees are girdled
by mice or rabbits. Wounds made in removing borers should
be coated with gas tar to exclude moisture and prevent the
development of fungous diseases.
Other kinds of borers in shade or park trees have been suc-
cessfully treated by injecting a little carbon bisulfide into the
small hole from which the sawdust-like excrement is being pushed
out, and the hole quickly plugged with putty or grafting wax.
The deadly fumes of this very volatile liquid penetrate the bur-
row and finally kill the borers. Orchardists should give this
sensible method a thorough trial. A similar treatment has been
successfully used by some fruit-growers. Wherever the saw-
dust is seen coming through the bark, kerosene is freely applied
which is absorbed by the castings and carried by capillary
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 193
attraction through the burrow, finally coming in contact with
and killing the grub. The small amount of kerosene necessary
to accomplish this is said not to injure the tree. Do not waste
time and materials in trying to reach the borer through the
large round holes, as large as a lead pencil, for these are the
exit or emerging holes of the adult insect or beetle. The grub
or borer has finished its nefarious work and transformed into
the handsome beetle, which made the hole, and flew away to
seek its mate and provide for more destructive work by their
progeny.
REFERENCE 3
U. S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 32 (third revise). 1907.
Tue SpottepD APPLE-TREE BRORER
Saperda cretata Newman
This Cerambycid beetle is very similar to its near relative,
the round-headed apple-borer, :
both in appearance and _ habits.
The beetle of the spotted borer
is about the same size and form,
but differs in being of a darker
brown color with its legs, antenne,
head and the middle portion of the
ventral surface of the same brown
color. Two broad, silvery white
stripes extend along the sides of
the thorax and abdomen and there
are two similar narrow stripes on
the dorsum of the thorax. - The
continuous white stripes on the
Wwing-covers of the beetle of the
round-headed borer are replaced 5. 195 The See ane:
by two large white spots on the borer (X 23).
0)
194 | FRUIT INSECTS
wing-covers of this borer (Fig. 185). Although this insect
is widely distributed throughout practically the same ter-
ritory as its near relative, it has been recorded as injurious
only in Iowa and Michigan. Besides injuring apple and wild
crab trees, it also attacks Juneberry and thorn. The beetles are
said to lay their eggs in the bark in pairs, half an inch or more
apart. The grubs of each pair upon hatching then work in
opposite directions around the trunk or branch, at first just
beneath the bark, and afterwards entering the hard wood.
The remedial measures suggested for the round-headed borer,
Saperda candida, will also apply to this spotted borer, except
that the latter often works in the larger branches as well as the
trunk, thus rendering it necessary to extend the protective or
preventive treatments to the branches.
REFERENCE
U. S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 32 (third revise). 1907.
The larva of another long-horned beetle (Leptostylus acultf-
erus Say) sometimes burrows under the bark of diseased apple
trees. The beetle is about 4 inch in length, and brownish-
eray in color. The wing-covers are ornamented with numerous
small thorn-like points and are crossed, behind the middle,
with a V-shaped band, margined with black. The adults
may be found from August to September.
Tur FLAT-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER
Chrysobothris femorata Fabricius
This Buprestid beetle is widely distributed throughout the
United States and southern Canada. It is often found basking -
in the sunshine on fallen trees and the warm, sunny sides of
the trunks of many kinds of trees, but the shy creature is not
easily captured, as it runs rapidly or flies readily when ap-
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 195
proached. The favorite natural host-plants of the insect are
doubtless oak trees, but it attacks a great variety of wild and
cultivated plants. Among orchard fruits it is often injurious
to apple, quince, pear, peach, plum and apricot trees and cur-
rant bushes. Pecan trees are attacked by it in Alabama, and
its food-plants among shade and forest. trees now include oak,
mountain ash, maple, box-elder, hickory, chestnut, sycamore,
horse-chestnut, linden and willow.
The common name of this insect,
the flat-headed borer, was suggested
by the peculiar flat-headed appearance
of the larva or grub to distinguish it
from the round-headed borer, Saperda
candida, often working on the same
trees. While the flat-headed borer is
more common, it is usually a less dan-
gerous pest than the latter species, be-
cause it rarely attacks thrifty, healthy
trees. It seems to prefer the warmer
southern sides of young trees that are
suffering from lack of cultivation, un- — Fie. 186. — Adult of the
congenial soil, climatic or other disease- ete a sR UES
producing conditions.
This destructive short-horned metallic beetle is of a flattish
oblong form (Fig. 186) and about half an inch long, varying
considerably in size. The antenne are short, the eyes. large,
and the front legs are armed with a conspicuous tooth. The
upper surface of the body is of a dark, coppery-brown color
and fresh specimens are often coated in spots with a powdery
gray substance that easily rubs off. Each wing-cover has three —
slightly raised lines, the outer two of which are interrupted by
two impressed, irregular, transverse spots of a brassy green
color, dividing each wing-cover into three nearly equal portions.
The under surface of the body and the legs are of a bright me-
3 24
| ak: NERS Ad y \
j 7 ee i ’
a F reel te
ri aertA
Y a q
196 FRUIT INSECTS
tallic greenish-blue, shining like burnished copper when the
insect is flying. The males are smaller than the females and
have shining green heads. These sun-loving beetles begin to
appear early in May and continue through July even into
September. The females deposit their yellow, irregularly
ribbed eggs, about #, of an inch in length, in cracks or
under bark scales, usually several eggs in a place, either on
the trunk or branches, and almost always on the warmer south-
ern side of the tree, or on recently felled logs in sunny locations.
The larva or grub which hatches from these eggs soon eats its
way through the bark and ex-
cavates a broad, flat, irregular
channel, often extending into the
sapwood just under the bark.
Part of the channel is packed
with sawdust-like castings of the
rs spe
ee Pio A single borer may often
girdle the trunk and kill small
trees. The full-grown, light-yellow, legless grub is about an
inch long with its second thoracic segment much broadened and
flattened (Fig. 187). On the upper and lower surfaces of this
segment are large, roughened spots with two smooth diverging
linear depressions extending through the dorsal spot and one
medially through the ventral spot. The grub habitually rests
in a curved position and gets its full growth during a single
summer. It finally extends its burrow outward nearly through
the bark, then digs a little deeper into the solid wood, forming
a chamber in which it transforms through the tender white
pupal stage (Fig. 188) to the adult insect. In the north these
pupal chambers are made in the spring, the winter months
being passed as grubs, but farther south pupation may occur
in November, the pupz hibernating. The pupal period lasts
about three weeks in the spring, and the beetles cut their way
ET ee AL een er
we
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 197
out through an elliptical hole. Thus this flat-headed borer
has a much shorter life-cycle than the round-headed species,
from which it also differs much in all its
stages and in its habits.
Although snugly hidden in its’ bur-
row beneath the bark, this flat-headed
borer does not escape from natural ene-—
mies. Woodpeckers and ants devour
many of the grubs and pupe and the fol-
lowing parasites prey upon it: the Braco-
nids, Bracon charus and pectinator, Spa-
thius pallidus; the Ichneumonids, Labena :
apicalis and grallator ; and one or more ieee ae BE
species of Chalcids. tree borer. :
Remedial suggestions.
As healthy, well-established trees are rarely attacked by this
borer, its ravages can be largely prevented by keeping young
trees in a thrifty, growing condition. Many of the suggestions
for controlling the round-headed borer are also applicable to
this species. The deterrent soap and emulsion washes and pro-
tective coverings have been found effective, but must be applied
farther up the trunk and on to the larger branches. Two or
more applications of the washes should be made, beginning in
May and continuing into July. As the location of the larval
channels are often revealed by slight discolorations or diseased
conditions of the bark or by sawdust-like castings thrown out
of the burrows, the culprit can often be easily reached with a
sharp tool. Several of the grubs often infest a young tree,
completely undermining the bark over considerable areas;
we once found on a small apricot tree three pupe in an area not
larger than a penny. In cases of such severe infestation the
trees should be removed and burned in autumn or before May.
A closely related Buprestid beetle, Chrysobothris mali Horn, |
which has been given the common name of ‘California big-
198 FRUIT INSECTS
headed borer”? has been recorded as injurious to apple trees in
Arizona. If its life habits are similar to those of Chrysobothris
femorata just discussed, the same remedial measures should
prove effective in controlling it.
REFERENCE
U. S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 32 (third revise). 1907.
Tue APPLE WoopD-STAINER
Pterocyclon (Monarthrum) mali Fitch
Half a century ago this aria reddish-brown Scolytid
beetle an 189), only about 7 of an inch in length, was
reported from Massachusetts as rid-
dling the trunks of apple trees with
their burrows. The insect belongs
to the interesting group of beetles
5 known as Ambrosia beetles, which
Fic. 189. — The apple wood- propagate a mold-like fungus in their
ae as ae burrows that stains the walls black, —
and is eaten by the beetles and fed by them to their offspring
or grubs. The parent beetle bores through the bark into the
wood for about 1 of an inch, then excavates a main
transverse tunnel or gallery in the solid wood from the sides
of which short galleries made and occupied by grubs extend at
right angles upward or downward. This wood-stainer breeds
only in diseased or dying, felled or girdled trees, and sawed
mahogany lumber. Its food-plants include nearly twenty
different forest or timber trees, as well as the apple, orange and
morello cherry among fruit-trees. It has also been called the
Lesser Cask-beetle because of its fondness for boring into wine,
beer and vinegar casks, often doing much damage in this way.
As there are no recent records of its injuring orchard trees, it
needs no further discussion as a fruit pest. The deterrent
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 199
washes recommended for the larger apple-borers will doubtless
prove effective should the insect again appear in ms urious num-
bers in orchards.
THe Bronze APPLE-TREE WEEVIL
Magdalis enescens Leconte
In Oregon, Washington, Montana and British Columbia apple
trees, particularly young trees, are sometimes attacked and killed
by this small snout-beetle or
weevil (Fig. 190). Weak or
sickly trees are more liable to
attack. The insect may work
on the trunk, but more often
makes its tunnels under the
bark of the branches and may SSS eS
e * PP Ly
continue its work after the ES
. trees are dead. The: little, Fic. 190. — The bronze apple-tree
plump, legless, white grubs weevil (X 10).
about + of an inch in length may extend their narrow burrows
for an ei or two in various directions under the bark. Each
burrow ends in a little cell where the grub transforms, probably
in the spring, through the pupal stage to the adult or weevil.
There is apparently but one generation of the insect in a year,
the weevils emerging through small, round holes in the bark
from early April until August, and laying their smooth, shining,
yellowish-white eggs in little horizontal holes dug in the bark.
The slender, blackish-bronze colored weevils, measuring about
— of an inch in length, often feed upon the leaves of
apple and cherry, sometimes nearly defoliating small trees.
The wild food-plant of the insect seems to be a species of thorn.
Two Chalcid parasites destroy large numbers of the grubs.
The repellent soap and lye washes or the kerosene emulsion
recommended for the round-headed apple-tree borer have been
200 FRUIT. INSECTS
found effective against this bronze apple weevil if an applica-
tion is made early in April and repeated late in May. Badly
infested trees that are dying should be removed and burned
before the weevils begin to emerge in April.
REFERENCE
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 22, pp. 37-44. 1900.
THE TWIG-PRUNER
Elaphidion villosum Fabricius
In early autumn an orchardist’s attention may be attracted
to twigs or branches from a few inches to two or three feet in
length which have fallen to the ground, having been deftly
pruned from the trees by this twig-pruner. An examination
of the severed end of the branch will reveal a smoothly cut
surface, near the center of which is an oval opening plugged
with a wad of fine shavings and sawdust. If the branch be
split open, it will usually be found to have been tunneled, often
from 10 to 15 inches, by a slender, whitish grub nearly 3 of an
‘inch in length, then lying in the tunnel near the severed end, or
the insect may have already reached the pupal or even ‘the
adult or beetle stage. The grub is quite hairy, and it has three
pairs of minute legs. Usually the grubs transform in the
spring and the beetles continue to emerge from June till Sep-
tember. This Cerambycid beetle is a slender, reddish-brown
insect rather sparsely covered with yellowish, somewhat mottled
pubescence. It varies considerably in shape and size, measur-
ing from % to 2 of an inch in length with the antenne of the
female a little shorter and those of the male longer than the
body. The proximal joints of the antennz are armed with small
spines, and each wing-cover terminates in two small spines.
The eggs are inserted in the smaller twigs of living trees in
summer. The young grub hatching therefrom feeds for a
APPLE INSECTS —BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 201
time on the softer tissues under the bark, packing its burrow
with its sawdust-like castings and gradually boring towards
the base of the twig. As the borer grows it often consumes the
larger portion of the wood and ejects some of its castings
through holes made in the bark. Later it bores along the center,
making a more or less oval chamber. Early in the fall it eats
away nearly all the wood, plugs the end of its burrow and waits
for the wind to break off the nearly severed branch. The pur-
pose of the grub in this pruning operation is not definitely
known. Early writers attributed to the grubs an unwarranted
degree of intelligence, almost reasoning powers, by which they
were considered infallible, knowing just how far to cut and
being able to vary the operation to meet the circumstances in
each particular case. The most plausible explanation yet sug-
gested is that the grub nearly severs the branches and plugs
the free end of the burrow to provide for the emergence of the
weak-jawed beetles, which could never eat their way out through
the solid wood. Under natural conditions in the field the life-
cycle of this twig-pruner is doubtless completed in a year, but
when infested twigs are gathered and kept in dry situations, it
may require three or four years to breed the beetles.
Oak and maple are favorite food-plants of this insect and
the ground is often strewn with severed branches under these
trees. It attacks many other forest or shade trees and shrubs,
and the following fruits are also pruned by it, sometimes quite
severely: apple, pear, quince, peach, plum, grape and orange. —
Several birds, woodpeckers, blue jays and chickadees destroy
many of the grubs or pupz in the fallen twigs. A parasite,
Bracon eurygaster, has been reared from infested twigs.
The collection and burning of the fallen branches in autumn
or early spring will effectually control the pest.
REFERENCE
U. S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 130. 1910.
ERDAS Neca SP te he)
es ee
202 FRUIT INSECTS
THE TWIG-GIRDLER_
Oncideres cingulata Say
Twigs and branches less than half an inch in diameter on
many kinds of forest and shade trees and on several of the
orchard fruits are often neatly girdled by a handsome, robust,
ash-sprinkled, reddish-brown beetle a little more than half
an inch in length with antenne longer than its body and a
broad, ashy-colored belt around the middle of the wing-covers
and across the thorax; closer inspection also reveals numerous
Fig. 191. — The twig-girdler.
light brown spots on the wing-covers. The beetles appear
during July and August and the girdling is done by the females
standing on the twig head downwards and cutting the girdle
section by section about an eighth of an inch wide and extending
to the heartwood, so that the branch is easily broken off by
high winds (Fig. 191). During the girdling process, which
often occupies half a day, the female stops several times to
move outward on the twig and tuck an egg underneath the
bark at the base of a side shoot or an aborted bud. The girdled
twigs are soon broken off and fall to the ground, where most of
the eggs hatch by autumn. In the spring the grubs bore into
the solid wood and often make a channel 2 inches long and.
disposing of nearly all the woody portion of the twig, but always
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 203
leaving the bark intact. The white, legless grubs about
3 of an inch long have a row of short, parallel, chitinous
ridges near the front margin of the head, a portion of the dor-
sum of the thorax is striated and elevated, and there are double,
transverse rows of minute, brownish, toothlike projections
both on the dorsal and ventral portions of the third to the tenth
segments. Early in July these grubs block up the ends of
their channels and all holes or cracks in the bark with small
shavings and at one end transform through the pupal stage to
the adult insect in about two weeks. —
This twig-girdler is common throughout the eastern and
southern portions of the United States, and while working
mostly on elm, hickory and other forest trees, it includes the
following fruit-trees among its food-plants: apple, pear, quince,
peach, plum, cherry and persimmon. The beetles are the
depredators, their progeny doing no harm by working in the
dead twigs on the ground. Sometimes the ground under shade
trees is strewn with the girdled twigs, but fruit-trees are rarely
seriously injured.
The remedy is simple. Gather and burn the fallen twigs
in autumn, winter or early spring, thus destroying the eggs and
young grubs in their hibernating quarters.
REFERENCES
Kan. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 77, pp. 56-62. 1898.
Okl. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 91. 1911.
FLEA-BEETLES
At least half a dozen different kinds of these small, active
beetles, with enlarged hind legs that enable them to jump like
fleas, sometimes attack and seriously injure young apple trees,
~ especially newly budded or grafted nursery stock and seedlings.
The beetles swarm from near-by weeds upon the trees in May
and June and eat small holes through the leaves, often riddling
204 FRUIT INSECTS
the foliage and causing the death of young grafts or seedlings.
Most of the species attacking apples are common and widely
BE bad over the United States and Canada.
The apple flea-beetles (Haltica foliacea Leconte; and Haltica
punctipennis Leconte) |
These two bright, shining green flea-beetles are about % of
an inch in length and distinguished from each other with diffi-
culty. The first species lives mostly in the southwest, from
Texas to Arizona, while punctvpennis usually has more dis-
tinctly punctuated wing-covers and is common from Missouri
westward to California. Most of the mjuries to apple trees,
although recorded as the work of foliacea, are now considered
to have been done by punctipennis. Injury to young apple
trees by these two species has been reported mostly from
Kansas, Colorado and New Mexico. They are the only species
of these flea-beetles attacking apple which are known to breed
upon the apple, their blackish grubs sometimes skeletonizing
the leaves in July. There is apparently but one generation
annually, the beetles hibernating.
The pale-struped flea-beetle (Systena teniata Say)
This flea-beetle, about + of an inch long, varies in color from
almost black to a pale brownish, and it has a whitish longitudinal
stripe extending down the middle of each wing-cover. Its
grubs are root-feeders on weeds and corn, but the beetles are
very general feeders. The terminal buds, and later the leaves,
on apple and pear grafts have been destroyed by the beetles in
Arkansas, and 20,000 seedling apples were stripped in seven
days and killed in New York in June, 1900.
The smartweed flea-beetle (Systena hudsonias Forster)
This totally black flea-beetle, about 4 of an inch long, gener-
ally feeds on smartweed, dock and other weeds, and little is
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 205
known of its life history. In June and July, 1897, it swarmed
on to apple and pear grafts and 2-year-old trees in a New York
nursery, and fed voraciously on the upper and lower surfaces of
the leaves, riddling them and killing many of the grafts.
The willow flea-beetle (Crepidodera helxines Linnzeus)
This tiny, European flea-beetle, only ={5 of an inch in length,
is smooth, and varies from a brownish bronze to a metallic blue
or green color. It is often found on willows eating small, round
holes in the leaves, and the beetles hibernate, appearing in
May and June. They once riddled the foliage of young apple
trees in an Illinois nursery in June. The cucumber flea-beetle
(Epitrix cucumeris Harris) was also detected at the same
work in Illinois early in May. It is about 4 smaller than the
willow species, of a shining black color, somewhat hairy, and
is a common pest in gardens on potatoes, cucumbers and other
vines. Its grubs sometimes cause “pimply”’ potatoes.
Another Chrysomelid beetle (Syneta albida Leconte), although
not of the group known as Flea-beetles, attacked apple, cherry
and peach trees in a similar manner in Oregon in 1892. The
slender, yellowish-brown (the females are yellowish-white)
beetles, about 4 of an inch in length, riddled the foliage and
blossoms in April, sometimes cutting half through the stems
of the young fruits. A sudden jar of the infested trees caused
many of them to drop, so they could be readily collected on
sheets or curculio-catchers, or a thorough application oF a poison
spray would kill them.
The red-legged joe (Crepidodera rufipes Linnzeus)
This little flea-beetle, about ~,5 of an inch long, with shiny,
blue wing-covers and sodlcich- brat head, antennz, thorax
and legs, is common in Europe and widely distributed in the
United States, where its favorite food seems to be black locust
Oe LS ee ee ee re
ee ne ia ee
206 FRUIT INSECTS
foliage. Young apple, pear, peach and plum orchards set near
or on locust clearings have been seriously injured in early
spring by the beetles swarming on to the trees and eating out
the buds, sometimes denuding and killing the trees. It is sus- -
pected that the insect breeds on locust roots, but its life history
is unknown, except that the beetles hibernate in rubbish on
the ground. Thorough and frequent spraying of the opening
buds with arsenate of lead (6 or 8 pounds in 100 gallons) will
check the ravages of the beetles, which may also be jarred from
the trees on to sheets or plum curculio-catchers. Kerosene
emulsion diluted with 6 or 8 parts water is said to kill all that
are thoroughly hit.
Remedies for flea-beetles.
Experiments have shown that these flea-beetles can be effect-
ually controlled and many of them killed by one or two thorough
applications of a strong poison spray, as Paris green, 1 pound.
in 100 gallons of water, or arsenate of lead, 4 or 5 pounds in
100 gallons of water. Bordeaux mixture alone often protects
the foliage from their attacks, and, combined with a poison, will
make a very effective spray. Apply as soon as the beetles
appear and make a second application a few days later, if
necessary.
THE CLOVER-MITE
Bryobia pratensis Garman
This is a minute, spider-like, oval-shaped, reddish-brown
mite about ;é> of an inch in length and with remarkably long
front legs (Fig. 192). Although it is closely related to the
common, two-spotted mite or so-called “‘red-spider”’ of green-
houses, it lives mostly out-of-doors on trees, clover and grasses.
Throughout Canada and the northern half of the United States,
especially during dry seasons, this clover-mite often swarms
over the foliage of peach, prune, plum, apple, pear, cherry,
eee pik U
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 207
almond, raspberry and other fruits, and many forest trees
also. It is one of the principal enemies of fruit-trees in the
far western orchard sections. These
mites have mouth parts fitted for pierc-
ing the tissues, and badly infested foli-
age assumes a blanched, yellowish, sickly
Fic. 1938.— Eggs of
the clover-mite on a
twig.
’ sheltered locations,
appearance.
In warmer locali-
ties many of the
mites hibernate on
the bark or in other
but in northern re-
gions the winter is
passed in the egg
stage. Oftentimes
the bark of fruit-
trees, especially in Fig. 192.— The clover-
the crotches, is mite. Redrawn after M.
covered in winter by ee ee
thousands of the tiny, round, reddish eggs
(Fig. 193). The conspicuous, rusty, reddish
appearance given to the bark by the masses
of mite eggs often first leads to the dis-
covery of the pest. The eggs hatch early
in the spring and breeding continues through
several generations during the growing sea-
son. In autumn housewives are often much
annoyed by swarms of the mites coming
from near-by clover fields and seeking hi-
bernation quarters in the house.
REFERENCE
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 158. 1912.
Oa So oe a ee
eng hy
208 FRUIT INSECTS
The two-spotted mite (Tetranychus bimaculatus Harvey)
This is the common ‘“‘red-spider’’ of greenhouses and the mite
often discussed as Tetranychus telariws. Under this latter
name there are many reports of injury to fruit-trees by ‘‘red-
spiders,” but in most cases it is evident that the real culprit
was the clover-mite. The two-spotted mite is smaller, about
sy of an inch long, and the legs are more nearly of equal length.
The body and legs bear many stout hairs; it varies in color
from yellow through orange to brown and dark green, often
with a darker spot-on each side of the body. It spins a very
delicate silken web-like nest over its breeding grounds. Its
eggs are elongate and white, and it is said to hibernate among
fallen leaves and not as eggs on the bark. Thus while these
two mites work in a similar manner on the foliage, they differ
considerably in appearance and life-habits. (See also p. 315.)
Remedial treatment for these mites.
The clover-mite can be most effectively and easily con-
trolled by thoroughly spraying the hibernating eggs in fall,
winter or early spring with lime-sulfur at the strength usually
used against scale, or a 10 per cent kerosene emulsion. The
mites can be killed on the foliage with whale-oil soap solution
(1 pound in 10 gallons water) or by dusting with sulfur and
hydrated lime.
REFERENCES
Vt. Agr. Exp. Sta. 10th Ann. Rept. pp. 75-86. 1897.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 152. 1909.
THE RING-LEGGED TREE-BUG
Brochymena annulata Fabricius
This large, widely distributed, dull grayish-brown Pentato-
mid bug about 2 of an inch long often occurs in young apple
orchards and has been accused of killing the tender, young
Te 4
wot
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 209
shoots by sucking out the sap in May. It is also reported as
common on plum, cherry and larch. trees and grape vines.
The eggs and nymphs have been found on pea vines and willow
trees and the old bugs in hibernation under bark. Another
species, Brochymena 4-pustulata, in both nymphal and adult
stages, is recorded as sucking the juices from the pupe of the
white-marked tussock-moth in Delaware, so that this ring-legged
tree-bug may also include injurious insects as a portion of its
diet, thus offsetting some of the injury it may do to plants.
The adult bugs can be jarred or hand-picked from the trees
on to sheets, or the nymphs killed by spraying with kerosene
emulsion, whenever the insects become injurious in orchards
or vineyards.
- Tur Eye-spotrep APPLE-TWIG BORER
Oberea ocellata Haldeman
The new growth or twigs of young apple trees are sometimes
infested with a bright-yellow, deeply incised, legless grub about
half an inch long when mature and bearing a characteristic
shield-shaped, horny, roughened brownish plate arising ob-
liquely from the head and covering the dorsum of the first tho-
racicsegment. These grubs devour the pith and also the woody °
fiber of the twigs, ejecting their castings through pin-like holes
cut in the bark at irregular intervals. There is apparently
one generation of the insect in a year, the grubs maturing in
the fall and hibernating in their burrows, where they quickly
transform through the pupa stage to the adult insect in April
and May. ‘The slender Cerambycid beetles, measuring about
an eighth of an inch in length, are of a pale, reddish-brown color
with their long antennz, wing-covers and feet very dark brown >
or blackish. Two and sometimes four conspicuous black spots
occur on the dorsum of the. thorax. Besides apple twigs, the
insect also breeds in the twigs of peach, plum, pear and poison
P
210 FRUIT INSECTS
sumac. Although quite widely distributed in the United States
and occurring also in Canada, this twig-borer seems to have
been injurious only in Missouri and Texas. The only practi-
cable remedy thus far suggested is to prune off and burn all
infested twigs at any time before April.
Tor New YorkK WEEVIL
Ithycerus noveboracencis Forster
This large, ash-gray, black-spotted beetle (Fig. 194), one
of the largest of the weevils, measuring about 2 of an inch in
Fig. 194. — The New York weevil (xX 33).
length, is widely distributed in the United States and Canada,
but has been injurious principally in the Mississippi Valley
and the Southern states. It breeds in the twigs of oak, hickory
and possibly other forest trees. The weevils: appear in early
spring and eat into the buds, gnaw the tender bark on new
growth, and often cut off the leaf-stalks and new shoots, work-
ing principally at night. Young apple, peach, plum, pear
and cherry orchards and nursery trees may be invaded by the
beetles and many trees ruined. |
These large weevils can be readily controlled either by hand-
picking or by jarring them on to sheets or plum curculio-catchers.
ee ee
ieee ty
CC Sh,
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 211
THe SNowy TREE-CRICKET
(Ecanthus niveus De Geer
Apple and plum trees, especially if growing in orchards
overgrown with weeds and other rank vegetation, are liable to
be injured to a slight extent by the egg punctures of this pale
yellowish-white tree-cricket. This species (niveus) was for-
Fic. 195. — A pair of snowy tree-crickets courting, the male with wings expanded.
merly supposed to deposit its eggs in rows of punctures in rasp-
berry canes, but recent work at the Geneva Experiment Station
has shown that another species (nigricornis) is the real cause
of the injury to raspberry and that niveus deposits its eggs
singly in punctures in the bark of the smaller branches of apple,
peach, plum and other trees (see p. 325). The egg-punctures
often permit the entrance of fungous spores and bacteria which
cause the surrounding bark to become diseased, and produce
discolored areas of dead bark known as cankers, or woolly
aphids may start a colony at the wound and cause a bad scar on
912 FRUIT INSECTS
the branch. Figure 196 shows an egg of the snowy tree-cricket
in position in a small apple branch. The egg is laid in late
Fic. 196. — Section of an apple
branch showing egg of snowy tree-
cricket in position. Greatly en-
larged.
summer or autumn and hatches the
next May or June. The adults of ©
this and closely allied species some-
times injure ripe plums, grapes and
peaches by eating out holes about
the size of the insect’s head. The
injury is often attributed to bees,
but the latter only collect the juice
from the wound made by the tree-
cricket.
The injury from tree-cricket
punctures is rarely found in or-
chards kept free from rank vegeta-
tion. Where cankers have started
to form they should be cleaned out
with a sharp knife, cutting back
to the live bark, and the wound
should then be treated with a coat
of gas tar to prevent infection.
REFERENCE
Parrott, Jour. Ee. Ent. II, pp. 124-127. 1909.
OTHER APPLE INSECTS
PEAR-LEAF BLISTER-MITE: pear, p. 227.
PEAR BLIGHT BEETLE: pear, p. 232.
HOWARD SCALE: pear, p. 234.
EUROPEAN PEAR SCALE: pear, p. 234. . '
PLUM cuRCULIO: plum, p. 243.
AMERICAN PLUM BORER, Pp. 253.
EUROPEAN FRUIT-TREE SCALE: plum, p. 260.
EUROPEAN FRUIT LECANIUM: plum, p. 261.
F'RUIT-TREE BARK-BEETLE: peach, p. 277.
APPLE INSECTS — BORERS AND MISCELLANEOUS 213
TERRAPIN SCALE: peach, p. 293.
CHERRY SCALE: cherry, p. 312.
WALNUT SCALE: currant, p. 360. |
IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE: strawberry, p. 371.
ROSE CHAFER: grape, p. 397.
CoTTONY MAPLE SCALE: grape, p. 427.
CHAPTER VI
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS
THE most injurious insects attacking the pear are the codlin-
moth (p. 10), San José scale (p. 162), the pear psylla and
in some regions the pear thrips. While more distinctly an
apple tree pest, the codlin-moth annually causes a loss of
nearly a million dollars to the pear crop.
Owing to the fact that the calyx lobes of the pear remain
open and do not close up as in the apple, spraying for the codlin-
moth is less effective on pears than on apple. Insects often
cause serious injury to pears indirectly by distributing the spores
of the bacterium, causing the disease known as fire-blight.
Their legs and mouth parts become smeared with the sticky
liquid containing the spores, which are thus introduced into the
tissues of the plant by the claws in walking over the tender tips
or by the beak when feeding.
THe PEAR SLUG
Eriocampoides limacina Retzius
For nearly two centuries this insect has been recognized as
an enemy of the pear and cherry in Europe, while in this
country its history goes back to the extensive account published
in 1799 by William D. Peck of Massachusetts. It was probably
introduced into New England in colonial times and is now
generally distributed wherever its food-plants are grown. While
in Europe it has been reported as feeding on a large number of
214
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS ves 9)
Fig. 197. — Egg-blisters of the pear slug.
plants, in this country its
injuries are confined almost
entirely to the pear, cherry
and plum. Eggs are fre-
quently laid in peach leaves
on trees adjoining infested
pear and cherry orchards,
but the larve do not seem
to thrive on that food
plant.
In the North the small,
glossy black, four-winged
flies about 4 inch in length
appear on the leaves about
the middle of May. The
female is provided with a
sharp saw-edged ovipositor
by means of which she de-
posits her eggs under the epidermis of the leaf. The oviposi-
tor is inserted from the ‘under surface of the leaf and then so
manipulated as to cut loose a portion of the upper epidermis,
forming a kind of blister in -
which the oval egg is laid
(Migs: 197 and 198). ‘The
ege hatches in about two
weeks and the whitish young
larva escapes on the upper
side of the leaf through a
semicircular cut in the over-
lying epidermis. The larve
soon become covered with a
brownish sticky slime, which
is retained until they are full
grown and gives them the
Fie. 198. — Hge-blister of the pear slug,
greatly enlarged.
216 FRUIT INSECTS
appearance of small snails. The body is swollen in front and
‘tapers behind like a tadpole (Figs. 199 and 200). The larva
Fig. 199. — Pear slugs feeding on a leaf.
passes through five stages; at the fourth molt it loses its slimy
covering and in the fifth stage is of a light orange yellow color.
Pia
Fic. 200. — Pear slugs feeding, enlarged.
It does not feed in
this stage, but crawls
or falls to the ground
in which, at a depth
of two or three inches,
it constructs its
earthen cocoon.
Most of the larve
transform to pupe .
in six to eight days
and theadultsemerge
about ten days later
and lay eggs for a
second generation, but a few of the first brood larve re-
main unchanged in their cocoons until the following spring.
|
\
\
\
|
)
i
]
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS Pil
In New York the eggs for the second brood are laid during laté
July and early August. Normally there are two broods in the’
North, but three have been reported in the latitude of Wash-
ington, D.C.
The larve feed on the upper surface of the leaves eating only
the epidermis and leaving the skeleton of veins and the lower
epidermis to turn brown and wither up. Badly injured leaves
fall and the tree may be entirely defoliated by midsummer ;
| the fruit becomes stunted, fails to mature, and the vitality of
the tree is so weakened that fruit buds for the next year’s crop
are not formed. _Sometimes the tree will put out a new crop
of leaves, but these in turn may be destroyed by the second
brood of slugs. In cases of such severe infestation the orchard
has the appearance of having been swept by fire. Fortunately
this pest is rarely troublesome for a series of years in the same
locality, probably being held in check by a minute egg parasite.
Treatment.
- When only a few trees are to be treated the slugs may be
destroyed by one or two applications of freshly slaked lime
dusted on the leaves. White hellebore, one ounce to three
gallons of water, has also given good results. For commercial
orchards arsenical sprays are more satisfactory. Arsenate of
lead because of its greater safety and effectiveness is prefer-
able to the older arsenicals, Paris green and London purple, and
should be used at the rate of 4 pounds to 100 gallons of water.
The slugs can also be killed by spraying with “Black Leaf
40” tobacco extract, 1 pint in 100 gallons of water, adding
4 or 5 pounds of soap to make the liquid stick and spread
better.
REFERENCES
Nev. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 10. 1890.
U. S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 26. 1897.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. 15th Rept. pp. 11-13. 1903.’
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 65, pp. 12-14. 1904.
218 FRUIT INSECTS
THe PEAR PSYLLA
Psylla pyricola Forster
This serious enemy of the pear was introduced into Connecti-
cut from Europe about 1832. It is now generally distributed
over the Eastern states and Canada, extending southward to
Virginia; it also occurs in California. Locally the abundance
of the pest varies greatly from year to
year; severe outbreaks lasting over two
or three years are usually followed by
longer periods of comparative immunity.
Badly infested trees take on a sickly
appearance early in the season, the leaves
turn brownish or black, dry up and fall
in midsummer; the fruit remains small
and much of it falls prematurely. Some
orchards give the impression of having
been swept by fire, and owing to their
weakened condition are especially liable
to winter killing. ;
The adults hibernate on the trunks
in crevices and under flakes of bark, and
when very abundant they may collect
Fre. en under leaves and trash on the ground.
The adult psylla has been aptly likened
to a diminutive cicada or dog-day harvest-fly (Fig. 201);
they are about 5/5 inch in length, dark reddish-brown in color,
with the abdomen banded with black. When at rest the two
pairs of large, nearly transparent wings slope roof-like over
the sides of the body. |
With the first warm days of spring the adults emerge from
their winter quarters and egg-laying begins in a few days.
The yellowish-orange eggs, about <5 inch in length are deposited
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 219
in the creases of the bark, in old leaf scars and about the base
of the terminal buds. They are elongate pyriform in shape
and have a smooth shining surface. A short stalk at the larger
end attaches the egg to the bark and a long thread-like process
projects from the smaller end. A large proportion of the eggs
is laid before the buds open. They hatch in 11 to 30 days,
depending on the temperature.
Most of the eggs have hatched by the time the petals fall.
The recently hatched nymphs are of a translucent yellow color
and are hardly visible to the unaided
eye, being scarcely ,5 inch in length.
They migrate at once to the axils of the
leaf petioles and stems of the forming
fruit, and when these places become
crowded they will scatter out on the
underside of -the leaves and on the
petioles. They are provided with suck-
ing mouth parts and feed exclusively on
the sap. The larger part of the sap
taken into the body is elaborated into Fic. 202.— The pear psylla,
a sweet, sticky substance known as festa ee Boe
honey-dew, which is voided from the tip of the abdomen
and collects as a large glistening drop. The leaves and
fruit on infested trees are always more or less covered with
this unpleasant secretion and soon acquire a disgusting blackish
appearance from a sooty fungus which grows upon it. The
presence of the honey-dew is frequently the first indication that
the tree is infested.
The psylla passes through five immature stages and acquires
wings at the fifth molt (Fig. 202). About a month is required
for the complete life-cycle, and there are at least four broods a
season. The females of the later generations do not lay their
eggs on the bark, but deposit them along the midrib on the under- |
side of the leaves or place them in the notches at the edge of
AO: FRUIT INSECTS
the leaf. The adults of the summer generations differ from
the hibernating forms in being 4 smaller, in their brighter color-
ing and in the markings of the front wings. The two forms are
so unlike that they were formerly considered as distinct species.
Methods of control.
Pear orchards subject to attack should be kept clean of trash
under which the hibernating psyllas might find shelter. Dur-
ing the fall or winter the rough bark should be scraped from
the trunks and larger branches to render them less attractive
as hibernating quarters, and to make it easier to reach the insects
by spraying during the dormant season. The scraping can be
done with a dull hoe, taking care not to injure the living wood.
This work can be done to best advantage during damp weather,
when the rough bark comes off the easiest. When the psyllas
are abundant great numbers are scraped off with the bark;
in such case it might pay to collect and burn the scrapings.
During warm days in November and December, or in March
and early April, many of the hibernating adults crawl from their
hiding places in crevices of the bark. At such times they are
sluggish in their movements and do not readily take flight.
A large proportion of them can be destroyed by a thorough
spraying of the trees with ‘‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract,
1 pint in 100 gallons of water, adding three to five pounds of
soap. The application should be made on days when there is
no danger of the liquid freezing on the trees. It is important
to spray both sides of a tree before proceeding to the next be-
cause the flies often dodge to the opposite side of a branch,
and thus escape being hit by the spray. Effective work against
- the hibernating flies can also be done by using kerosene emul-
sion diluted with 10 parts of water, miscible oil diluted with
12 or 15 parts of water, or whale-oil soap 1 pound in 4 to 6
gallons of water. These mixtures are, on the whole, not so
satisfactory as the tobacco extract from the ppbangporn of safety
and efficiency.
‘Sa ei) ee
On ae
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 221
_ Many of the eggs and newly hatched nymphs can be destroyed
by spraying with lime-sulfur at the strength used for scale,
making the application when the blossom oe are
Pe
beginning to separate at the tips.
By the time the petals have fallen, nearly all at the eggs have
hatched and the young nymphs are clustered at the base of the
leaf petioles and the fruit stems, where they may be easily
killed by thorough spraying with kerosene emulsion, diluted
with 10 parts of water, whale-oil soap, 1 pound in 4 to 6 gallons
of water, or “‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, ¢ pint in 100
gallons of water, adding 3 to 5 pounds of soap. As the nymphs
grow older they become more difficult to kill and the expanding
foliage. gives them more protection from the spray. To get
the best results the first application should be made just after
the petals fall and should be repeated in three or four days.
By thoroughly killing off the first brood at this time complete
protection of the crop for the entire season can be obtained.
It has never been found practicable to kill the summer adults ;
they are very active and take flight at the slightest alarm.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 44. 1892.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 108, pp. 69-81. 1896.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Cire. 20. 1913.
FALSE TARNISHED PLANT-BUG
Lygus invitus Say
This close relative of the tarnished plant-bug has for many
years caused considerable loss to the pear growers of western
New York. In certain orchards half of the crop has been ren-
dered unsalable by the punctures of this obscure insect. Pears
that have been injured in this way are knotty, deformed and |
gritty in texture (Fig. 203).
929 FRUIT INSECTS
The adult is about 4+ inch in length and light brownish in
color. ‘The winter is passed in the egg stage. The eggs are
doubtless inserted in the bark of the smaller branches; they
hatch during the blossoming period. The pale-colored nymphs
at first feed on the tender opening leaves, but attack the fruit
as soon as it sets. After the first molt they take on a greenish
color, which makes them very inconspicuous as they rest
on the leaves or young fruits. They pass through five im-
mature stages, becoming mature
about the middle of June. Most of
the injury is done towards the last
of May while the fruits are still quite
small. A single nymph may visit
many pears, puncturing each one
ing the puncture hardens, becomes
gritty, and the growth of the fruit
at that point is retarded, causing a
Fie. 203.— Mature pear : ;
showing the result of injury (epression in the surface. The loca-
by the false tarnished plant-
bug tion of the puncture is usually in-
dicated by a break in the skin, from
which protrudes a small yellowish granular mass. Badly
punctured fruits are often considerably undersized.
Control. —'The newly hatched nymphs are tender, delicate
creatures and may be easily killed by a thorough application
of ‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, 2 pint in 100 gallons of
water, adding three or four pounds of soap to make the liquid
stick and spread better. This application should be made
about the time the petals are falling. In some cases it may be
necessary to repeat the treatment a few days later.
a
REFERENCE
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 368. 1913.
See
several times. The tissue surround-
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 223
THe Pear THRIPS
Euthrips pyri Daniel
In the San Francisco Bay region of California, since 1904,
pears, prunes, apricots, peaches and almonds have suffered
greatly from the attacks of this minute, fringe-winged insect.
More recently this pest has appeared in injurious numbers both
in New York state and in England. The dark brown adults, only
about 35 inch in length, emerge from the ground and attack
the bursting buds of the fruit trees in late February and early
March in California. They work their way into the opening
buds and feed on the tenderest parts of the unopened leaves
and blossoms. In feeding they pierce and rasp away the epider-
mis with their mouth parts and then suck out the sap. The
female inserts her minute, whitish, bean-shaped eggs principally
in the stems of the young fruit and leaves. The eggs hatch
in about four days. The young nymphs are white with red
eyes, closely resembling the adults in form, except for the lack
of wings, and have similar feeding habits. They attain their
growth in two or three weeks and fall to the ground, where, at
a depth of several inches, they form a small earthen cell within
which they hibernate. Most of the cells are found in the first
3 or 4 inches of firm soil; none are made in the loose surface
layer. During the winter months the nymphs change to adults
within the cells, but the latter do not emerge till the last of
February in California.
The injury is greater on those fruits which, like the pear
and prune, bear the blossoms in clusters all developed from
one bud, than on the peach and apricot, where only one blossom
comes from a single bud, because in the former case the thrips
have more chance to work before the fruit sets. Pears and prunes
suffer most severely. When abundant a large number of thrips
will enter a single bud, stunt the leaves, blast the blossoms and
prevent the setting of the fruit. On pears most of the injury
294 FRUIT INSECTS
is done in the bud itself; on prunes and peaches the nymphs
feed on the skin of the young fruits beneath the drying calices,
causing scabby or silvered areas. On both prunes and cherries
‘much injury is caused by the egg-laying punctures in the fruit
stems; the fruits turn yellow and drop. On all fruits the injury
to the foliage through a number of successive years tends to
weaken the trees and render them ea to disease.
Remedial measures.
The pear thrips may be satisfactorily controlled by proper
cultivation and spraying. During October, November and
December the ground should be plowed to a depth of 7 to 10
inches, harrowed, cross-plowed and again harrowed. This is
intended to break open the cells and kill the tender last stage
nymphs. This method has given good results in California
prune orchards, but is less efficient in pear orchards.
Two sprayings should be made, the first just as the first buds
begin to open and the second just after the petals fall, using 2
pint ‘‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract in 100 gallons of water,
adding 5 pounds of soap. In the first spraying the object
is to force the liquid into the opening buds where it will kill the
thrips by contact. To do this it is necessary to use high pres-
sure, at least 150 pounds, and a rather coarse nozzle, spraying
down directly into the bud tips. In cases of severe infestation
it is sometimes advisable to make an additional application
directly after the first. Experiments in California have shown
that the thrips can be satisfactorily controlled by thoroughly
spraying the trees with a thick whitewash just as the buds
are opening. The whitewash is made by slaking 80 pounds
of quicklime for each 100 gallons of the wash. It should be
strained before using.
&
REFERENCES
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 68, Pt. I. 1909.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 80, Pt. IV. 1909.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 348. 1912.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 228. 1912.
4 at aa
a3
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS : 220
Tue Pear Mince
Contarinia pyrwora Riley
This European enemy of the pear was introduced into Con-
necticut — 187 7 and has spread into New York and New
Jersey. It attacks all varieties of
pears, but has a decided preference
for the Lawrence. Its spread has
been rather slow and it has not
become as serious a check to the
pear industry as was anticipated.
The adult insect is a small
midge, about {4 inch in length,
closely resembling a mosquito.
They appear about the time the
blossoms begin to show color, and
the female deposits, by means of
her long flexible ovipositor, a mass
of 12 to 45 minute, yellowish-
white, elongate eggs in the in-
terior of the unopened blossom.
The eggs hatch in 4 days or more,
depending on the temperature ;
Fic. 204.—A youngpearcutopen and the minute, whitish larve
. show jenve) of the pear midze. work thelr way down into the
nlarged. :
ovary, destroy the core and
hollow out a large irregular cavity, which frequently occupies
nearly the whole interior of the young fruit (Fig. 204).
Infested fruits at first become abnormally enlarged and later
stunted and deformed. The larve become full grown early
in June and escape from the fruit usually through cracks
which occur after heavy rains (Fig. 205). In dry seasons
the fruit may fall before cracking open; in such cases the
Q
226 FRUIT INSECTS
larve bore their way out through decayed spots. They
burrow into the soil an inch ‘or two, and after a variable time
spin delicate cocoons within which the insect hibernates..
Most of the larve spin cocoons within a month after entering
the ground, but some are found naked as late as October. Asa |
general thing the winter is passed in the pupal stage, but some-
times a large percentage of the larve may not pupate until
spring, about two weeks before the flies emerge. When about
to transform the pupa
leaves the cocoon and
works itself to the sur-
face of the ground,
where the fly is set
free. There is only one
generation a year, al-
though it has been ob-
Fig. 205. — Young pears infested by the pear served in France that
midge, cracked open to permit the escape of the
larvee. some of the first larvee
to pupate transform to
flies during July of the same year. As there are no pear
blossoms available at that time and as they have no other
food-plant, these precocious individuals necessarily perish. -
Remedial measures.
So far‘no method of spraying has been devised to prevent
the laying of the eggs or the development of the larve in the
fruit. The infested fruits are easily distinguished by their
size and shape, and where only a few trees are affected it would
pay to collect and burn them before the larve have emerged,
that is before May 15. In larger orchards this would be too
expensive to be practicable. Experiments in New Jersey have
shown the great value of kainit in destroying the larve in the
ground. It should be applied during the latter half of June,
at the rate of 1000 to 2000 pounds to the acre. While it has
been successfully used on the sandy soils of New Jersey, the
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 227
experience of other growers indicate that such heavy applica-
tions of kainit on clay soils is very liable to injure the trees.
In such cases recourse must be had to repeated, thorough,
shallow cultivation during June and July. By this means a
large number of the larve and pup# will be destroyed.
REFERENCES
Riley, Rept. U. S. Com. Agr., pp. 283-289. 1885.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 99. 1894.
Marchal, Ann. Soe. Ent. Fr., pp. 5-27. 1907.
Tue PEAR-LEAF BLISTER-MITE
Eriophyes pyri Pagenstecher
The leaves of pears and apples are often disfigured by reddish
or greenish-yellow blisters which later in the season turn brown
(Fig. 206). These blisters are caused by colonies of minute,
whitish, elongate, four-legged mites, ~4; inch in length, living
within the tissue of the leaf (Fig. 207). These creatures are
not insects, but belong to the class of animals known as Arachnida,
to which belong spiders and scorpions. While originally a
native of Europe, it has now become widely distributed and
occurs wherever the pear is cultivated. About 1902 it suddenly
became an important apple pest in the Eastern states and
Canada. The cause of this remarkable change of habit is
unknown.
The adult mites pass the winter snugly hidden away beneath
the second or third bud scales. With the bursting of the buds
they migrate to the tender leaves and burrow beneath the epi-
dermis of the under surface. The irritation thus caused pro-
duces a thickening of the leaf tissue and results in the formation
of a blister-like gall. The minute, whitish eggs are deposited
within the gall, and the young remain there until mature. They
then leave the gall through a minute opening on the under side,
228 FRUIT INSECTS
migrate to new leaves and there start new blisters. Repro- 4
duction is continuous and new galls are formed throughout _
the growing season.
Fic. 206. — Pear leaves infested with the pear-leaf blister-mite.
On pear the blisters at first appear as small greenish pimples
which soon take on a reddish color and later turn brownish.
On apple the first
stages are pale yel-
lowish and the blisters
never become as red
as on pear. They are
+ inch or less in diam-
eter, and when abun-
Fic. 207. — Pear-leaf blister-mite, greatly en- dant coalesce, produc+
larged. i ,
ing large dead areas in
the leaves. Badly infested leaves are liable to turn yellow and
drop. The loss of foliage weakens the tree, interferes with
the maturing of the fruit and the formation of fruit buds.
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 229
Pear trees in the nursery are sometimes badly stunted in
this way. Sometimes the mites attack the very young
fruits (Fig. 208) and fruit stems, causing small pimples, but the
injury is usually outgrown and little or no loss results.
Remedial treatment.
The leaf blister-mite is not a difficult pest to control. Lime-
sulfur, miscible oils and
- homemade oil emulsions
have all given excellent
results; but lime-sulfur
has, on the whole, proved
most satisfactory and is
now extensively used by
commercial orchardists.
The insecticide is in- |
tended to destroy the
adults hibernating under
the bud scales and can
be applied either in the
fall after the leaves have
fallen or in the spring any time before the tips of the leaves
begin to show. When used for blister mite alone the lime-
sulfur may be applied somewhat weaker than for the San José
scale; a dilution of 1 to 10 when the concentrated solution
tests 31° Beaumé is sufficiently strong. As a rule it is not
necessary to spray every year for the control of blister-mite ;
one treatment usually so reduces the number of mites that
they do not again become abundant enough to cause serious
injury for several years.
Fic. 208. — Young fruits deformed by the
blister-mite.
REFERENCES
_-N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 283. 1906.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 306. 1908.
230 FRUIT INSECTS
THE SINUATE PEAR BORER
Agrilus sinuatus Olivier
When this European enemy of the pear was first discovered
in New Jersey, in 1894, it was greatly feared that it would become
widely distributed and as seriously interfere with the pear in-
Fie. 209. — The sinuate Fig. 210. — Pear branch infested with the
pear-borer beetle (x 73). sinuate borer.
dustry in this country as it does in Germany and France.
Fortunately such has not been the case. As far as known it is
still confined to that state and New York.
The slender, shining, bronze-brown beetles (Fig. 209) about
+ inch in length, emerge the last of May and during June. They
are found on bright sunny days on the bark of the trunk and
branches, where the female deposits her eggs in crevices and
under flakes of bark. The eggs hatch in early July and the
slender whitish grubs eat out narrow winding burrows in the
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 231
sapwood. The partly grown larva rests in its burrow during
the first winter and the next spring continues its destructive
work. The burrows are now much larger and more winding ;
they frequently intersect, cut off the supply of sap and kill
the branch or tree. The course of the burrows is now indi-
cated exteriorly by the discolored and abnormal bark above
them (Fig. 210). In smooth-barked trees these winding trails
become very conspicuous. In September of the second year
the larva, which is now about 14 inches in length, burrows
into the solid wood and there at the depth of about $ inch con-
structs a pupal chamber which it connects with the bark by
an exit hole. It then plugs both ends of the chamber with
sawdust, becomes shorter and thicker, and the following April
transforms to a pupa. The beetles emerge about a month
later. :
Trees of all sizes from nursery stock up are subject to attack.
Smaller trees are frequently completely girdled by the inter-
secting burrows and killed outright. Larger trees are so weak-
ened by the presence of the borers that they soon present a
sickly appearance, lose their leaves and finally die. The
Kieffer is less subject to injury than other varieties because of
its greater vitality, whereby it is able to fill up the burrows with
new tissue. |
Treatment.
Infested nursery stock and all other trees too badly infested
to be of value should be removed and burned. In many cases
the pupal chamber can be located by a discolored area in the
bark and the insect dug out with a knife. Attempts to keep the
beetles from emerging by coating the bark with a viscid wash
have not been successful, but it is probable that deterrent
washes, as suggested for the Round-headed Apple Tree Borer,
would be of some value in preventing oviposition. Several
applications should be made during the last part of May and
early June, taking care to cover the larger branches as well as
Caer. FRUIT INSECTS
the trunk. Trees that have been kept in strong, healthy condi- —
tion by proper care and the use of appropriate fertilizers are
better able to withstand borer attack. As this pest is readily
distributed in nursery stock, one should be careful in setting a
new orchard to have all young trees carefully inspected.
REFERENCE
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. 15th Ann. Rept. (1894), pp. 550-551. 1895.
The pear borer (Sesia pyri Harris) occurs throughout the
Eastern states and Canada, ranging southward to Florida and
Texas. It is anear relative of the peach tree borer. The adult
is a clear-winged moth with an expanse of } inch, bluish-black
in color, and having the abdomen marked with three yellow
bands; in the female the anal tuft is also yellow. The larvae,
which closely resemble those of the peach tree borer, burrow in
or just below the bark on the trunk and larger branches of the
pear and apple, but do not penetrate the sapwood as is usual
~ in that species. It, therefore, rarely causes serious injury.
PEAR-BLIGHT BEETLE
Xyleborus dispar Fabricius
Sometimes in June the tips of pear and apple branches’sud-
denly die back as the result of the work of a small Scolytid
beetle. The injury is often mistaken for the bacterial disease,
pear blight, whence the common name. These beetles belong
to that highly interesting group of wood borers known as—
ambrosia beetles from their habit of feeding, both as larve and
adults, on a peculiar fungus propagated in their burrows and
known as ambrosia. They are also sometimes known as wood
stainers from the fact that the growth of the fungus blackens
the surrounding wood.
This species occurs in Europe, Northern Asia, ine northern
United States and Canada; it infests among other forest trees
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 233
the hemlock, beech, birch, red oak, and among fruit trees the
pear, plum and apple, preferring the latter. 2
The female beetle is dark brown, about 4 inch in length,
cylindrical and has the nearly globular head ‘drat mn Under the
thorax so as to be invisible from above. The males are only
a little more than half as long and have the back very convex
longitudinally. On small branches the female usually starts
her burrow just below a bud scar and, after passing through the
sapwood tunnels around the pith, keeping in the hard wood,
constructs a number of side burrows running lengthwise
of the branch. In larger branches the galleries are straighter.
The eggs are laid loosely in the burrows in June in Nova Scotia
and in May in West Virginia, and the grubs feed on the fungus
growing on the wails of the chamber. The larve pupate in
the galleries and the beetles escape through the entrance hole
made by the parent beetle.
Treatment.
So far this beetle has been troublesome only in restricted
localities and is not likely to become a serious pest. In Nova
Scotia a wash made of 3 gallons of water, 1 gallon soft soap and
% pint of carbolic acid has given good results when applied in
June. In using this wash the aim is to have the liquid soak
into the burrow, kill the food fungus and thus indirectly destroy
the beetles. Two or three applications at intervals of a few
days are advised. Badly infested trees or branches should be
burned before the ‘beetles have a chance to emerge.
REFERENCES
Peck, Mass. Agr. Jour. IV, pp. 205-207. 1817.
Hubbard, Bur. Ent. Bull. 7, pp. 9-30. 1897. General account of the
ambrosia beetles.
Fletcher, Rept. Ent. Bot. for 1904, pp. 240-241. 1905.
Swaine, Rept. Ent. Soe. Ont. for 1909, pp. 58-63. 1910.
Schneider-Orelli, Centlb. Bakt. Parasitenk. Infektk., 2 Abt. XXXVI,
pp. 25-110. 1913. Extensive account.
234 FRUIT INSECTS
THE HowarpD SCALE
Aspidiotus howardi Cockerell
This scale insect was first discovered in Colorado in 1894,
and now ranks as a serious pest in pear, plum and prune or-
chards in that state. It also attacks apple, peach, wild
plum, white ash and maple trees; and has been found in New
Mexico. Besides infesting the bark, especially on the twigs,
it often occurs on the fruit, causing a peculiar pitting of the
surface on pears, and, like the San José scale, reddish discolora-
tions of the skin around the scales. Trees are sometimes in-
crusted and killed by this scale. It is closely allied to the San
José, the Putnam’s, the cherry and the European fruit scales,
being distinguished with certainty by microscopic characters
only. Mature female scales are circular, about the same size
as the San José scale, but of a paler grayish color with the dull
orange exuvial spot on one side of the center. In Colorado there
are three and possibly four overlapping generations of this
scale annually, the winter being passed in the partly grown
condition. Males emerge early in April and six or eight weeks
later crawling young appear. The species is apparently both
Oviparous and ovoviviparous, usually eggs, but sometimes only
minute, living young, being found under the mother scales.
This Howard scale spreads slowly and is attacked by a little —
parasite, Prospaltella aurantii, and the twice-stabbed lady-bird
beetle as well as small spiders destroy many. The lime-sulfur
wash applied late in spring before the buds open has been found
to effectively control the insect in Colorado.
THE EUROPEAN PEAR SCALE
Epidiaspis piricola Del Guercio
This small, circular European scale insect has been sent to
the United States several times on nursery stock, but seems to
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 239
have established itself in injurious numbers only in California,
although recorded also from several Eastern states. It has
attacked pear and prune trees principally in this country,
but the apple, plum, peach and currant are among its food-
plants. Specimens we saw on pear seedlings from France
were in little pits or depressions in the bark, and others state
they occur under the edges of rough bark or moss. Appar-
‘ently it spreads and breeds slowly, so it will doubtless never
be a serious menace to American orchards. The winter appli-
cations recommended for the San José scale will probably con-
trol it if thoroughly applied.
OTHER PEAR INSECTS
CopLIN-MOTH: apple, p. 10.
GREEN FRUIT-WORMS: apple, p. 39.
Bup-MoTH: apple, p. 42.
CIGAR-CASE-BEARER: apple, p. 47.
CLICK-BEETLES: apple, p. 55.
FRUIT-TREE LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 62.
OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 65.
LEAF-CRUMPLER: apple, p. 68.
UNSPOTTED TENTIFORM LEAF-MINER: apple, p. 73.
SERPENTINE LEAF-MINER: apple, p. 74.
RESPLENDENT SHIELD-BEARER: apple, p. 75.
WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK-MOTH: apple, p. 100.
ORIENTAL MOTH: apple, p. 106.
FALL WEBWORM: apple, p. 107.
APPLE-TREE TENT-CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 112.
FOREST TENT-CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 119.
YELLOW-NECKED APPLE CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 123.
RED-HUMPED APPLE CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 125.
CLIMBING CUTWORMS: apple, p.138.
APPLE LEAF-APHIS: apple, p. 147.
Rosy APPLE APHIS: apple, p. 149.
APPLE BUD-APHIS: apple, p. 151.
WOOLLY APHIS: apple, p. 153.
SAN JOSE SCALE: apple, p. 162.
OYSTER-SHELL SCALE: apple, p. 171.
ScuRFY SCALE: apple, p. 176.
236 | FRUIT INSECTS .
PUTNAM’S SCALE: apple, p. 179.
GREEDY SCALE: apple, p. 180.
ROUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER: apple, D. 185.
_ FLAT-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER: apple, p. 194.
_ 'T’wIG-PRUNER: apple, p. 200.
TWIG-GIRDLER: apple, p. 202.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
CLOVER MITE: apple, p. 206.
EYE-SPOTTED APPLE-TWIG BORER: apple, p. 209.
New YORK WEEVIL: apple, p. 210.
PLuM cuRCULIO: plum, p. 248.
AMERICAN PLUM BORER: plum, p. 253.
EUROPEAN FRUIT-TREE SCALE: plum, p. 260. ©
EUROPEAN FRUIT LECANIUM: plum, p. 261.
CHERRY SCALE: cherry, p. 312.
WALNUT SCALE: currant, p. 360.
ROSE CHAFER: grape, p. 297.
GRAPE-CANE BORER: grape, p. 423.
CoOTTONY MAPLE SCALE: grape, p. 427.
IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE: strawberry, p. 371.
TARNISHED PLANT-BUG: strawberry, p. 375.
QUINCE INSECTS
Nearly all the insects attacking the quince have been dis- ©
cussed under the apple. One of these, the round-headed apple-
tree borer, is even more destructive to the quince than to the
apple. The only insect which is hase a quince pest is the
quince curculio treated below.
THE QUINCE CURCULIO
Conotrachelus crategi Walsh
This is by all odds the most destructive insect with which the
quince grower has to contend. In unprotected orchards of
western New York often over 90 per cent of the crop is either
infested by the grubs or rendered gnarled and knotty by the
punctures of the beetles (Fig. 218).
a
al ee, aie ety SO ES =
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 237
Fie. 211. — The quince cur- Fig. 212.— The quince cur-
culio, side view.
culio, dorsal view (x 3).
The quince curculio is a brownish-gray, broad-shouldered
snout beetle, about ¢ inch in length (Figs. 211 and 212); the
wing cases are strongly ribbed lengthwise by sharp ridges, and
there are two rows of
deep punctures in each
interval; there are no
humps as in the case
of the plum and apple.
curculios. The time of
the first appearance of
the weevils on the trees
varies greatly with the
season. In 1896 they
appeared during the last
week in May,-while in
1897 they did not begin
work until about two
months later or the last
of July.
In feeding the beetle
cuts a small opening in
the skin of the fruit
Fig. 213. — Young quince, showing the manner
of feeding of the curculios.
with the jaws at the tip of the snout and then eats out a
cavity in the pulp (Fig. 213). The small opening to the cavity
238 FRUIT INSECTS
is not readily seen, as it is usually hidden by the thick fuzzy
coating of the fruit. These early punctures are the cause of most
Fie. 214.—Section through the Fie. 215. — Larva of the quince curculio,
egg-pit, showing the egg in position, enlarged.
much enlarged.
of the knotty and deformed fruits. The cavity becomes filled
with hardened, gritty tissue, growth is stopped at that point,
and the scar of the puncture comes to occupy the bottom of
a deep depression in the surface of the
fruit.
The female deposits her minute, whitish,
oval eggs singly in cavities (Fig. 214) in-
distinguishable from those excavated for food
only. The eggs hatch in from seven to ten
days, and the grub burrows through the
flesh, seldom reaching the core. Only asmall
Fic. 216.—Pupa proportion of the infested quinces fall to the
Con: quince curculio oround, and most of the grubs develop in
fruit still hanging on the tree. In about
30 days the full-grown, flesh-colored, footless, maggot-like
grub (Fig. 215) leaves the fruit and burrows two or three
inches into the soil. There it remains in the grub stage, in a
small earthen cell until the next spring, when it trans-
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 239
forms to the tender and helpless pupa (Fig. 216). From
10 to 20 days are spent in this stage before the change to the
Fig. 217. — A “‘wormy’”’ quince cut open.
beetle takes place.
The beetle is at first white and soft and
remains within the cell for 10 days or more before it is strong
enough to work its —
way to the surface.
There is only one
generation a year.
In normal seasons
egg-laying probably
begins about the
middle of July and
continues for a con-
siderable period.
The number of eggs
laid by one female
has not been deter-
mined, but prob-
Fic. 278. ane ‘‘knotty’’ quince, the result of cur-
culio work.
ably exceeds a hundred. The grubs begin to emerge in August,
but many are still in the fruit at picking time.
240 FRUIT INSECTS
Treatment. :
The quince curculio is a difficult insect to control. It passes
the winter as a grub in the soil, and therefore the destruction
of hibernating quarters as advised’ for the plum and apple
curculios would be of no avail. Clean cultivation has not given
the expected results in the destruction of the grubs, because
they are more active than those of the other species and are
able to burrow back into the soil and reconstruct their cells —
after having been disturbed. Shallow ‘repeated cultivation
at the time the helpless pupz are in their cells would probably
kill many, but enough escape to make the operation of doubtful
value. The destruction of windfalls would reach only a small
proportion of the grubs, since most of the infested quinces do
not drop, but remain on the tree until after the grubs have be-
come full-grown and emerged. Some commercial growers have
had good success in reducing the amount of infestation by pick-
ing off and destroying all infested fruit about a month before
picking time thus leaving on the trees only first and second
class quinces.
Catching the beetles by jarring them on to sheets or curculio
catchers is a rather expensive and laborious operation, but has
been profitably practiced by extensive growers in western
New York. The curculio catcher as used in New York is a
large funnel-shaped frame covered with canvas and mounted
on a two-wheeled wheelbarrow. In front is a narrow opening
reaching to the center, designed to admit the trunk of the tree.
The machine is placed in position, and the tree is Jarred with a
padded mallet having a long handle. The beetles feign death,
fall on to the sheet and are caught in a box or can placed under
the center of the funnel. From time to time the beetles are
removed and killed. The trees should be gone over every day
or two while the beetles are present. To determine when they
appear, jar a tree or two daily, beginning about the last of May.
It is a more difficult matter to jar low-headed, wide-spreading
PEAR AND QUINCE INSECTS 241
quince trees than the more erect plum trees, and this method
of control is now little used in commercial orchards.
The beetles are hard to kill by spraying with an arsenical,
because they eat but very little of the skin of the fruit in making
their punctures and because of the dense fuzzy covering of the
fruit on which the poison is deposited. The use of Paris green
or London purple has not given satisfactory results, but there
is considerable evidence to show that spraying with the more
adhesive arsenate of lead is of considerable value in reducing
the number of punctures. It should be used at the rate of
5 or 6 pounds to 100 gallons of water or combined with the
proper fungicide: ‘Two applications should be made, the first
when the beetles first appear and the second about a week
later.
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr.. Exp. Sta. Bull. 148. 1898.
OTHER QUINCE INSECTS
CopDLIN-MOTH: apple, p. 10.
GREEN FRUIT-WORMS: apple, p. 39.
Bup-MoTH: apple, p. 42.
F'RUIT-TREE LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 62.
APPLE LEAF-SKELETONIZER: apple, p. 67.
LEAF-CRUMPLER: apple, p. 68.
RESPLENDENT SHIELD-BEARER: apple, p. 75.
WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK-MOTH: apple, p. 100.
YELLOW-NECKED APPLE CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 123.
APPLE LEAF-APHIS: apple, p. 147.
APPLE BUD-APHIS: apple, p. 151.
WOOLLY APHIS: apple, p. 153.
BUFFALO TREE-HOPPER: apple, p. 160.
San JOSE SCALE: apple, p. 162.
OYSTER-SHELL SCALE: apple, p. 171.
SCURFY SCALE: apple, p. 176.
ROUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER: apple, p. 185.
I'LAT-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER: apple, p. 194.
TWIG-PRUNER: apple, p. 200.
a ;
‘FRUIT INSECTS
TWIG-GIRDLER: apple, p. 202. ae
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203. . Fer Na
: _ Pium curcutio: plum, p. 243. ; i ae
: EUROPEAN FRUIT LECANIUM: plum, p. 261.
ie CHERRY SCALE: cherry, p. 312. — :
FRUIT-TREE BARK-BEETLE: peach, p. 277. Rae *
CoTTONY MAPLE SCALE: grape, p. 427. :
mii Meme iieti 6 matey pocat
Le ae Mek ek, Sarin rm eg Tee
CHAPTER VII
PLUM INSECTS
Pius and prunes are subject to attack by the same set of
insects. The most troublesome enemies of these fruits are the
plum curculio, the San José scale (p. 162) and the European
fruit lecanium. The curculio is primarily an enemy of stone
fruits, but also attacks the apple, pear and quince. The fruit
lecanium, while a very general feeder, seems to be most destruc-
tiveto the plum. With the possible exception of curculio injury
in some locations, it is not difficult to effectively protect a plum
crop from insect attack by following a proper system of spray-
ing.
Tuer PLumM CuRCcULIO
— Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst
This native American snout-beetle or weevil whose original
food was the fruit of the wild plum and hawthorn is generally
distributed over the Eastern states and Canada, east of the
Rocky Mountains, and is a serious pest east of the 100th me- -
ridian and occurs southward to Texas and Florida. It attacks
plums, prunes, cherries, peaches, nectarines and apricots among
stone fruits, and is also a serious enemy of apples and will at-
tack pears and quinces. We have also reared it from goose-
berries in New York.
It is by far the most destructive insect with which the grower
of stone fruits has to contend, particularly in the South, where it
is especially injurious to peaches, often destroying the entire
crop in unprotected orchards. Quaintance estimates the
. 243
\
244 FRUIT INSECTS | ‘
annual loss occasioned by this insect at over 83 million dollars.
Although the plum curculio does not breed as freely in apples
as in stone fruits, still these are often seriously injured by its
feeding and egg-laying punctures. A large proportion of those
stung fall early in the season, while those that remain on the
trees are usually rendered knotty and unmarketable. It has
Fig. 220. — Egg of the plum
curculio in position, the skin of
the fruit removed. Section
through an egg-scar of the plum
Fic. 219. — The plum curculio, curculio showing the egg posi-
side and dorsal view (x 5). tion. Enlarged.
been recognized as a serious pest for over a century, and fully
satisfactory means of control have not yet been devised. Con-
trol is particularly difficult because the greater part of the inj ury
is caused by the adult, a long-lived, hard shelled beetle very
difficult to poison because it feeds principally on the pulp of the
fruit obtained through a small puncture in the skin.
The insect passes the winter in the beetle stage, hidden away
PLUM INSECTS 245
under leaves or other trash. Stone walls or hedges and adjoin-
ing wood lots furnish ideal hibernating quarters, as is shown
by the greater injury to that part of orchards lying nearest
to such retreats. In the spring about the time the buds open
the beetles desert their winter quarters and appear on the trees.
They are small, rough snout-beetles, about § inch in length,
mottled with black, gray and brownish, and there is a black
shining hump on the middle of each wing cover (Fig. 219).
The sharp-biting
jaws are located
at the tip of the
snout, which hangs
down something
like the trunk of
an elephant. The
beetles attack the
fruit as soon as it
is set. Two kinds
of punctures are
made: those for
feeding only and
those for the recep-
tion of the egg. In -
feeding the beetle Fie. 221.— Plum curculio egg-crescents in young
cuts a small, round ae
opening through the skin and then eats out a cavity in the pulp
about ¢ inch in depth, or as deep as it can reach with the tip
of the snout. In egg-laying the female first makes a cut through
the skin of the fruit and runs her snout obliquely into the flesh
just under the skin and gouges out a cavity large enough to
receive her egg. Then turning around, a minute, white egg is
dropped into the hole, and reversing her position she pushes
it into the cavity with her snout. Just in front of the hole she
now cuts a crescent-shaped slit which she extends obliquely
246
FRUIT INSECTS
underneath the egg cavity so as to leave the egg in a flap of
the flesh (Fig. 220).
Fic. 222.— Plum curculio egg-cres-
cents in young apples.
mature.
Each female may lay from 100 to over
500 eggs, and the egg-laying
period may extend over nearly
the whole season, although the
great majority are laid during »
the first month after the fruit
sets. Fruit marked by these
characteristic egg punctures is
shown in Figures 221 and 222.
The eggs hatch in 3 to 7 days,
and the white or yellowish grub
burrows through the flesh, and
in the case of stone fruits comes
to lie next the pit. Infested
fruits, most varieties of cher-
ries excepted, usually fall to
the ground before the grubs
In the case of apples many of the young grubs are
killed in their burrows by the pressure of the growing fruit cells,
for the stopping of
erowth seems to be
necessary for their
proper develop-
ment.
When full-grown,
which requires about
twenty days from
the time the egg is
laid, the larva leaves
the fruit and bur-
rows a short dis-
Fic. 223. — Feeding punctures of the plum cur-
; culio in plums made in August.
tance, not over an inch or two, into the ground, and there con-
structs an earthen cell within which it transforms to a pupa.
PLUM INSECTS DAT
About 28 days, on an average, after entering the ground the
beetles emerge, but not all this time is passed as a pupa; 12
to 16 days are spent in the soil before pupation, and after the
transformation to the adult it takes several days for the beetle
to become hardened enough to work its way to the surface.
These beetles of the new generation do not as a rule lay eggs
the same season, but after feeding greedily on the fruit (Fig. 223)
for some time seek hibernating quarters on the approach of
cold weather. In the North, the damage done by these new
beetles may be very great, especially on plums and apples, but
in the South, where early maturing varieties
are grown, it is of less importance.
Methods of control.
Curculios thrive in neglected, over-grown,
unpruned and uncultivated orchards sur-
rounded by stone walls or neglected hedges
and situated near pieces of woodland. The
first step towards their control consists in
correcting as far as possible all these con- ’
ditions at variance with the best horti- Fic. 224. — Plum
cultural practice. Hibernating shelter should a Se eee
be reduced to a minimum by the removal of
all stone walls and stone piles, by the cleaning up of over-
grown hedges and fences and by the destruction of all trash —
under which the beetles might find shelter. The trees should
be properly pruned to admit the sun, for curculios are shy
creatures, preferring the deep shade for their work, and
furthermore it has been shown in Illinois that direct sunlight
striking the fallen fruit is soon fatal to the grubs within. Where
the trees are large and the ground is kept smooth and free from
weeds, it is worth while to rake the fallen fruits out into the open
where the sun can strike them. In doing this the small early
drops should not be neglected, for a large percentage of the
grubs develop in fruit not much larger than peas.
5
248 FRUIT INSECTS
Frequent and thorough, though shallow, cultivation during
the period that the tender and helpless pup are in the ground
is of great value. If their cells are broken open, the pup are
either killed at once or soon fall a prey to their natural enemies,
principally ants and beetle larve. To obtain the best results,
cultivation should be continued for about a month or six weeks
after the grubs begin to go into the ground. In the North
this will be from about July 10 to August 10, while in the South ~
it is somewhat earlier. As most of the pupal cells are within an
inch or two of the surface, the cultivation may be quite shallow,
but it should be thorough, and care should be taken to stir the
ground close under the trees where most of the pupz lie. Most
growers in the North do not favor cultivation of orchards after
August 1, but where the curculio is abundant, the cultivation
should be continued as late as possible without interfering with -
the maturing of the wood and fruit.
Jarring.
For many years this was the most satisfactory method of
fighting the curculio on plums and peaches, but is now rarely
practiced in commercial orchards. If the tree is suddenly
jarred with a padded mallet, the beetles will loosen their hold,
contract the legs and fall to the ground, feigning death for a
considerable time. Where only a few trees are to be treated,
the beetles may be caught on a large sheet spread beneath the
tree. Where the ground is fairly smooth and where the trees
are headed high enough, the work may be done more quickly
and easily by using a wheeled curculio catcher, as described
under quince curculio, p. 240. These machines have been
used for many years by the plum growers of western New
York. In the extensive Georgia peach orchards jarring has
been practiced on a large scale. There the curculios are caught
on sheets stretched on light frames, 12 feet long by 6 feet wide.
Two frames are held under the tree by four persons, while the
fifth jars the tree with a padded mallet. When the end of the
PLUM INSECTS 249
row is reached, the curculios are picked out for destruction,
while the beneficial. lady-bird beetles are allowed to escape.
To be most effective, the jarring should be done very early
in the morning, for then the beetles are less active, they fall
more readily and are less liable to escape from the sheets.
The trees should be gone over every morning for four or five
weeks, or until no more beetles are captured. Unless cheap
labor can be obtained readily, jarring is too expensive for large
orchards and in such cases has been generally supplanted by
improved methods of spraying.
Spraying.
Spraying with -arsenate of lead, either alone or combined
with a fungicide, has now come to be the favorite method
of fighting the curculio on most crops. It has replaced Paris
green for this purpose because it adheres better, is less
liable to injure the foliage and can be combined with lime-
sulfur when used as a fungicide. In general, the foliage of
stone fruits is very susceptible to injury from soluble arsenic,
even when present in small amounts, and repeated heavy appli-
cations of arsenate of lead are attended with some risk. Never-
theless, the experience of the past few years has shown that this
danger may be avoided by ae the system of spraying
suggested below.
Plums.
Although the control of the curculio on plums by spray-
ing is more difficult than on most other fruits, still many
growers believe that the results justify the practice. Two
applications should be made, the first soon after the petals
fall and the second a week or ten days later, using arsenate of
lead, 23 pounds in 50 gallons of Bordeaux mixture (2-3-50) or
self-boiled lime-sulfur.
Cherries.
In general, spraying for curculio on cherries has given better
results than on plum. The “pplication should be made as
indicated, above.
250 FRUIT INSECTS
Peaches.
On peaches the direct injury caused by the curculios is
greatly augmented by the brown rot which is distributed by
the beetles and which gains entrance to the fruit through
their punctures. As far as spraying is concerned, the two
problems are considered as one, and the following system has
been devised for the control of both, based on extensive ex-
periments in Georgia and Missouri.
The first application should be made just as the éalgere
(shucks) are shedding, using 2 pounds arsenate of lead to 50
gallons of water, to which is added the milk of lime made from
slaking 2 pounds of stone lime. As this is too early for brown
rot, the fungicide is not used.
The second application is made about three weeks later, using
2 pounds of arsenate of lead in 50 gallons of the self-boiled lime-
sulfur (8—8-50).
A third application should be made about one month before
the ripening of the fruit, using self-boiled lime-sulfur only.
The poison is omitted, because experience has shown that it is
very unsafe to spray peaches more than twice with arsenate of
lead.
Apples.
In spraying apples there is practically no danger of injury
to the fruit or foliage by repeated applications of arsenate
of lead. The two sprayings usually given for the codlin-
moth, just after the petals fall and three weeks later, are
of considerable value in controlling the curculio, but where
the infestation is severe, additional applications will be found
necessary. The spray often given for the second brood of the
codlin-moth nine or ten weeks after the petals fall will help
to control the pest, and in the South it is sometimes advisabie
to repeat the application two or three weeks later. To get the
best results the spraying must be done in a very thorough
manner, using a fine nozzle and high pressure in order to keep
E
a
E
q
PLUM INSECTS te
the fruit evenly coated with the poison. It has been shown by
extensive experiments in Illinois that where this plan is followed
and other conditions are favorable, the curculio injury may be
reduced from 20 to 40 per cent.
In fighting the curculio, reliance should not be placed on any
one method of attack. Clean farming to reduce available
winter shelter, proper pruning to admit the sun, thorough
cultivation at the proper time to destroy the pup2 in the soil,
the use of fertilizers to produce strong, healthy trees resistant
to spray injury, are all important factors in the fight. In or-.
chards so treated the number of curculios will be reduced to a
minimum, and the orchardist will have the best chance to pro-
tect his crop by spraying.
REFERENCES
Riley and Howard, Rept. Com. Agr. for 1888, pp. 57-79.
Ill. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 98. 1905.
Quaintance, U. S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook, for 1905, pp. 325-330. 1906.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 73. - 1906.
Mo. State Fruit Exp. Sta. Bull. 21. 1909.
Ga. St. Bd. Ent. Bull. 32. 1910.
U.S. Bur. Plant Ind. Bull. 174. 1910.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 108. 1912.
THE PtuM GOUGER
Coccotorus scutellaris Le Conte
This native snout-beetle attacks plums, prunes and nec-
tarines throughout the North Central states. It may be dis-
tinguished from the other fruit-infesting species by the ochre-
yellow head, thorax and legs and the dun-colored wing covers,
which are entirely without humps. The insect hibernates in
the adult state. The beetles appear on the trees in spring some-
_ what earlier than the plum curculio, and feed for a time on the
buds and leaves. In confinement they have been observed to
252 FRUIT INSECTS
feed almost exclusively on the ovaries of the buds and blossoms,
which they reach by puncturing the calyx.
Soon after the fruit has set the beetles begin to feed upon the
pulp through small punctures made in the skin. The female ©
deposits her yellowish-white eggs, about =; inch in diameter,
singly in gourd-shaped cavities gouged out in the fruit with
her snout. On hatching, the young grubs burrow directly into ~
the pit and feed on the kernel within until full grown. The
larva is then milk-white in color with brownish jaws, and is
strongly curved. Before changing to a pupa it eats out an
exit hole through the hard shell of the pit, to provide for the
escape of the future beetle. The pupal stage is passed within
the pit, and the beetles emerge from the fruit during late August
and September. They do not feed to any extent the first season,
but soon desert the trees and go into winter quarters.
Infested plums do not fall or ripen prematurely. The prin-
cipal injury is caused by the punctures made by the beetles
in feeding and egg-laying; gum exudes from the wounds, and
deformed and misshapen fruit results. Sometimes in restricted
localities the gouger may be more abundant and cause more
injury than the plum curculio, but as a general thing it is not a
serious pest.
Treatment.
In general the measures suggested for the control of the
plum curculio will apply to this species, but the destruction of
fallen fruit would be of no avail, because as a rule plums in-
fested by the gouger do not fall prematurely. Jarring is also
less satisfactory because the beetles fall less readily and are
more liable to escape by flight. Although the results of defi-
nite experiments are not available, it is probable that spraying
with arsenate of lead as practiced for the plum curculio would
do much to hold this pest in check. The first application
should be made just before the blossom buds open.
Le
PLUM INSECTS AGS
REFERENCES
Walsh, First Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 97-104, 1867 (second edition,
1903).
Riley, 3d Rept. State Ent. Mo., pp. 39-42. 1871.
Iowa Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 9. 1890.
Mont. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bulli. 62, pp. 211-218. 1905.
Tur AMERICAN PLUM BORER
Euzophera semifuneralis Walker
While generally distributed throughout the United States
and Canada, this insect has only occasionally become of economic
importance. In addition to the plum it has been reported as
attacking the pear, apple and mountain ash, and the moth has
been reared from larve feeding on the black-knot of plum.
The parent insect is a small, obscurely colored grayish moth
with an expanse of a little less than an inch. They emerge
during late May and early June and are rarely seen, being
nocturnal in habit. The eggs are unknown, but are probably
deposited in cracks or crevices in the bark of the trunk and
larger branches. ‘lhe larve eat out winding burrows next the
sapwood, cause large dead areas in the bark and in some cases
completely girdle the tree. Their presence is usually indicated
by the frass thrown out of the entrance to the burrow. When
full-grown the larva is about one inch in length and varies in
color from dusky greenish to pinkish or reddish. In Delaware
the evidence points to three generations annually, adults of
the later broods appearing during the latter part of July and
in September, but Dr. 8. A. Forbes considered the species
single brooded in Illinois. The larve of the last brood mature
in early November and hibernate in small white silken cocoons
under flakes of bark or in the frass thrown out at the opening
_ of the burrow. About May 1 they transform to pups, and the
moths appear about three weeks later.
954 FRUIT INSECTS
Treatment.
As the burrows are indicated by the accumulation of frass,
and as the larve are always near the surface, it is an easy matter
to dig them out with a knife. Scraping away the rough bark
in the winter would probably destroy many larve in their
cocoons. The rubbish should be collected and- burned, for if
left on the ground many of the larve would doubtless survive.
Trees kept in a strong, healthy state by proper care are in better
condition to sustain attack.
REFERENCES
Forbes, 6th Ann. Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 26-29. 1891.
Del. Ag. Exp. Sta. Bull. 53, pp. 9-13. 1901.
THe PLuM WEB-SPINNING SAWFLY
Neurotoma inconspicua Norton
The larve of this sawfly have the peculiar habit of webbing
in the leaves of the plum and cherry, forming unsightly nests
somewhat like the cherry tortrix. It has been reported from
Manitoba, South Dakota and Massachusetts. The adult is
a four-winged fly about 4 inch in length with a black body and
rufous legs except the black coxe and tarsi; the wings are
hyaline with a faint fuscous band behind the stigma. They
appear just as the leaves are expanding, and the female deposits
her smooth, lemon-yellow elongate eggs in two or three rows
along the midrib on the underside of the young leaves. ‘The
eggs hatch in about eight days, and the young larve begin
feeding on the leaves under cover of webs which they enlarge
to inclose fresh leaves as more food is needed. ‘They become
_ full grown in about a month, by which time the webs frequently
cover the entire tree. The larva is then about { inch in length,
grayish above and yellow or pinkish below, with a yellow head
and black thoracic shield and anal segment. When full-grown
PLUM INSECTS 25D
they find their way to the ground, where at a depth of about
six inches they pass the winter in earthen cells. Early the
following spring the larva works its way up nearly to the sur-
face and changes to a pupa just below the grass roots. The
adults appear about May 1 in Massachusetts and the second
week of June in South Dakota. There is only one generation a
year.
Treatment.
The larve are easily killed by a thorough spraying with
arsenate of lead, 5 pounds to 100 gallons of water, applied
soon after the eggs have hatched and before the large webs are
made.
REFERENCES
S. D. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 48. 1896.
Fletcher, Rept. Ent. for 1896, p. 253.
Fernald, Ent. News XIV, pp. 298-302. 1903.
THe Pium L&aFr-BEETLE
Nodonota tristis Olivier
During June and July the foliage of plum, peach, cherry and
chokecherry is occasionally attacked by small, shining, steely- .
blue flea-beetles, about 1 inch in length. The early stages are
unknown, but from what is known of the habits of related species
the larve probably live on the roots of plants. Eggs laid in
confinement are described as being elongate oval, smooth,
dirty whitish-gray in color and about 34 inch in length. They
were laid in a mass of 36 in the fold of a leaf and hatched in
about a week.
The injury may be prevented by spraying with arsenate of
lead, 4 pounds to 100 gallons of water, when the beetles are
first noticed.
REFERENCE
Chittenden, U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 19, pp. 98-95. 1899.
256 FRUIT INSECTS
Tur Hop PLANT-LOUSE
Phorodon humult Schrank
This notorious hop pest usually passes the winter and spring
on the plum. It is a native of Europe and was introduced into
New York about 1863, but now occurs throughout the country
wherever its host plants are grown.
| The black shining oval eggs are
deposited around the buds on the
terminal twigs of the plum in autumn
and hatch soon after the buds open
the following spring. The light green
lice cluster on the leaves and tips
of the tender branches, sometimes
severely injuring the crop. Usually,
a there are about three generations of
j \ : wingless viviparous females (Fig. 225)
i a on the plum and then winged forms
le eae are produced which migrate to the
male of the third generation. hop, although some of the lice have
. fea after Riley. En- been known to remain on the plum
until cold weather. On the hop the
winged migrants start colonies of wingless viviparous females..
These forms reproduce asexually until the approach of cold
weather, when winged females are produced which migrate back to
the plum and there give birth to a small number of young that,
become wingless egg-laying females. The latter are fertilized
by male migrants from the hops and then deposit the winter
eggs on the terminal twigs. It has been shown in California
that this plant-louse frequently, if not normally, remains on the.
hop plant throughout the year. The wingless forms are a
uniform yellowish-green, while those having wings have black
markings on the thorax and abdomen. :
PLUM INSECTS as
Treatment.
Unless occurring in excessive abundance this species will
rarely require treatment on plum. Kerosene emulsion, whale-
oil soap or tobacco extracts give satisfactory results, if applied
before the curling of the leaves makes it impossible to hit the
insects.
REFERENCES
Riley, Rept. U. S. Comm. Agr. for 1888, pp. 93-111.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 160. 1904.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 133, pp. 40-41. 1908.
_ Tue PLumM PLANT-LOUSE
Myzus mahaleb Fonscolombe
This yellowish-green plant-louse closely resembles the pre-
ceding species with which it has often been confused. It
belongs to a different genus and may be distinguished by the
structure of the head and antenne; the frontal tubercles are
‘not prolonged into a slender tooth and the first antennal joint is
without the blunt tooth present in that species. It is not un-
usual to find both forms infesting the same tree.
The life history of the two species is very similar, but this
form does not migrate to the hop and is able to subsist during
the summer on a large number of plants among which may be
mentioned the pear, sunflower, dock, kohlrabi, chrysanthemum,
shepherd’s purse, portulaca, etc. The winter eggs and spring
generations occur on both plum and peach.
This plant-louse can be controlled by timely spraying with
‘Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, 2 pint in 100 gallons of
water, adding 3 or 4 pounds of soap to make the liquid stick
and spread better. Effective work can also be done with whale-
oil soap solution or with kerosene emulsion.
REFERENCE
Pergande, U, S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 7, pp. 52-59. 1897.
Ss : :
958 FRUIT INSECTS
THE Mrarty Puum Louse |
Hyalopterus arundinis Fabricius
This light green plant-louse of the plum is generally dis-
tributed throughout the country wherever its food-plant is
grown. It may be recognized by the three longitudinal darker
green stripes above and by the fine white Bee covering of
the body.
The black shining eggs are deposited in the fall around the
buds on the smaller branches and hatch the following spring ‘
‘ goon after the opening of the leaves. The first generation is
composed entirely of wingless females known as stem-mothers.
They give birth to a large number of living young, all females,
which continue to reproduce in the same way for several genera-
tions. At first they are all wingless, but as the leaves become
crowded and the food supply scanty part of each brood acquires
wings and migrates to other plants until by the last of July prac-
tically all will have left the trees, but in some instances they
have been known to remain on the plum throughout the season.
The alternate feod-plants are, as far as known, various species
of grasses, particularly the Reed-grass (Phragmites phragmites
Linn). In September the return migrants appear on the trees
and give birth to winged males and wingless females. After
mating the latter deposit the winter eggs around the buds.
Sometimes this plant-louse occurs in enormous numbers cover-
ing the entire under surface of the leaves, which turn yellowish
and drop without becoming noticeably curled. The loss of
foliage has been known to cause the falling of the fruit, but such
severe attacks are unusual.
Treatment. : A
In case the plant-lice appear in sufficient number as to threaten
injury to the crop it will pay to make a thorough spraying,
using kerosene emulsion, or one of the tobacco extracts to which
se
a"
PLUM INSECTS 259
a small amount of soap has been added. Fortunately this
species does not curl the leaves to any great extent, thus making
it easier to do effective work.
REFERENCES
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 139. 1897.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 133, p. 39. 1908.
THE Rusty Brown Puum APHIS
Aphis setarie Thomas
This dark rusty brown plant-louse occurs throughout the
Southern states and is found as far north as Minnesota. It
sometimes causes considerable loss
to the plum crop, particularly in the
South, and has been known to at-
tack the peach, being especially
troublesome on newly budded peach
stock in nurseries. It is sometimes
called the southern plum aphis under
the scientific name of Aphis scott.
The general color of the body is
rusty brown with the base of an-
tenne, tibiz and tail white.
The dark brown shining winter
eggs are attached to the smaller
branches and hatch about the time
the buds open. The first brood
Fic. 226.— Stem-mother of
the rusty brown plum aphis.
Redrawn after Sanborn. En-
larged.
consists entirely of wingless females known as stem-mothers
(Fig. 226) ; they give birth to living young which develop into
wingless females. There are ten or more generations during
the season. The earlier broods are wingless, but as the
leaves become crowded winged individuals are produced
which migrate to other plants, mostly grasses, and start new
260 : FRUIT INSECTS
colonies. A few, however, may remain on the plum throughout
the season. At the approach of cold weather winged forms
are produced that return to the plum and there give birth to
a brood of winged males and wingless females, both sexes being
nearly black in color. The female deposits the winter eggs
upon the bark of the smaller branches, usually near the buds.
Treatment.
The usual sprays for plant-lice are effective against this
species, but as the infested leaves curl badly, the application
should be made as soon as the insects appear. Thorough. ap-
plications of lime-sulfur at the strength used against the San
José scale are said to kill the eggs in Oklahoma.
REFERENCES
Scott, U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 31, pp. 56-59. 1902.
Ga. State Bd. Ent. Bull. 17, pp. 99-101. 1905.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 133, p. 41. 1908.
Okl. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 88. 1910.
THE EvuROPEAN FRUIT-TREE SCALE
Aspidiotus ostreeformis Curtis
This scale insect closely resembles Putnam’s scale and the
cherry scale in size and general appearance and can be dis-
tinguished from them only by microscopic characters. The
full-grown female scale is nearly circular, about 74, of an inch
in diameter, dark, ashy-gray in color and is usually easily dis-
tinguished from the San José scale by the exuvial spot, which,
instead of being blackish and central, is dark orange colored and
located a little to one side of the center. Probably introduced
into New York State from Europe on orchard cuttings about,
1870, this scale is now widely distributed in Canada and Jie
northern United States.
The bark of plum, apricot, currant and soft maple trees are
PLUM INSECTS 261
sometimes incrusted and a few trees have been killed by the
scale in this country. It also attacks the apple, pear, cherry
and prune, besides several shade trees. It spreads slowly in
orchards, and as there is apparently but one generation a year,
at least in northern regions, it will never be as dangerous or
destructive in orchards as the San José scale.
Only partly grown scales live through the winter, and these
may reach maturity by the middle of June in New York.
Some state that the mother scale insect gives birth to living
young or is ovoviviparous, but we have seen eggs under the
scales, and Reh records finding both eggs and living young
under the scales in Europe, so the species may be partially
oviparous also. Young are born over a period of several
weeks and some of them often get on to the fruits, especially
apples.
The lady-bird beetles, Microweisea misella and Chilocorus
bivulnerus, feed upon this scale and parasites also destroy large
numbers of them. )
The lime-sulfur wash and other winter applications rec-
ommended for the San José scale will doubtless efeotually
control this European fruit-tree scale.
- REFERENCE
U. S. Bur. Ent.. Bull. 20, pp. 76-82. 1899.
THe European FRuit LECANIUM
Lecanium cornit Bouché
This large, brown, soft-bodied scale occurs on a large number
of deciduous trees in both this country and Europe. Its most
important hosts are the plum, peach, apricot, pear, apple,
quince, currant, blackberry, mulberry, osage-orange, pecan,
and among forest trees, elm, ash, basswood, etc. It has re-
ceived a long list of scientific names, owing to slight variations
262
FRUIT INSECTS
in form and color assumed when growing on different plants.
Although ane distributed throughout the United States and
Fig. 227.— The European fruit
Lecanium, eggs rolling out from be-
neath the female scale in June. En-
larged.
of that region. Fortunately,
Canada and infesting such a
wide range of cultivated plants,
it has become of economic im-
portance only a few times and
in restricted localities.
The most serious outbreak
occurred: in 1894 and 1895 in
the plum orchards of western
New York. The pest appeared
suddenly in extraordinary num-
bers and excited widespread
alarm among the fruit-growers
severe winter conditions, the
attacks of parasites or some other cause so reduced their num-
bers that within a year or two the pest
again subsided into comparative obscurity.
This scale insect has been studied prin-
The winter is
passed by the young, flat, spindle-shaped
brown scales (Fig. 229) on the bark of
the tree, mostly on the sees branches.
They are then about =; inch in length.
Early in the spring, about April 1 in
New York, they establish themselves
mostly on the underside of the smaller
The females grow
rapidly and by the middle of May many
They are then about + or
7s Inch in length and remind one of small
The male
cipally as a plum pest.
branches (Fig. 228).
are mature.
halved peas colored brown.
Fie.
branch infested with the
European fruit Lecanium’
228. — A plum
scale is much smaller, flatter and more elongate and is of a
whitish color.
About the time the females become mature the
PLUM INSECTS 268
small, delicate, white-winged males appear and soon after
mating perish. During the latter part of May or in June the
female lays a large number of minute, white eggs which com-
pletely fill the cavity beneath the scale previously occupied
by her body (Fig. 227). Over 2000 eggs have been -counted
beneath a single scale. They hatch in about a month and the
minute young lice crawl out on to
the leaves and establish themselves
along the principal veins. Infested
leaves become curled and turn yel-
lowish, the tree makes but little
growth and the fruit remains under-
sized or falls prematurely. The
young scales collectively produce a
great quantity of a clear sweet liquid
known as honey-dew, which in the
absence of heavy rains collects on a
the leaves and fruit and serves as Teee one or evens
a medium for the growth of a fungus | scales on plum of the European
which gives the tree a smutty, dis- wt Lecanium.
gusting appearance. During September most of the scales
abandon the leaves and seek winter quarters on the bark of
the tree, mostly on the smaller branches, but a small per-
centage fall with the leaves and probably perish.
Treatment.
Commercial plum growers have found little difficulty in
controlling this scale by one or two thorough applications of
‘kerosene emulsion, diluted with 4 or 5 parts of water, applied
while the trees are dormant. Miscible oils at the usual winter
strength can also be used to advantage.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 83. 1894.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 108, pp. 82-86. 1896.
264 FRUIT INSECTS
N. Y. (Geneva), Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept. of 1895, pp. 574-595. 1896.
Sanders, Jour. Ee. Ent. II, pp. 443-445. 1909.
The plum Pulvinaria (Pulvinaria amygdali Cockerell) in
general appearance closely resembles the cottony maple scale
(p. 427). It has been reported as attacking peach, apple,
plum and prune. It occurs in New Mexico, Georgia and
California.
OTHER Pium INSECTS
LESSER APPLE WORM: apple, p. 23.
GREEN FRUIT-WORMS: apple, p. 39.
Bup-MoTH: apple, p. 42.
CIGAR-CASE-BEARER: apple, p. 47.
FRUIT-TREE LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 62.
OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 60.
APPLE LEAF-SKELETONIZER: apple, p. 67.
LEAF-CRUMPLER: apple, p. 68.
CANKER-WORM: apple, p. 77.
WHITE-MARKED TUSSOCK-MOTH: apple, p. 100.
APPLE-TREE TENT-CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 112.
FOREST TENT-CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 119.
RED-HUMPED APPLE CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 125.
APPLE BUD-APHIS: apple, p. 151.
BuFFALO TREE-HOPPER: apple, p. 160.
San JOSE SCALE: apple, p. 162.
OYSTER-SHELL SCALE: apple, p. 171.
PUTNAM’S SCALE: apple, p. 179.
FLAT-HEADED APPLE*TREE BORER: apple, p. 194.
TWIG-PRUNER: apple, p. 200.
TWIG-GIRDLER: apple, p. 202.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
CLOVER-MITE: apple, p. 206.
RING-LEGGED TREE-BUG: apple, p. 208.
EYE-SPOTTED APPLE-TWIG BORER: apple, p. 209.
New YORK WEEVIL: apple, p. 210.
SNOWY TREE-CRICKET: apple, p. 211.
PEAR THRIPS: pear, p. 223.
HOWARD SCALE: pear, p. 234.
EUROPEAN PEAR SCALE: pear, p. 234.
CHERRY SCALE: cherry, p. 312.
PLUM INSECTS
PEACH-TREE BORER: peach, p. 266.
PACIFIC PEACH-TREE BORER: peach, p. 275.
LESSER PEACH-TREE BORER: peach, p. 276.
FRUIT-TREE BARK-BEETLE: peach, p. 277.
TERRAPIN-SCALE: peach, p. 293.
WHITE PEACH SCALE: peach, p. 295.
GREEN JUNE-BEETLE: peach, p. 296.
WALNUT SCALE: currant, p. 360.
ROSE CHAFER: grape, p. 397.
COTTONY MAPLE SCALE: grape, p. 427.
265
CHAPTER VIII
PEACH INSECTS
WHILE the peach easily succumbs to attacks of the San José
scale, the loss occasioned by this insect is not as great as that
produced by either the plum curculio or the peach-tree borers.
The curculio is exceedingly destructive in the South, owing to
the fact that it is an important factor in the distribution of
brown rot spores. The control of the curculio on the peach is
discussed on page 248. The foliage of the peach is very easily
injured by spray mixtures and one must be especially careful
in making applications of arsenicals.
THE PEACH-TREE BORER
Sanninoidea exitiosa Say
Wherever the peach is grown in the United States and Canada
east of the Rocky Mountains it is subject to the attack of this
native American borer, the larva of a beautiful steel-blue clear-
wing moth. With the exception of the San José scale it is the
most serious pest with which the northern peach grower has
to contend, while in the South it is surpassed in importance
only by the plum curculio. Quaintance in 1909 estimates the
loss occasioned by peach-tree borers at 6 million dollars. Trees
of all ages from nursery stock to the last relics of abandoned or-
chards are subject to attack; young trees are often girdled and
killed outright, while older trees are so weakened that they are un-
able to produce good crops of fruit. Trees whose vitality has been
266
PEACH INSECTS 267
reduced by borer attacks are particularly lable to infestation
by bark-beetles, or shot-hole borers, which soon complete their
destruction. The peach-tree borer also infests the wild and
cultivated cherry, plum, prune, nectarine, apricot and certain
ornamental shrubs. |
The insect always passes the winter in the larval state.
Throughout its range the great majority of the wintering larve
are less than one half grown, although a very few may be nearly
mature. Most of the larger larve hibernate in their burrows
beneath the bark, but, as a rule, the smaller ones, those less than
one half grown, pass the winter on the bark curled up under a
thin silken covering or hibernaculum which protects them
Fic. 230. — The peach-tree borer, full-grown (x 32).
from the surrounding mass of gum. There are, however, ex-
ceptions in both cases; nearly full-grown larve are sometimes
found in hibernaculums and some of the smaller ones hibernate
in their burrows. In the extreme South the larve remain in
their burrows, feeding nearly all winter, but in New York ac-
tivity is not resumed until the last of April or in May. At
that time the borers either continue the old burrows or start
new ones and soon excavate a cavity from one half to an inch
or more wide and two or three inches long just under the outer
bark in the inner bark and sap wood. A large quantity of gum
exudes from the burrows and collects in conspicuous masses
on the ground at the base of the tree. We have seen a peach
tree, only one and one half inches in diameter, support nine
borers nearly to maturity in a single season, and it is not un- |
268 FRUIT INSECTS
Fic. 231. — Peach-tree borers in their burrows; cocoon above with an empty
pupa skin projecting (X 14).
PEACH INSECTS
269
common to find old trees in neglected orchards infested with
40 or 50 borers.
Usually the larve confine their work to the trunk ‘or roots
of the tree a short distance below the surface of the soil, but
they are sometimes found six or eight
ish hairs arising from
smooth, slightly elevated
tubercles.
When full-grown the
larva usually leaves its
burrow and incloses itself
in a rough, brown, elon-
gate oval cocoon com-
posed of silk in which
are incorporated particles
Fig. 232. — Cocoons of
the peach-tree borer with Of bark and excrement
embiy pupa sins project,” (Wigs, Jal-amd 232). “he
ing. d
cocoons are usually at-
tached to the bark of the tree at or near the sur-
face of the ground, but many are found lying
loosely in the soil; this is more commonly the
case in the South. In three to five days after
building the cocoon the larva transforms into
a dark brown pupa about # inch in length
(Fig. 233). In three or four weeks the pupa
inches under ground. The full-grown
larva (Fig. 230) is about an inch in
length and of a very light yellow color ;
the head is dark reddish-brown, and the
thoracic and anal shields are light brown.
The body is sparsely clothed with brown-
Fic. 233. —
Male pupa of
the peach-tree
borer (X 33).
works itself halfway out of the cocoon and the steel- agi
clear-winged moth escapes.
The male and female moths differ strikingly in color (Fig.
270
Fig. 234. — Male and female moths of the
peach-tree borer.
FRUIT INSECTS
234) ; in the male the four _
wings are transparent,
with the veins, margins
and. fringes steel-blue,
and the abdominal seg-
ments are steel-blue nar-
rowly fringed with yellow
behind ; in the female the
front wings are opaque,
covered with steel-blue
scales, the hind wings
are transparent over only
about half their area and
the abdomen has a broad,
orange-colored band ex-
tending nearly around the
body on the fourth or on both the fourth and fifth segments.
North of latitude 40 to 42 degrees the females, as a rule, have
the band covering
both segments,
while south of that
line it is confined
to the fourth seg-
ment. Intergrad-
ing specimens are
sometimes found.
The moths are most
active during the
heat of the day and
when flying in the
bright sunshine are
Fia. 235.— Eggs of the peach-tree borer, enlarged.
easily mistaken for wasps by the casual observer.
Mating takes place very soon after the emergence of the moths |
and the female immediately begins to deposit her eggs singly
renee:
ee,
AN
‘i 2
PEACH INSECTS har |
or in small groups on the trunk of the tree, usually near the base.
‘The egg is about #5 inch in length, chestnut or reddish-brown in
color, ellipsoidal in form, slightly flattened at the sides, trun-
cate and slightly hollowed at the tip and beautifully sculp-
tured, as shown in Figure 235. It has been shown by dissection
of the moths that each female is capable of laying from 200 to
600 eggs. They hatch in 9 or 10 days and
the young larve soon start their burrows in the
soft bark.
The exact time of the emergence of the moths
and the deposition of the eggs is a matter of
great practical importance, and although it has
received considerable attention by entomo-
logical workers, the data now available are not
as complete as might be wished. In New York
the moths have been known to emerge as early
as June 12 and as late as the last of September,
but most of them appear from July 1 to
August 15. In New Jersey the period of ae ee
maximum emergence is from June 15 to Sep- eZ cae lesser peach-
‘ 5 Se ise ree borer project-
tember 15; at- Washington, D. C., it is prac- jing from its bur-
tically the same, although a few moths may row in a plum
emerge in late May. In South Carolina most P*™*"
of the moths emerge between July 20 and September 20, after
which date only a few stragglers are seen. In Georgia and
generally throughout the South a few moths may emerge as
early as April or May, but the majority appear between August 1
~ and October 1. We would naturally expect the larve to mature
and give rise to the adults earlier in the warm climate of the
Southern states than in New York or New Jersey with their
shorter growing season, but it is now well proved that such is
not the case. The cause of this peculiar phenomenon is un-
known.
272 FRUIT INSECTS
Treatment.
The best results in the control of the peach-tree borer in com-
mercial orchards are, as arule, obtained by digging out the borers
with a knife or some similar instrument, after which the trunk
is treated with some good protective wash and the earth
mounded up around the tree to a height of six to eight inches.
Some successful growers rely entirely on the digging-out and
mounding methods and omit the wash. Where the pest is at
all troublesome the trees should be gone over carefully twice
a year; once as late as convenient in the fall and again the first
part of June. In digging out the borers the’ earth is first re-
moved from around the base of the tree to a depth of four or
five inches when the larger burrows will be indicated by conspic-
uous masses of gum. By scraping the bark with a knife or brush ©
most of the smaller ones can be easily located. Particularly
in the fall many of the borers are on the surface of the bark,
covered merely by a mass of gum, where they are easily found
and destroyed. To get at the larger borers in their burrows
in the bark and sapwood considerable cutting may be necessary,
but if it is done carefully and mostly in the direction of the
grain of the wood, the wound soon heals and little or no injury
is done the tree.
After the borers have been dug out in June the earth should
be replaced at once and mounded up around the trunk to a
height of eight or ten inches. This forces the moths to deposit
their eggs higher on the trunk and causes the larve to enter the
bark farther from the roots, where it is easier to locate and de-
stroy them. The combination of the digging-out and mound-
ing methods is the cheapest and most practicable way of con-
trolling the peach-tree borer. The number of borers can be
kept below the danger limit by this system alone if the work
be thoroughly and regularly done, and if there are no neglected
orchards near by to furnish moths for a constant reinfesta-
tion.
PEACH INSECTS 273
After the removal of the borers in the fall there is nothing
to be gained by applying washes or wrappers, but many growers
believe it pays to make such applications in June before mound-
ing the earth around the trunks. At least fifty different kinds
of washes have been suggested for preventing the attacks of
the peach-tree borer in the century or more that American
fruit-growers have been fighting this pest ; some have been found
injurious to the tree and many others practically worthless ;
most of these have been eliminated so that now only a very
few are in common use. In general, washes are less effective
than one would expect because it is very difficult to cover the
rough bark of the tree trunk thoroughly enough to fill all the
minute cracks -and crevices through which the young larve
usually gain entrance. Furthermore, the growth of the tree
causes the wash to crack, thus exposing a fresh surface to the
young borers. Many washes contain a poison, Paris green or
arsenate of lead, intended to poison the borers as they gnaw
through the protective coat, but they are of doubtful value.
The young larve are very active and will usually be able to find
some unprotected crevice before beginning to feed.
In an extensive series of experiments conducted in New York
in 1895-1900 and also in the hands of some commercial growers
gas tar as a protective wash has given excellent results, but as
others have found it injurious to the trees under certain conditions
it should be used with caution. It should not be applied to
trees the first year after planting, before they are thoroughly
established, nor should it be used in the fall. If applied to
_ healthy trees in the spring while the vegetative growth is active,
there is little danger of injury. A wash much used in com-
mercial orchards in Georgia consists of 2 quarts soap, 4 pint
crude carbolic acid, 2 ounces Paris green, all mixed in a pail
of water, to which enough lime and clay have been added to
make a thin paste. In New Jersey a wash is strongly recom-
mended composed of 1 pound arsenate of lead in 5 gallons lime-
T
274 FRUIT INSECTS
sulfur at ordinary winter strength to which has been added an
excess of lime.
Various kinds of wrappers for the prevention of the entrance
of the borers were formerly much used, but are now generally
discarded because of their tendency to render the bark tender.
Where conditions are such as. to warrant their use wrappers
made of several layers of newspapers or cheap brown paper
tied tightly around the trunk and extending from the roots to
a height of about two feet give fairly good protection at a mini-
mum of expense and labor. Tarred paper is frequently recom-
mended, but it is no more effective than the cheaper newspaper
wrappers. Tobacco stems wound tightly around the trunk
from the roots to a little above the surface of the ground kept
out from two thirds to five sixths of the borers in the New York
experiment mentioned above. They are cheaply obtained at
cigar factories and are worthy of further trial. Wrappers to
do the most good should be in place and kept intact through-
out the egg-laying period, which varies in different parts of the
country, as stated above. To be most effective washes and
wrappers should always be used in combination with the digging- |
out and mounding methods.
Wire cages loosely encircling the trunk and tightly closed at
the top with cotton were strongly recommended in Missouri
some years ago, but further experiments have shown that they
are practically worthless, although theoretically they should
give perfect protection. Actually more borers were found in
trees fitted with these devices than in those entirely unprotected.
=
REFERENCES
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 128. 1898.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 176. 1899. :
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 192. 1901.
Georgia Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 73. 1906.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull: 235. 1911;
a.
ae ae J sie oe a
PEACH INSECTS | ae
THe Paciric PEACH-TREE BORER
Sanninoidea opalescens Henry Edwards
This insect, closely related to the peach-tree borer of the
Eastern states, attacks the peach, almond, apricot, prune and
cherry on the Pacific Coast. Its habits and mode of attack
are very similar to those of the Eastern form. Nearly all sizes
of larve are found in the trees in the winter ; these mature and
transform to moths at different times throughout the growing
season, thus giving a long period during which the eggs are de-
posited. The male moth has the transverse mark and outer >
margin of the front wings broader than in the Eastern species;
in the female the fore wings are opaque, the hind wings trans-
parent and the abdomen is entirely blue or green-black, with-
out any yellow band.
This pest may be controlled by digging out the larva during
the winter or early spring. To prevent the entrance of the
newly hatched larve a protective wash should be applied to
the trunk, from the roots to a height of 18 inches from the sur-
face of the ground. Excellent results have been obtained by
using a wash made according to the following formula, and
known as the lime-crude-oil mixture: place about 50 pounds
of rock lime in a barrel and slake with 10 or 15 gallons of warm
water; while the lime is boiling, slowly pour in 6 or 8 gallons
of heavy crude oil, and stir thoroughly. Add enough water to
make the whole a heavy paste. Asphaltum has also been
- found a safe and efficient protection.
The bisulphide of carbon treatment, strongly recommended
in California a few years ago, is now generally discarded as be-
ing too dangerous and expensive.
REFERENCES
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 148. 1902.
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 97, Pt. IV. 1911.
276 FRUIT INSECTS
Tur LEesseER PEACH-TREE BORER
Sesia pictipes Grote and Robinson
This insect is also closely related to the peach-tree borer,
with which it has sometimes been confused. Besides the peach
it also attacks plum, cherry, June berry, beach plum and chest-
nut. It is widely distributed throughout the United States
and Canada.
Unlike the peach-tree borer the larve do not confine their —
attacks to the crown but more often occur on the trunk and
larger branches. They usually infest old trees with rough bark,
and most of the burrows are found in the vicinity of wounds.
The pinkish or translucent larve very closely resemble those of
the peach-tree borer, but are somewhat smaller. When full-
grown the larva eats out an exit hole nearly through the bark,
and in a suitable cavity beneath constructs an oval cocoon of
bits of bark and frass bound together with silken thread. A few
days after the construction of the cocoon the larva changes into
a brownish-yellow, spindle-shaped pupa about 2 inch in length.
The moth emerges in about a month or a little less in the South,
leaving the empty pupal skin projecting from the burrow (Fig.
236). Both sexes of the moths resemble the male of the peach-
tree borer, having all four wings transparent. Larve of all
stages except the first may be found during the winter. These
mature at different times throughout the summer and give a
continuous supply of moths. In the South there are two genera-
tions annually, while in the North there is probably only one.
Treatment.
This borer rarely attacks perfectly sound uninjured trees and
is of little economic importance in commercial orchards which
receive good care. It is best controlled by digging out the larvee,
after which the wounds should be treated with some protective
wash. The work may be done in connection with the treat-
ment for the peach-tree borer.
oeea
PEACH INSECTS 216
REFERENCE
U.S. Bur, Ent. Bull. 68, Pt. IV. 1907.
Tuer FRUIT-TREE BARK-BEETLE
Scolytus rugulosus Ratzeburg
This European bark-beetle was first noticed in this country
in 1877 in the vicinity of Elmira, N.Y. It now occurs in Canada,
and is generally distributed
over the Eastern states as
far South as Alabama and
Georgia. It breeds freely
in the peach, plum, cherry,
apricot and apple and will
also attack quince, moun-
tain ash, June berry and
chokecherry. Its presence
is indicated by numerous
small exit holes in the bark, about ;, inch in diameter, hence
its common name of shot-hole borer. In stone fruits its work
is rendered con-
spicuous by the
gum which oozes
from the bur-
rows and hangs
in unsightly
masses from the
branches (Fig.
243).
Fic. 238. — Brood chamber and larval burrows of the The adult, or
fruit-tree bark-beetle. beetle, is about
7x inch in length and of a dark brown color, except parts of
the legs and the tips of the wing covers, which are dull reddish
Fig. 237.— The fruit-tree bark-beetle (x20).
278
Fie. 239. — Peach
branch with bark re-
moved to show the
burrows of the fruit-
tree bark-beetle.
FRUIT INSECTS |
(Fig. 237). They emerge in early spring,
and the female immediately seeks out a
suitable branch in which to déposit her eggs.
Having selected the place, she burrows di-
rectly to the sapwood, and there partly in
the wood and partly in the bark constructs
an egg chamber which usually runs length-
wise of the branch and is from 4 to 2 inches
long (Fig. 238). From time to time as the
burrow advances she lays her minute, deli-
cate white eggs close together in a single
row on each side of the chamber, gluing
them in place with a gummy secretion. It
takes her not far from a week to complete
the egg chamber, and as the eggs hatch in
about three days those first laid hatch before
the last are deposited. On hatching, the
minute, whitish grubs start their burrows at
right angles to the egg chamber, but soon
change the direction, so that by the time
they are full-grown most of the burrows are
running lengthwise of the branch (Fig. 239).
The full-grown larve are about 3% inch in
length, whitish in color, with brown mouth
parts; the anterior segments are consider-
ably enlarged, and the hind end of the body
is obtusely rounded. They become grown
in about 20 days, and then excavate a narrow
cavity in the sapwood about 4 inch deep,
plug the opening with sawdust and trans-
form to pups within (Fig. 241). In about,
10 days the beetles gnaw their way to the
surface. The complete life cycle requires
from four to six weeks. The separate
PEACH INSECTS 279
4
broods greatly overlap, making it very difficult to determine
accurately the: number of generations a year. The evidence
Wa
=z
Mes Za
y \
ee ky
Sa
SS
re
aN
Fic. 240. — Burrows of the fruit-tree bark-beetle; (e) entrance hole, (e.t.)
egg tunnel cut by adult, (lg) larval gallery, (p.c.) plugged entrance to pupal
cell. Redrawn after Swaine.
available goes to show that in the North there are probably
two generations, while in the South there are three, four or
even more. The winter is passed as larve either partially
grown in the burrows or full-grown in the pupal chamber.
These bark beetles do not -
seem to be able to breed
either in healthy, strongly
growing trees or in entirely =
dead dry branches. They
prefer trees that have been
weakened from injury, lack
of care, or from some other Fic. 241. — Section through bark and
cause. Still when very wood of apple branch infested with the
abundant they will attempt fut ber-bestle showing ft burrow
to enter perfectly healthy pupal cell. Enlarged.
‘trees, selecting those parts
where the vitality is lowest. In the case of stone fruits
they are either driven out or killed by the copious flow of
280 FRUIT INSECTS
sap into their burrows (Fig.
242), but continued at-
tacks will in time so weaken
the tree that the females
are able to gain a foothold
and deposit their eggs. On
cherries a peculiar injury
is often noticed in mid-
summer. The short spurs
bearing the clusters of
leaves are attacked by a
beetle, which eats out a
short burrow apparently
for food only, since eggs
are never found in these
burrows, and they are soon
deserted. The dead leaves
wets Bi Fini tree berkcbertle Hiled remain on the branch for
peach tree for egg-laying. Enlarged. some time and call atten-
tion to the injury.
Treatment.
To avoid an infestation by bark beetles the trees should be
kept in a vigorous condition by proper cultivation, pruning and
Fic. 248.— Gum exuding from a peach branch infested with the fruit-tree
bark-beetle.
spraying, for the beetles are not able to breed in healthy, strongly
growing trees or branches. All trees in too poor condition to
be of commercial value should be removed before they become
PEACH INSECTS 281
centers of infestation. Near-by abandoned orchards, brush
piles, old neglected cherry trees, and chokecherry trees along
roadsides and fences frequently harbor the pests in countless
numbers and should be kept under close observation or de-
stroyed. We have seen a thrifty young apple orchard se-
verely attacked by beetles that come from a large pile of
fire wood from an old apple orchard that had been cut
down. When an orchard has become badly infested severely
injured trees and branches should be removed and burned
before the beetles have had a chance to escape. Slightly in-
fested trees may sometimes be saved by a rather severe pruning,
thorough cultivation and the application of some quick-acting
fertilizer. After the beetles have entered the bark there is no
practicable way of reaching them with an insecticide. A 12
per cent emulsion of avenarius carbolineum is said to kill the
_ beetles in their burrows. Certain deterrent washes, however,
have been shown to possess considerable protective value when
applied in the spring just before the beetles appear and repeated
once or twice during the season. A stiff whitewash applied
to the trunk and larger branches has given good results; its
efficiency is increased by the addition of one gallon of chloro-
naphtholeum or avenarius carbolineum to each 50 gallons of the
wash, and the addition of one fourth pound of salt to each pail
of the wash will add to its sticking qualities. In commercial
peach orchards in Georgia fairly good protection has been pro-
cured at a reasonable cost by the use of lime-sulfur at the
strength used against scale, the application being made just
before the appearance of the beetles in the spring.
REFERENCES
Ill. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 15. 1891.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. 15th Ann. Rept. for 1894, pp. 565-572.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 29 (Revised edition), 1903.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Cire. 140. 19138.
282 FRUIT INSECTS
THe PracH BARK-BEETLE
Phleotribus liminaris Harris
In habits and in the nature of its injuries this species is very
similar to the foregoing, but its range of food plants is more
restricted, its attacks being confined principally to the
peach and cherry. It is a native of this country and occurs
in Canada and the Eastern states as far south as North
Carolina.
Unlike the preceding species it hibernates in the beetle stage
either in the pupal cavities
or in specially constructed
hibernation chambers ex- —
cavated in the bark of
healthy trees. The small
brownish beetles (Fig. 244)
emerge in early spring and
at once begin to excavate
their egg burrows under the
Fia. 244. — The peach bark-beetle (x 22). bark of weakened or dying
trees. These burrows usually
run transversely around the branch and are distinguished from
those of the preceding species by having a short side branch (Fig.
245) which with the short tunnel running to the entrance hole in
the bark makes a Y-shaped end to the main egg burrow. Theside —
branch enables the female to turn around in the burrow and is |
also occupied by the male at the time of mating. The minute
white eggs are deposited in small niches in the walls of the main
burrow and are covered with sawdust. Each female may lay
from 80 to 160 eggs. Those of the first brood hatch in about
20 days, while those of the summer generation require only about
half as long. The young grubs burrow away from the egg
chamber at right angles and generally follow the grain of the
PEACH INSECTS 283
wood, but gradually diverge as they advance. In 25 or 30 days
the full-grown grubs transform to pup# in the enlarged ends
of the burrows near the outer surface of the bark. From 4 to
6 days are spent in the pupal stage, but as a rule the beetles do
not emerge until a week or two later. In northern Ohio there
are two generations a year, the beetles appearing in greatest
numbers in March and early April, in July and again in October,
when they go into hibernation. The broods overlap, so that
after July all stages are present under the bark until cold weather.
Fic. 245. — Burrows of the peach bark-beetle; (e. n.) egg nitch. Redrawn
after Swaine.
The beetles may be distinguished from the preceding species
by the following points: the club of the antenna is lamellate;
when viewed from the side the venter of the abdomen appears
nearly straight, not turned abruptly upward and the pronotum
is bent strongly downward, so that the head is scarcely visible
from above (Fig. 244).
Treatment.
The measures suggested against the fruit-tree bark-beetle
are also applicable to the present species. From experiments —
conducted in Ohio it is recommended that, in order to keep out
the greatest number of beetles, the whitewash should be ap-
284 FRUIT INSECTS
plied three times: in late March or early April, about the middle
of July and in late September or October.
REFERENCE
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 68, Pt. IX. 1909.
Tue PracH TWIG-BORER
Anarsia lineatella Zeller
This European peach pest is now generally distributed
throughout the oe States and Canada wherever its host
plant is cultivated. 5
It is sometimes 4
troublesome in the
Eastern states and
has become a serious
pest on the Pacific
Coast, where it is
estimated that its attacks cause a loss of about one-fourth
of the peach crop in certain regions. The over-wintering
larve burrow into the tender shoots in early spring, cause
them to die and give the tree the appearance of having
been scorched by fire; the summer generations likewise burrow
in the new growth but also attack the fruit, particularly of
late varieties.
The insect hibernates as a small larva, about 7; inch in
length, in a silk-lined cavity just beneath the outer bark, usually
in the crotch at the base of the new growth. The location of
the hibernating cavities is indicated by the small, reddish-brown.
mounds of bits of bark webbed together with silk thrown out
of the cavity. In early spring the larva enlarges the cavity
by feeding on the surrounding tissues and reaches the surface
in10to14days. The larve then attack the young growth, bur-
Fic. 246. — Moth of the peach twig-borer (x 5).
PEACH INSECTS 285
rowing into the pith of the tender shoots, which soon wilt and die.
The same larva usually attacks a number of twigs in succession
thus causing an amount of injury out of proportion to the quan-
tity of tissue consumed. ‘Three or four larve have been known
to kill a three-year-old tree by destroying all the new growth.
When full-grown, the reddish-brown larve, about 2 to $ inch
in length, crawl to the larger branches or trunk, where within
the curled flakes of the outer bark they construct very loose
cocoons consisting of only a few threads of silk. The pupa varies
from light to dark yellow in color and is about $ inch in length.
The pupal period lasts from 10 to 12 days. The inconspicuous,
steel-gray moths (Fig. 246), with an expanse of about $ inch,
deposit their white or yellowish elongate oval eggs on the bark
of the new twigs near the base of the leaves. These eggs hatch
in about ten days, and the second brood of caterpillars attack
the tips of the growing branches during the latter part of May in
California. After about 20 days, or early in June, they leave the
burrows in the tips of the young shoots and attack the fruit if
present. Most of these larve enter the fruit at the stem end
along the suture and eat out a considerable cavity in the flesh,
which becomes filled with excrement and gum; sometimes they
burrow next the stone, or in case the pit is split they may devour
the kernel. The second-brood larve become mature during
July and August and pupate in very slight cocoons in the
hollow at the stem end of the peach. The third brood of moths
deposit their eggs on the fruit on the edge of the depression
around the insertion of the stem. Soon after hatching, the third-
brood larve enter the fruit and feed within until full-grown,
when they eat their way out and pupate at the base of the fruit,
-as in the case of the second brood. Moths of the fourth brood
begin to emerge by the middle of August, so that they become
mixed with belated individuals of the third brood. These moths
of the last brood deposit their eggs in late August and September
in cracks and rough places in the bark. These eggs hatch in
286 FRUIT INSECTS
about five days, and the young larve soon excavate small cavi-
ties in the bark at the base of the new growth in which to pass
the winter.
Treatment.
Extensive experiments in California have shown that the
peach twig-borer may be satisfactorily controlled by thorough
and timely spraying with the lime-sulfur wash. The applica-
tion should be made just after the buds begin to swell and may
be continued until the first blossoms appear. This is the period
at which the young larve are leaving their winter quarters
and are most easily reached by the spray. Kerosene or distil-
late emulsion may be used at this time, but is somewhat less
effective and is more likely to cause injury. Winter applica-
tions of either the emulsions or the lime-sulfur wash are of little
value in the control of this insect, because at that time the larve
are out of harm’s way in their hibernating burrows in the bark.
It was formerly supposed that the oil would be absorbed by the
frass, penetrate the burrow and kill the larva, but later work
has shown that it penetrates very slowly if at all, and the practice
is now generally discarded. In case the early application of the
lime-sulfur wash has been omitted it will pay to spray the
trunks and larger branches with kerosene or distillate emulsion
in late spring to kill the first-brood pup in their flimsy cocoons
in the curls of bark. This treatment cannot be relied upon to
control the pest, but may be used to supplement the use of the
lime-sulfur wash when for any reason it may seem to have been
ineffective.
REFERENCES
U.S. Dept. Agr. Farm. Bull. 80. 1898.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 144. 1902.
Cenopis diluticostana Waslingham sometimes causes an injury —
to peaches very similar to the work of the peach twig-borer.
17th Rept. N. Y. State Ent., p. 736. 1901.
wi ers) Can See wo ee 7
pe Bett. $y jteae ual aha
PEACH INSECTS 287
Tue SrripeD PEAcH WoRM
Gelechia confusella Chambers
In restricted localities in Michigan peaches are sometimes
attacked by small, dirty, yellowish-white caterpillars marked on
the back and sides by six longitudinal, reddish-brown stripes ;
when full-grown they are about 2 inch in length. They appear
in July and again in September and feed upon the leaves, which
they web together into loose nests. When full-grown, they
transform to pups within the nest. The winter is passed in
the pupal state. The moth has an expanse of about 2 inch;
the front wings-are almost black with a paren gloss; the hind
wings are cinereous.
When only a few trees are infested, it will pay to cut out and
burn the nests. In larger orchards the first-brood caterpillars
can be destroyed when they first appear by spraying with arse-
nate of lead, 4 pounds to 100 gallons of water, to which 4 pounds
of lime should be added to prevent burning of the foliage.
REFERENCES
Mich. Aer. Exp. Sta. Bull. 175, pp. 347-349. 1899.
Mich. Agr. Exp. Sta. Sp. Bull. 24, pp..57. 1904.
THE PEACH SAWFLY
Pamphilius persicus MacGillivray
This insect has recently become locally troublesome in
~ peach orchards in Connecticut; it also occurs in Nebraska.
The adult sawflies are black with yellow markings on the head,
thorax and antennz, and with the abdomen behind the basal
plates rufous; they are about 2 inch in length. They emerge
from the ground in late May or early June, and the female de-
posits her pearly white, elongate eggs along the midrib on the
288 FRUIT INSECTS
underside of the leaf. The eggs hatch in about a week and the
larva first eats out a narrow strip of the leaf from the edge
towards the center and then rolls over a portion of the leaf,
making a case within which it remains during the day, feeding
mostly at night. The foliage of badly infested trees presents
a characteristic shredded appearance.
The larve grow rapidly and become full-grown in about
10 days; they are then about 3 inch in length and are of a pale
bluish-green color. When mature they enter the ground to a
depth of three to six inches, where they remain curled up in
small round earthen cells about + inch in diameter until the
following spring. The transformation to the naked greenish
pupa takes place in late May and early June and the adults
appear about two weeks later. There is only one generation
annually.
Treatment.
This pest has been satisfactorily ean in commercial
orchards by thorough spraying, just after the hatching of the
eggs, with arsenate of lead, 5 to 6 pounds to 100 gallons of water.
This is doubtless stronger than necessary; 4 pounds to 100
gallons would probably be just as efficient and safer for the
foliage. .
REFERENCE
Conn. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept. for 1907, pp. 285-300. 1908.
Another species of sawfly (Caliroa amygdalina Rohwer)
has been reported as attacking the peach and plum in Louisiana.
The adult sawflies appear in March or April. The female in-
serts her semi-transparent flattened eggs into the tissue of the
leaf from the upper surface, and they lie next to the lower
epidermis; they hatch in four to six days. The tad-pole shaped
larve are smooth and shining, and until the last stage are covered
with a viscid slime. In feeding they skeletonize the leaf in the
manner of the pear slug. They become full grown in 9 to 10
PEACH INSECTS 289
days, and then enter the ground to the depth of a few inches,
where they transform to pups inside a tough brownish cocoon.
The adult sawflies emerge in about nine days. The whole
life cycle is completed in less than a month and there are several
generations annually. Doubtless this insect can be controlled
by the same measures as are recommended against the pear
slug.
REFERENCES
La. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 48, pp. 142-145. 1897.
U.S. Bur, Ent; Bull 97; Pt: Vo~ 1911.
Tue Buack PeacH APHIS
Aphis persice-niger Smith
This dark brown or black plant-louse is a serious enemy of
the peach in certain parts of the Eastern states, particularly
in Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey and Virginia. It occurs
in Colorado and California and has been reported from Ontario,
Canada. It is a native insect, and the wild plum was probably
its original host plant.
This plant-louse feeds throughout the year upon the roots
of the tree and during spring and early summer is also found
upon the tender twigs and leaves. It breeds agamically all the
year round, and no males or eggs have been found. Only the
wingless forms occur upon the roots, where they breed freely, and
are to be found at all seasons of the year, often a foot or more
beneath the surface even in stiff clay soils, although sandy soils
are preferred. Early in spring, as soon as the buds begin to
swell, some of these root forms make their way to the surface
and establish colonies on the new growth. They increase
rapidly, so that in a few weeks the tender twigs and even the
leaves become entirely covered by masses of the dark brown
or black lice. As their feeding quarters become crowded winged
forms (Fig. 248) develop and fly to other trees, where they es-
U
290 FRUIT INSECTS
tablish new colonies. In midsummer most of the lice leave the
branches and migrate to the roots, but usually a few remain
above ground until winter. The full-grown wingless form
(Fig. 247) is a little less than 75 inch
in length, nearly .black with portions
of the legs yellowish. The winged
form is a little longer and more slen-
der; the young resemble the .adults,
but are lighter in color, |
The greater part of the injury to
the trees is caused by the under-
ground form, although when very
Fic. 247. — The black abundant the aérial forms may kill
peach aphis, adult apterous eae
viviparousfemale. Enlarged. young trees. The Injury caused by
oe after Miss M. A. the root form is often mistaken for
peach yellows or attributed to some
other cause, as winter injury, poor soil or the use of winter insec-
ticides. The trees are stunted, do not put out the proper new
growth and the foliage takes on a yellowish sickly appearance.
Nursery stock is very liable to infestation, especially when grown
on light sandy soil. The
lice remain on the roots at
the time of digging and are
thus introduced into new
orchards. Trees are most
susceptible to injury the first
and second years after plant-
ing. Even if not killed out-
Fic. 248. — The black peach aphis,
: : aii winged female. Enlarged. Redrawn
right their vitality may be after Miss M. A. Palmer.
so weakened that they never
fully recover, but always remain undersized and incapable of
bearing full crops of fruit.
Treatment.
To avoid introducing the pest into new orchards set only
PEACH INSECTS 291
nursery stock which has been properly fumigated with hydro-
cyanic acid gas. Where this is impossible the roots should be
cleaned of dirt and immersed for a few minutes in a strong
-tobacco decoction to kill any lice which may have remained
upon them. When trees are found to be infested after they are
planted remove the earth about the tree to a depth of a few
inches and apply a pound or so of tobacco dust and replace the
earth. The tobacco acts both as an insecticide and as a ferti-
lizer, killing some of the lice and helping the tree to outgrow the
attack. 'The orchard should be kept under thorough cultiva-
tion and supplied with proper plant-food to promote a strong,
vigorous growth. If the aérial forms, on the new growth, be-
come troublesome at any time, they can be controlled easily by
thorough spraying with kerosene emulsion, whale-oil soap, 1
pound in 6 gallons of water, or tobacco extract combined with
soap solution.
REFERENCES
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 72, pp. 20-23. 1890.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 49, pp. 325-331. 1892.
U.S. Dept. Agr. Yearbook, 1905, pp. 342-344. 1906.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 235, pp. 82-35. 1911.
THE GREEN PrAcH APHIS
-Myzus persice Sulzer
The leaves, blossoms and young fruit of the peach are often
attacked by a pale green or greenish-yellow plant-louse which
sometimes causes serious injury to the crop. This European
insect was introduced into this country many years ago and is
now generally distributed throughout the United States and
Canada. It has a wide range of food-plants, including, besides
a number of deciduous fruits, the orange, many garden, truck
and ornamental plants and numerous weeds; it is also a green-
house pest. Until recently the form infesting garden and green-
house plants has been known as Rhopalosiphum dianthi Shrank.
292 FRUIT INSECTS
The black, shining winter eggs of the insect are found in the
axils of the buds and in the crevices of the bark on the peach,
plum, apricot, nectarine and cherry. The eggs hatch in early
spring so that the pinkish stem-mothers are nearly full-grown
by the time the blossoms open and soon begin to give birth to
living young. These forms resemble the stem-mother in form,
but are pale yellowish-green and usually have three longitudinal
lines of darker green on the abdomen. A few of the second and
nearly all of the third generation acquire wings and fly away
to other plants. Among the many summer food-plants the most
important are cabbage,
cauliflower, radish, turnip
and potato, while spinach,
cucumber, tomato, egg
plant, lettuce and celery
are sometimes seriously in-
jured. Violets, roses and .
eamnations are particularly Fic, 249, — Ths erm peach aphis tal
hable to infestation when M. A. Palmer.
grown under glass. During
the summer winged forms are produced from time to time
as the feeding quarters become crowded. At the approach
of cold weather, winged females (Fig. 249) return to the peach,
establish themselves along the veins on the underside of the
leaves and give birth to true or sexual females. The latter are
usually of a pinkish color similar to the stem-mothers of the
preceding spring. After pairing with the winged males, they
deposit their eggs in the axils of the buds and in crevices of the
bark. The insect does not hibernate exclusively in the egg stage,
but the wingless forms are frequently able to survive the winter
under suitable protection in the vicinity of their herbaceous*
food-plants. .
The injury to the peach is all done early in the season; the
early broods attack the blossoms and frequently blight them ;
PEACH INSECTS 293
the leaves become curled, turn yellow or red and in severe cases
drop; even the young fruit itself is sometimes attacked, wilts
and falls prematurely.
Treatment. |
The green peach aphis when infesting the peach is not a difficult
insect to control by the use of contact sprays, provided the apph-
cation is made before the curling of the leaves makes it impossi-
ble to hit the lice. The eggs hatch rather early in the spring,
and the stem-mothers collect around the swelling buds. Ex-
cellent results have been obtained in commercial orchards by
spraying at this time, just before the opening of the buds, with
5 per cent kerosene emulsion, miscible oils or tobacco extracts
to which soap has been added at the rate of 4 pounds in 100
gallons.
REFERENCES
Taylor, Jour. Ke. Ent. I, pp. 83-91. 1908.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 133, pp. 32-37. 1908.
Va. Truck Exp. Sta. Bull. 2, pp. 30-32. 1909. As a spinach pest.
THe TERRAPIN SCALE
Lecanium nigrofasciatum Pergande
This native enemy of the peach and plum is generally dis-
tributed throughout the United States east of the Mississippi
and also occurs in Minnesota, Missouri, Arkansas and Texas.
In addition to the peach and plum, it attacks, among others,
the apple, olive, maple, basswood, birch and blueberry. Pre-
vious to 1898 this species was confused with the Kuropean peach
scale (Lecanium persice Fabricius). As a peach pest it has
caused considerable loss in the orchards of southern Pennsyl-
vania, New Jersey and Maryland. The injury to the tree
itself is not serious, but the principal loss comes from the honey-
dew secreted by the scales. This sweet, sticky substance accu-
mulates on the tree and serves as a medium for the growth of a
0 Eee
294 FRUIT INSECTS
sooty black fungus that renders the fruit practically unsalable. _
The winter is passed by the fertilized females on the smaller —
branches. These scales are about 4; inch in length, nearly
circular in outline and very convex with an elongate reddish
area on the back and radiating black lines along the margin.
The edge of the scale is slightly ridged
(Fig. 250). Individuals vary greatly in
color from nearly pure black to orange-
red. Growth is resumed in early spring,
and by the last of May the females are
about + inch in length. Eggs are formed,
and the minute straw-colored flattened young
escape from beneath the old scale and es-
tablish themselves on the leaves. Hatch-
ing continues for a period of about 6 weeks
Fic.. 250. — The ios é
terrapin seale ona. during June ‘and July. Winged malessap
peach branch. En- pear during August and fertilize the females ;
ese the latter soon migrate to the bark: of the
smaller branches, where the winter is spent. There is only one
generation a year. ,
Treatment.
Recent experiments in Maryland have shown that this scale
may be readily controlled by thorough spraying with miscible
oils at the usual dilution for dormant trees. When used in the
fall there is danger of killing the fruit-buds, but if the treatment
is deferred until spring, when the tree has resumed its activities,
this difficulty can be in great measure obviated. The use of
lime-sulfur for this scale is of little or no value. Summer appli-
cations directed against the newly hatched active young have
been found impracticable in commercial practice. Although the
young are easily killed by applications of kerosene emulsion»
or nicotine extracts, so many sprayings are necessary to cover
the long hatching period of at least six weeks ihe the expense
becomes prohibitive in large orchards.
1 Sy Ca a Pe
phew (ee
PEACH INSECTS 295
REFERENCES
Murtfeldt, U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 32, O. S., pp. 41-44. 1894.
Pergande, U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 18, pp. 26-29. 1898.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 88. 1907.
Md. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 123, pp. 153-160. 1907.
Md. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 149. 1910.
The European peach scale (Lecanium persice: Fabricius),
according to Sanders, has been reported in this country only
from California under the name Lecanium magnoliarum Cock-
erell.
The earlier accounts of L. persicw in our economic literature
usually refer to the terrapin scale.
THe WHITE PEACH SCALE
Aulacaspis pentagona Targioni Tozzetti
In the Southern states and in California the peach and re- »
lated fruits are subject to the attack of a whitish scale frequently
known as the West Indian peach scale. This insect is widely
- distributed throughout the warmer regions of the world, occur-
ring in Ceylon, India, China, the West Indies, South Africa,
Brazil, etc. Its range of food-plants is extensive, but in this
country it has become troublesome only on the peach, plum,
prune, cherry and apricot. As a peach pest it has been known
to be fully as injurious as the San José scale.
The full-grown female scale is about 5 inch in diameter, dirty
white in color and nearly circular in outline; the yellowish or
brownish exuvium is not generally central, although it is some-
times nearly so. The elongate, pure white male scales have a
tendency to occur in close clusters usually at the base of the
branch or trunk. The winter is passed by the mature females; .
in the latitude of Washington they begin egg-laying about
May 1. The eggs hatch in a few days and after a short period
296 FRUIT INSECTS
of active life the young settle down and the protective scale is
formed. By the middle of June the females become mature, and
about that time the red-bodied, transparent-winged males
emerge. The second brood of eggs is laid the last of June, and
a third at the end of August; females of the last brood become
mature in late October, in which condition hibernation takes
place. There are thus three generations at Washington, while
in Florida and Georgia there are said to be four broods.
Treatment.
Lime-sulfur as used against the San José scale has been found
satisfactory for the control of this pest. The use of dilute lime- — )
sulfur for the control of brown rot would do much to prevent
the young from establishing themselves on the bark. The
young may also be killed by summer applications of whale-oil
soap, kerosene emulsion or tobacco extracts.
REFERENCES
Riley and Howard, Insect Life, VI, pp. 287-295. 1894.
Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 61, pp. 492-498. 1902.
THe GREEN JUNE-BEETLE
Allorhina nitida Linnzeus
In the Southern states and along the Atlantic coast as
far north as Long Island these large velvety green beetles
(Fig. 251) are
sometimes very
troublesome in
orchards and vine-
yards. The »‘fe-
males are an inch
Fig. 251.— The green June beetle resting on earthen or less in length
cocoon. Knight photo. and usually have
PEACH INSECTS 297
the sides of the thorax and
wing-covers brownish-yel-
low; the males are smaller
and have the yellowish
markings more diffuse.
The beetles frequently
appear in large numbers
about the time the fruit is Fie. 252. — The green June beetle,
x : empty cocoon and one containing a newly
ripening and cause much transformed beetle.
damage by breaking the
skin of the fruit, after which they feed on the juicy pulp
within. The large, thick-bodied dirty white grubs (Fig. 253),
nearly two inches in length, from which the beetles develop,
live in the ground and feed on decaying vegetable matter, not
on the roots of living plants, as was formerly supposed. They
are especially abundant in heavily manured gardens, about
Fic. 253. — Full-grown grubs of the green Fic. 254.— Pupa of the green
June beetle. June beetleinitscocoon. Knight
photo.
manure heaps and in fields that have been heavily mulched
with straw. When they come to the surface, as is often the case
after heavy rains, they have the curious habit of crawling on
their back, advancing with a wave-like motion of the ridges
of the body, which are armed dorsally with short, stiff bristles.
The female beetle deposits her white, nearly spherical eggs
298 FRUIT INSECTS
an inch or two in the ground. The young grubs burrow through
the soil, feeding on the humus, and become only partly grown
by winter. They complete their growth the following spring,
pupate in earthen cells (Figs. 252 and 254) in the ground, and the ©
beetles begin to emerge in early summer, becoming most abun-
dant during August in the latitude of Kentucky. They attack
peaches, pears, plums, grapes and other fruits. Corn in the
milk is often injured.
_ Treatment.
As it is impracticable to use arsenical sprays on ripening
fruit, it has been suggested that the beetles might be attracted
to piles of overripe and decaying fruit beneath the trees and
there poisoned with Paris green or arsenate of lead. In prac-
tice this method is of little value because the majority of the
beetles prefer to feed on the fruit still hanging on the tree.
Thorough and repeated hand-picking of the beetles as fast as
they appear is the safest and surest way of protecting a crop.
Manure piles should not be permitted in the vicinity of orchards
where the pest is troublesome, and the use of mineral fertilizers
is suggested as a means of decreasing the number of grubs.
REFERENCES
Md. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 23, pp. 77-81. 1893.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 10, pp. 20-26. 1898.
Ky. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 116, pp. 67-73. 1904.
In the Southwest a closely related beetle (Allorhina mutabilis
Gory) causes similar injury to ripening fruits. As far as known,
its habits and life history do not materially differ from those of
the last species, and the same remedial measures are suggested.
. REFERENCE »
N. Mex. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 5, p. 10. 1892.
The brown fruit-chafer (Euphoria inda Linnzus) and _ its
near relative (H. melancholica Gory) are both known to at-
PEACH INSECTS 299
tack ripening fruits. Of the life history of the latter, little is
known. The adult of the former is a yellowish-brown beetle,
+ inch or more in length, with its wing-covers sprinkled all over
with small, irregular black dots. The beetles appear in late
summer and feed on the pollen of flowers, ripe fruit and corn in
the milk. They go into hibernation and very early the next
spring may be seen flying close to the ground with a loud, buzzing
sound. The female deposits her white, nearly spherical eggs
in the vicinity of manure heaps, in piles of rotting sod and other
decaying vegetable matter. When full-grown the larva is some-.
what over an inch in length, strongly curved and dirty white
in color; the posterior part of the body has a dull leaden hue
from the contents of the alimentary canal. It differs from the
white grub (Lachnosterna) in its shorter and more robust form,
in the shorter legs and smaller head, and in its habit of crawling
upon its back. In July the larve pupate within earthen cocoons
of a somewhat angular external form. The beetles emerge
during August and September. There is only one generation
a year.
Hand-picking of the beetles is apparently the most practicable
means of controlling this insect when it is found working on ripe
fruit or on green corn.
REFERENCES
Slingerland, Can. Ent. XXIX, pp. 50-52. 1897.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 19, pp. 67-74. 1899.
PEACH STOP-BACK
From Missouri to Alabama, Virginia and northward, nursery-
men often experience serious losses from an obscure trouble
with peach nursery stock, commonly known as stop-back or
peach-sting. When the budded trees are 18 inches to 2 feet
in height, the terminal bud turns brown, withers and dies.
The stopping of growth of the main branch forces the develop-
Fic. 256. — A nearer view of injured peach tips,
300
PEACH INSECTS 301
- ment of the laterals, which in turn have their tips killed in a
similar way; the result is that the tree takes on a bushy form |
(Fig. 257) instead of developing a long, straight upright.
Such trees cannot be sold as
first-class stock. The loss from
this trouble in one New York
nursery, amounted in a single
year to $15,000.
The cause of peach stop-back
has been attributed to a species
of thrips (Huthrips tritici Fitch),
to the peach bud-mite (Tar-
sonemus waiter Banks) and to
the tarnished plant-bug (Lygus
pratensis Linnzus). It is quite
certain that m New York, Vir-
ginia and Missouri, at least, the
latter is responsible for the in-
jury. |
The tarnished plant-bug is
discussed on page 375. In New
York the adults emerge from
hibernation in March or April
and pass through at least one
generation on various weeds be-
fore attacking the peach. The Fig. 257. — A peach nursery tree
last of June or first of July the on which the terminal buds have been
adults migrate into the blocks ‘Killed by the tarnished plant-bug,
a condition known as_ stop-back.
of nursery stock, where they Leonard photo. ,
puncture the terminal buds and
injure them, as described above (Figs. 255 and 256). While
a few eggs are deposited in the tender tips or in the leaf
petioles, very few nymphs are found on peach, practically
all of the injury being done by the adults. After three or
302 FRUIT INSECTS
four weeks the bugs leave the peach, going to wild carrot, wild
aster and other weeds. They remain on apple stock for a
much longer period.
The control of the tarnished plant-bug on nursery stock is
still an unsolved problem. The fact that the injury is caused
by the winged adults, and not by the nymphs, makes it imprac-
ticable to kill them with a contact spray. They are very shy »
and active insects that take flight at the slightest alarm. Dur-
ing the daytime they leave the trees several feet in advance of
the spray. The terminal shoots of the nursery trees might
be protected by inclosing them in paper bags.
REFERENCES
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 97, Pt. VI. 1912.
Back and Price, Jour. Ee. Ent. V, pp. 329-334. 1912.
Haseman, Jour. Ec. Ent. VI, pp. 237-240. 1913.
OTHER Pracu INSECTS
GREEN FRUIT-WORMS: apple, p. 39.
Bup-MoTH: apple, p. 42.
OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER : apple, p. 65.
LEAF-CRUMPLER: apple, p. 68.
APPLE-TREE TENT-CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 112.
FOREST TENT-CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 119.
CLIMBING CUTWORMS: apple, p. 138.
San José SCALE: apple, p. 162.
SCURFY SCALE: apple, p. 176.
FLAT-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER: apple, p. 194. -
TWIG-PRUNER: apple, p. 200.
TWIG-GIRDLER: apple, p. 202.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
CLOVER-MITE: apple, p. 206.
EYE-SPOTTED APPLE-TWIG BORER: apple, p. 209.
New YorK WEEVIL: apple, p. 210. .
PEAR THRIPS: pear, p. 223. |
HOWARD SCALE: pear, p. 234.
EUROPEAN PEAR SCALE: pear, p. 234.
PLUM cURCULIO: plum, p. 243.
‘
es PEACH INSECTS :
Pru PLANT-LOUSE: plum, pt 257.
_ Rusty Brown PLUM APHIS: plum, p. 259.
EUROPEAN FRUIT LECANIUM: plum, p. 261.
Pium PULVINARIA: plum, p. 264.
-Rep-sprper: raspberry, p. 315.
Want SCALE: currant, p. 360.
'GRAPE-CANE BORER: cee. p. 423.
IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE : strawberry, p. 371.
~
CHAPTER IX
CHERRY INSECTS
Tue insects of the greatest commercial importance to the
cherry grower are the plum curculio (p. 243), the cherry fruit
flies, the cherry aphis, the pear slug (p. 214) and on the sweet
cherries the San José scale. Cherry trees are also subject to
the attack of the fruit-tree bark-beetle (p. 277).
THE CHERRY FRUIT-FLIES
Rhagoletis cingulata Loew and R. fausta Osten Sacken
Most wormy cherries in the United States and Canada are
caused by the grub of the plum curculio (p. 243), but through-
Fig. 258. — Dorsal and side view of the cherry fruit-
fly maggot, R. cingulata (x 73).
304
out the northern
United States and
Canada there occur
two closely related
species of fruit-flies
whose maggots
sometimes infest
from one fourth to
two thirds of the
ripening fruits. Un-
fortunately, there
is little external
evidence of the
work of these
oie
CHERRY INSECTS 305
fruit-flies in cherries at picking time, and often the fairest-
looking fruits contain ie maggots which the housewife may
discover at canning :
time, or in the bot-
tom of a dish of
luscious cherries
left over from a
previous meal.
The species which oe
first attracted atten- Fig. 259. — Cherries infested with fruit-fly maggots.
tion by its ravages was R. cingulata. The full-grown light
yellowish-white maggot of this species is about 4 of an inch
in length and scarcely distinguishable from the apple maggot
(Fig. 258). oe is but a single generation of this cherry
fruit-fly annually, the maggots
working in the cherries mostly
during June, but some may be
Fie. 260. ene, cut open and Fic. 261.— Puparia of the cherry fruit-
showing a maggot near the pit. fi ( C9):
found even in August. The infested cherries do not drop, but
finally a rotting and sinking in of a portion of the fruit results
from the work of the maggots (Fig. 259). When full-grown the
maggots leave the cherries, go into the ground about an inch
and change to brownish puparia (Fig. 261) which hibernate.
The adult insects or fruit-flies begin to emerge about the middle
a 3
306 FRUIT INSECTS
of June and may be found on the trees during the next two
months. They are pretty little flies, considerably smaller than
a house-fly, and have their wings crossed by four blackish
bands (Fig. 262). The body is black, with lateral borders of
thorax light yellow, and:
the caudal borders of
the abdominal segments
whitish; the head and
legs are yellowish-
brown. These flies stick
their dirty yellow, elon-
gate eggs through the
skin of the ripening cher-
ries, and the maggots,
which doubtless hatch in
a few days, revel in the juicy flesh for 3 or 4 weeks, soon forming
a rotting cavity near the pit. Rarely does more than one maggot —
infest the same cherry (Fig. 260). Many of the maggots are
nearly full-grown about picking-time and go to the consumer or
cannery. Many emerge
from the fruits and
change to puparia in
the bottom of the
baskets, and may be
carried in this way to
new localities.
This fruit-fly may at-
tack many varieties of
Fic. 262. — The cherry fruit-fly,
R. cingulata (x 53).
: Fie. 263. — The cherry fruit-fly,
cherries, whether sweet R. fausta (X 54).
or sour, early or late.
The Morello and Montmorency are varieties often the worst
infested. The insect may also work in plums and prunes.
Quite recently it has been discovered that a second species,
Rf. fausta, is responsible for a large part of the injury formerly
ets
a by
Je
“ee
CHERRY INSECTS 307
attributed to cingulata. It apparently has a somewhat more
northern range than that species. In their habits, life history
and character of the injury inflicted, the two species are very
similar. In New York the flies of R. fausta (Fig. 263) appear
in early June, but do not begin egg-laying until about two weeks
later. During this period they may be observed resting on the
foliage and lapping up drops of moisture or feeding on the honey-
dew secreted by the cherry aphis. The maggots of R. fausta
are similar in shape and size to those of R. cingulata, but are
distinctly more yellow in color; the puparia, moreover, are of
a darker brown color than in that species.
Control.
Experiments in New York have shown that the injury from
the cherry fruit-flies may be controlled by sprinkling the foliage
with sweetened arsenate of lead at the first appearance of the
flies in early June. Satisfactory results have been obtained
by using arsenate of lead, 5 pounds in 100 gallons of water,
sweetened with 3 gallons of cheap molasses. A pint of this
mixture is sufficient for a tree of moderate size. In case rains
occur, it may be found necessary to make additional applica-
tions. The experience of commercial growers also shows that
the sweetening of the poisoned spray is unnecessary and that
this pest may be controlled by two applications of arsenate of
lead, 4 pounds in 100 gallons, made during the time while the
flies are emerging.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 172. 1899.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 44, pp. 70-75.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 325. 1912.
THE CHERRY FRUIT-SAWFLY
Hoplocampa cooker Clarke
In Oregon and California young cherries are often infested
by the larva of a small blackish sawfly which eats out the kernel
308 FRUIT INSECTS
of the pit. In one orchard 80 per cent of the fruit was injured
in this way. |
The adult sawflies appear on the trees in early spring, and
the female inserts her smooth, whitish, slightly kidney-shaped :
egg in one of the sepals or in the upper part of the calyx cup just |
before the blossoms open. The
eggs hatch in about five days,
or just after the petals have -
fallen. After feeding for a short
time on the tissues surrounding |
the egg cavity, the young larva
burrows to the center of the
fruit and eats out the kernel ;
the cherry soon withers and the
larva leaves it, only to enter a
second or third cherry in which ~
it feeds on the kernel or, after
the stone is hardened, on the
pulp surrounding it. The larva
becomes full-grown in about 24
days, descends to the ground,
where at a depth of from 3 to
7 inches it constructs a tough
Fic. 264. — Nest of the cherry- parchment-like cocoon, within
tree tortrix with empty pupa skins < 2 a i
protruding. which it remains in the larval
condition, pupating some time
after the winter rains set in. There is only one brood an-
nually. :
Control.
No. satisfactory means of control have been devised.
Thorough cultivation of the soil would doubtless destroy many
of the cocoons. Early in the morning the adults are usually
sluggish and can be killed with distillate-oil emulsion and to-
bacco extract as used against the pear thrips. Attempts to
; i al 7a
oO ad aed
CHERRY INSECTS 309
kill the larva with arsenate of lead have not given satisfactory
results.
REFERENCE
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 116, Pt. III. 1913.
Tur CHERRY-TREE TORTRIX
Archips cerasivorana Fitch
In June and July the
ends of the branches of
both the wild and culti-
vated cherry are often seen
inclosed in large, pointed
silken nests (Fig. 264).
Within each nest there
lives a colony of lemon-
yellow larve, about 2 inch
in length when full-grown,
all the offspring of a single
ochre-yellow moth. As the
larvee increase in size the Fic. 265.— A mass of excrement from in-
nest becomes filled with __ terior of nest with pupa skins attached.
large, dark-colored masses of excrement webbed together with
silk (Fig. 265). The larve mature early in July and pupate
inside the nest.
When about to
transform, in the
latter part of July
in New York, the
pupz work their
way out of the nest,
2 : clinging to it only
Fic. 266. — The cherry-tree tortrix moth (x 2). by the hooks at
310 FRUIT INSECTS
the end of the body. When the moths emerge,
empty pupa cases are left projecting from the
nest. The moths (Fig. 266) expand from ¢ to
1 inches; the front wings are bright ochre-
yellow, marked with irregular brownish spots
and numerous transverse bands of a pale leaden
blue. The eggs are deposited
in flattened masses on the
smaller branches and are pro-
tected by a gluey covering
(Figs. 267 and 268).
This insect rarely becomes
troublesome on cultivated
cherries. The webs should be
cut out and burned.
Fic. 267. — Egg
mass of the cherry- REFERENCE
tree tortrix with a as
Gabth. resting gn 4. Cornell Aer. xp.eu: Bull. 23, | aie. gee: 2 meee
cherry branch. pp. 113-115. 1890. mass enlarged.
THE CHERRY PLANT-LOUSE
Myzus cerast Fabricius
This blackish plant-louse very generally infests the cherry
both in Europe, in the United States and Canada, east of |
the Rocky Mountains; it also occurs in California. Sweet
cherries are more liable to injury than the sour varieties; this
is sometimes strikingly shown where both kinds are grown to-
gether in nurseries (Fig. 271). The sweet cherries may have
the leaves badly curled and the new growth stunted, while sour
cherries growing in the next row show little or no injury.
The shining black winter eggs are found attached to the bark
of the smaller branches, mostly around the buds. They hatch
about the time the buds open, and the stem-mothers found
CHERRY INSECTS a WG
colonies of wingless females (Fig. 269) which reproduce with
wonderful rapidity, so that within a few weeks the tips of the
new growth and the under side of
the leaves are thickly covered
with the lice. The leaves become
curled, the tips of the branches
Fic. 269. — The cherry aphis, wing- Fic. 270.— The cherry aphis, winged
less viviparous female, enlarged. viviparous female, enlarged.
cease growing and in severe cases the fruit may be attacked and
drop. Nursery stock is especially liable to be injured.
Fig. 271. — Sweet cherry nursery trees badly infested with the cherry aphis.
312 FRUIT INSECTS
As the feeding quarters become crowded, winged forms (Fig.
270) are produced; whether they merely fly to other cherry-
trees or establish summer colonies on other food-plants is un-
settled. In Colorado a few lice at least remain on the cherry
throughout the season. No alternate food-plant has been
found. Sexual forms are produced, and the winter eggs are
deposited in September and October.
Treatment.
This insect is not difficult to control by spraying with kero-
sene emulsion, whale-oil soap solution or tobacco extract, pro-
vided the work is done as soon as the lice appear and before
the leaves become curled. On nursery stock the lice attack ©
and curl the leaves on the tips of the young trees where it is
impossible to hit them with a spray. In such cases it has been
found practicable to dip the infested tips in a solution of whale-
oil soap, 1 pound in 7 gallons of water. The solution is carried
in a pail, and the tips of the young trees are carefully bent over
and held in the liquid long enough to wet all the lice.
REFERENCES
Lintner, 5th Rept. N. Y. State Ent., pp. 253-257. 1889.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. Tech. Ser., Vol. I, No. 2, pp. 111-113. 1890.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 136, p. 598. 1897.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 133, pp. 42-44. 1908.
THE CHERRY SCALE OR FORBES’ SCALE
Aspidiotus forbes: Johnson
Discovered in Illinois in 1896, this scale insect has since been
found in widely separated localities throughout the United
States. Cherry trees, both wild and cultivated, seem to be
its favorite food-plants, the trunks, branches and sometimes
the leaves and fruits being attacked. It also occurs on apple,
apricot, pear, plum, quince and currant. Externally the
CHERRY INSECTS 313
mature, nearly circular, dark grayish female scales (Fig. 272)
are indistinguishablefrom Putnam’s scale or the European fruit-
scale, but the reddish-orange, nearly central exuvial spot gives
it quite a different appearance from the San José scale. The
cherry scale winters in a half-
srown condition in Illinois, and
it is apparently both oviparous —
and ovoviviparous, the young
beginning to emerge early in
May, and eggs and young oc-
curring as late as the middle of
June. Two broods are pro-
duced annually in Illinois, the
young of the second generation
oe ee ade Fic. 272.—The cherry scale, males and
tember. Possibly a third brood “females. Redrawn after Joutel.
occurs farther south. Seven
minute parasites have been bred from this cherry scale, and
the twice-stabbed ladybird beetles and their grubs feed upon it.
Thorough applications of the winter washes as recommended
for the San José scale readily control this scale.
OTHER CHERRY INSECTS
Bup-MoTH: apple, p. 42.
FRUIT-TREE LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 62.
OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 65.
LEAF-CRUMPLER: apple, p. 68.
CANKER-WORM: apple, p. 77.
CALIFORNIA TUSSOCK-MOTH: apple, p. 104.
ORIENTAL MOTH: apple, p. 106.
FOREST TENT-CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 119.
YELLOW-NECKED APPLE CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 123.
RED-HUMPED APPLE CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 125.
CLIMBING CUTWORMS: apple, p. 138.
BUFFALO TREE-HOPPER: apple, p. 160.
San JOSE SCALE: apple, p. 162.
314 FRUIT INSECTS
PUTNAM’S SCALE: apple, p. 179.
T WIG-GIRDLER: apple, p. 202.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
CLOVER-MITE: apple, p. 206.
RING-LEGGED TREE BUG: apple, p. 208.
New YORK WEEVIL: apple, p. 210.
PEAR SLUG: pear, p. 214.
PLUM cCURCULIO: plum, p. 243.
PLUM WEB-SPINNING SAWFLY: plum, p. 204. a
EUROPEAN FRUIT-TREE SCALE: plum, p. 260. |
PEACH-TREE BORER: peach, p. 266.
PACIFIC PEACH-TREE BORER: peach, p. 275.
LESSER PEACH-TREE BORER: peach, p. 276.
FRUIT-TREE BARK-BEETLE: peach, p. 277.
PEACH BARK-BEETLE: peach, p. 282.
WHITE PEACH SCALE: peach, p. 295.
GREEN JUNE-BERTLE: peach, p. 296.
WALNUT SCALE: currant, p. 360.
IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE: strawberry, p. 375.
CHAPTER X
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS
Tues fruits are closely related botanically and are in general
subject to the attack of the same insects; their enemies are
here treated together for the sake of convenience. As a rule
the raspberry and blackberry are not so liable to serious attack
as other fruits, and spraying is only occasionally necessary.
Tur RED-SPIDER
Tetranychus bimaculatus Harvey
The red-spider is a minute mite (Fig. 273), about #5 inch in
length, varying in color from pale greenish-yellow to dark crim-
son-red and usually marked with two dark spots at the side of
the body. It has long been known as a greenhouse pest, where
it attacks a great variety of plants; it sometimes injures peach,
raspberry, currant and rose in the open. It thrives in a warm,
dry atmosphere and is most abundant out of doors in seasons
of drought.
Red-spiders are usually found on the under side of the leaves,
where they live under the protection of a very delicate silken
web; in feeding they break the epidermis of the leaf and suck
out the sap, causing the foliage to turn yellowish in spots.
The female deposits her mimute, elongate, transparent eggs
on the surface of the leaf. The young mites resemble the adults,
but are lighter in color and have only six legs instead of eight.
There are several generations a season in the open, while in
greenhouses breeding is continuous the year round. The adults
315
** Peon q
316 FRUIT INSECTS
hibernate in the ground or beneath suitable shelter and crawl
back to the trees in early spring. (See also page 208.)
Treatment.
Red-spiders may be controlled in greenhouses by the use
of sulfur, either as a dust or in water, or by persistent spraying
with ‘water, taking care to hit the under side of the leaves.
Use lots of force and little water, to avoid
drenching the beds.
When infesting plants in the open, the
mites may be destroyed by dusting with
sulfur or by spraying with a mixture of 1
pound of finely powdered sulfur in 3 gallons
of water, in which a little soap has been
dissolved. The sulfur settles quickly, and
the mixture should be agitated constantly
during the spraying. It will help to keep
the sulfur in suspension if it is first made
into a paste with water containing 4 of 1
per cent of glue. The boiled lime-sulfur
solution cannot be used on raspberries, as
it is likely to cause foliage injury.
. Excellent results in the control of red-
Fic, con ane req Spider have been reported in California
spider. Redrawn after from the use of a flour paste prepared as
Miss M. A. Palmer(<66).
follows :
Mix a cheap grade of wheat flour with cold water, making a
thin batter, without lumps; or wash the flour through a wire
screen with a stream of cold water. Dilute until there is one
pound of flour in each gallon of mixture. Cook until a paste
is formed, stirring constantly to prevent caking or burning.
Add sufficient water to make up for evaporation. For use,
add 8 gallons of this stock solution to 100 gallons of water.
When mixed in the spray tank flour paste has a tendency to
settle and in order to do satisfactory work agitation is necessary.
Suh ei les
i =
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS =a LY 4
REFERENCES
Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept. for 1892, pp. 133-146. 1893.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 152. 1909.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 166. 1913.
THE BLACKBERRY LEAF-MINER
Metallus rubi Forbes
The leaves of blackberries and dewberries are often injured
to a considerable extent in the Eastern states and Canada
from Delaware and
Missouri northward
by the larva of a
small, nearly black
sawfly, about 4 inch
in length (Fig. 274).
The larvee feed be-
tween the two layers
of the leaf, excavat-
ing a rather large,
irregular blotched
mine; three or four
mines may occur in
a single leaf (Fig.
276). The injured portion of the leaf turns brown and dies ;
in severe cases the whole field has the appearance of having been
singed by fire.
The adults appear in late May or early June, and the female
inserts her white, flattened egg into the tissue of the leaf through
a puncture in the upper surface (Fig. 277). The egg lies next
to the lower epidermis beneath a low blister about 35 inch in
diameter. At the time of hatching the larva has a very large
head in proportion to its size. When full-grown it is about —
4 inch in length, and greenish-white in color with brownish
markings (Fig. 275).
Fic. 274. — The blackberry leaf-miner, adult. En-
larged.
318 FRUIT INSECTS °°
Fig. 275. — Full-grown larve of the blackberry leaf-
miner (x 63).
In New York the
majority of the
larve of the first
brood become full-
grown in July; in
Delaware they are
nearly a month
earlier. They go
into the ground an
inch or so to trans-
form, the second
brood adults ap-
pearing in August
in New York. There
are two apparently
full. broods <an
Delaware; in New
Fic. 276. — Mines in a blackberry leaf.
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 319
York the second brood is probably only partial. The winter
is passed in the larval or pupal condition in the ground.
A satisfactory
method of control-
ling this insect has }
not been worked out,
but it would be worth
while to try to kill
the larve in their
burrows by spraying ~
with ‘Black Leaf
40” tobacco extract,
1 pint in 100 gallons
of water, to which a
little soap has been added, 2 pounds in 50 gallons. ‘This
mixture has been found of value against a similar larva mining
the leaves of the European elm.
Fic. 277. — Egg-blisters of the blackberry leaf-
miner, one opened to show the egg (x6).
REFERENCE
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. Buil. 87, pp. 10-15. 1910.
THE RASPBERRY SAWFLY
_Monophadnus rubi Harris
In the Northern states and Canada from Iowa eastward the
larva of this sawfly often causes serious injury to the raspberry
and also attacks the blackberry and dewberry to a slight extent.
The adult is a black, thick-bodied, four-winged fly about ¢ inch
in length; the female has a broad, yellowish-white band across
theabdomen. The flies appear in May, and the female deposits
her eggs singly between the two layers of the leaf near a prom-
inent vein. They are placed in position through a small
incision in the lower epidermis of the leaf made by the saw-like
ovipositor of theinsect. When first laid, the eggis white, long, oval ©
320 FRUIT INSECTS
in form, obtusely rounded at the ends, and is about #5 inch in
length; before hatching it becomes nearly pear-shaped and
increases in length to over 5 inch. The leaf tissue above the
egg becomes dry and somewhat withered and finally turns to a
light yellow color, giving the leaf a characteristic spotted
appearance.
The eggs hatch in a week or ten days. At first the larvee
feed on the outer epidermis only, but as they grow larger eat
out irregular holes through the leaf, and finally leave only the
larger veins. When sufficiently abundant to devour all the
foliage, they often attack the tender bark of the new growth.
They also feed to a slight extent on the blossom buds and im-
mature fruits.
The full-grown larvz are about # inch in length, light green
in color and covered with spine-bearing tubercles arranged in
double transverse rows. They become mature in about ten
days, and then crawl to the ground, where at a depth of two or
three inches they construct oblong, nearly cylindrical cocoons
composed of a dark brown mucilaginous substance mixed with
strands of silk and particles of earth. The larva remains within
the cocoon in a quiescent condition, known as the prepupa,
until the following May, when it transforms to a pale green
pupa, and the adults emerge in a few days.
Treatment.
If the soil is well cultivated and free from weeds, the larvee
may be brushed from the bushes during the heat of the day
and will perish without being able to regain their food-plant.
Pine branches are often used for this purpose. The larve
are easily killed by arsenical sprays, but as there is some danger .
in their use on ripening fruit, it is better to use hellebore, 1
ounce in 1 gallon of water. .
*
REFERENCE
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 150. 1898.
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 321
THE RaspBERRY WEBWORM
Pamphilius fletchert MacGillivray
_ This insect has become troublesome only in New Brunswick,
and little is known of its life history. The smooth, bright green
larvee, half an inch in length when full-grown, web together the
terminal leaves of the raspberry, making a tent within which
they feed. The adult sawfly is a little less than 2 inch in length ;
the head and thorax are black, marked with white; in the
female the front third of the abdomen is black and the rest
reddish-yellow ; in the male the abdomen is black with a broad
yellowish band across the middle. The adults appear about
the middle of June, and the larve develop during the next few
weeks. The eggs are unknown. The winter is probably passed
by the larve in the ground. ,
This rather uncommon pest can be controlled by persistent
hand-picking of infested leaves or by dusting the plants with
hellebore soon after the larve hatch, before they have webbed
the leaves together.
REFERENCE
Fletcher, Rept. Ent. Bot. for 1899, p. 180. 1900.
THE RASPBERRY LEAF-ROLLER
Exartema permundanum Clemens
The terminal leaves of the raspberry are sometimes webbed
together in May and early June into a more or less twisted
mass by a small dark green larva with a pitchy-black head
and thoracic shield. This caterpillar is sometimes destructive
to strawberries by webbing together the clusters of flowers and
flower buds. When full-grown the larva usually folds over a
part of a leaf, forming a cavity within which it pupates. The
moths appear in about two weeks; they have a wing expanse
Y
Ses FRUIT INSECTS
of about one half inch; the fore wings are dull yellowish or
greenish-brown with irregular lighter markings crossing the
wing obliquely; the hind wings are ashy brown. The eggs ~
are unknown. There are probably two broods annually, the —
winter being passed in the egg state. While generally dis-
tributed over the Eastern states, this insect rarely causes notice-
able damage ; it also feeds on the wild blackberry, hazel, meadow
sweet and hickory.
In small plantings this insect can be controlled by hand-
picking the infested tips and crushing the larvae. On a larger
scale it would be more economical to use some arsenical spray
when the larvee first appear in the spring.
REFERENCES
Comstock, Rept. U. S. Com. Agr., 1880, p. 267.
Packard, 5th Rept. U. S. Ent. Com., p. 312. 1890.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 45, p. 181. 18983.
THE BLACKBERRY PSYLLID
Trioza tripunctata Fitch
This jumping plant-louse, a near relative of the pear psylla,
occurs in the Atlantic states from Virginia to Maine. It has
been recorded as injuring the cultivated blackberry in New
Jersey and Maine, and on Long Island. Its native food-plant
is the wild blackberry. Its ee occurrence on pine is
doubtless purely accidental.
The adult insect is about } inch in length; the body is
yellowish-brown, the eyes dark brown and the wings marked
by three yellowish-brown bands. The insect hibernates as an
adult. ‘The flies appear on the blackberry soon after growth
starts in the spring and deposit their minute, light yellow eggs
in the pubescence of the leaf petioles and young canes. On
Long Island adults, eggs and newly hatched nymphs were
' RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 323
observed the latter part of June. Both adults and nymphs
puncture the leaves and tender canes with their piercing mouth
parts and feed on the juices of the plant, causing the leaves to
curl, also dwarfing and distorting the young canes. The
minute, young nymphs are whitish or greenish-white in. color ;
the older nymphs are yellowish. They mature in early fall,
and the adults go into hibernation.
Little experimental work has been done in the control of
this insect, but it is probable that some of the measures employed
against the pear psylla would be found satisfactory.
REFERENCE :
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. 14th Rept. for 1895, pp. 619-623. 1896.
Tue AMERICAN RASPBERRY BEETLE
Byturus unicolor Say
The red raspberry crop is sometimes severely injured locally |
in the eastern United States and Canada by this small, slightly
hairy, light brown beetle, about + inch in length. The beetles
appear in May and begin feeding on the buds and tender leaves,
and later attack the blossoms themselves. When the cluster
of blossom buds is disclosed, they work their way in between
them and eat holes into the buds. They also skeletonize the
leaves to a considerable extent and feed on the stamens and
pistils of the blossoms, often causing an almost total failure of
the crop.
Although the egg is unknown, it is probably deposited on
the fruit, for the young grubs are found burrowing through the
receptacle or lying upon its surface beneath the berry. When
full-grown they are nearly white in color and about % inch in
length. When abundant many of the grubs adhere to the
berry at picking time, making it necessary to carefully hand-
pick the fruit intended for table use. Normally they fall to
394 FRUIT INSECTS
the earth and hibernate as pup under trash or in the soil near
the surface.
Treatment.
Experiments conducted in Ohio have shown that this pest
can be controlled by a thorough application of arsenate of lead,
6 to 8 pounds to 100 gallons of water, made as the first beetles
appear. Thorough shallow cultivation of the soil in the fall
would doubtless destroy many of the pupe in their hibernating
quarters.
REFERENCES
Fitch, Trans. N. Y. State Agr. Soc. for 1870, pp. 358-360. 1872.
Felt, 14th Rept. N. Y. State Ent., pp. 158-160. 1898.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 202. 1909.
THr NEGRO-BUG
Corimelena pulicaria Germar
Blackberries, raspberries and strawberries
often acquire an unpleasant flavor from
having served as the feeding ground of a
small black sucking bug. The adult is
A shiny black and has a white stripe on each
j side of the body; it is about an eighth
of an inch in length. The female deposits
her orange-yellow, elongate, oval eggs singly
on the leaves of the plant. They hatch
in about sixteen days. The nymphs punc-
ture the tender foliage as well as the fruit,
sometimes causing a slight injury to the
leaves. On berries, however, they are
most troublesome because of the disgust-
ray ing odor which they impart to the fruit.
een ae This insect is sometimes a serious celery
a raspberry cane. pest.
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 325
No satisfactory method of controlling negro bugs on berries
has yet been devised.
Tuer TREE-CRICKET
(E’canthus nigricornis Walker
Several species of tree-crickets occur abundantly in the
eastern United States and Canada. These delicate, greenish-
Fic. 279. — Tree-cricket egg-scars in raspberry canes, one cane split open to
: show the eggs.
white, long-horned crickets become mature in late summer
and the females deposit their eggs in punctures in the tissue of
various plants. Injury to blackberry and raspberry canes is
caused principally by the female of nigricornis. The eggs of
this species are about 4 inch in length, cylindrical, slightly
curved and chrome yellow in color, with the egg-cap cream-
326 FRUIT INSECTS
colored. They are inserted (Fig. 278) in a row of punctures
often two inches in length, each row on the average containing
about 30 eggs and may have as many as 80 in a row (Figs. 279
and 280). The eggs hatch in May and June and the young tree
crickets feed principally on aphids and other soft-bodied
-Insects.
The rows of punctures either kill the upper part of the cane
or so weaken it as to prevent the development of the fruit.
When very abundant, as is sometimes the case, the loss may
be large.
In the past there has been some confusion as to the identity
of the species ovipositing in raspberry canes. This injury was
formerly attributed
to O. niveus, but re-
cent work at the
Geneva Experiment
Station has shown
that O. nigricornis
is the real culprit
and that O. niveus deposits its eggs preferably in the bark
of the smaller branches of apple and other trees (see p. 211).
The tree-crickets injuring berry canes can be held in check
by systematically collecting the canes containing the eggs at
the time of pruning and destroying them. |
Fic. 280. — Tree-cricket eggs enlarged.
REFERENCE
Parrott, Jour. Ee. Ent. IV, pp. 216-218, pl. 6. 1911.
THe RASPBERRY CANE-BORER
Oberea bimaculata Olivier
This native American borer often causes considerable injury
to the black and red raspberry and to the blackberry; its
original food-plant was the wild raspberry. It is generally dis-
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 327
tributed over the Northern states and Canada. The adult is a
long-horned, slender-bodied beetle about half an inch in length
(Fig. 284). It is of a deep black color except the prothorax,
which is yellow, usually with two or three black spots on the
upper surface. The beetles appear in June and the female
deposits her eggs (Fig. 281) singly in the pith of the tender
Fic. 281. — The raspberry cane-borer girdling a cane after oviposition.
new growth about six inches from the tip of the cane. She
first makes two rows of punctures encircling the cane about
half an inch apart, and between them, but nearer the lower
row, inserts the egg in a deep puncture directed upward (Figs.
282 and 285). Sometimes the beetle girdles the cane spirally,
and abandons the cane without ovipositing. The scars (Fig.
283) of these imperfect girdles are common on blackberry. The
egg is yellowish-white, elongate, nearly cylindrical, with rounded
ends slightly curved, and is about 5 inch in length. The
328 FRUIT INSECTS ©
Fie. 283. —
Sear of an im-
perfect girdle of
the raspberry
Fic. 282. — A raspberry cane girdled cane-borer ; com-
above and below the egg-puncture of the mon on_ black-
cane-borer. berry.
girdling of the cane causes the tip to wilt, and is supposed to
protect the egg from being crushed by the rapidly growing
tissue in which it hes.
The eggs hatch in early July and
the borer eats out a burrow towards
the base of the cane, passing the
winter in a partly grown condition
only an inch or two below the girdle
Fie. 284.— The raspberry ae ince
cane-borer _ beetle (x 23). Fie. 285. — Egg of the raspberry cane-borer
Knight photo. in position (x 33).
a
i
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 329
(Fig. 286). The second season it continues its burrow through
what is now the bearing cane and usually kills it before the
fruit matures. It reaches the base of the cane by fall and there
passes the second winter in its burrow below the
surface of the ground. ‘The burrow winds through
the pith and at frequent intervals an opening
is made in the bark through which the larva
casts forth its excrement. The larva pupates in
its burrow the second spring after the laying of
the egg and the beetle emerges in May and June.
Treatment. .
The tips of the young canes in which the eggs
are deposited soon wilt and are easily seen. As
soon as noticed they should be cut off below the
lower girdle and destroyed. Likewise when
bearing canes are found infested with the borers
they should be cut close to the ground and faa
burned. This pest would probably be much _ Fic. 286.—
more abundant were it not the common practice riers, lee
to cut out and burn all old canes after the crop bernating in a
has been picked, thus destroying all the nearly ee eon
mature borers. ) a cane.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 23, pp. 122-124. 1890.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 96, pp. 20-22. 1898.
THE RASPBERRY CANE-MAGGOT
Phorbia rubivora Coquillett
Black and red raspberries and blackberries are sometimes
severely injured in the Northern states and Canada by a small
white maggot which burrows in the new canes and kills them.
It also occurs in western Washington. The parent fly (Fig.
287) closely resembles the house fly, but is somewhat smaller.
330 ‘FRUIT INSECTS
Fic. 287. — Adult of the rasp-
berry cane-maggot. Enlarged.
On leaving the egg shell
the young maggot crawls
down the shoot for a short
distance and then bur-
rows its way into the pith.
After tunneling about
half the length of the
shoot the maggot works
its way nearly out to
the bark and deftly con-
tinues its tunnel around
the shoot, thus girdling
it from the inside (Fig.
289). The part of the
shoot above the girdle
soon wilts, shrinks in size
and droops over. Soon
after the tip droops, a
The flies appear in the latter
part of April, when the new
raspberry shoots are a few
inches in height, and the female
deposits her comparatively
large, prettily sculptured, elon-
gate white eggs loosely near the
tip of the shoot in the crotch
formed by the bases of the tip
leaves (Fig. 288). How soon
the eggs hatch is unknown,
but it is doubtless in a few
days.
Fic. 288. — Egg of the raspberry cane-mag-
got in position at the base of a leaf (x 8).
-
the
RASPBERR Y, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 351
dry rot sets in at the girdled point and the whole shoot usually
dries up and dies.
After checking the growth in May the maggot proceeds to
burrow downward in the pith, usually reaching the base near
the surface of the ground some time in June. In late June
and early July the maggots, without leaving their burrows,
transform to pups | .
within the hard-
ened dark brown
larval skin or pu-
parlam.<. The
adult, however, 2
does not emerge |
till the following 7
April, there being
but one brood a
year. 3
Control.
With a little oe
watchfulness this Fic. 289. mare shoots girdled by the cane-
raspberry pest can maggots.
be easily checked.
Its presence can be quickly detected in May, as its work is then
very conspicuous. The remedy is simple. As soon as a droop-
ing tip is seen, either pull up the shoot or cut it off several
inches below the girdle and burn it. This method faithfully
carried out throughout May will quickly check the pest.
There is no possible chance of getting at the insect with a
spray. Simply burn all infested shoots in May.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 126, pp. 54-60. 1897.
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 62. 1904.
VOR | RRS We
#2 Pai a Vk
ee
yb
332 FRUIT INSECTS
Tur RED-NECKED CANE-BORER
Agrilus ruficolliis Fabricius
The new canes of blackberry, dewberry and raspberry are
often injured by the larva of a beetle which causes irregular
swellings or galls from
one to three inches
in length. These
galls are gradual en-
largements of the
cane and are char-
acterized by a longi-
He oop: _: (tudinal ‘splitting at
Beetle of the red- the bark (Fig. 293).
<a ae Infested canes either
die or are so weak-
ened as to prevent the develop-
‘ment of the fruit.
The parent beetle (Fig. 290) is
about 4 inch in length; the wing-
covers are black with a dull bluish
reflection, and the thorax or “neck” yg. 991, A beetle that
is metallic coppery, reddish or brassy ; died because she was unable to
the head is black with metallic re- ae 7 cece ee bar
flections. The beetles may be found
on the berry bushes on bright days from the last of May
till August, but are most abundant in June. The egg is in-
serted in the bark near the base of a leaf on the new growth.
Figure 291 shows a female beetle that died because she was
unable to free her ovipositor after depositing the egg. The
young larva burrows upward in the sapwood, passing around
the stem in a spiral course from two to six times, thus girdling
the cane and causing the gall (Fig. 293). The larva then bores
bes
RASPBERR Y, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 333
into the pith and usually burrows upwards,
hibernating in the
pith several inches from the point of entrance. It is then a
yellowish-white, slender, somewhat flattened grub, about 3
Fie. 292. — Full-grown red-necked cane-borer
larvee (X 3).
to 2 inch in length, with a brownish head
(Fig. 292); the tip of the abdomen is pro-
vided with two brown hooks. Early in
the spring it completes its growth and
transforms into a whitish pupa in an oval
cell in the pith. The beetles emerge from
May till July.
This pest may be controlled by cutting
Fie. 293. — A red
raspberry cane showing
the spiral course of the
burrow; the more nor-
mal form of the gall on
blackberry.
out and burning all infested canes during the fall, winter or
early spring. This work can be done best while pruning the
bushes. All wild or neglected berry bushes in which the
beetles may breed should be destroyed.
REFERENCES
Smith, Ins. Life, IV, pp. 27-30. 1891.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Spee. Bull. N., pp.
W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 15. 1891.
4-8. 1891.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 44, pp. 191-193. 1893.
334 FRUIT INSECTS
THE RasPpBERRY HORNTAIL
Hartigia abdominalis Cresson
In California the tender tips of the young shoots of the rasp-
berry, blackberry, loganberry and rose are often girdled and
killed by the spiral burrows of the young larve of a small
yellow and black horntail fly. The adults are slender, four-
winged flies about 3 of an inch in length. They appear on
the berry bushes the last of April and remain abundant until
in August. The female inserts her smooth, pearly-white,
flattened oval eggs, about =; inch in length, singly just under
the bark of the young canes. The newly-hatched, yellowish-
brown larve feed for a time in the vicinity of the egg, and
when about of an inch in length burrow spirally downward
three or four times around the cane, working just beneath the
bark and thus girdling the tip. The larva then enters the pith
and burrows upward until the tip of the branch dies, when it
turns round in its burrow and works down through the pith,
towards the base of the cane. The larvee become full-grown
in from four to six months and are then nearly an inch in length
and nearly white in color. They pupate at the end of the bur-
row and the adults gnaw their way out of the cane. There are
said to be several broods annually.
The location of the egg may be easily determined by the
discoloration of the surrounding tissue, and it may easily be
crushed by hand. This is probably the most feasible method
of controlling the pest. Many of the larve might also be
destroyed by cutting off the dying tips of the canes as soon as
wilting of the leaves is observed. This work cannot be done in
the winter as it is then difficult to distinguish the infested canes.
REFERENCE
Monthly Bull. St. Com. Hort. Cal., I, No. 12, pp. 889-901. 1912.
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 38305
THe BLACKBERRY CROWN-BORER
Bembecia marginata Harris
Blackberries and raspberries are often injured by the cater-
pillar of a clear-wing moth which burrows in the roots and crown.
_ This insect is generally distributed through-
out the Northern states and Canada and
has been recorded from New Mexico.
The parent moth has an expanse of 1 to
+ inches; the wings are transparent, with
a brown margin, and the fore wings have
a narrow, transverse brown band on the
outer third ; the abdomen is black crossed
by four bands of bright yellow; in the
female the last segment is yellow, in the
male, black mixed with yellow. The
moths emerge during August and early
September and the female deposits her
oval, reddish-brown eggs, ;/; inch in length,
singly on the under side of the leaves
near the edge. Each female lays about
140 eggs.
On hatching, the caterpillar is about 3;
inch in length and is nearly white, with
a brownish head. It crawls down the ee andes ee
stem and goes into hibernation curled up blackberry crown-borer
in a small cavity beneath a blister-like ae Morey eae
elevation of the bark of the cane just below
the surface of the ground or may hibernate in crevices at the
base of the canes or under flakes of bark. In the spring the
caterpillars enter the roots or the base of the cane where they
generally burrow just beneath the bark, girdling that part. of
the plant. By the second winter the larve are 4 to ? inch in
length. They hibernate in their burrows, and the following
336 _ FRUIT INSECTS
spring take an upward course, either through the pith or in the
wood just beneath the bark (Fig. 294). They become full-
grown (Fig. 295) in July and burrow out to the surface of the
cane but leave the epidermis intact over the opening. The
pupa is about 2 inch in length, of a reddish-brown color, and has
the front end armed with a sharp-pointed process used in
breaking away the epidermis over the end of the burrow.
The pupal stage lasts 25 to 830 days. When about to transform
the pupa works itself part way out of the burrow, so that after
the moth has emerged the empty pupal skin is left protruding
from the opening. The
moths usually emerge in
the afternoon and mating
takes place in the early
evening.
This borer may be held
Fig. 295. — Mature larva of the blackberry
crown-borer (X 2).
digging out the larve
whenever a dying or wilting tip indicates its presence. All
wild berry bushes in the vicinity of berry fields should be
destroyed to prevent the breeding of the moths.
REFERENCES
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Spee. Bull. N., pp. 9-12. 1891.
Engel, Ent. News, XV, pp. 68-71. 1904.
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 68. 1904.
Tuer Rost SCALE
Aulacaspis (Diaspis) rose Bouché
The stems of roses, blackberry, raspberry and dewberry
growing in damp, shady places often become densely coated
with a snow-white, nearly circular scale-insect, the larger ones
about 75 of an inch in diameter, with the two light yellow
P
a
7
:
in check by systematically
RASPBERRY, BLACKBERRY AND DEWBERRY INSECTS 337
-exuviz or cast skins at the margin. Among these larger female
scales are many of the shorter, narrower, three-ridged, white
scales of the male insect (Fig. 297).
This rose scale is practically a cosmopolitan insect, occurring
wherever roses are grown, and it is widely distributed over the
United States and Canada. It is not often a serious pest in
berry plantations and is usually readily controlled.
-In New Jersey, and
doubtless also in more
southern localities, the
rose scale may hiber-
nate in all stages from
the egg to the gravid
females, mostly, how-
ever, aS young scales
of both sexes, as male
pup and as full-grown
females. Observations
in Canada also indi-
ae cate similar hiberna-
Fic. 296.— The rose
Rees oped aver te tion conditions and at Fie. 297. A male
show the eggs beneath least two generations 224 ‘wo female rose
it (x 73). seales (x 3).
annually. Breeding is
almost continuous after April, and three or more broods may
occur in New Jersey and southward.
Two little hymenopterous parasites, Aphelinus diaspidis
and Arrhenophagus chionaspidis, destroy many of the scales.
Remedial measures.
In berry plantations cut and burn all badly infested canes
soon after the fruit is off, or in winter, and thus prevent serious
infestation of the new canes. Thorough applications of a soap
spray (1 pound whale-oil or other good soap in 1 gallon water)
or the lime-sulfur spray in winter or early spring have been
found to effectively control this insect.
Z
338
FRUIT INSECTS
OTHER RASPBERRY AND BLACKBERRY INSECTS
Bup-MorTH: apple, p. 42.
FRUIT-TREE LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 62.
OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 65.
HALF-WINGED GEOMETER: apple, p. 96.
RED-HUMPED APPLE CATERPILLAR: apple, p. 125.
CLIMBING CUTWORMS: apple, p. 138.
OYSTER-SHELL SCALE: apple, p. 171.
ScuRFY SCALE: apple, p. 176.
APPLE LEAF-HOPPER: apple, p. 180.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
CLOVER-MITE: apple, p. 206.
EUROPEAN FRUIT LECANIUM: plum, p. 261.
RosE CHAFER: grape, p. 397.
IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE: strawberry, p. 371.
FULLER’S ROSE BEETLE: strawberry, p. 389.
STRAWBERRY ROOT-woRMs: strawberry, p. 391.
CHAPTER XI
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS
COMMERCIALLY the most. important insect pests of the cur-
rant and gooseberry are the imported currant worm, the San
José scale and the currant plant-louse.
THe ImPoRTED CURRANT BORER
Sesia tipuliformis Clerck
This destructive European currant-borer was introduced
into this country some time before 1826, and is now widely dis-
tributed throughout North America; it also occurs in Asia,
Australia and New Zealand. The caterpillars burrow (Fig.
298) in the smaller canes and eat out the pith for a distance of
several inches, causing the branch to die. While not often a
serious pest this insect has been known to become so abundant
in certain gardens that the raising of currants was abandoned
for a time.
The beautiful, clear-winged moths (Fig. 300) appear in June
and may be found flying rapidly about the plants or resting on
the leaves. The female moth has an expanse of about # inch;
the wings are transparent, with a border of golden purple and
a bar of the same color across the fore wing ; the body is purplish
black with three narrow bands of yellow on the abdomen in the
female and four in the male. :
The female moth deposits her brown, almost globular eggs
singly on the bark. The young larve bore into the stem and
then burrow up or down, through the pith, killing the cane.
339
340 FRUIT INSECTS
They become nearly full-grown by fall and hibernate in the
burrow. The larve are then about 4 inch in length, whitish
Fic. 299. — Pupa of the imported currant borer.
Matheson photo (x 4).
Fic. 298. —
The imported
currant borer
in its burrow : ; i
ready to pu- es
pate (x 14). Fic. 300. — Moth of the imported currant borer. .-
with a brownish head and legs. In May the larva burrows
out to the surface of the stem, leaving the opening covered by a
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 341
thin layer of bark. It then transforms to a pupa (Fig. 299) in
a silken-lined cavity at the end of the burrow. When ready
to transform the pupa pushes itself part way out of the opening
and the moth leaves the empty pupal skin projecting from the
cavity. There is only one brood a year.
The infested canes do not die in the fall but are usually able
to put out a sickly foliage the following spring. Such canes
should be cut off and destroyed before June 1 to prevent the
emergence of the moths.
REFERENCES
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 19, pp. 21-22. 1892.
Vt. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept. for 1894, pp. 130-132. 1895.
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 36, p. 14. 1898.
THE ImpoRTED CURRANT WoRM
Pteronus ribesiz Scopoli
Introduced into this country from Europe about 1857, this
insect now occurs wherever currants or gooseberries are grown
in the northeastern states and Canada, and is the commonest
and best known of gar-
den pests. ;
The adult sawrflies
(Fig. 301) .appear as
soon as the leaves put
forth in the spring;
the female is about
one third inch in length
with the head and
thorax more or less
black when viewed from
above and has the ab-
domen dull yellowish ; Fic. 301. — Adults of the imported currant
the male is smaller, worm (xX 2).
342
Fie. 302. — Eggs of the imported currant worm.
FRUIT INSECTS"
length, and has the
dorsal aspect of the
abdomen black ex-
soon as the leaves
have expanded the
female deposits her
whitish, smooth,
elongate eggs end to
end in rows along
the principal veins
on the underside of
the leaves of the food-
plant (Fig. 302).
The eggs increase in size considerably after deposition, and
measure about 3/5 inch in length when ready to hatch. They
hatch in a week or ten days, and the small whitish larve begin
their destructive work by eating small holes through the leaves
Bie S0aj.) As
they increase in size
the color changes to
green, and after the
first molt the body
becomes covered
with many black
spots and the head
is black.
While small the
larve feed in col-
onies, 30 or 40 on
a leaf, which is
soon consumed;
they then scatter
5 j\ i
—
Fig. 303. — Newly hatched currant worms feeding.
one fourth inch in-
cept at tip. As-
hE hepa SS a ae
s AS ee
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 343
to other parts of the plant. With increase in size they become
more destructive, and if numerous are able to strip a bush of
its leaves in a few days (Fig. 304). The larve molt several
times as they increase in size, but the exact number of molts
has not been determined. They become full-grown in two or
three weeks, and are then about ? inch in length. At the
last molt they
lose their black {
spots and assume
a uniform green
color tinged with
yellow at the
ends. The larva
then descends to
the ground and
spins a smooth
oval brownish co-
coon beneath
leaves or other
trash ; sometimes
the cocoons are
attached to the th |
stems or leaves some distance from the ground. The larva
transforms to a brownish pupa within the cocoon and the flies
of the second brood emerge in late June or early July. Some-
times there-is a small third brood. The winter is passed in
the cocoon, probably in the larval condition.
Treatment.
The larvee may be readily destroyed by an early application
of either 1 pound Paris green or 4 pounds arsenate of lead in
100 gallons of water. Later, when the fruit is near maturity,
fresh hellebore should be used at the rate of 4 ounces in 2 or 3
gallons of water or, as a dry application, 1 pound in 5 pounds of
flour or air-slaked lime.
Fic. 304. — Full-grown currant worms.
344 FRUIT INSECTS
THe GREEN CURRANT WoRM
Gymnonychus appendiculatus Hartig
This is the so-called native currant worm, but as it too was
doubtless imported from Europe the name should be discarded.
It is widely distributed throughout the Northern states and
Canada, and while sometimes destructive in the West, it rarely
attracts attention in the East.
The adults are smaller than in the preceding species, and in
both sexes the body is black. The flies appear in the spring
just as the leaves are unfolding, and the female inserts her
whitish eggs into the edge of the currant or gooseberry leaf
between the two outer layers. The egg swells considerably
before hatching and produces a distinct blister-like elevation
of the epidermis of the leaf. They hatch in about five days,
and the young larve feed singly on the edge of the leaf, not in
colonies, as in the preceding species. The larve are of a uni-
form light green color and have blackish heads; they lack the
black spots characteristic of the foregoing species and are con-
siderably smaller. They become full-grown in about 12 days
and spin small brownish cocoons beneath leaves or trash or
slightly below the surface of the ground; the flies emerge in
about a week. In New York there may be four or five broods,
each generation requiring about twenty-five days from egg to
adult.
Whenever this currant worm becomes troublesome, it may
be controlled by spraying with either 1 pound Paris green or 4
pounds arsenate of lead in 100 gallons of water at the first ap-
pearance of the worms. When the fruit is ripening use helle-
bore, 4 ounces in 2 or 3 gallons of water, or dry 1 pound in 5
pounds of flour or air-slaked lime.
REFERENCES
Walsh, Pract. Ent. I, pp. 122-124. 1866.
Saunders, Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont. f. 1871, p. 34. 1872.
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 345
THE GOOSEBERRY SPAN-WORM
Cymatophora ribearia Fitch
Although generally distributed throughout the Atlantic
and Middle states and eastern Canada, this measuring-worm
becomes troublesome only occasionally. It attacks gooseberry,
red and black currant and the blueberry.
The eggs which have remained on the branches through the
winter hatch in May about the time the leaves become fully
expanded. The larve are measuring-worms or loopers, whitish
in color with yellow stripes on the back and sides and conspicu-
ously marked with numerous black spots of various sizes.
They begin feeding on the tips of the leaves, and, if numerous,
soon strip the bush and sometimes attack the tender branches.
When disturbed they let themselves down by a silken thread.
They become full-grown in three or four weeks and are then an
inch or less in length; they leave the bush, enter the ground a
short distance and transform to a nearly black pupa about 33;
inch in length. The moths emerge in about two weeks, the
last of June in New York, and deposit their small, beautifully
sculptured, elongate oval, dull yellowish-gray eggs on the bark
of the branches more often near the base of the plant. The
eggs do not hatch till the following spring, there being but one
generation a year. ‘The female moth has an expanse of over
an inch, is of a pale yellow color and has the fore wings crossed
by two irregular interrupted bands of brownish; the outer
band continues across the hind wing. In the male the yellow
is darker and the markings more distinct.
Hellebore has not been found effective against this pest, but
4 pounds arsenate of lead, or 1 pound Paris green in 100 gallons
of water may be used effectively while the larve are small.
When nearly full-grown they are not easily poisoned, and re-
course must be had to the more tedious and expensive operation
of hand-picking.
346 FRUIT INSECTS
REFERENCES
Fitch, 3d Rept. State Ent. N. Y., pp. 427-428. 1856.
Saunders, Rept. Ent. Soc. Ont. f., 1874, pp. 18-19. 1875.
Riley, 9th Rept. Ins. Mo., pp. 3-7. 1877.
THE PEPPER-AND-SALT CURRANT Motu
Lyciva cognataria Guenée
AD
Currants and gooseberries are sometimes defoliated by a. 4
geometrid caterpillar or measuring-worm which, when full-
grown, is nearly two
inches in length; it
varies in color from
sea-green to brownish-
gray or brownish-
black and is marked
with indistinct lines
and spots of green
and yellowish. When
a at rest it clasps a twig
" with the posterior
Fic. 305. — The pepper-and-salt currant :
moth (x 14). pairs of legs and holds
the body extended
rigidly outward; it is then easily mistaken for a dead twig,
which it closely resembles in form and color (Fig. 306). It is
a general feeder and rarely becomes a pest on currants. This
species occurs in the Eastern states and Canada.
The caterpillars become full-grown in early July and trans-
form to a dark brown pupa in the ground. At least part of the
pup give rise to moths the same season, about the middle of
August, but it is quite probable that some of this brood hold
over till the following spring. The rather heavy-bodied moths
(Fig. 305) have an expanse of about two inches; the wings are
gray, dotted with dark brown and crossed by two wavy bands of
mahogany brown on the outer third. Moths of the spring
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 347
brood appear in May. The eggs are about #5 inch in length,
cylindrical with rounded ends, and the surface is beautifully
marked with rows of hexagonal depressions. A single moth
has been known to lay about 500 eggs.
Fic. 306. —- Caterpillar of the pepper-and-salt currant moth on a plum branch ;
it resembles a small dead twig Cale eran:
Arsenical poisons as used against the imported currant worm
will hold this insect in check.
REFERENCE
Lintner, 2d Report State Ent. N. Y., pp. 97-101. 1885.
THE Four-LINED LEAF-BUG
Pecilocapsus lineatus Fabricius
The four-lined leaf-bug is a native of America and ranges
from Canada to Georgia and westward to the Rocky Mountains.
348 FRUIT INSECTS ~
It has been most troublesome in New England, New York and
Michigan. It has a wide range of food-plants, but has attracted
most attention as an enemy of the currant, gooseberry, mint,
parsnip, Weigelia, dahlia and
rose. :
The insect usually makes
its first appearance about the
middle of May on the newest,
tenderest terminal leaves. The
insects are then so small and
active in hiding themselves
that they are not apt to at-
however, soon becomes ap-
» parent. The insect inserts
Fie. 307. A gooseberry leaf injured jts beak into the leaf and
by the four-lined leaf-bug.
sucks out the green pulp of
the interior within a small area bounded by the little veinlets.
As the insects increase in size they suck out the pulp from
larger areas. The injured portions of the leaf turn brown and
die and give the leaves a characteristic spotted appearance (Fig.
307). The spots often coalesce and the
whole leaf turns brown, curls up and dies.
The growth of the shoot is checked, and
the terminal portion dies. In cases of se-
vere infestation the whole field has the ap-
pearance of having been scorched by fire.
On currant and gooseberry the insect con-
fines its attacks to the leaves, but on dahlia
and rose it attacks the buds.
The newly hatched nymph is about 34 pe
inch in length, of a bright vermillion red
color with large black spots on the thorax. In the course of its
development, which requires from 17 to 20 days, the nymph
tract attention. Their work,
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 349
passes through five stages. The full-
grown nymph is of a bright orange-
yellow color and about % inch in length.
The black wing-pads have a broad yel-
lowish-green stripe near the outer mar-
gin and extend about halfway to the
tip of the abdomen. At the fifth molt
the winged adult appears, about the
middle of June in New York, and is
about 4 inch in length; the general
color of the body is bright orange-
yellow with four black stripes on the
thorax and wing-covers (Fig. 308) ; the
legs and the areas between the black
stripes are dark apple-green, changing
to lemon-yellow after death.
The adults are provided with a beak,
and feed in the same manner as do the
Fic. 309. — Currant stem
showing white egg-clusters
of the four-lined leaf-bug.
nymphs. They are more voracious, however, and do more
damage. They are shy, very active when
alarmed and very difficulttocapture. Egg-
Fig. 310. — Currant
stem split to show eggs
and the larva of a para-
site feeding on them
(x 6).
laying begins about a week after the adults
appear and is completed earlyinJuly. The
female is provided with a thin, blade-like
obliquely pointed ovipositor by means of
which she cuts a slit about } inch long in
the bark of the soft, tender growth in
which she deposits 6 or 8 light yellow
eggs. Each egg is 7s inch in length,
smooth, slightly curved, and has the upper
third capped by a white, finely striated
portion (Fig. 310). With the growth of
the surrounding tissue the eggs are usually
forced out of the stem somewhat, so that
350 FRUIT INSECTS
about one half or more of the white portion projects from
the slit, making it rather easy to locate the eggs (Fig. 309).
There is but one Oo a a year.
Treatment.
The nymphs may be destroyed while small by a thorough
application of kerosene emulsion diluted with five parts of
water.: This is probably the most practicable means of fighting
the pest while in the nymphal stage. The pruning and burning -
of the tips in which all the eggs are laid is an efficient means
of keeping the pest in check. When occurring on herbaceous
plants, probably the best method is to capture the bugs by
jarring them into a dish partly filled with kerosene and water.
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 58. 1893.
THE CuRRANT PLANT-LOUSE
Myzus ribis Linnzeus
In the Northern states and Canada the foliage of currants
is very commonly distorted and discolored by the presence of
yellowish-green plant-lice on the under side of the leaves. Red
currants are most subject to attack, but black currants and
gooseberries are sometimes infested. The insect is a native
of Europe, where, in addition to the cultivated varieties, it also
infests the wild alpine currant. It was probably introduced
into America in the early part of the nineteenth century, but
did not attract attention until about 1857.
The shining black, cucumber-shaped eggs, attached to the
bark of the new growth, hatch soon after the leaves open. The
young lice crawl to the leaves and begin feeding on the under _
surface; these lice hatched from the eggs are all females and”
are jcnowas as stem-mothers. When mature they give birth to
living young, and each individual is soon surrounded by a nu-
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 351
merous progeny. Through-
out the summer only fe-
males (Fig. 311) are pro-
duced, and the young are
born alive. At first nearly
all of the lice are wingless,
but as the leaves become
crowded, winged females
develop and migrate to
other bushes. |
The lice become abun-
dant by the middle of
May in New York, and
Fig. 311. — The currant plant-louse, wing-
less viviparous female. Enlarged.
often cover the entire under surface of the leaves (Fig. 313).
The irritation of their combined punctures causes the leaf
he
Fic. 312. — Currant leaves curled by plant-lice.
to become badly curled and distorted so that pocket-like
cavities are formed on the under side (Fig. 312). The upper
On FRUIT INSECTS
surface turns a bright red, variegated with yellow and green.
Later the badly injured leaves may fall from the bushes and
thus prevent the fruit from maturing properly. The fruit is
also injured by a black
fungus which grows on
the sticky substance,
known as_ honey-dew,
secreted by the lice.
After the middle of
July the lice become
greatly reduced in num-
bers, owing to the at-
tacks of their numerous
predaceous and parasitic
enemies, but a few fe-
males are able to sur-
vive, and at the ap-
proach of cold weather
give rise to true males
and females. The latter deposit the winter eggs on the twigs
during the latter part of October.
Treatment.
The currant plant-louse is not an easy insect to control,
owing to the way in which it is protected in the pocket-like
cavities of the curled leaves. ‘These soft-bodied lice are easily
killed by ordinary contact insecticides, such as kerosene emul-
sion, soap solutions and tobacco extracts; the difficulty is in
reaching them. To be effective, the spraying must be done with
great thoroughness soon after the hatching of the eggs and
before the leaves curl; an upturned nozzle should be used so as
to hit the leaves from beneath.
Fic. 313. — A colony of currant plant-lice on
the underside of a leaf.
REFERENCE
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 139, pp. 660-663. 1897.
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 353
THE GOOSEBERRY MIDGE
Dasyneura grossularie Fitch
The fruit of the gooseberry is sometimes destroyed by a
small, bright yellow maggot which feeds in the pulp and causes
the berry to turn red prematurely, decay and fall to the ground.
The parent fly is a delicate midge resembling a mosquito in
form, about ; inch in length, with a pale yellow body and legs
and with black eyes and blackish antenne. The female ap-
parently punctures the skin of the fruit with her ovipositor
and inserts the egg directly into the pulp.
Pupation takes place within the decayed berry, and the flies
emerge in the latter part of July. The further history of this
insect is unknown.
The gooseberry midge has never become a serious pest.
No better remedy has been suggested than to collect and destroy
the infested berries before the flies have had time to mature.
REFERENCE
Fitch, 1st Rept. State Ent. N. Y., p. 176. 1855.
THE GOOSEBERRY FRUIT-wWORM
Zophodia grossularie Packard
Gooseberries and currants are subject to the attacks of a
greenish caterpillar (Fig. 314) with a brownish head ? inch in
length when full-grown, which feeds within the fruit and causes
it to color prematurely and either dry up or fall to the ground
and decay (Fig. 315). While ordinarily not a serious pest, it
has been known to destroy almost the entire crop in certain
places, particularly in the West.
The grayish moths have an expanse of nearly an inch; the
fore wings are crossed by darker lines, and there is a row of
2a
354 : FRUIT INSECTS
small blackish dots near the outer margin. The female is said
to deposit her eggs on the fruit, but no one seems to have
described Bne egg. The young larva enters the partly grown
berry and feeds on the pulp,
casting out the excrement
through the opening in the skin
of the fruit by which it entered.
It will sometimes enter several
berries in succession, and often
webs together several berries
. with a silken thread. When
Fic. 314. — The gooseberry fruit- full-grown it descends to the
worm, ouent phote.s ground and transforms to a
pupa within a brownish oval cocoon beneath dead leaves or other
trash. The winter is passed as a pupa, and the moths =
the next spring soon after the fruit has set.
The caterpillars are very active, and when alarmed will
wriggle out of the berry and hang suspended by a silken thread
only to return to
the fruit when the
danger is_ passed.
Treatment.
The control of this
pest has not been
worked out, and
nothing better than hand-picking of the infested berries
has been suggested. Care must be taken in collecting the
injured fruit that the caterpillars do not crawl out and
escape. While satisfactory in a small garden, hand-picking
is too expensive to be practicable under commercial condi-
tions. If poultry are allowed to run in the field after the
crop is harvested, they will doubtless devour many of the
pup in their hibernating quarters beneath trash on the
ground.
Fic. 315. — Gooseberries injured by the gooseberry
fruit-worm. Knight photo.
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS ooO
REFERENCES
Riley, Ist Rept. Ins. Mo., pp. 140-142. 1869.
Saunders, 7th Rept. Ent. Soc. Ontario, for 1876, pp. 39-40. 1877.
THe YELLOW CURRANT FRUIT-FLY
Epochra canadensis Loew
‘Throughout the Northern states and Canada the currant
and gooseberry crop is often seriously injured by a small white
maggot which feeds within the fruit. The loss occasioned by
this insect seems to be greater in the West, particularly in
mountainous regions where there is an abundance of wild
berries in which flies may breed undisturbed. ‘Gillette states
that in Colorado this fruit-fly is the most serious insect enemy
of the currant and gooseberry. '
The pale yellowish flies, about as large as the house fly, with
green eyes and banded wings, appear in May-in the Eastern
states, become abundant about the middle of June, and finally
disappear after having been on the wing about a month. The
female fly inserts her elongate, whitish egg under the skin of
the unripe fruit through a puncture made with her sharp ex-
tensible ovipositor. The egg is about = inch in length, white,
elongate oval and provided at one end with a short pedicel.
Several eggs may be deposited in a single berry, each in a
separate puncture. Hach female is capable of laying about
200 eggs.
On hatching, the young maggot may burrow for some distance
just beneath the skin before entering the pulp. It then attacks
the immature seeds, feeding on the kernel. Infested berries
may be distinguished by having a discolored spot either around
the puncture or over the place where a maggot has been feeding
on the seeds. They color prematurely and usually fall to the
ground and decay. In about three weeks the maggots become .
356 FRUIT INSECTS
full-grown; they are then over ~ inch in length, white, with
black mouth parts. They then leave the fruit through a ragged
hole in the skin, sometimes while it is hanging on the bush, but —
more often after it has fallen to the ground, and go into hiber-
nating quarters a short distance in the ground or beneath
rubbish. The winter is passed in a broadly oval, straw-colored
puparium about 4 inch in length. There is only one generation
a year.
No practicable method of controlling this insect in large
plantings has been suggested. In the garden it might be
feasible to collect and destroy the infested berries either before
they fall or very soon afterwards. Where poultry are allowed
to run under the bushes, they may be able to find and destroy
many of the puparia.
REFERENCES
Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept. for 1895, pp. 111-124.
Paine, Psyche, XIX, pp. 139-144. 1912.
THe DarkK CURRANT FRUIT-FLY
Rhagoletis ribicola Doane
In Washington and neighboring states currants and goose-
berries are also subject to the-attacks of a species of fruit-fly
closely related to the preceding. The adult is only about half
as large as the house fly, black with four yellow stripes on the
thorax and a large spot on the scutellum yellow; the head is
yellow with greenish eyes, the legs are yellow and the wings
are crossed by four brown bands.
The flies are on the wing from the middle of June till the
middle of July. The female deposits her eggs just beneath the
skin of the berry, and the maggot becomes full-grown in three
or four weeks. They enter the ground a short distance, or find
protection beneath rubbish and pass the winter in a brownish
or black puparium. The habits and life history of this species
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS aot
are very similar to the foregoing, and the means of control are
the same.
REFERENCE
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 36, pp. 3-6. 1898.
THE CURRANT-STEM GIRDLER
Janus integer Norton
In the Northern states and Canada currant bushes are often
injured by a sawfly, which, after depositing her eggs in a cane,
girdles the tip, caus-
ing it to wilt and
drop. It is a.na-
tive insect which
probably fed origi-
nally on the wild
currant, but did
not attract atten-
tion as an enemy
of the cultivated -
varieties until
about 1888.
The sawflies
emerge from the
middle to the last
of May in New
York; both sexes
have shining black
bodies and light
brownish-yellow
legs (Fig. 316). In
the male nearly all
of the abdomen is
of a brownish-yel-
Fic. 316. — Adult male and female of the currant-
stem girdler (x 24).
358 FRUIT INSECTS
low color, while in the female
the front half of the abdomen
is reddish-orange, and the rest
is black. The female is about
+ inch in length, the male
somewhat smaller. The
former is provided with a
stout, sharp saw-toothed ovi-
positor, which when exserted
| extends at a right angle be-
a neath the abdomen (Fig. 317).
Fic. 317. — The currant-stem girdler By means of this ovipositor
Ovipositing. ;
the female punctures a cane
a few inches from the tip and inserts the elongate oval, yel-
lowish-white egg into the pith (Fig. 318). After the egg is
deposited she walks up the shoot for from one half inch to
an inch and deftly girdles the cane with her ovipositor. Some-
times the girdling is so complete that the tip falls at once, but
usually a portion remains uncut and the tip may remain at-
tached for some time, especially if the shoot is a large, vigorous
one (Fig. 319). This killing of the tip of
the cane seems to be necessary for the
development of the egg and grub.
The eggs hatch in about eleven days.
The grubs feed almost entirely on the
pith, which they tunnel out to a distance
of not over six inches, leaving the bur-
row packed full of excrement behind
them. The borer becomes full-grown
about the first of September and cleans
out the lower end of its burrow for the
distance of about three fourths inch and
then eats a passageway out to the outer ee ae oe
bark, which soon dies and shrinks over position. Enlarged.
CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS 359
this point. It then surrounds itself with a silken cocoon within
which it remains as a grub all winter. The change to a pupa
takes place in the spring, and the adult insect emerges a few
days later. :
The currant-stem girdler
cannot be reached at any
time or in any way with a
spray. Fortunately, however,
its habits are such that it
can be easily controlled by
other means. The girdling
habit of the adult insect
which causes the young shoot
to wilt, die, and drop off in
May makes it easy to deter-
mine whether the pest is pres-
ent or not. Since the egg is’
embedded in the shoot less:
than an inch below where the
girdling is done, and as the
erubs rarely tunnel down
more than six inches, if the a Dee hacen: c eae ae
Injured shoots are cut off at acter of the girdle.
least eight inches below the
girdle and burned, the insect will pe effectively controlled. If
the work is performed in May or June soon after the girdling
is done, only two or three inches of the tips need be cut off.
The cutting and burning of about eight inches of the tips of
the injured shoots at any time of the year, even in winter, will |
prove an effective remedy for this pest.
REFERENCES
Marlatt, Ins. Life, VII, pp. 387-390. 1895.
Cornell Agr.-Exp. Sta. Bull. 126, pp. 41-53. 1897.
360 FRUIT INSECTS
THE WALNUT SCALE
Aspidiotus juglans-regie Comstock
Mature female scales of this species are pale grayish-brown
in color with the reddish-orange exuvial spot one side of the
center, and they are larger than the San José scale, being about
1 of an inch in diameter. The species is oviparous, hibernated
adult females laying eggs early in the spring, and eggs for another
brood are laid in June. There are two and possibly three
generations of this scale insect in the South, yet it rarely
occurs in injurious numbers. We have seen -currant stems
incrusted with it, and it also occurs on apple, pear, cherry,
peach, apricot and plum, besides on its only food-plant in
California, the English walnut. It is widely distributed over
the United States and occurs in Canada.
This walnut scale will doubtless succumb to thorough appli-
cations of the winter washes recommended for the San José
scale.
OTHER CURRANT AND GOOSEBERRY INSECTS
GREEN FRUIT-WORMS: apple, p. 39.
F'RUIT-TREE LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 62.
OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 65.
CLIMBING CUTWORMS: apple, p. 138.
San JOSE SCALE: apple, p. 162.
OYSTER-SHELL SCALE: apple, p. 171.
PUTNAM’S SCALE: apple, p. 179.
APPLE LEAF-HOPPER: apple, p. 180.
FLAT-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER: apple, p. 194.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
EUROPEAN PEAR SCALE: pear, p. 234.
EUROPEAN FRUIT-TREE SCALE: plum, p. 260.
EUROPEAN FRUIT LECANIUM: plum, p. 261.
CHERRY SCALE: cherry, p. 312.
RED-SPIDER: raspberry, p. 315.
IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE: strawberry, p. 3/1.
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53)
CHAPTER XII
STRAWBERRY INSECTS
STRAWBERRY plants are at the most short-lived; they are
low growing and are usually cultivated in closely set rows.
Strawberry growing is more akin to the raising of field crops
than to the cultivation of other fruits. Likewise in the control
of strawberry insects less reliance is placed on spraying and more
attention is given to crop rotation, fall plowing, clean culti-
vation, and similar practices. The one-crop system of straw-
berry culture as now practiced by the majority of commercial
growers greatly simplifies the problem of insect control. This
is especially true in the case of white grubs, root worms and other
under-ground insects.
THE STRAWBERRY LEAF-ROLLER
Ancylis comptana Frélich
Throughout the Northern states and Canada, from Colorado
eastward, strawberries are often seriously injured by a small
greenish or brownish caterpillar which folds the two halves
of the leaflets together and feeding within the shelter so formed
causes them to turn brown and die. In years of great abund-
ance the injury may be very severe; the foliage is destroyed
and the fruit fails to mature.
The parent moth measures about 2 inch across the expanded
wings; its general color is light reddish-brown and the fore
wings are marked with wavy bands of white and darker brown.
361
362 FRUIT INSECTS
The moths appear in the strawberry fields in early May in-
New Jersey and in April in southern Missouri. The female
deposits her pale green, round or slightly oval, strongly flattened |
eggs singly on the underside of the leaves. One observer says
they are laid on the upper side along the mid-rib. The eggs
hatch in about a week and the young caterpillars crawl to the
upper surface, where they feed for a day or two openly on the
upper epidermis without any protective covering. Within
a few days the larva begins to draw the two halves of the leaflet
together with silken threads and finally produces a complete
fold, within which it finishes its growth in about a month.
When full-grown it is about $ inch in length, varies in color
from yellowish to greenish-brown and has the head and cervical
shield shining brown. It transforms to a pale brownish pupa,
+; inch in length, within the folded leaf, and in about ten days
the moth emerges. From 42 to 50 days are required for the
development from egg to moth. In New Jersey there are three
generations a year, but the later broods greatly overlap. Farther
north there are only two generations a year, while there is some
evidence of a fourth brood in Kentucky. The insect hibernates
both as a larva and asa pupa. At the approach of cold weather
some of the partly grown caterpillars desert the leaves and seek
shelter beneath trash or the mulch, returning to the leaves to
complete their growth the following spring; while those that
are mature transform to pupx# and remain in that condition
in the folded leaves until the following spring, when they give
‘rise to the first brood of moths. |
The strawberry leaf-roller also attacks the blackberry and
raspberry, being especially abundant on these plants during the
latter part of the season. On strawberries it is usually the first
brood that causes the greatest loss. The caterpillars of the
later broods are, as a rule, less numerous and, owing to the greater
quantity of foliage on which to feed, cause less apparent injury
to the plants. 7
aad
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 363
Means of control.
Experiments in New Jersey have shown that the strawberry
leaf-roller can be effectively controlled by a single, timely
application of arsenate of lead, 5 pounds in 100 gallons of water.
The poison should be applied within a week after the first
appearance of the moths and just before the young larve begin
to fold the leaves. Spraying after the leaves are folded will
do little or no good. 7
In some parts of the country the leaf-roller is controlled by
burning over the strawberry field soon after the crop is harvested.
Fic. 320.— Larva of the ob-
solete-banded strawberry leaf- Fie. 321. — Full-grown larva of the obsolete-
roller beginning to roll a leaf. banded strawberry leaf-roller (x 3).
In this way practically all the larve and pup in the folded
leaves are destroyed.
Strawberry beds that are to be abandoned should be plowed
under directly after the picking of the last crop and not allowed
to remain as breeding places for the moths.
REFERENCES
Forbes, 13th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 87-93. , 1884.
Ky. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 31, pp. 13-16. 1890.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 225, pp. 17-23. 1909.
364 FRUIT INSECTS
THE OBSOLETE-BANDED STRAWBERRY LEAF-ROLLER
Archips obsoletana Walker
Occasionally strawberry beds are seriously injured be a small
olive-green caterpillar which folds the leaves or webs them
together so as to destroy the foliage and
prevent the ripening of the fruit. Out-
breaks have been reported in Illinois and
New York only, but the insect is widely
Fic. 322.— Pupa of the Fic. 323. — Male (above) and female (below)
obsolete-banded straw- moths of the obsolete-banded strawberry leaf-
berry leaf-roller (x 5). roller.
distributed throughout the eastern United States from Texas
to Massachusetts.
Where or in what stage the insect passes the winter is not
known. In May the young caterpillars appear on the leaves,
where they feed at first on the underside of the leaves, skeleton-
izing small areas; they first live in a little tube formed by tying
the leaf hairs together with silk near a vein. In a few days the
caterpillar crawls to the upper surface and begins to fold the
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 365
Fic. 324. — Ege-cluster of the obsolete-banded strawberry leaf-roller, much
enlarged, with another cluster natural size in upper right-hand corner.
leaflet by spinning silken threads above its body from one side
to the other across the mid-
rib and thus gradually draw-
ing the edges of the leaflet
together (Fig. 320). Within
this protecting roll the cater-
pillar lives, feeding upon the
leaf and often joining other
leaves to it. Sometimes the
caterpillar forms a similar
protection by drawing to-
gether the blossoms and
forming fruits, which it eats
(Fig. 325).
In New York the first
brood of caterpillars (Fig.
321) mature about the first
Fig. 325. — Young fruits tied together
and ruined by the caterpillars.
366 FRUIT INSECTS
week of June and transform to slender dark brown pupae, ~
about 4 inch in length, within the folded leaf (Fig. 322).
In about ten days the moths emerge (Fig. 323). The —
general color of the moth varies from wood-brown to russet;
the fore wings are crossed obliquely by a broad, dark brown
band and have a large spot of the same color near the tip.
The thin, oval, light lemon-yellow eggs are laid in clusters of
more than a hundred, overlapping each other like shingles on a
a roof (Fig. 324).
Just where the
moth places her
eggs in the field
has not been de-
termined. The
eggs hatch in about
ten days. In New
York there arethree
broods a year, cat-
: erpillars developing
Fic. 326. — How the caterpillars destroy the leaves jn May, July and
which they roll. December.
Means of control.
The measures suggested for use against the strawberry leaf-
roller on page 363 would doubtless be effective against this species.
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 190, pp. 145-149. 1901.
Tur BLACK-MARKED STRAWBERRY SLUG
Empria maculata Norton
In the Northern states east of the Rocky Mountains and in
Canada the foliage of the strawberry is occasionally attacked
by the greenish larve of a small dark colored sawfly. Out-
a
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 367
breaks have been reported from Missouri, Illinois, Indiana and
Canada.
The adult is a black-bodied, four-winged fly about #4 inch
in length and has a row of whitish spots on each side of the
abdomen. The flies emerge from the ground in early spring
and the female inserts her pure white, elongate, compressed
eggs in the petioles of the leaves. The eggs hatch in about two
weeks and the yellowish or greenish larve attract attention in
May by eating small round holes in the leaves. When abundant
they may completely destroy the foliage in a few days. Much
of the feeding is done at night; during the day the larve remain
curled up on the underside of the leaves or hide at the base of
the plant. They become full-grown by the last of June in
Illinois and are then about 2 inch in length, pale greenish to
grayish-yellow in color; the head is yellow, marked with at
least three large dark spots. When mature the larva enters
the ground and constructs an oval cocoon composed of earth
cemented together with a gummy substance within which it
passes the winter as a shortened, thickened larva, the so-called
pre-pupa. Pupation takes place in early spring and the adults
emerge soon after.
As a rule, there is only one generation-a year, but there is
evidence to show that occasionally a partial second brood may
develop in the more southern part of the insect’s range.
Means of control.
The sawfly larve are readily killed with arsenicals, and if the
application is made before the fruit is more than one half grown,
they may be used with perfect safety. Paris green, 1 pound in 150
gallons of water, with the addition of three pounds of fresh lime,
has given good results, but as there has been some complaint of
burning of the foliage with this poison, arsenate of lead, 4 pounds
in 100 gallons of water, will probably be found more satisfactory.
It should be used at the first appearance of the larve, before
the berries are more than one half grown. After the fruit has
begun to ripen use hellebore, 4 ounces in 2 gallons of water.
368 FRUIT INSECTS
REFERENCES
Riley, 9th Rept. Ins. Mo., pp. 27-29. 1877.
Forbes, 13th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 71-76. 1884.
Forbes, 14th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 77-78. 1885.
Iowa Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 18, pp. 512-514. 1892.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 68, pp. 33-35. 1896.
Mo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 54, pp. 192-202. 1901.
THE GREEN STRAWBERRY SLUG
Empria ignota Norton:
This species is closely related to the one last treated, but
differs from it somewhat in the details of its life history. The
injury inflicted is, however, practically the same. It has been
reported as troublesome in Iowa, Illinois and Indiana.
The flies appear in the spring somewhat earlier than the
preceding species and deposit their eggs singly just beneath the
lower epidermis of the leaf, thereby causing small light-colored
blisters. Three or four eggs are laid in a leaf. As soon as
hatched the young larvee begin to eat small holes in the leaves,
and if abundant, may strip the plants of their foliage, leaving
the fruit stunted and unable to ripen properly. They molt
four times, becoming full-grown in May or early June. They
are then over one half inch in length, deep green in color with
obscure blackish dorsal and lateral stripes; the head is uniform
yellowish-brown without the distinctive blackish spots of
EH. maculata described above. When full-grown the larva
enters the ground an inch or so and forms a frail earthen cocoon
lined with silk, within which the insect remains in a shortened
and thickened condition till the following spring, when the
transformation to the pupa and adult takes place.
Treatment.
The green strawberry slug may be controlled by the measures
suggested for the species last treated.
ot a
a ee
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 369
REFERENCES
Mally, Insect Life, II, pp. 187-140. 1889.
Mally, Insect Life, III, pp. 9-12. 1890.
In Colorado a sawfly (Emphytus gilletter MacGillivray) with
habits almost identical with those of the above has been re-
ported as locally destructive. The larva is nearly an inch in
length when full-grown, green above and cream colored beneath ;
the head is yellowish with a brown patch above.
REFERENCE
Johnson, Rept. Ent. Col. 1903, pp. 13-14.
THE STRAWBERRY WHITEFLY
Aleyrodes packardi Morrill
This near relative of the common whitefly of the greenhouse
is often found on strawberries growing out of doors, but has been |
reported as noticeably destructive only in one instance, in south-
eastern New York. _
The insect passes the winter as a minute, smooth, oval, metallic
bronze-colored: egg attached to the underside of the leaf by
a short stalk. The winter eggs hatch in early spring into
minute, flat, pale green, lice-like insects which are able to crawl
some distance over the surface of the leaf. The insect soon
settles down, punctures the leaf with its bristle-like mouth
parts through which it feeds on the sap. It remains stationary,
soon loses the use of its legs and secretes a covering of wax which
gives it the appearance of a scale insect. It molts three times
and then assumes the so-called pupa form. In this stage the
insect appears as a delicate, greenish-yellow, oval wax box with
perpendicular sides, about = inch in length, and has the dorsal
surface ornamented by long curved waxen rods. In about
2B
370 FRUIT INSECTS
a month from the hatching of the egg the minute, mealy white,
four-winged flies appear to lay eggs for another brood.
The winter eggs hatch in early spring and those nymphs that
escape the spring frosts give rise to adults in May; breeding
continues until cold weather. As a rule, the insects are most
abundant the latter part of the season. ‘The nymphs secrete
a sweet sticky substance known as honey-dew, which collecting
on the leaves serves as a medium for the growth of a black
fungus, which gives infested plants a characteristic sooty
appearance.
Methods of control.
Fortunately the strawberry whitefly is rarely abundant
enough to injure the crop to any great extent. The nymphs
are easily killed by the ordinary contact insecticides, soap
solution, nicotine, etc., but as they are found exclusively on
the underside of the leaves it would be a difficult matter to hit
them. It might be possible, however, to do effective work
by using an upturned nozzle attached to the end of a short rod
to be used as a handle.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 190, pp. 155-158. 1901.
Morrill, Can. Ent. XX XV, pp. 25-35. 1903.
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 1, pp. 53-62. 1903.
THE STRAWBERRY FLEA-BEETLE
Haltica ignita Uliger |
This small, green, coppery or blue flea-beetle about 4 inch
in length is widely distributed throughout the country from
Hudson Bay to Florida and Texas. The beetles emerge from
hibernation in early spring and feed voraciously on the tender
foliage of a number of wild and cultivated plants, including the
grape and strawberry. They have been found most destructive
to strawberries in the South, Florida and Texas. The injury to
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STRAWBERRY INSECTS 371
strawberry plants is sometimes very severe; the beetles appear
in immense numbers and completely riddle the leaves.
The beetles deposit their eggs on leaves of the evening prim-
rose and related plants. The larve feed on the leaves and seed-
pods, going into the ground to transform. There is only one
brood a year in the North and two or three in the South.
Treatment. 3
The beetles may be driven away by thorough applications
of Bordeaux mixture. By adding arsenate of lead, 4 to 8
pounds in 100 gallons, it is possible to kill a few of the beetles,
but probably not enough to pay for the trouble. As the only
known food-plants of the larve are the evening primrose and
its allies, such weeds should not be tolerated in the vicinity of
strawberry beds.
REFERENCE
Chittenden, U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 23, pp. 70-78. 1900.
THE IMBRICATED SNOUT-BEETLE
Epicerus wmbricatus Say
Strawberry plants are sometimes defoliated by this greenish-
brown snout-beetle 2 to $ inch in length. The wing-covers are
crossed by two eee light bands, more distinct in the males.
The greater part of the insect is clothed with small appressed
scales which are imbricated or overlap, like the scales of a fish,
hence the common name. ‘The insect is found east of the Rocky
Mountains, except in the extreme North and South. It is
a general feeder in the adult stage, attacking, among others,
apple, peach, pear, cherry, raspberry, gooseberry, onions, beets
and cabbage, in addition to a large variety of wild plants.
In confinement the female deposits her smooth elongate, dull
yellow eggs in clusters on a leaf and then glues another leaf or
a portion of the same leaf:over them. The larva is a root
feeder, but its natural food-plant is unknown. |
ate FRUIT INSECTS
Treatment.
It is probable that the beetles could be either killed or driven
away from strawberry plants by a thorough application of
arsenate of lead, 5 to 8 pounds in 100 gallons of water. Of
course, it would not be safe to use this poison after the fruit had
attained much size.
REFERENCE
Chittenden, U. 8S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 19, pp. 62-67. 1899.
THE STRAWBERRY - WEEVIL
Anthonomus signatus Say
The size of the strawberry crop in. the country east of the
Rocky Mountains is often greatly lessened by the attacks of —
a small reddish-brown to black weevil which after laying an
egg in the flower bud causes it to fall by cutting the pedicel.
In badly infested localities losses of 50 to 60 per cent of the crop
are not uncommon. Fortunately its attacks are of an inter-
mittent nature; after two or three years of abundance in a
locality the weevil usually disappears and does not again attract
attention for a much longer period.
The insect hibernates in the beetle stage, under rubbish,
particularly in wood lots or hedge rows adjoining strawberry
fields. The beetles (Fig. 327) are only about ;!; inch in length
and vary from almost black to reddish brown, with the head
and thorax more or less black and with a large black spot on
each wing-cover.
The adults forsake their winter quarters in the spring and
appear in the strawberry fields as soon as the blossom buds put
forth. After feeding to a slight extent on immature pollen pro-
cured by puncturing the blossom buds the female deposits her
eggs singly in the interior of the nearly mature but unopened
buds of the staminate varieties. She first punctures the floral -
envelope of the bud with her snout and then turning around
STRAWBERRY INSECTS Ole
inserts the smooth, oval, pale yellow egg, about +5 inch in
diameter, through this puncture into the interior of the bud,
where it lies upon the unopened stamens. She then crawls
down the stem of the bud and girdles it so that the bud either
falls to the ground at once or hangs a few days attached by a few
shreds of tissue. This operation serves to prevent the opening
of the bud and thus provides protection to the future grub.
Most of the buds fall to the ground within a few days, where
they are more liable to remain moist, a condition necessary
for the development
of the larve.
The egg hatches
in about a week and
the young grub at
first feeds almost en-
tirely on the pollen, —
but later may attack SS
other parts of the S€&
interior of the bud. 2
When full-grown the -
grub is about 7; inch
in length, strongly Fig. 327. — The strawberry weevil (x 15).
curved and of a white :
or yellowish color. The larvee become mature in three or four
weeks and construct a cell in the frass with which the bud is
filled. The pupal stage lasts about a week; thus completing
the whole life-cycle in four or five weeks. The new crop of
beetles feed for a short time on the pollen of flowers, especially
those of the wild bergamot, and then disappear, going into hiber-
nation inmidsummer. ‘There is only one generation a year.
The strawberry weevil originally bred in the buds of red-bud
or Judas-tree, the wild blackberry, dewberry and strawberry
as well as in those of the yellow flowered cinquefoil, but the
cultivated strawberry is now the favorite food-plant. The larva
374 FRUIT INSECTS
requires a diet of pollen and the female as a rule instinctively |
selects for oviposition the buds of those varieties only which
are well supplied with this substance. Varieties with imperfect
flowers, that is, lacking stamens, are attacked only to a slight
extent.
Treatment.
Practically all of the injury caused by the strawberry weevil
is due to the cutting off of the blossom buds by the female in
oviposition. Fortunately, as a rule, she confines herself in-
stinctively to the staminate varieties and leaves the plants with
imperfect flowers untouched. In view of these facts it has been
common to recommend the setting of varieties with imperfect
flowers for the main crop and planting only every fifth row to
some perfect flowered form in order to insure proper fertilization.
This method is said to have been used with success in Maryland’
and Virginia. Owing to the difficulty of finding imperfect vari-
eties having all the other characters necessary to make them
commercially profitable, many growers in infested regions rely
on profusely blooming perfect flowered varieties. The weevils
attack these, it is true, but owing to the abundance of blossoms,
generally enough are left to give a good crop. The greater
part of the injury is done within two weeks after the first buds
mature on the early varieties. Wherever it is possible to have
the main crop come a little later much of the injury can be
avoided. In fact, it might be worth while to use very early
profusely blooming perfect varieties as a trap crop. A row or
two of these plants should be set on the exposed side of the field
adjoining wood land or hedge rows in which the beetles hi-
bernate. The beetles will congregate on these rows and deposit
eggs there, after which the plants should be mowed, allowed to
dry and then burned, or they may be plowed under deeply,
thus killing the grubs in the buds. As a-rule, it is not advisable
to plant strawberries next to wood lots or waste land, or to
tolerate hedge rows or overgrown fences in the vicinity. Such
STRAWBERRY INSECTS ote
cover furnishes excellent winter protection to the beetles and
makes their control unnecessarily difficult. Whenever the
plants are sprayed with Bordeaux mixture for the control of
fungous diseases while they are in bud, arsenate of lead at the
rate of 4 pounds to 100 gallons should be added and would
probably help to decrease the numbers of beetles. Applied
at that time there could be no danger of poisoning the fruit.
Some growers mow their vines soon after picking and, after
the tops have dried, scatter straw lightly.over the field and
then burn it over. In this way many of the grubs are destroyed,
but there is considerable danger of injuring the plants unless
the work is done very carefully.
Probably the best results in the control of the strawberry
weevil can be obtained by clean cultivation, by the destruction
of the hibernating quarters of the beetles, and by the planting
of varieties with imperfect flowers for the main crop interspersed
with a few rows of staminate-flowered plants or by selecting
profusely blossoming varieties. The other measures may be
used when local conditions make them desirable.
REFERENCES
Chittenden, Ins. Life, V, pp. 167-186. 1893.
Chittenden, Ins. Life, VII, pp. 14-28. 1894.
N. C. Dept. Agr. Ent. Cire. 12. 1904.
Chittenden, Bur. Ent. Cire. 21, rev. ed. 1908.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 225, pp. 8-17. 1909.
THE TARNISHED PLANT-BUG
Lygus pratensis Linnzeus
This inconspicuous brownish sucking plant-bug is widely
distributed throughout the northern hemisphere, occurring in
North America, Europe and Asia. It is a general feeder,
attacking a great variety of cultivated and wild plants. In
376 FRUIT INSECTS
feeding it punctures the buds and tender growing tips with
the sharp bristles of its beak, and sucks out the plant juices;
at the same time it apparently injects into the wound some
substance poisonous
to the plant which
kills the surrounding
tissue. Peach nurs-
ery stock is particu-
larly liable to injury.
The bugs attack and
kaill the tender tips
(Fig. 328), causing
the tree to throw
Fic. 328. — Tip of peach nursery tree injured. by out lateral branes
the tarnished plant-bug.
which are in turn
similarly injured, producing an overly branched, scrubby tree
which cannot be sold as first-class stock. Pear and apple
stock are often attacked, but seem able to outgrow the injury
more easily than peach.
As a strawberry pest the tarnished
plant-bug often causes considerable
loss by puncturing the young fruits
before the receptacle expands. Ber-
ries thus injured remain small and
hard and turn dark colored; when
the injury is only partial, they become
deformed at one side or knobbed at
the tip; in either case they are unfit
for the market. This injury is known
to the growers as buttoning.
The tarnished plant-bug has been known to injure the pear
crop severely by puncturing and killing the opening buds and
blossoms. It has been known to deposit its eggs in young
apples, causing scars which persist as dimples in the mature
Fic. 329. — The tarnished
plant-bug (x 42).
=
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:
3
E
fi
a
:
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 377
fruit. Among florists it is recognized as a serious enemy of
asters, chrysanthemums and dahlias.
The adult tarnished plant-bug (Fig. 329) is about $ inch in
length, inconspicuously colored, dull yellowish or greenish
mottled with reddish-brown. The males are generally much
darker than the females. In the North the insect hibernates
in the adult state under trash, in stone piles, and along fences ;
farther south the older nymphs are said to survive the winter.
About the time the buds burst, the adults appear on tender
foliage of all sorts, where they feed on the sap. They are very
active, taking flight at the slightest
alarm. The female inserts her eggs
(Fig. 330) the full length singly or in
small groups in punctures in the
tender growing tips or in the petioles
and veins of the leaves. In late sum-
mer eggs are laid in the flower heads
g Fic. 330.— Eggs of the
of aster and other composite plants. tarnished plant-bug in posi-
The egg is a little less than ~; inch #0 im a tender peach tip
‘ Geb):
in length, flask-shaped, truncate at the
outer end, which is provided with a cap. The time required for
the hatching of the egg is about ten days.
The yellowish-green nymphs pass through five stages before
attaining wings: the first and second stages are unspotted ; the
third to fifth are marked with distinct black spots on the thorax
and abdomen. The time spent in the nymph state is about
one month. There are probably several generations each
year, as adults and nymphs of all shane are found from May
till heavy frost in the fall.
The tarnished plant-bug has foe found a very difficult
insect to control, owing to its wide range of food-plants, which
includes such common weeds as golden rod, wild carrot, wild
asters and mullein, and to the fact that a large part of the injury
is done by the adults which are so shy and active that it is
378 FRUIT INSECTS
difficult to hit them
with a spray. Much ~
may be done, how-
ever, to lessen their
numbers by keeping
down all weeds, not
only in the field itself,
but along fences and
in other waste land.
Stone pilesand fences,
rubbish heaps, sodded
driveways and near-
by woodlands furnish
hibernating quarters
for the adults, and
should be avoided
whenever possible.
The young may be
killed by spraying
with kerosene emul-
sion or tobacco ex-
tract and soap, but
this treatment is not
effective against the
adults. It has been
suggested that in
Fig. 331.— Egg of the tarnished plant-bug :
inserted near the tip of a peach nursery tree; NULserles and straw-
the terminal bud has been killed by the feeding berry beds the adults
punctures of the bugs. Enlarged.
may be captured by
means of a butterfly net. While this method may be useful in
the small garden, it is not adapted for use on a large scale.
The control of the tarnished plant-bug in the nursery, on
asters when grown for seed and in commercial strawberry fields
is still an unsolved problem.
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 3719
REFERENCES
Forbes, 13th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 115-135. 1884.
Mo. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 47. 1899.
Back and Price, Jour. Ee. Ent. V, pp. 329-334, 1912.
In Florida a small dark brown sucking bug with light-colored
wings and brownish legs, Pamera vincta Say, attacks straw-
berries, sucks out the contents of the ovaries and causes a
buttoning of the fruit like that produced by the tarnished
plant-bug. A similar injury is caused by the leaf-footed plant-
bug (Leptoglossus phyllopus Linneus). Satisfactory methods
of controlling these insects have not been worked out, but the
suggestions given above for fighting the tarnished plant-bug
may be found of value.
REFERENCE
Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 42, pp. 564-577, 581-583. 1897.
é
Tur STRAWBERRY THRIPS
Euthrips tritice Fitch
This is the commonest and most widely distributed species
of thrips in this country and occurs abundantly in the flowers
of almost any wild or cultivated plant. Destructive outbreaks
in strawberry fields have been SES from Illinois and
Florida.
The adult thrips i is a slender insect about 34 inch in length,
usually brownish-yellow in color, although very variable in this
respect, and is provided with two pairs of narrow wings mar-
gined with a row of long hairs; the immature stages closely
resemble the adult in general form, but are wingless and are
of a lighter or clearer yellow color.
The thrips appear on the strawberry plants in early spring, and
as soon as the buds open are found in the flowers. Their mouth
parts are intermediate between the sucking and biting types.
380. FRUIT INSECTS
In feeding they rasp or chafe away the epidermis of the ten-—
derest parts of the flower, and then suck up the sap. The
delicate pistils suffer most severely from their attacks; they
turn black, wilt, and the development of the ovary is prevented.
In severe cases the whole blossom wilts and dries up within a
few days after opening; when only part of the ovaries are
destroyed, the fruit may mature, but undersized, misshapen
and distorted berries only are produced.
The female inserts her minute, whitish, oblong, curved eggs
singly in the lower part of the calyx and in the flower stalk.
They hatch in about three days. The nymphs pass through
three immature stages and acquire wings at the third molt.
Only about twelve days are required for the complete life-
cycle from egg to adult. There are several generations each year.
Control. 3
Injury by thrips is usually most severe in seasons of drought,
as driving rains destroy great numbers of the insects in all
stages of development, except the eggs. Experiments in
Florida have shown that this pest can be readily destroyed by
thorough spraying with tobacco extract, at intervals as the
abundance of the insects require. ‘‘Black Leaf 40” tobacco
extract should be diluted at the rate of 1 part in 1000 parts
of water for this purpose. 'To make the liquid spread and stick
better, 2 pounds of soap should be added to each 50 gallonis.
REFERENCES
Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 42, pp. 552-564. 1897.
Fla. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 46, pp. 80-103. 1898.
GROUND-BEETLES
Harpalus caliginosus Fabricius and H. pennsylvanicus Dejean
These two common species of the familiar black ground-
beetles (Fig. 332) have been reported as injuring the fruit of
Sa ea
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 381
the strawberry in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Iowa. The favorite
haunts of these beetles are under stones and rubbish on the
ground, hence the usual mulch on a strawberry bed forms an
ideal lurking place for them. The larve are said to be preda-
ceous, and the beetles themselves have been generally considered
as beneficial insects. While their favorite food consists of other
insects, they are often seen in the fall on ragweed, feeding on
Fic. 332. — Male and female of a ground-beetle, Harpalus caliginosus (s¢.2)2
the seeds. Both species are attracted to electric lights, where
they often occur in immense numbers. Very little is known
in regard to the life history or habits of the early stages of these
beetles, and no explanation has been offered to account for
their sudden appearance in such numbers in strawberry beds.
As strawberry pests these beetles have been known to destroy
a crop almost completely in a day or two. They hide during
the day by thousands beneath the straw mulch and emerge
at dusk to feed on the seeds of the berries. At first only the
seeds are eaten (Fig. 333), but later most of the pulp of the’ ripe
382 FRUIT INSECTS
berries is devoured; even the green berries are attacked. —
When only a small part of the pulp is eaten, the berry is ruined,
for rot soon ensues. In one case the beetles destroyed 75 of
a crop in two days.
Treatment.
Until more is known in regard to the life qilehnare and habits
of these eround-beetles, it is difficult to suggest methods of
control. In England, where a closely related species attacks
strawberries, the growers endeavor to protect the vines by
sinking dishes in the eround baited with pieces of meat.
Fic. 333. — Strawberries showing the destructive work of ground-beetles; at
the extreme right is an uninjured fruit.
REFERENCES
Webster, Can. Ent. XXXII, pp. 265-271. 1900.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 190, pp. 150-154. 1901.
THE STRAWBERRY ROOT-LOUSE :
Aphis forbest Weed a ,
This destructive enemy of the strawberry is closely related ;
to and sometimes confused with the well-known melon aphis.
It is widely distributed throughout the states east of the Rocky
Mountains from Louisiana to Minnesota and New Hampshire,
but the most destructive outbreaks have been reported from
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 383
Illinois, Ohio, Maryland and Delaware. Its presence in a field
is sometimes first indicated by the drying out of plants in certain
spots; in other cases the plants generally have an unthrifty
look, and the fruit remains small and fails to ripen. It has been .
found more troublesome on light sandy soils.
The insect passes the winter as shining black elongate. oval
eggs attached tothe leaves and leaf stems of the strawberry plant.
These winter eggs hatch in early spring, giving rise to wingless
females which, when mature, give birth to living young. These
are all females, and reproduction continues agamically through-
out the growing season, males not appearing till the advent of
cold weather in the fall. At first the lice feed exclusively on
the leaves and tender parts of the plants above ground, but
about the last of April in Delaware the little brown ant, also
known as the corn-field ant (Lasius niger americanus) becomes
abundant and carries many of the young aphids down to the
roots, where colonies are established that soon sap the vitality
of the plant. The ants feed on the honey-dew secreted by the
aphids and care for them somewhat as we do for our domestic
animals. In case the plant dies or the roots become over-
crowded, they transfer their ‘cows’’ to green pastures on some
near-by plant.
Most of the aphids are wingless, but when the supply of food
becomes insufficient, winged forms are produced that fly to
neighboring fields where they are found by ants, and new colonies
are established on the roots. In Delaware these winged females
are most abundant in May and in June. The aphids multiply
with marvelous rapidity, one generation following another
about every two weeks. At the approach of cold weather
males and egg-laying females are produced; the latter deposit
the winter eggs on the leaves and leaf stems above ground.
Means of control.
Much of the loss caused by the strawberry roa louse can be
~ avoided by setting clean plants on uninfested land. It is not
384 FRUIT INSECTS
advisable to plant strawberries continuously on the same land;
some other crop should intervene. As soon as beds are
abandoned, they should be plowed up and not left as centers i
of infestation for surrounding fields. Burning over the field
in early spring before any of the eggs have hatched has been
recommended as a satisfactory means of control, and doubtless
would be one of value under some conditions.
Whenever possible, plants for setting should be taken from
uninfested fields, but when that is not practicable, they should
be freed of the aphids before planting. Wait till all the eggs
have hatched in the spring, and then dip the plants, roots and
tops, in tobacco decoction, or nicotine extract, one part in
1000 parts of water, or they may be fumigated with hydro-
cyanic acid gas, using 1 ounce per 100 cubic feet of space for 10
minutes.
REFERENCE
Del. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 49, pp. 3-13. 1900.
THE STRAWBERRY CROWN-MOTH
Sesia rutilans Henry Edwards
On the Pacific slope the strawberry, blackberry and rasp-
berry are subject to injury from the attacks of a borer, the larva
of a clear-wing moth. The dirty white, brown-headed cater-
pillar, three fourths inch in length when full-grown, burrows in
the crown and causes the plant to wilt, dry up and die.
In the southern part of their range the moths are on. the wing
during May and June, being most abundant the last of May;
in Washington they are abroad in July. The female moth has
an expanse of nearly an inch; the body is black, marked with
yellow lines and bands; the fore wings are blackish-brown with
yellow rays along the veins. The hind wings are transparent
with a narrow border of brown-black. 'The male is smaller and
has the transparent areas of the wings larger. ‘The moths are
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 385
active in the bright sunlight, and when flying are easily mistaken
for wasps. ‘The female is said to deposit her egg on the straw-
berry crown at the base of the leaves. The caterpillar burrows
into the crown, at first feeding near the surface, but later eats
out the whole interior of the main root, thus killing the plant.
It hibernates in the nearly full-grown condition, completes its
growth the following spring and pupates in the upper part of its
burrow in a slight silken cocoon into which are incorporated
bits of frass. When ready to transform to the adult, the pupa
works itself part way out of the cocoon, and on the escape of the
moth the empty pupal skin is left projecting from the opening
of the burrow. ‘There is only one brood a year.
Remedial measures.
Throughout its development the larva, feeding on the interior
of the crown, is out of reach of poisons. No better remedy has
been suggested than to pull up and burn infested plants before
the moths emerge. Strawberry beds which are to be abandoned
should be plowed under after harvesting the last crop, and not
left as breeding places for the moths. Observations in Cali-
fornia indicate that a large percentage of the borers can be killed
by submerging the beds for four or five days in winter or early ~
spring. This method may be found of value in irrigated dis-
tricts.
REFERENCES
Wash. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 35, pp. 18-17. 1898.
Chittenden, Bur. Ent. Bull. 23, pp. 85-90. 1900.
Strawberry crown-miner.
A small lepidopterous caterpillar has been occasionally re-
ported in Illinois and Canada as injuring the strawberry by
mining the crown. ‘This insect has been considered as identical
with the peach-twig borer (Anarsia lineatella Zeller), but is
probably a distinct species. The life history of this insect has
not been fully worked out. The reddish-pink caterpillar about
2c
386 FRUIT INSECTS
3 inch in length apparently passes the winter in a partly
grown condition, inside a silky case in its burrow in the crown;
completes its growth the following spring and pupates in May
or June. There is apparently only one generation annually.
THE STRAWBERRY CROWN-GIRDLER
Otiorhynchus ovatus Linneeus
While the larvee of this beetle often injure strawberry plants
by eating off the roots near the crown, whence the name girdler,
it has attracted more at-
tention from the annoy-
ing habit the beetles have
of invading dwellings in
search of shelter. The
insect occurs in the
Northern states and
Canada and is_ widely
Fic. 334. — Beetle of the strawberry crown- distributed in Europe
girdler (x 9). :
and northern Asia.
The full-grown grub is ¢ inch or less in length, whitish in color
with a yellowish head, and is strongly curved. The grubs feed
on the roots of the strawberry, cutting them off near the crown,
but as a rule do not burrow into the crown like the crown-borer.
They also attack the roots of various grasses, white clover,
wild strawberry and related plants. Badly infested strawberry
plants are killed outright. The time required for the grubs to
reach maturity has not been determined. When full-grown the
grub constructs a small earthen cell within which it, transforms
to a whitish pupa and later to an adult. The latter is a very
dark brown, almost black, snout-beetle, about 32; inch in length
(Fig. 334). The beetles are unable to fly; the wings are ab-
sent and the wing-covers have grown together so they cannot be
opened for flight. They often congregate in great numbers
STRAWBERRY INSECTS OST
around the base of the plant, and frequently burrow into the
- surrounding soil. The beetles feed on the foliage of various
plants; and when abundant may seriously injure newly set straw-
berry plants. The female deposits her minute whitish oval
eggs either on the surface of the ground or in her burrows in the
soil among the roots. The eggs hatch in about twenty days.
The number of generations a year is not known, but that there
are probably two is indicated by the fact that the swarms of
beetles occur as a rule in June and again in August and Septem-
ber, but pupz and larve of various sizes may be found through-
out the season. The insect passes the winter both as larve
in the soil and as beetles hidden away in sheltered places.
Treatment. ° :
Injury from the crown girdler may be avoided in large measure
by adopting the one-crop system of strawberry culture and by
planting only on or near land which is not infested. As the
grubs feed on the roots of various grasses, including timothy,
it is not advisable to plant on land recently in sod. An immune
crop, like potatoes, should intervene. The beetles may be kept
from injuring the leaves of newly-set strawberry plants by thor-
ough applications of arsenate of lead, which seems to act merely
as a repellent. In cases where the plants were protected in this
way the beetles have been known to enter the soil, and devour
the roots, thus rendering these measures of little value.
REFERENCES
Mont. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 55, pp. 130-142. 1904.
Me. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 123. 1905.
Buack VINE-WEEVIL
Otiorhynchus sulcatus Fabricius
This European weevil was apparently introduced into the
Eastern states many years ago, and now occurs throughout the
388 FRUIT INSECTS —
northern part of the country to the Pacific. The injury to the
roots and crown of the strawberry are similar to that inflicted by
the preceding species. The beetle is considerably larger, 2 inch
in length, and black in color; the wing-covers are marked with
small patches of yellowish hairs. The insect is said to hibernate
in the larval stage,-the beetles appearing in April and May. In
both the larval and adult conditions it sometimes becomes
troublesome in greenhouses, attacking cyclamens, gloxinias, ~—
primulas, geraniums and other plants. ’
Its injuries may be prevented by the same measures as sug-
gested for the crown girdler.
THE STRAWBERRY CROWN-BORER
Tyloderma fragarie Riley
In the Upper Mississippi Valley strawberry plants are often
seriously injured by the larva of a snout-beetle which burrows
in the crown. It is a native insect and first attracted attention
about 1871. The chestnut-brown beetles, about + inch in length,
emerge from hibernation in early spring, and the female deposits
her small, elongate, yellowish-white eggs in the plant at or near
the surface of the ground, singly, in cavities which she excavates
with her beak. After the egg is in place, she plugs the opening
with earth or bits of plant tissue. Oviposition continues until
after the middle of June.
On hatching, the grub burrows downward through the crown,
and by the time it is full-grown has eaten out a considerable
portion of the contents. From one to three grubs may infest
a plant; in the latter case only the shell of the crown is left.
When full-grown the grub is about + inch in length, white with
a yellowish head. They become mature from the first part of
July till early August, and all transform to beetles the same
season. The transformation takes place within the crown,
after which the beetles remain some time in the burrow in order
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 389
to fully harden and then escape. At the approach of winter
they go into hibernation in the soil. There is but one brood a
year.
Treatment.
By adopting the one-crop system of strawberry culture and
by placing new beds at some distance from infested fields, the
injury caused by the crown-borer may be largely prevented.
The beetles are unable to fly, and their spread from one field to
another is consequently slow. If the new plants are dug in the
spring before the eggs are laid there is little danger of introduc-
ing the pest into new beds unless some of the hibernating beetles
are carried over in the soil adhering to the roots.
REFERENCES
Forbes, 12th Rept. St. Ent. Ill., pp. 64-75. 18883.
Ind. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 33, pp. 41-48. 1890.
A closely related species (Tyloderma foveolatum Say), which
commonly breeds in the stems of the evening primrose and
willow herb, has been reported as a serious pest of the strawberry
in British Columbia. The grubs attack the crown like the fore-
going species.
REFERENCE
Fletcher, Rept. Ent. Bot. for 1897, p. 204. 1898.
FuLLER’s Rost BEETLE
Aramgus fullerr Horn
This well-known and destructive greenhouse pest occurs from
the Atlantic to the Pacific and has been introduced into the
Hawaiian Islands. In California the grubs have caused severe
injury to strawberry plants and sometimes attack the roots
of blackberries and loganberries.
The adult is a grayish-brown snout-beetle (Fig. 335) wit an.
390 FRUIT INSECTS
oblique whitish bar on each wing-cover. The beetles feed on
the foliage of a large number of cultivated and wild plants and
have been known to eat off the stems of apples, causing the fruit
to drop.
The female deposits her smooth, yellow, ovoid eggs, about
1. inch in length, in flattened clusters of ten to sixty in crevices.
u the base of the strawberry plant (Fig. 336). On hatching
the grubs descend into the ground, where
they at first devour the slender roots and
later burrow into the crown, killing the
plant. . When full-grown the grub is
about 4 inch in length, milk white in
color, and strongly
arched. When
mature they leave
the crown and
transform to pups
in earthen cells,
two to five inches
below the surface
of the ground. a
The length of time ey 336. — es Be
’ * . ullers rose ee .
Ca San Teoheet phos Enlarged.
ous stages has not
been definitely determined. There are probably several broods
a year. The adults sometimes riddle the leaves of citrus trees,
especially in nurseries.
Treatment.
The injuries occasioned by this insect may be prevented by
adopting a short rotation system of strawberry culture and by
shifting the beds to new, uninfested land. The beetles have
no functional wings and their natural spread to new fields is
consequently slow. A careful watch should be kept of the
newly set plants in April and May, and as soon as any begin to
a
4
7
4
;
‘
bi Pree ae ae,
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 391
look sickly or die they should be removed and destroyed. If
the work is done carefully, many of the grubs will adhere to the
roots. |
Experiments in California have shown that a large percentage
of the grubs can be killed without injury to the plants by in-
jecting one third ounce of carbon bisulfide into the soil every
18 inches in the rows. This should be done early in the season
before any of the grubs have transformed. This treatment is
too laborious and expensive for use on a large scale.
REFERENCES
Riley, Rept. U. S. Ent. for 1879, pp. 255-257. 1880.
Chittenden, Bur. Ent. Bull. 27, pp. 88-96. 1901.
Maskew, Bur. Ent. Bull. 44, pp. 46-50. 1904. :
Van Dine, Haw. Agr. Exp. Sta. Press Bull. 14. 1905.
THE STRAWBERRY ROOT-woRMS
The larvee or grubs of three species of small leaf-beetles at-
tack the roots of the strawberry and frequently cause con-
siderable loss, especially in old beds. While the beetles are
easily separated the grubs are so much alike that it is very diffi-
cult to distinguish the different kinds and they are therefore
known collectively as the strawberry root-worms. When ma-
ture they are from $ to ¢ inch in length, white with a pale yellow-
ish-brown head and first segment and are strongly curved like
the common white-grub. Although the injury inflicted by the
various species is practically the same, they differ considerably
in habits and life history.
Typophorus canellus Fabricius
This is the most abundant and destructive of the root-worms
and is often referred to as the strawberry root-borer. The
beetles are about $ inch in length and vary greatly in
coloration from nearly black to reddish-yellow with blackish
392 FRUIT INSECTS
spots on the wing-covers; the latter vary greatly in size,
shape and distinctness. The beetles hibernate under mulch a
or other convenient shelter and become active in early
spring. They feed voraciously on strawberry leaves and _
show a special fondness for the opening leaves of the red
raspberry, occasionally attacking blackberries (Fig. 337).
The leaves of young strawberry plants are sometimes riddled —
and we have seen red >
raspberries so com-
pletely defoliated in
May that the canes
were killed back
nearly to the ground.
dant in late May and
early June, at which
time most of the eggs
are probably laid ‘on
or near the surface of
the ground near the
plants. The grubs
burrow through the
soil, feeding on the
Fic. 337. — Blackberry vines injured by straw- :
berry root-worm beetles. r oots, and become
full-grown during July
~ and August. When mature they construct small smooth-lined
earthen cells, within which the transformation to the pupa and
later to the adult takes place. The beetle remains some time
in the cell in order to become fully hardened and then emerges
to feed on the leaves for a time before going into hibernation
at the approach of cold weather. Most of the beetles emerge
during August, but a few stragglers may appear later. There is
but one brood a year.
They are most abun-'
SR eee Se Fee Sate eS
ge re se Ee ae ee tes hee | Cees Oe
mee DLE
*
th
2
¥
‘a
it
o
o
ae
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 393
Graphops pubescens Melsheimer
This beetle is about + inch in length, of a metallic cop-
pery color and is sparsely clothed with a grayish pubescence.
The beetles are most abundant and deposit eggs from June
till August. The grubs become mature before cold weather
and construct earthen cells in which they pass the winter
in the larval condition. Pupation occurs in May and June
and the beetles begin to emerge in early June. Beetles are
sometimes taken as early as March, but those probably hiber-
nated as adults. There is only one brood a year.
Colaspis brunnea Fabricius
_ This is also occasionally a grape pest. The grubs are some-
times found feeding on the roots of the strawberry.
Treatment for root-worms.
The losses occasioned by root-worms may be avoided in great
measure by adopting a short rotation in growing strawberries.
New beds should be planted on uninfested land and should be
isolated from the older beds. Injury to the leaves by the beetles
may be prevented by thorough spraying with arsenate of lead,
4 to 6 pounds in 100 gallons of water, as soon as the beetles
appear. Of course this poison could not be used with safety
after the fruit has attained much size.
REFERENCE
Forbes, 13th Rept. St. Ent. Ill., pp. 150-177. 1884.
WHITE GRUBS
Lachnosterna (several species)
White grubs are without doubt the most troublesome and
destructive pests with which the strawberry grower has to con-
tend. These large, thick-bodied, strongly curved, dirty-white
C0 Deedee FRUIT INSECTS
erubs (Fig. 338) thrive in grass land, and their abundance ia ‘
favored by a long rotation. They feed on the roots of grasses,
grains, corn, potatoes, beets and other
root crops and are often destructive to
nursery stock. We have seen roots of
apple stock so badly eaten that the
young trees could be easily lifted from
the ground with the thumb and finger.
Strawberries planted on infested land are
sure to suffer severely.
White grubs are the larve of several
closely related species of the common
é . — A whit : 1
pee oe vw large brownish May beetles or June-bugs
(Figs. 340 and 341). They belong to
several species, but so far it has been impossible to distinguish
them in the larval stage. The life histories of the various
species are, so far as known,
very similar. The parent bee-—
tles appear in vast swarms in
May and June and attract at-
tention by their habit of coming
to lights. They hide in the
fields during the day, but at
dusk migrate in swarms to
near-by trees of various kinds,
where they feed on the leaves ;
at daybreak they return to the
fields. The female burrows in
the soil and deposits her.eggs 1% ae ey -
singly or in small groups in the
ground one to three inches from the surface. The soil ad-
heres to the egg, thus forming a compact oval ball. The eggs
hatch in ten to eighteen days and the grubs feed during the re-
mainder of the season on the roots of their food-plants at.an aver-
|
~
“gag” Gn BERR ap Mahe oy a ae eae
“
STRAWBERRY INSECTS 395
age depth of about three inches. At the approach of cold
weather they burrow deeper and hibernate at an average depth
of ten inches. A few, however, may remain near the surface,
while others may descend to a depth of two feet or more. They
return to the roots in early spring and complete their growth by
June or July. The grub then constructs an oval earthen cell
(Fig. 339) a few inches below the surface within which it soon
transforms to a delicate helpless pupa. The insect remains in
this condition till August or September and then transforms to
Fic. 340.— Two species of June-beetles,
the adults of the white grub, Lachnosterna Fig. 341. — A June-beetle,
ilicis and L. hirticula. Lachnosterna fusca.
the adult or beetle. Asa rule, these beetles remain in the pupal
chamber till the following May or June. It is thus seen that
while the grubs mature in about two years the whole life-cycle
from egg to egg requires three years.
Treatment.
White grubs are most abundant in land which has been for
some time in sod or has been occupied by old strawberry beds.
Strawberries should never be planted on badly infested land ;
owing to lack of other food, the grubs concentrate on the straw-
berry roots and soon kill the plants. Clover is not attacked to
any great extent by white grubs, and may be used to advantage
as an intervening crop between sod and strawberries. Much |
396 FRUIT INSECTS
: a
of the loss occasioned by white grubs can be avoided by adopting _
the one-crop system of strawberry culture and alternating with “a
some crop more or less immune, such as beans or peas. In the
South sweet potatoes are often raised as an alternate crop.
Experiments in Illinois have shown that hogs are of great value
in cleaning up badly infested fields in the fall.
When newly set plants show by their lack of vigor that erie a
have attacked the roots there is nothing to do but to dig out
and kill the culprit by hand. This will pay in small beds, but is 4
too expensive and laborious to be practicable in large fields.
REFERENCES
Forbes, 18th Rept. State Ent. Ill., pp. 109-144. 1894.
Hl. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull 116. °- 1907.
OTHER STRAWBERRY INSECTS
OBLIQUE-BANDED LEAF-ROLLER: apple, p. 60.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
RASPBERRY LEAF-ROLLER: raspberry, p. 321.
NEGRO BUG: raspberry, p. 324.
ROSE CHAFER: grape, p. 397.
CHAPTER XIII
GRAPE INSECTS
THE relative importance of the insect enemies of the grape
varies greatly from year to year in different regions of the
country. In the eastern United States root worms are present
in injurious numbers only along the shores of Lake Erie, yet
Quaintance, in 1909, estimated the loss occasioned by them at
over two million dollars.
The rose chafer is destructive only in sandy regions; leaf-
hoppers are always present in most vineyards, but severe out-
breaks alternate with extended periods of relative immunity ;
some whole sections are exempt from injury by the berry-moth,
while in others it often occasions serious loss and the blossom
midge has a very restricted range. Trellised vines are easily
sprayed, and this method of controlling cape insects is prac-
ticed by commercial vineyardists whenever practicable.
THE RosE CHAFER
Macrodactylus subspinosus Fabricius
About the time grapes are in blossom vineyards located in
sandy regions are often invaded by a hungry host of ungainly,
long-legged, grayish-brown beetles (Fig. 342) about an half inch
in length that first devour the blossom-buds and blossoms and
then attack the newly set fruit and the foliage (Figs. 343 and
344). The rose chafer does not confine its attacks to the grape,
but also feeds on the blossoms of the apple, pear, plum, black-
- berry, raspberry, strawberry and many other fruits; on the
397 e
398 FRUIT INSECTS
rose, hence its common name, and on many wild trees, such
as sumac, elder and the wild thorn. It is generally distributed
from Maine to Colorado and southward to Georgia and New
Mexico, but has attracted attention as a grape pest particularly
in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania.
It is most troublesome in sandy regions, especially in vineyards
surrounded by waste grass
find abundant food.
The beetles emerge from
the ground about the time
grapes are ready to blossom,
that is, about the middle of
June in New York and in
the latter half of May in
southern New Jersey.
They usually make their
appearance in the vineyard
suddenly and often in count-
less swarms. They feed at
or blossoms and later at-
tack the newly set fruit
and the foliage. The de-
Fic. 342. — Male rose chafer (X 38). struction of the blossom
causes thin scraggly clusters
that are often scarcely worth picking. The berries that have
been eaten into when small often show the seeds protruding
from the wound later in the season. The injury to the foliage
is rarely severe enough to cause serious damage although the
leaves are often riddled by the beetles and have a tattered and
ragged appearance. The beetles usually remain, feeding on
the vines for ten days or two weeks and then migrate to other
plants then in blossom. |
lands, in which the larve
first on the blossom buds
ee eee uae
GRAPE INSECTS 399
The beetles remain mated for long periods, during which the
female continues feeding. To deposit her eggs she burrows
into the ground to a depth of three to six inches, sometimes alone
and sometimes accompanied by the male. The smooth, white,
oval eggs, about + inch in length, are laid singly in little pockets
in the soil (Fig. 344a), which are about two or three times as large
as the egg. These egg-cells are about $ inch apart in the soil.
The female is said to lay twelve eggs at each oviposition and
Fic. 343. — Rose chafers feeding on rose buds.
oviposits normally three times. In New York most of the eggs
are deposited during the last week of June and the first half of
July. The eggs hatch in two or three weeks. | ,
The female selects light sandy land in which to oviposit ;
the heavier soils are never infested to any great extent. The re-
‘cently hatched grubs are about + inch in length, whitish with yel-
lowish head and dark brown jaws. They can crawl quite readily
on the venter and can wriggle along slowly on the back. When
small the grubs can feed on decaying vegetable matter in the
soil, but as they grow larger attack the roots of various grasses.
400 FRUIT INSECTS
They become nearly full-grown by November, descend to a
depth of about a foot and there spend the winter curled up in
an oval earthen cell. The full-grown grubs (Fig. 345) resemble
the common white grub of the June-beetle in form and general
appearance, but are only about ¢ inch in length. In the spring
they come nearer the surface again and may resume feeding
for a short time.
About the last of May or the first of June in New York most
of the grubs transform to
pup in earthen cells three
to six inches from the surface.
The pupa (Fig. 346) is about
2? inch in length, yellowish-
brown in color and has the
remains of the larval skin ad-
hering to the posterior end of
the body. The pupal stage
lasts from three to four weeks.
Means of control.
In sandy regions the rose
chafer has been found one of
the most stubborn vineyard
pests to control. Handpick-
ing and other mechanical
methods of destroying the
beetles have often been re-
sorted to, but are too expen-
sive and laborious for use in
vineyards of any size. Vari-
ous repellent substances have been tried and have proved of
little value for the protection of the crop. Attempts to poison
the beetles with arsenical sprays have been generally un-
successful because the beetles dislike the poison and avoid
the sprayed foliage; they swallow only a small quantity of
Fic. 344. — Rose chafers feeding
on newly set grapes.
GRAPE INSECTS 401
the poison and die so slowly that the injury to the crop is
not prevented. Recent work in western New York, how-
ever, has shown that if the arsenate of lead is sweetened with
molasses or glucose, the
beetles eat it readily and
many are killed within
twenty-four hours. At
present this is the most
feasible method of con-
trolling this pest. The
vines should be sprayed
thoroughly at the first ap-
Fic. 344 a. — Eggs of the
rose chafer in their earthen
cells; egg, greatly enlarged. Fig. 346. — Rose chafer pupz (x 3).
pearance of the beetles, using 8 pounds of arsenate of lead to
100 gallons of water sweetened with two gallons of molasses.
If the beetles are very abundant, a second application, about
one week later, is sometimes necessary.
2D
402 FRUIT INSECTS
Much may be done to lessen the number of beetles by thor-
oughly cultivating the vineyards while the insect is in the pupal
stage, the last week in May and the first half of June in New
York. In regions where the pest is troublesome as much as
possible of the land surrounding the vineyards should be kept in
cultivated crops and the area of waste grass land should be re-
duced to a minimum.
REFERENCES
Harris, Insects Injurious to Vegetation, pp. 32-35. 1841.
Riley, Insect Life, II, pp. 295-302. 1899.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 82. i891.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 331, pp. 5380-549. 1910.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Cire. 11, Rev. Ed. 1909.
Uo SBur. Ent. Boll 97; Pio rh 319
Hartzell, Jour. Ee. Ent. IV, pp. 419-422. 1911.
THe VINE CHAFERS
Anomala lucicola Fabricius ; A. marginata Fabricius, and others
The beetles of this genus resemble in form their near relative,
the common June beetle, but are smaller, and the wing-covers
are usually ornamented with darker markings. At least three
species occasionally attack the vine.
The larve live in the ground, living on the roots of: grasses
and other plants, often in company with the grubs of the
rose chafer, which they closely resemble. ‘They are, however.
smoother in appearance and are of a clear, bright, straw-yellow
color. The beetles emerge from the ground in spring or
early summer, invade the vineyard in swarms and sometimes
nearly defoliate the vines. Their ravages may be controlled
by the same means as recommended for the rose chafer above.
REFERENCES
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept. for 1892, pp. 449-450. 1893. |
Lintner, 10th Rept. N. Y. State Ent., pp. 408-413. 1895,
GRAPE INSECTS 403
THe GRAPE-VINE FLEA-BEETLE
Haltica chalybea Illiger
Just as the grape buds are ready to burst in the spring they
are often attacked bya small, dark, glossy, greenish-blue or
steel-blue beetle a little less than a fifth of an inch in length
that eats out the contents and thus destroys the future
cane with its load of
fruit. (Fig. 347).
During the past
forty years this flea-
beetle has caused
serious injury and
loss in vineyards in
widely separated
parts of the country.
Its attacks, however,
are usually confined
to limited areas and
are not, as a rule,
sustained in one lo-
cality for a series of
years. Itisa/native
American insect and
occurs from Kansas
to Massachusetts
and southward to
Florida and New
Mexico. The vari-
ous species of wild
grapes and the Vir-
ginia creeper were
probably its original
food-plants.
Fic. 347. — The grape-vine flea-beetle feeding on
a young grape shoot. Enlarged.
404. FRUIT INSECTS
The beetles hibernate under trash, in grass land around the
edge of the vineyards and are sometimes found under loose bark
at the base of the vine. They emerge from hibernation in April
or in May in New York just as the grape buds are swelling.
Fic. 348. — Eggs of the grape-vine flea-beetle under a strip of loose bark (X12).
They soon find their way to the nearest vine and feed voraciously
on the tender heart of the bursting buds, which they reach by
enawing through the protective covering either at the side or
more commonly at the tips. The beetles do most of their feed-
Fie. 349. — Grubs of the grape-vine flea-beetle (7).
ing during the
warmer part of
‘bright sunny days;
on cold cloudy
days they hide
away under any
convenient shelter.
Each beetle may
destroy several
buds and thus
cause a loss of fruit
and foliage all out of proportion to the amount of tissue ac-
tually consumed.
After feeding for several days ihe: females begin to deposit
their elongate, oval, straw-colored eggs, #y inch in length, beneath
GRAPE INSECTS
405
the scales surrounding the buds, under the loose bark on the
canes (Fig. 348), and more rarely in small clusters on the upper
or under surface of the leaves. Oviposition may continue for
over forty days and each female may
deposit from twenty to over one hun-
dred eggs. The time required for the
eggs to hatch depends largely on the
temperature; eggs laid in April while
the weather is cool do not hatch very
much before those laid in June. The
egg stage may last from twenty to
sixty days.
When newly hatched the grubs are
scarcely a sixteenth of an inch long and
of a very dark brown color, almost as
dark as the blackish spots on the body.
They soon make their way to the young
leaves, where they begin to eat little
irregular holes through the skin and
into the soft inner tissues. They feed
almost entirely on the upper surface,
several grubs usually working on the
same leaf (Fig. 351). Sometimes the
grubs are numerous enough to riddle
the foliage quite badly, but the actual
injury to the vine from their work is
never serious. The larve become full-
grown in between two or three weeks
length, dark yellowish brown in color
Fie. 350. — Grubs of
the grape-vine flea-beetle
and are then about one third inch in feedi2g on a blossom
cluster.
and marked with regular rows of blackish spots; the head, legs,
and thoracic and anal shields are black (Fig. 349). In New
York the grubs are found on the leaves during June and the
first half of July.
406 FRUIT INSECTS
When the grubs. have fed sufficiently they drop from the
grape leaves, and after working their way from one half an inch
to two inches into the ground, they twist and roll themselves
about until a smooth cavity is formed in which a few days later
the larva transforms to a saffron-yellow pupa (Fig. 352). The
pupal stage lasts from a week to twelve days. The beetles
Fic. 351. — Grubs feeding on a grape leaf.
emerge from the ground during the latter part of July and after
feeding for several weeks on the foliage of.the grape and other - _
plants go into hibernation in the early fall under fallen leaves
and other rubbish, especially in waste fields and near-by wood-
lots. |
The grape-vine flea-beetle can be most easily controlled by
spraying the vines with an arsenical poison between the middle
GRAPE INSECTS 407
of June and the middle of July. The grubs are then feeding on
the upper surface of the leaves, where they can be easily reached
with the spray. The poison can be applied to advantage com-
bined with the Bordeaux mixture generally used at that season
for the control of fungous diseases. In cases where summer
spraying has been neglected and
the beetles are present in the
spring they may be poisoned by
spraying the swelling buds very
thoroughly with a strong arsenical
mixture, or the beetles may be
jarred into pans containing a
little kerosene or on to sheets sat-
urated with oil. The work of col-
lecting the beetles must be done
in the warmer part of bright
sunny days while the beetles are
most active, for in the cold raw
weather it is hard to find them.
When alarmed the . beetles feign
death and drop at the slightest Fic. 352.— Pupa of the grape-
; E ‘ a . , vine flea-beetle. Enlarged.
jar. Shaking the vines or jarring :
the trellis will cause them to fall for some distance along the
row. For this reason we have found it most satisfactory to
collect the beetles in a small pan containing a little kerosene by
tapping the canes, on which they are feeding, lightly with a
small stick. Asa rule the grape-vine flea-bectle is most
troublesome in vineyards adjoining woodlots, hedgerows or
waste land in which the beetles find suitable hibernating shelter.
Wherever practicable all such conditions should be eliminated.
REFERENCES
Comstock, Rept. as U. S. Ent., pp. 213-216. 1880.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 157. 1898.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 331, pp. 494-514. 1910.
408 FRUIT INSECTS
Tur GRAPE LEAF-HOPPER
Typhlocyba comes Say
The grape leaf-hopper is our most common and widespread
insect pest of the grape-vine. Practically every vineyard in
the United States and Canada is infested by the insect, and
Fic. 353. — Adults of the grape leaf-hopper.
almost every year it occurs in injurious numbers in one or more
localities. It has its periods of great destructiveness and of
comparative obscurity, or its ups and downs, like most of our
insect pests. Serious outbreaks occurred in New York in 1901
and 1902, and again in 1911 to 1912. Quayle states that with the
exception of the phylloxera it is the most destructive insect pest of
es
GRAPE INSECTS 409
the vine in California.
The hoppers, both
adults and nymphs,
suck out the sap from
the under side of the
leaves, which soon
turn brown and, if
badly infested, fall
prematurely, leaving
ane nase 3 Beale Fic. 354. — Adults of the grape leaf-
ripen their load of hopper (x34).
fruit or properly
mature the new wood for next year’s crop.
The grape leaf-hopper has been studied most carefully in
New York and in California.
The adult hopper (Fig. 355)
is scarcely an eighth of an
inch in length, and has the
back and wings marked in a
peculiar manner with yellow
and red. In the winter these
markings are a dark orange-
red, but after feeding has
been resumed for a_ short
time in the spring, they
change to a light lemon-
yellow. In all parts of the
country it passes the winter
in the adult or winged state.
As soon as the leaves begin
to die and drop from the
vines in September and October, the active adult hoppers mi-
grate from the vines and seek winter quarters. Comparatively
few of them find suitable hibernating places near the vines in
Fig. 355. — Adult and molted nymph
skin of the grape leaf-hopper (x 11).
410 FRUIT INSECTS
the vineyards, unless neglect has allowed a carpet of weeds
and grasses to grow. A neighboring tract of woodland or a
little valley, ditch or swale overgrown with brush, or a border-
ing strip of thick grass
form an ideal place for
hibernation. In New
York the hoppers do
not feed during the
winter, although on
sunny days during warm
spells they are some-
times seen flying about.
In the milder climate of
California they feed con-
siderably during the
warmer winter days on the leaves of various low-growing plants,
such as alfilaria and burr-clover, in the shelter of which they —
find protection.
In New York the adults emerge about May 1, or a little earlier
if it is warm, and
begin feeding on
almost any suc-
culent growth that
is available, .such
as young beeches
and maples in the
woods, and the
grasses, strawber-
ries, dewberries or
raspberries near
vineyards. | They
migrate to the
vines about the middle of May, or as soon as the grape leaves
are well expanded. The lower leaves are first attacked, and as
Fig. 356. — A group of eggs of the grape leaf-
hopper. Greatly enlarged.
Fic. 357. — Nymphs and molted nymph skins of the
grape leaf-hopper. Enlarged.
GRAPE INSECTS
411
the season advances and more foliage appears, the hoppers
work upward on the vines. They live almost entirely on the
under side of the leaves (Fig. 353), from
which they suck their food by means of their
sharp beaks. They are very active crea-
tures, leaping or flying quickly when a leaf or
vine is disturbed. :
The aduits feed on the vine for two weeks
or more before they begin to lay eggs. The
female hopper is provided with a slender and
sharp ovipositor, by means of which she in-
serts the eggs just beneath the lower skin of
the leaf. The eggs are semitransparent,
slightly bean-shaped, and about three hun-
dredths of an inch in length and a third as
Fic. 358. — Fifth
stage nymph of the
grape leaf-hopper.
wide (Fig. 356). Egg-laying continues for two months or more,
and each female may deposit over a hundred eggs. In New
York the first eggs are laid about the first of June in normal
Fig. 359. — Young aphis-lion about
to devour a nymph. Enlarged.
years and towards the middle of
the month in backward seasons.
The greatest number of eggs are
to be found in the leaves in late
June. |
In New York the eggs of the
overwintering hoppers hatch in
9 to 14 days, while in California
it requires 17 to 20 days for the
same brood and only 8 to 12
days for the eggs of the second or
spring brood. The length of the
egg stage of the second brood has
not been determined in the Hast.
The nymphs, which are of a whitish color with red eyes when
born, grow slowly and gradually acquire yellowish stripes along
est
412 FRUIT INSECTS
their sides, passing through five stages before acquiring wings
(Fig. 357). In New York from 30 to 33 days are required for
the development of the nymph, the first-hatched nymphs trans-
forming to adults between the first and the middle of July, at
which time the maximum number of nymphs in all stages are to
be found on the leaves. In unusually long and warm seasons
there may be two broods in New York, but as a rule the second
brood is only partial. In California there are normally two full
broods, which overlap to a considerable extent. The nymphs
4 live on the under
side of the grape
leaves and suck
their food like their
parents, the adult
hoppers. They
first appear on the
lower and older foli-
age, where the
adults begin feed-
ing, and later they —
. infest nearly every
ae leaf. The nymphs
Fic. 360. Gee eee by leaf-hoppers 4 ne active little
creatures, scurrying |
away in all directions when disturbed, and often run to the :
under side of the leaves or along the leaf-stalks as if to
hide. They are good runners, but, unlike the adults, are
unable to jump. The effect of the work of the nymphs on
the leaves is well shown in Figure 361. The upper sur-
face of the green leaf presents a mottled, yellowish appear- _
ance. Even on badly infested vines, we have never. seen the
leaves so seriously injured by the nymphs in summer as by the
adult hoppers either in the spring or late summer and autumn.
Rarely does a leaf turn brown and die from the work of the
GRAPE INSECTS 413
nymphs, but the foliage is weakened so much that it falls an easy
prey to the adult hoppers, into which the nymphs soon develop.
From August until the grape leaves fall, the adult hoppers
swarm over the vines, sucking the life from the leaves and smut-
ting or staining the fruit with their excrement. The loss of the
foliage prevents the proper ripening of the fruit, which in. con-
sequence never acquires its prow color, flavor or sweetness.
The devastated parts
of vineyards are con-
spicuous from a dis-.
tance as brown blots
on the landscape dur-
ing late summer and
autumn. As the
leaves are killed, the
hoppers migrate to
other vineyards
where the pasturage
is better. They rise
from the vines in
swarms when dis-
turbed, and often
cause the pickers. an-
noyance by getting i
into their eyes and Fc. 361. —- Grape leaf showing the work of the
es Wii thei Gece grape leaf-hopper nymphs.
heavy frosts the adult hoppers leave the vines and seek winter
quarters in near-by grass lands or woodlots.
Means of control.
As arule, in the East the only really serious injury to the crop
is the result of the feeding of the nymphs and adult hoppers
in late summer and early fall. If this can be prevented, most
of the loss can be avoided. Commercial growers have, there-
fore, as a rule concentrated their efforts on killing as large a
414 FRUIT INSECTS
proportion of the nymphs as possible in early July, when the
maximum number is present on the foliage and before many
have transformed to adults. The nymphs are then easily — 7
killed by contact insecticides, the only difficulty being in hitting
them on the under side of the leaves with thespray. At present
the most satisfactory results have been attained by thorough
spraying with ‘‘ Black Leaf 40” tobacco extract, 1 part to 1000
parts of water. This mixture will kill all the nymphs thoroughly
wet by the spray. For efficient work it is necessary to use a
pressure of 125 to 150 pounds per square inch, and care must be
taken to hit the under side of every leaf on which the nymphs
are feeding. A fairly coarse spray is desirable, and nozzles of
the cyclone type having disks of large aperture have given the
best results; a fine mist spray will not wet the nymphs thor-
oughly enough to do good work. Sprayers fitted with fixed —
nozzles as are commonly used for vineyard work cannot be used
against the grape leaf-hopper, as it is impossible to arrange the
nozzles so as to hit the under side of the leaves with the spray.
Efficient work, however, can be done by having one or two men fol-
low the sprayer on foot, carrying a four-foot extension rod at the
end of which one or two nozzles are so attached as to be directed
upward. The extension rod is connected with the pump by a
piece of hose 15 or 20 feet in length. By driving slowly and by
having careful men to do the work thoroughly, satisfactory
results in the destruction of the nymphs and the protection of —
the crop can be attained by one properly timed spraying.
The Geneva Agricultural Experiment Station has recently
perfected a method of spraying for the grape leaf-hopper, by
which the necessity of having men to carry the nozzles is dis-
pensed with. Here the nozzles are mounted on swinging booms
which are hinged to more or less rectangular frames of $ inch
iron pipe attached to the sides of an ordinary vineyard sprayer.
There are three booms on each side of the sprayer, each carrying
a nozzle near the end arranged to throw the spray upward.
GRAPE INSECTS 415
A spring holds the boom pressed away from the sprayer so that
the nozzle is thrown into or under the vines as the sprayer is
moved along the row, but can swing back when any obstacle
is encountered. The exact arrangement of the nozzles will
depend on the age and size of the vines as well as on the style
of trimming. This apparatus is well adapted for doing efficient
work in fairly level vineyards, but on steep hillsides, where it is
impossible to keep the sprayer from swinging down close to the
lower row, the use of trailing hose and extensions as described
above will be found more practicable.
Much good may be accomplished, in preventing leaf-hopper
injury, by destroying their hibernating quarters in the vicinity
of vineyards. Grassy fence corners and overgrown hedge rows,
in which fallen grape leaves are collected by the wind, should
be removed or burned over. Clean farming also helps to control
other insects and should be practiced wherever possible.
As stated above, the adult hoppers begin their work on the
lower part of the vine, and it is on these lower leaves that great
numbers of the eggs are deposited early in the season. Many
of these lower canes or suckers are usually removed in June.
If this operation could be delayed until just before spraying time,
the first week in July, 2a numbers of the eggs would be de-
stroyed.
In California, where the adult hoppers are more destructive
in the spring and where many of the vineyards are not trellised,
it has been found practicable to capture the adults in mosquito-
screen cages smeared on the inside with kerosene or crude oil.
The cages are made large enough to cover a vine; one side is
left open, but the bottom is covered with a screen, a slit being left
for the base of the vine. The cages are operated with the open
side facing the wind; when the cage is placed in position, the
vine receives a jar, and the hoppers, trying to escape, are caught
on the oily screen. It is said that from 85 to 95 per cent of the
- hoppers can be captured by this method.
416 FRUIT INSECTS
REFERENCES
Harris, Insects Injurious to Vegetation, pp. 183-185. 1841.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 215. 1904.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 198. 1908.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 331, pp. 568-579. 1910.
os. Bue Ent, Bull: 97, Pt ts fot
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 344.. 1912.
US. Bur. Hat. Bull. 116, Pty i 1os2:
Bull. U. S. Dept. Agr., 19. 1914.
A closely related species (Dicraneura cockerellt Gillette) has
been known to attack the vine in New Mexico.
THE GRAPE-LEAF SKELETONIZER
Harrisina americana Guérin-Méneville
More often feeding on vines grown in the garden, this native
American caterpillar rarely becomes of economic importance in
commercial vineyards. It is generally distributed throughout
the eastern United States from New England to Florida, and
westward to Missouri and Arizona, its range extending into Mex-
ico. Its original food-plants were the Virginia creeper and wild
grapes. The moths appear on the vines in the spring soon
after the leaves are fully expanded. They are of a uniform
blue-black color with a yellow collar, and have an expanse of
about one inch. The female deposits her small lemon-colored
oval eggs in loose clusters of one hundred or more on the under
side of the leaves; they hatch in a week or ten days. The small
yellowish white larvee feed on the epidermis of the leaf; they
remain in colonies and are usually found feeding in rows like
soldiers in line. Until the larvee reach the fifth instar, only the
epidermis is consumed. They then eat holes through the leaves,
devouring all the tissue except the larger veins. The full-
grown larva is about one half inch in length, sulfur-yellow in
GRAPE INSECTS 417
color, marked with four rows of black spots visible from above ;
the body is clothed with rather long, bristly hairs. The cater-
pillars attain their growth in about forty days, descend to the
ground, where they spin a tough white oval cocoon within which
pupation soon takes place. Some of the pupz may give rise to
a second brood of moths in about two weeks, while the remainder
do not transform until the following spring. In the latitude
of Virginia there are one full and a partial second generation
annually.
When infesting a few vines in the garden, it is an easy matter
to destroy, by hand, the conspicuous colonies of caterpillars. In
larger vineyards they may be poisoned with arsenate of lead
or Paris green at the usual strength.
REFERENCE
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 68, Pt. VIII. 1909.
Tue GRAPE-VINE SAWFLY
Erythraspides pygmea Say
Groups of greenish-yellow, black-spotted sawfly larve are
sometimes found on the leaves of the vine, feeding in rows like
the caterpillars of the grape-leaf skeletonizer described above.
They eat the whole tissue of the leaf, however, beginning at the
edge and working toward the center. The adults are four-
winged flies about 4 of an inch in length, black, with the thorax
reddish above. The female deposits her eggs in small clusters
on the under side of the terminal leaves. The larve feed in
colonies, and as soon as one leaf is devoured, attack the next one
below. The mature larva is a little over } inch in length, green-
ish-yellow in color, with the head and tip of the body black;
- each segment has two transverse rows of black spots. When
mature the larve enter the ground a short distance, where pupa-
25
418 FRUIT INSECTS :
tion takes place within a silk-lined earthen cocoon. There are
two broods annually, the flies of the second generation appear-
ing in late July or early August.
Like the preceding species, the grape sawfly is rarely abundant
enough to seriously injure the vines. The larva may be killed
with arsenate of lead or Paris green at the usual strength.
_THE GRAPE LEAF-FOLDER
Desmia funeralis Hiibner
The grape leaf-folder is widely distributed throughout the
eastern United States and Canada and is present in small
numbers nearly every year in most vineyards. It has at-
tracted attention by its injuries more particularly from
southern Illinois southward to Texas and eastward to North
Carolina and Georgia; it also occurs in California. |
The parent moths have an expanse of a little less than an inch ;
the wings are very dark brown, nearly black, with an opalescent
reflection and are narrowly bordered with white; in both sexes.
the front wings have two white spots; there is one white spot
on the hind wing of the male (Fig. 362) and two, often coales-
cent, in the female. The body of the female is crossed by two
white bands, that of the male by only one.
The moths appear in the vineyards in June, and deposit their
eggs singly or in small patches on the leaves. The young cater-
pillars feed on the upper surface of the leaf and soon begin to
draw over a portion of the leaf with a few strands of silk,
bringing the two surfaces together and forming a fold. The
larva remains within the fold until full-grown, feeding on the ©
upper epidermis of the leaf, which becomes skeletonized, turns
brown and dies. The mature larva is grass-green in color and
is about three fourths of an inch in length; when disturbed it
attempts to escape by wriggling from its retreat, and suspends
GRAPE INSECTS 419
itself by a silken thread. The caterpillars become full-grown
in about a month from the time of hatching, and transform
within the folded leaf into a brownish pupa about one half of
an inch in length. The moths emerge in a week or ten days,
and lay eggs for a second brood.
There are two broods; the moths of the first Sventiee in
June or July, and the second in August or September. The
winter is passed in the pupa state in the folded leaves on the
ground. The first brood is comparatively small and its
work relatively inconspicuous; the second brood, however, is
sometimes numerous BS
enough to defoliate
the vines more or less
completely, and thus
either prevents the
proper ripening of the
fruit or exposes it to
injury from sun-scald.
In a few instances
caterpillars of the.
first brood have been
observed feeding in the blossom clusters which they had
webbed together after the manner of the grape-berry moth.
In California the larva seems to have somewhat different
habits than in the East. It rolls rather than folds the leaf and
feeds on the free edge of the leaf inside the roll instead of eating
off the upper epidermis.
Treatment.
The grape leaf-folder can be controlled by spraying the leaves
with an arsenical poison at the time when the first-brood cater-
pillars are hatching, taking care to cover evenly the upper
surface of the leaves. In small vineyards it is often practicable
to go over the vines and crush by hand the larve or pup2 in
the folded leaves.
Fic. 362. — Male moth of the grape leaf-
folder (x 23).
420 FRUIT INSECTS
REFERENCES
Riley, 3d Rept. Ins. Mo., pp. 61-63. 1871.
U.S. Dept. Agr. Farm. Bull. 284, p. 22. 1907.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 192, pp. 129-132. 1907.
THE EIGHT-SPOTTED FORESTER
Alypia octomaculata Fabricius
Grape-vines growing in city gardens are especially likely to
be infested with the caterpillars of the eight-spotted forester
moth. In commercial vineyards this insect rarely attracts
attention. In New York the moths fly from the middle of May
until the middle of June. They have an expanse of about 14
inches. The wings are velvety-black ; there are two pale yellow
spots on the front wings, and two white ones on the hind wings;
the thorax and abdomen are black, at each side of the thorax
there is a pale yellowish tuft of hairs. The front and middle
legs are ornamented with tufts of orange hairs. They are day
fliers and are often seen hovering over flowers on the nectar of
which they feed. The full-grown caterpillar is about 14 inches
in length; the head is yellowish, spotted with black; the
second and third segments have a transverse row of black spots
and lines. The first segment is pale orange in front; each seg-
ment back of the third has a broad central orange band on each
side of which there are four narrow black bands; the second
and third segments lack the orange band, but are marked with
the narrow black bands; each segment is crossed by a row of
black dots; below there is a series of white spots on the fourth
to ninth segments; there isa rounded hump near the hind end
of the body. The caterpillars are found on the vine from the
first of June until the first of August. The caterpillar trans-
forms to a pupa within a very slight cocoon upon or just below
the surface of the ground.
GRAPE INSECTS 421
In the garden they may be destroyed by hand-picking, or in
larger vineyards they may be killed by spraying with arsenicals
while the caterpillars are small.
REFERENCES
Riley, 6th Rept. Ins. Mo., pp. 88-90. 1874.
Lintner, 5th Rept. State Ent. N. Y., pp. 179-183. 1889.
Tur ERINOSE OF THE VINE
Eriophyes mtis Landois
In central Europe, Italy and in California the leaves of the
vine are often deformed by attacks of a minute mite. In in-
fested leaves the portions between the larger veins puff up, leav-
ing a cavity on the under side which is clothed with a dense
felt-like covering. As a rule, thin-leaved varieties of grape are
more subject to attack, or at least show greater evidence of the
presence of the mite. In California erinose rarely causes seri-
ous injury to the vine or to the crop; it has often been confused
with a fungous disease, the powdery mildew.
The mite, as usually found on the leaf, is a minute, nearly color-
less, elongate, four-legged creature, about .13 mm.in length. The
mites hibernate under loose strips of bark on the larger branches
of the vine and in the spring migrate to the under side of the
opening leaves where they puncture the epidermal cells with
their sharp mandibles, thus producing abnormal thread-like
outgrowths from the underlying layers of cells, known as erinea.
These erinea when abundant have the appearance of dense felt,
and it is in the shelter thus afforded that the mites live, lay their
eggs and the young find suitable food. From time to time
individuals leave the older leaves and start new colonies on the
young leaves at the ends of the branches. In the fall some of
the mites desert the leaves and go into hibernation on the bark
of the older canes.
422 FRUIT INSECTS
Control. .
Where sulfuring is practiced for the control of the fungous
disease known as oidium or powdery mildew, the mites rarely
cause trouble. In severe infestations it is sometimes advisable
to destroy the hibernating mites on the stump by pouring over
it about a quart of boiling water during the dormant season.
REFERENCES
Landois, Zeitsch. f. wiss. Zool. XIV, pp. 353-364. 1864.
Mayet, Insectes de la Vigne, pp. 1-14. 1890.
THE GRAPE PLUME-MOTH
Oxyptilus periscelidactylus Fitch
The terminal leaves of the growing shoots of the vine are some-
times webbed together (Fig. 364) by a small greenish white-
haired caterpillar, the
larva of a_ beautiful
plume-moth. The
moths have an _ ex-
panse of about seven
tenths of an inch, yel-
lowish-brown in color
\ 1
} \ and marked with
/ x many dull whitish
Fic. 363. — The grape plume-moth (x 3). spots and streaks ; the
front wings are deeply
cleft into two lobes and the hind wings divided into three
lobes (Fig. 363). The entire wing margin is bordered with a
long whitish or brownish fringe.
The eggs have not been observed. The caterpillars feed on
the webbed leaves at the tip of the young shoots and are said
to infest. the blossom clusters, but have never been abundant
GRAPE INSECTS 423
enough to be a serious pest in commercial
vineyards. They become full-grown the last
of June or early in July and transform to
peculiarly shaped green or brownish pupe.
The pupa is attached obliquely to a leaf’
or stem by the posterior end; it bears on
the middle of the dorsal surface a large
angulate projection. The moths emerge
in about a week. It is not known whether
there is a second brood or not, and whether
the insect hibernates in the egg or adult
stage.
No better remedy for this insect than
hand-picking the caterpillars has been sug- Fic. 364. — Tip of
gested. In commercial vineyards where 2@Pe shoot webbed
E : : together by a grape
such methods are impracticable, it does plume-moth caterpil-
little or no harm. lar. Herrick photo.
REFERENCE
Lintner, 12th Rept. N. Y. State Ent., pp. 218-222. 1897.
THE GRAPE-CANE BORER
Schistocerus hamatus Fabricius (Amphicerus bicaudatus Say)
The smaller shoots of the grape are often tunneled out and
_killed in the spring by a cylindrical dark brown beetle about 2
of an inch in length. This beetle also attacks the apple, peach,
pear and other fruit-trees, as well as certain ornamental shrubs
and forest trees. It is also known as the apple-twig borer.
While widely distributed throughout the United States and
Canada east of the Rocky Mountains, it has been most trouble-
some to the grape in the Upper Mississippi Valley, in Iowa,
Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska.
The grubs have been found burrowing in dying canes of the
494 FRUIT INSECTS
grape, in Tamarix, a much cultivated ornamental shrub, in the’
subterranean stems of the Smilax or cat-briar in the South, and
in the upturned roots of a maple. The eggs have not been de-
scribed, but are probably laid on or in the bark of the smaller
branches, for one observer records having traced the burrow
to its beginning in such a location. The eggs are probably
laid in the spring from April till June, for at that time the adults
are most abundant and active. The burrows of the larva usu-
ally follow the pith and as a rule are three or four inches in
length; they are packed full of the sawdust-like castings of the
larva. The full-grown grub is whitish with brownish jaws,
curved and about 2 of an inch in length. The time normally
spent in the larval stage has not been determined. The grub
transforms to a reddish-brown pupa in a cell at the end of the
burrow and the adult escapes by gnawing its way out to the
surface. The adult is a dark brown, cylindrical beetle, a little
less than 3 of an inch in length, with the head drawn under the
thorax so as to’ be invisible when viewed from above. The
Wwing-covers are obliquely truncate behind and in the male
this declivity is armed with a pair of blunt horn-like processes.
Larve and pupe have been found in grape-canes in winter, but
in the majority of cases the transformation to the beetle takes
place in the fall. The beetles usually hibernate in the larval
burrow, but sometimes emerge in the fall and tunnel into the
branches of various fruit-trees, where they pass the winter.
As breeding takes place only in dying or diseased branches
the injury caused by the grubs is not great. The beetles, how-
ever, are capable of causing great damage, both to the grape
and to other fruits by their peculiar habit of burrowing into the
smaller branches, apparently for food and shelter only, as eggs
are not laid in such situations.
Much may be done to prevent destructive outbreaks of the
grape-cane borer by cutting out in the spring all diseased and
dying canes in which breeding might occur and by burning all
GRAPE INSECTS 495
prunings. In case the beetles appear in the vineyard in the
spring and begin their destructive work, the only recourse is
to dig them out of the infested branches by hand or to capture
them before they have entered the canes.
On the Pacific slope this species is replaced by the closely
related S. punctipennis Leconte, the larve of which burrow in
grape-canes.
REFERENCES
Kansas Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 3, pp. 27-36. 1888.
Hubbard, Ent. Am. IV, p. 95. 1888.
Lesne, Ann. Soc. Ent. Fr. LX VII, pp. 513-517. 1898.
U.S. Dept. Agr. Farm. Bull. 70, pp. 11-18. 1898.
THE GRAPE-CANE GALL-MAKER
Ampeloglypter sesostris Leconte
From Missouri to Ohio and West Virginia grape-canes are
sometimes injured to aslight extent by the attacks of a reddish-
brown weevil, the larva of which feeding in the cane just above
one of the joints produces a swelling or gall from one to one and
one half inches in length and about twice the diameter of the
cane in thickness. The insect hibernates in the adult state
under leaves or other suitable shelter. The weevils emerge
from winter quarters in May and the female begins egg-laying
as soon as the vines have made sufficient growth.
For oviposition she usually selects a place directly above the
lowest joint which does not bear a fruit cluster. She first
bores a hole with her snout in the heart of the cane, deposits
an egg in it and then fills the cavity with bits of bark fiber
scraped from the surface of the cane. She then makes a row
of eight to fourteen similar punctures directly above the first
and fills them with fiber, but does not deposit an egg in any
except the first. As the gall increases in size this row of punc-
tures produces an ugly wound which does not heal as long as
the gall is inhabited.
426 FRUIT INSECTS
The egg hatches in a week or ten days. The larva feeds
principally on the pith, working its way up or down the cane
for a considerable distance. When full-grown the larva is
about two fifths inch in length, yellowish-white in color, with’
_a brownish head and dark brown jaws. It becomes full-grown
in eight or ten weeks, pupates within the gall and the beetles
emerge in August.
The injuries caused by this insect are never serious; affected
canes, unless broken by the wind, continue to grow and are
able to ripen their fruit as well as those not infested. The
insect may be killed by cutting out and burning the infested
canes during July and early August, but ordinarily it would
not be worth the trouble involved. In vineyards sprayed with
an arsenical in Bordeaux mixture in late May and June many
of the beetles are doubtless poisoned.
REFERENCES
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 116. 1900.
W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 119, pp. 323-329. 1909.
THE GRAPE-CANE GIRDLER
Ampeloglypter ater Leconte
This small black weevil is generally distributed throughout
the Eastern and Western states, where it usually feeds on
Virginia creeper. In West Virginia, however, it has recently
attracted attention as a minor enemy of the grape.
The beetle emerges from hibernation in May and after
inserting its egg in a puncture in a growing grape-cane girdles
the branch below the egg and then usually eats off the tip of the
branch and one or more of the leaves. These withered tips
and leaves sometimes give the vine a decidedly ragged appear-
ance, although the actual injury is not great.
The eggs hatch in about ten days and the white footless grub
GRAPE INSECTS 427
feeds on the pith, becoming full-grown in July. About this
time the infested cane usually breaks off at the first joint below
the egg puncture and drops to the ground. Pupation takes
place in the cane and the beetles emerge in August.
This insect may be controlled by the same measures as
suggested for the preceding species.
REFERENCE
W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 119, pp. 330-339. 1909.
‘Tue Corrony Marie ScALE
Pulvinaria vitis Linnseus
Grape-vines growing in the shade are sometimes infested by
this conspicuous and curious scale insect, although it is rarely
abundant enough to cause injury. The cottony maple scale
is a native of Europe, probably introduced into this country in
the early part of the last century. Its list of food-plants is
extensive, including apple, pear, quince, plum, mulberry,
osage-orange, box-elder, honey locust, elm, hack-berry and many
others; in our cities it has become notorious as an enemy of
the soft maple, hence its common name. When growing on
different plants the scales vary greatly in size and form and the
species has therefore received many scientific names. When
living on the grape the mature female scale is about one fifth
inch in length, brownish in color and resembles half a coffee-
berry in form. Each female lays about 3000 pale yellowish,
oval eggs in a large white cottony mass of waxen threads
secreted by glands on the under side of the body (Figs. 365 and
366). As this flocculent mass increases in size the posterior
end of the scale is raised from the bark at an angle of about
45 degrees. When the full number of eggs has been laid these
cottony masses are much larger than the scales themselves and
render infested branches highly conspicuous. The eggs are laid
a
428 FRUIT INSECTS
in late May or early June and hatching continues through June
and July. The female dies soon after the last of the eggs are
_laid. The minute, young lice crawl to the under side of the
leaves, where they develop into flattened,
oval, scale-like objects, yellowish or green-
ish in color. From the smaller and nar-
rower individuals winged males are pro-
duced in the early fall. After mating the
males perish and the females migrate to
Fic. 365. — The cot-
tony maple scale. Fic. 366. — The cottony maple scale, enlarged.
the smaller branches, where they settle most often on the un-
der side. They are then thin and flattened, but the next spring
continue their growth, become strongly convex and begin egg-
laying in May or June.
GRAPE INSECTS 429
Means of control.
The scales and their egg-masses can often be dislodged by
a stiff stream of water. Many of the young lice may be killed
in summer by thorough spraying with tobacco extract and
many of the over-wintering forms may be destroyed by appli-
cations of 15 per cent kerosene emulsion. The cottony maple
scale is usually periodic in its occurrence, being often nearly
exterminated locally by its numerous insect parasites.
REFERENCES
Réaumur, Mem. Hist. Insectes, IV, pp. 62-69. 1738.
Putnam, Proc. Davenport Acad. II, pp. 293-346. 1879.
Mayet, Insectes de la Vigne, pp. 30-36. 1890.
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 22, pp. 7-16. 1900.
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Rept. for 1905, pp. 591-607. 1906.
Col. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 116. 1906.
ill. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 112. 1907.
Sanders, Jour. Ee. Ent. II, pp. 4338-435. 1909.
THe GRAPE SCALE
Aspidiotus uve Comstock
This somewhat elliptical, flat, pale yellowish-brown scale
measures about ;; of an inch in diameter and has the exuvial
spot, which is pale yellow with a whitish nipple, at one side of
the center. It is widely distributed in the United States and
occurs in Europe, Brazil and the West Indies, but is rarely
injurious, attacking practically only the grape-vine, especially
the crevices of bark from the ground to the second year’s growth.
Vines sometimes become incrusted and may die. The winter
is passed in a nearly full-grown condition. The female com-
pletes her growth in the spring, and during May and June gives
birth to from 35 to 50 living young. There is but a single
brood annually, and the insect spreads very slowly. Lady-
430 FRUIT INSECTS
bird beetles, parasites and mites are active enemies of this
grape scale. |
This pest can be controlled by thorough spraying with lime-
sulfur mixture while the vines are dormant. In case this
treatment has been neglected until the vines have started in
the spring, the increase of the scale may be checked by several
applications of either whale-oil soap, 1 pound in 4 gallons of
water, or with a 10-12 per cent kerosene emulsion.
REFERENCE |
U. S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 97, Pt. VII. 1912.
THE GRAPE-BERRY MotTH
Polychrosis viteana Clemens
The cause of most wormy grapes throughout the United
States and Canada is the caterpillar of a small purplish-brown
moth which is always
present in most vine-
yards and often in de-
structive numbers. It
has been recorded in
injurious numbers in
Canada, Ohio, Illinois,
New York, Maryland,
Virginia and Texas. In
1902 a serious outbreak
occurred in the Chau-
; western New York,
Fic. 367. — Pup of the grape-berry moth. where in some vine-
Enlarged.
yards losses of from 25
i 50 per cent of the crop are recorded and in one case 90
per cent of the fruit was ruined.
Missouri, Pennsylvania,
tauqua grape belt of
i $4
GRAPE INSECTS 431
The grape-berry moth always passes the winter in the pupa
(Fig. 367) state in the cocoon. In the autumn most of the
cocoons are found
on the damp and
decayed leaves close
to the ground under
the vines. rather
than on the dried
leaves, which are
often blown into
piles, and some of
the cocoons may
break away from
the leaves to which
they are attached.
The moths emerge
about June 1 in
New York and Fic. 368. — Grape-berry moth pupa in its cocoon on
Aechsit eos thine flap of leaf. Enlarged.
rounded, scale-like semitransparent eggs probably on the stems
of the blossom clusters. Some of the caterpillars hatch and
begin feeding before
the grape blossoms
open. They make
a slight web among
the blossom buds
into which they eat,
oftentimes destroy-
ing a dozen or more
embryo grape-ber-
ries. The destruc-
tive work of this
spring brood of caterpillars continues in June through the
blossoming period and among the recently-set berries. One
Fic. 369. — The grape-berry moth (x 5).
432 FRUIT INSECTS
Fic. 370. — Egg of grape-berry moth on
grape, greatly enlarged.
caterpillar may destroy more
developing fruits in June
than half a dozen cater-
pillars working in the larger
berries later in the season.
Yet this spring brood and
its work rarely attracts at-
tention because the slightly
webbed portions of the clus-
ters of blossoms or young
fruits do not make infested
clusters especially conspicu-:
ous (Figs. 371 and 372) and
the spring brood is comparatively small.
By July 1 in New York many of the caterpillars have at-
tained full size; they are then about three eighths of an inch
Fig. 371. — Work of spring brood of grape-berry moth caterpillars among
blossoms and young fruits in June.
long and vary in color from dark greenish to purplish with a light
brown head and blackish thoracic shield (Fig. 373). They go
on to the leaves, where they make their peculiar cocoons, as shown
GRAPE INSECTS 433
\
in Figure 374. A little flap is cut from the leaf and gradually
pulled over and down and fastened to the leaf by silken threads.
The inside is then :
lined with white
silk, thus forming a
snug cocoon. At
the edge of a leaf,
it is necessary to
cut the flap only at
the ends; but when
the cocoon is made
away from the edge,
the flap must be cut
along one side also,
and frequently the
caterpillar cuts along
where the edge of
the flap is to meet
the edge of the leaf
and pulls up the leaf
a little to meet the
flap. Two to four
days after building
the cocoon the cat-
erpillar transforms
into a light greenish-
brown pupa (Fig.
368). Many of the
geen brood of cat- Fig. 372. — Grape-berry moth caterpillars
erpillars pupate dur- working among young fruits.
ing the first week in
July and in 12 to 14 days the purplish brown moths having
an expanse of a little less than half an inch begin to emerge
(Fig. 369). By means of the spines on its back the pupa is
2F
434 FRUIT INSECTS
enabled to work its
way nearly out of
one end of its co-
coon and the moth
then emerges, leav-
ing the empty pupa
skin projecting from
the cocoon. These -
July moths lay their
eggs on the skin of
the green berries or
on the stems (Fig.
370).
Fic. 373. — Grape-berry moth caterpillars (x 33). During July and
—— Ee
August all of the four stages of the grape-berry moth can be
found in the vineyards at the same time, for the different broods
overlap. The most
conspicuous and de-
structive work isdone
by the second and
most numerous
brood of caterpillars
working in the grow-
ing green grapes in
July and August.
This brood of cater-
pillars lives inside
the berries on the
pulp and seeds,
often going into a
second or third berry,
fastening them to- se
gether with a few Fig. 374. — Grape leaf showing cocoons in the
} - making and finished by grape-berry moth cater-
silken threads (Fig. pillars.
GRAPE INSECTS 435
375). Infested berries show characteristic purplish spots
and often crack open, thus affording ideal places for the en-
trance of the spores of rot fungi (Figs. 376 and 377). Every
infested berry helps to spoil the symmetry of the clusters and
necessitates the labor of removing such berries before marketing
the crop except where it can be sold for making the poorer grades
of wine.
When the summer brood of caterpillars become full-grown
in August they all go on to the leaves and cut out their character-
istic cocoons. Some of the pupz from cocoons made before
Fig. 375. — The grape-berry moth caterpillar and its work in the pulp and
seeds enlarged.
the middle of August transform in 12 to 14 days into moths
which lay eggs for a third or fall brood of caterpillars, but*all
of the second brood caterpillars pupating after that date do
not emerge till the following spring. Most of the fall brood
caterpillars are full-grown before October 1, but some may
be found working in very ripe fruit two weeks later. A few
caterpillars transform in autumn to pup inside the berries
they infest, but most of them make their characteristic cocoons
on the leaves like the earlier broods. As a rule, the insect
always passes the winter in the pupa state in its cocoon on the
_ fallen leaves.
436 FRUIT INSECTS
Means of control.
The grape-berry moth can be fought most efficiently by
thorough spraying with arsenate of lead, 6 pounds in 100 gallons
Fic. 376. — Cluster of grapes injured by
the grape-berry moth-caterpillars.
of water or Bordeaux mix-
ture. The first application
should be made shortly after
the fruit sets; the second
about ten days later and the
third about the middle of
July in New York, just as
the eggs of the second brood
are hatching. In cases of
severe infestation it is some-
times necessary to make an-
other application about ten
days later. The caterpillars
of the first brood do not en-
ter the grape-berries, but feed
on the outside, thus offering
a better opportunity for poi-
soning them than is the case
with the second brood. Fur-
thermore, they are compara-
tively few in numbers and
each one destroyed early in
the season means many less
caterpillars in the succeeding
broods; hence the import-
ance of thorough spraying
for this brood. Thorough
and careful work with a
sprayer giving high pressure are necessary to throw the spray
into the grape clusters, where the newly hatched caterpillars
will get the poison in their first meal.
GRAPE INSECTS 437
Fic. 377. — Cluster of green Concord grapes badly infested by the grape-
berry moth. Note the discoloration and the cracking open of the infested
berries.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 223. 1904.
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Cire. 63. 1906.
Tur GRAPE-BLOSSOM MIDGE
Contarinia johnsoni Slingerland
This grape pest was first discovered in the Chautauqua grape
region of western New York in 1904, and as far as known is
still confined to that locality. A closely related species causes
438 : FRUIT INSECTS
Fic. 378. — Enlarged blossom buds infested with
midge larveze, normal blossom buds at the right.
a similar injury to —
grapes in Europe.
Its presence in a
vineyard is first in- 4
dicated by abnor- —
mally enlarged, yel-
lowish or dark
reddish blossom
buds (Fig. 378)
which fail to open
and drop off about
the normal time for
blossoming. Open-
ing one of these
enlarged buds, it
will be found to
contain a number of small whitish or yellowish maggots from
js to 4; inch in length (Fig. 379). From 10 to 60 per cent of
the buds are some-
times destroyed,
giving the clusters
a very thin and
ragged appearance,
and thus decreas-
ing considerably the
market value of the
crop.
The parent insect
is a delicate two-
winged midge with
a yellowish body
and straw colored
legs (Fig.380). The
Fic. 379. — Grape blossom buds opened to show
female is about is larvee inside, enlarged.
GRAPE INSECTS 3 439
inch in length and the male a little smaller. The flies emerge
from the ground in the latter part of May just as some of
the blossom buds of such early varieties as Moore, Early
and Worden begin to show a small opening at the tip caused
by a spreading of the petals. The female deposits her minute,
grayish, elongate, slightly curved eggs in the interior of
the bud by means
of anextensile fleshy
Ovipositor inserted
through this open-
ing in the apex of
the bud. From a
few to seventy mag-
gots may be found
in a single bud, but
twenty-five is about
the average in a
year of heavy infes- 4
tation. Theinfested 7#
buds contain a
watery fluid in
which the maggots
live. Such buds
become greatly
swollen, often three
times as large as
normal, and turn yellowish, becoming dark reddish, particularly
toward the tip. When full-grown the maggot is about 4, inch
in length and of a yellowish or orange color. They usually
Fic. 380. — The grape-blossom midge, female ( x 22).
~ escape by the opening at the apex, fall to the ground, where at
a depth of about 6 inches they pass the winter as larvee, curled
up in small, ovoid, silken lined, earthen cocoons about 3 inch
in length. Pupation takes place the last of April and the
adults emerge about a month later.
|
!
.
4
440 FRUIT INSECTS
Control. Be
The grape-blossom bud midge has not been found an eas
insect to control. The flies feed very little, if at all ; the eggs are
deposited in the interior of the bud, where maggots complete
their growth out of the reach of poisons. It has been suggested —
that thorough cultivation of the soil might destroy a large
part of the larve in their hibernating quarters, but the fact that
many well-cultivated vineyards are badly infested would in-
dicate that little protection can be expected from this method.
Recent experiments conducted in New York show that “ Black
Leaf” tobacco extract, 1 gallon in 50 gallons of water, is of con-
siderable value in deterring the flies from depositing eggs,
and thus lessens the number of injured buds. The first ap-
plication should be made just as the buds of the early vari-
‘eties begin to show an opening at the apex between the tips
of the petals, and the second should follow in about one week.
REFFRENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 224, pp. 71-73. 1904.
Felt, 24th Rept. State Ent. N. Y., pp. 15-19. 1909.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 331, pp. 514-530. 1910.
THE GRAPE CURCULIO
Craponius inequalis Say
While widely distributed throughout the United States east
of the Rocky Mountains the grape curculio has been most
destructive in Missouri, Illinois, Ohio, Kentucky, West Vir-
ginia and North Carolina. In West Virginia losses from this
cause of from 50 to 75 per cent of the crop are not uncommon.
It is a native American insect which fed originally on the various
species of wild grapes. |
The small, inconspicuous, brownish snout-beetles, one
tenth of an inch or less in length, emerge from hibernation and
- > ae ee cS ee ae ee
4 : £ ee eee Ss ee ee *
z al we eh — a ee ee eS ee iia or = :
eee ee ee ee snail a — mee i sea yet os . > nates. b. 4 . ’ a 7 —
GRAPE INSECTS 441
appear in the vineyards about the time grapes are in blossom
and feed on the upper surface of the leaves for nearly a month
before beginning to lay their eggs. In feeding the beetles eat
only the upper epidermis of the leaf and leave characteristic
feeding marks about >); of an inch wide and an eighth of an
inch long, which soon turn whitish and give a sure indication
of the curculio’s presence in a vineyard.
In West Virginia egg-laying begins about the middle of June,
when the grapes are about one half grown, and continues till
they are ripe. The female first inserts her snout through the
skin of the grape and eats out a cavity under the skin; then
turning around she places a small, white, elliptical egg on the
farther side of the cavity by means of her extensile ovipositor ;
and then seals the opening of the cavity with a drop of excre-
ment. The egg cavity shows on the surface of the grape as
a circular brownish spot with the puncture a little to one side
of the center. The female may continue to lay eggs for two
or three months, laying in all from 60 to nearly 400 eggs.
The eggs hatch in five to seven days, depending on the tem-
perature, and the young grub tunnels through the fruit and
usually devours one or more of the seeds. The berry often
turns purplish around the egg puncture and usually drops
from the vine before the grub reaches maturity, thus leaving
the clusters thin and scraggled and greatly reducing the value
of the crop. The grub becomes full-grown in about twelve
days and then leaves the grapes through a small hole in the
skin. It is white with a brownish head, legless, and at the time
of leaving the grape is about 2 of an inchin length. Pupation
takes place in a small dirt-covered cocoon on or just below the
surface of the ground or under the protection of a stone or
piece of bark lying on the ground. The beetles emerge in
about 19 days.
In West Virginia beetles of the new brood begin to appear in
the latter part of July and continue to emerge until the close of
449 FRUIT INSECTS
ie season. They are at first nearly black in ground color,
but soon fade to brownish. These beetles feed on the leaves a
till the approach of cold weather, when they go into hibernation
under rubbish, especially in near-by woodlots. Some of the
earliest beetles to emerge, however, mate and lay a few eggs
the same season, but as a large proportion of these eggs are
infertile, only a small second brood is produced in the latitude
of West Virginia.
Experiments in West Virginia have shown that the grape © 1
curculio can be successfully controlled by spraying the vines
thoroughly with an arsenical poison at the first appearance of
the beetles. In these experiments Paris green, one half pound
in 100 gallons of water, was used, but it is probable that equally
good results could be obtained by using arsenate of lead. Addi-
tional applications may sometimes be found necessary in cases
where the beetles are excessively abundant.
REFERENCE
W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 100. 1906.
The grape-seed chalcis (Evoxysoma vitis Saunders).
The seeds of the wild grape in the eastern United States and
Canada are commonly infested by a milk-white larva about
2 of an inch in length which eats out the kernel. The insect
passes the winter as a larva within the seed. Pupation takes
place in June, and in early July the adult gnaws its way out of
the seed, leaving a small, round hole. The adult is a small
four-winged fly about 4% inch in length and black in color.
The female is provided with a sharp needle-like ovipositor which
she inserts through the skin and pulp of the grape and deposits
her minute whitish egg in the kernel of the seed. Most of the
egg-laying takes place in July. Cultivated varieties are rarely
infested, but we have occasionally seen Delawares badly injured
by the punctures made by the female in ovipositing. The
'
5
:
Cy CO pales
‘oe aes
‘
GRAPE INSECTS 443
injured berries color prematurely and sometimes shrivel and
drop. Infestation by the grape-seed chalcis may be prevented
by destroying all wild grape-vines in the vicinity of the vine-
yard, and by not allowing any of the infested fruit to remain
in the vineyard after picking time.
REFERENCE
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 265, p. 380. 1909.
| THe GRAPE RooT-woRM
Fidia viticida Walsh
This small grayish-brown beetle is by all odds the most
destructive insect enemy of the grape occurring east of the Rocky
Mountains. It is a
native American insect
which doubtless fed
originally on the various
species of wild grapes.
Its known range extends
from Nebraska to Mass-
achusetts and _ south-
ward to Texas, Missis-
sippi and North
Carolina. Since 1866
it has ranked as a pest
in Kentucky, Missouri,
Arkansas and _ Illinois,
but the outbreak in the
Lake Erie grape belt
beginning in 1893 has
been by far the most
: ; Fic. 381. — Characteristic work of the grape
- extensive, persistent and root-worm beetle.
444 FRUIT INSECTS
Fie. 382. — Grape root-worm beetles feeding on a leaf.
destructive in the history of this pest. In this region the in-
‘sect first attracted attention in 1893 near Cleveland, Ohio;
in 1898 it became destructive in Erie
County, Pennsylvania ; in 1900 it appeared
in injurious numbers in the western part
of the Chautauqua grape belt of western
New York and is now widely distributed
throughout that region.
The grape root-worm is destructive in
; — two stages of its development; the ,bee-
Fic. 383.— Beetle of the ? {oul
grape root-worm (x21), tles feed on the leaves in July, eating out
characteristic chain-like holes (Figs. 381
and 382) and in severe cases reducing the foliage to shreds; the
grubs attack the roots, eat off the root-fibers and cut out
GRAPE INSECTS 445
furrows in the bark of the larger roots and main stem under-
ground. ‘The injury to the roots is by far the more important.
The grubs eat off
all the finer roots:
and often strip the
bark from the larger
roots, thus depriv-
ing the plant of its
supply of food and
moisture. Badly
infested vines soon z
eRe. Orn ac SL atLEed 1G. 384. — Cluster ee root-worm eggs, en-
sickly appearance,
the leaves turn yellowish, and many fall prematurely, leaving the
fruit to wither and drop. In severe cases the vines may be
killed outright. Under certain conditions the insect is capable
of ruining a. vineyard in one or two seasons.
Fie. 385. — Grape root-worm eggs in position on grape canes.
The grape root-worm beetle (Fig. 383) is about 1 inch in
length, grayish-brown in color, with brown legs and yellowish-
446
FRUIT INSECTS
Fic. 386. — Grape root-worm, mature grubs (x 5).
brown antenne. The beetles emerge from the ground the latter
part of June and in July and at once begin feeding on the upper
Fie. 387. — Pupa of
the grape root-worm.
surface of the grape leaves, producing chain-
like markings, as shown in Figure 382.
After feeding for about two weeks, the
female deposits her first batch of eggs be-
neath the loose bark on the old canes and
trunk of the vine (Figs. 384 and 385).
Other batches are laid at intervals of about
four days, each female ovipositing on an
average four or five times. The total num-
ber of eggs laid by each female averages —
over 100. The egg is about >; inch in length and about one third
as wide as long, cylindrical in form, with rounded ends, and is
yellowish-white in color. The eggs are laid in loose, flattened
ae
a
Pe ee a ee ee ee ee Te PEL, eee me
a,
ie
ee -<
GRAPE INSECTS 447
clusters, averaging 25 to 40 eggs each The beetles normally
begin to lay eggs the second week in July, and oviposition is at its
height the latter part of the month, but eggs are deposited by
a few belated individuals up to the first of September. . The
eggs hatch in from eight days to two weeks, depending on the
temperature; in the latter part of the season incubation may
last for over three weeks. Eggs laid after the first of September
do not, as a rule, hatch.
On hatohine the young grub teopd to the ground and, taking
advantage of any crack or crevice in the soil, soon ee down
to the roots of the
vine. Here it feeds
for the rest of the
season on the finer
roots, and when
these are consumed
attacks the larger
roots and the un-
derground part of
the stem, eating out
burrows and pits in
the bark, as shown
in Figure 389.
A few of the
erubs complete their growth (Fig. 386) the same season,
but the majority are only about three fourths grown at the
time for going into hibernation in October and November.
Towards the last of May and in June the grubs ascend to within
two or three inches of the surface and there construct earthen
cells within which about three weeks later they transform to
whitish or pinkish-white pupe (Figs. 387 and 388). On an
average, 17 days are spent in this stage. After transformation
‘the beetles remain in the pupal cell for several days, in order to
become hardened, and then burrow to the surface, emerging to-
Fic. 388. — Grape root-worm pupa in its earthen cell.
448 FRUIT INSECTS
Fic. 389. — This grapevine was killed by the grubs. All of the fine feeding
roots were eaten off and the main roots scarred or pitted by the grubs.
GRAPE INSECTS 449
wards the last of June and in July. Normally the life-cycle
is completed in one year, but under adverse conditions, such as
compact clay soil or an insufficient supply of food, the larval
development may be so retarded that they require a second
season in which to reach maturity. In the latter case they go
into hibernation early, in August of the second year, and prob-
ably give rise to the earliest beetles the following spring.
Treatment.
As the grape root-worm beetles feed extensively on the upper
surface of the leaves before beginning to lay their eggs, an
excellent opportunity is presented to destroy them with an
arsenical spray. Arsenate of lead, 6 pounds in 100 gallons of
water, is the poison now used most extensively for this purpose,
replacing Paris green and arsenite of lime because of its greater
adhesiveness and owing to the fact that there is less danger
of foliage injury. The first application should be made very
soon after the first beetles appear, for it has been shown that
they eat the poison much more readily if they have never had
an opportunity to feed on unsprayed foliage. A second appli-
cation should be made about 10 days after the first. Recent
work in western New York has shown that the efficiency of
the poison can be greatly increased by adding 2 gallons of
molasses to each 100 gallons of the spray liquid. Unfortunately
the addition of molasses decreases the adhesiveness of the poison,
and the application should not be made just before a rain,
if it can be avoided. For satisfactory results in poisoning the
grape root-worm, it is important that the foliage be evenly
covered with a fine mist-like spray. Pumps should be used that
give a high and uniform pressure, and the nozzles should be so
arranged that not only the sides of the vines are hit, but the
uppermost nozzle should be carried out over the top of the
trellis and directed downward so as to reach the new growth,
where much of the feeding is done.
As stated above, the majority of the overwintering grubs
2G
450 | FRUIT INSECTS
transform to pup in earthen cells near the surface of the ground
in the first half of June. By stirring the soil under the vines
by means of a horse hoe at that time, a large part of the cells
will be broken open and the tender pupe die from exposure
or fall a prey to ants or other enemies. The soil close to the
base of the vine where it cannot be reached with the horse hoe
should be stirred thoroughly with a hand hoe, for it is at this
point that the greatest number of pupz are found. ‘The best
results from cultivation are to be expected in years of abundant
rain; in dry seasons many of the pupal cells are too deep to be
reached by ordinary hoeing. By throwing up a ridge of soil
under the row at the last cultivation in the summer, the grubs ~
will be encouraged to form their pupal cells higher above the
roots where it is easier to reach them with the hoe. Cultivation
alone cannot be depended upon for the control of the grape
root-worm, but should be employed in connection with the sys-
tem of spraying suggested above.
In infested regions it is highly important to keep the vines
in as thrifty a condition as possible by proper pruning, fertiliza-
tion, cultivation and the use of suitable cover-crops; it is much
easier to control the root-worm in a well-cared-for vineyard
than in one that has been neglected and is in a run-down con-
dition.
REFERENCES
Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 62. 1895.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 184. 1900.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 208. 1902.
Felt, N. Y. State Museum, Bull. 59. 1902. 9»
Felt, N. Y. State Museum, Bull. 72. 1903.
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 224, pp. 65-71. 1904.
U. 8S. Dept. Agr. Farmers’ Bull. 284, pp. 6-12. 1907.
U.S. Bur. Ent, Bull. 89." 1910.
N. Y. (Geneva) Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 331, pp. 549-568. 1910.
Hartzell, Jour. Ee. Ent. IV, pp. 419-422. 1911.
GRAPE INSECTS 451
THE CALIFORNIA GRAPE ROOT-wWORM
Adoxus obscurus Linneeus
In California the grape is attacked by a beetle which, in
habits, life history and the nature of the injury inflicted, is very
similar to the grape root-worm of the Eastern states. This
beetle has a wide distribution in Europe, Siberia, northern
Africa and the northern part of North America. It has long
been recognized as a pest of the grape in France, Germany,
Italy and Algeria, but in this country it has attracted attention
only in California, although it is known to occur from New
Hampshire to the Pacific through the Northern states and
Canada. There are two forms of. the beetle, a black and a
brown race; in Europe only the brown form is known to attack
the grape, but in California both forms are found on the vine
and interbreed indiscriminately. The original wild food-plants
both in this country and Europe are the various species of
Epilobium or fire-weed.
The majority of the beetles emerge from the ground in the
first half of May, and practically all disappear by the last of
June. The beetles are about 3% of an inch in length. There
are two color varieties: one is almost entirely black; in the other
the head and thorax are black, the wing-covers brown. Both
varieties are clothed with a short gray pubescence. The beetles
feed on the upper surface of the leaves, eating out chain-like holes
or grooves; they also attack the tender shoots, and the petioles
of the leaves, the fruit stems and even the small berries.
After feeding about two weeks the female begins egg-laying.
The yellowish-white elongate eggs are deposited in clusters
of ten to thirty in crevices beneath the strips of loose bark on
the old wood. They hatch in 8 to 12 days, and the young
grubs soon reach the ground and burrow down to the roots.
They first feed on the smaller roots, but later attack the larger
roots, eating longitudinal furrows in the bark. Some of the
452 FRUIT INSECTS
erubs become full-grown the first season; others complete
their growth the following spring. When ready to transform,
the grubs ascend to within four to eight inches of the surface,
and there construct earthen cells in which the transformation
to the white helpless pupa takes place. In about two weeks
the pupa changes to the adult, which, after a few days required
for hardening, burrows to the surface and begins its depreda-
tions on the leaves. There is only one brood a year. :
Treatment. }
Thorough stirring of the soil to a depth of six inches close
around the vine at the time the pupz are in their earthen cells will
break many of the cells and kill a large proportion of the pup.
By keeping the ground around the vine mulched in the spring,
the moisture will be conserved, and the grubs will be more likely
to come nearer to the surface for pupation. This treatment
cannot be expected to fully control the root-worm, but should
be used in connection with thorough spraying to kill beetles.
The beetles feed on the upper surface of the leaves for about
two weeks before beginning to lay their eggs and may be killed
at that time by a thorough application of arsenate of lead, 10
pounds to 100 gallons of water. When only a few vines are
attacked, it is feasible to capture the beetles by jarring the vines
over a canvas-covered frame or beetle-catcher.
a
a
a
q
é
|
REFERENCES
Mayet, Les Insectes de la Vigne, pp. 321-332. 1890.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 195. 1908.
THE GRAPE-VINE ROOT-BORER
Memythrus polistiformis Harris
The roots of both the wild and cultivated varieties of grapes
are subject to the attacks of a large whitish borer, the larva
of a beautiful wasp-like, clear-wing moth. The species ranges
from Vermont to Minnesota and southward to South Carolina
GRAPE INSECTS 453
and Missouri. It has been most destructive in Kentucky, West
Virginia and North Carolina.
The parent moths emerge in the latter part of July and usually
disappear before the middle of August in the latitude of West
Virginia. The female moth has an expanse of one and one half
inches; the male is somewhat smaller. The front wings. are
opaque brown-black ; the hind wings are transparent, narrowly
bordered and streaked along the principal veins with violet-
brown. The legs are orange, and the abdomen is crossed by
two yellow bands.
The moths are most active in the heat of the day, when they
may be seen flying rapidly near the ground or resting on the
vines or other low vegetation. In form, color and movement
they have a striking resemblance to some of the larger wasps,
for which they are readily mistaken by the casual observer.
The female deposits her oval chocolate-brown eggs, about
+s inch in length, singly or more rarely in pairs on the leaves
or bark of the vines, or on the leaves or stems of grasses or
weeds growing under the vines. Each female lays about 400
eggs; they are attached rather loosely, and usually fall to the
ground before hatching. They hatch in about three weeks.
On hatching, the young larva at once burrows into the soil in
search of a grape root on which to complete its development.
After reaching the root, it burrows under the bark for a time,
but as it increases in size it is able to eat out all the wood and
inner bark of the smaller roots, leaving only the outer bark intact.
Most of the larvee are found a foot or more from the base of the
vine. The infested roots are either greatly weakened or killed
beyond the point of attack, and if many larve are present,
the vine may suffer severely; only a small amount. of bearing
wood is produced, and the size of the crop is consequently small.
The larva continues to feed most of the time during the first
winter and by the next fall is nearly full-grown. It spends the
~ second winter in a silk-lined cavity in its burrow in the grape
454 FRUIT INSECTS
root and completes its growth the following spring. The ,
larve become mature in late June and early July of the
second year after hatching from the egg. They are then
about one and three fourths inches in length and whitish —
in color, with a brownish head. When about to pupate, the
larva leaves its burrow in the root, ascends almost to the sur-
face of the ground and there constructs a silken cocoon in the —
outer layers of which are incorporated particles of earth and -
excrement. The pupal period lasts four or five weeks. When
about to transform, the pupa works itself out of the cocoon so
that its anterior end is brought to the surface of the ground
and the moth is enabled to escape without injury to its wings.
The moths usually emerge in the morning hours, the sexes —
mate the afternoon of the same day and the female begins to ~
lay eggs the following day. They lay most of their eggs in
about a week and die in ten days or two weeks. |
Living underground in the roots at some distance from the
base of the vine for the greater part of its existence, the grape-
root borer may do serious injury to the vines and cause con-
siderable loss without attracting the attention of the vineyardist.
The control of this insect is not easy. Digging out the borers,
as is done with its near relative, the peach-tree borer, is here
impracticable, because as a rule they are found far out in the
roots where it would be impossible to reach them without
moving a large quantity of earth. :
Much may be done, however, to lessen the numbers of moths
by frequent shallow cultivation of the vineyard from the middle
of June till the middle of July while the pupz are near the sur-
face. Not only will cultivation at that time either bury or
destroy many of the pups, but it will tend to produce a vigorous
condition of the vines and render them more resistant to borer
attack.
REFERENCE
W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 110. 1907.
GRAPE INSECTS 455
THe GRAPE PHYLLOXERA
Phylloxera vastatrix Planchon
This destructive plant-louse is a native of the eastern United
States, where it originally infested the leaves and roots of the
various species of wild grapes. Sometime before 1863 it was
introduced into the great wine-producing regions of France,
and there proved a deadly enemy of the European grape (Vitis
vinifera). By 1884 a third of the vineyards of France had been
destroyed, and a much larger area had been seriously affected.
It was introduced into California some time before 1874 and
is now present in most of the grape-producing regions of the
state except in the southern part. As most of the grapes
grown commercially in California are of the vinifera or Kuropean
type, the phylloxera has there been one of the most important
insect pests with which the vineyardists of the Pacific slope
have had to contend. The phylloxera has also been introduced
into New Zealand and South Africa, and also occurs in southern
Russia and in Algeria. —
The life history of the grape phylloxera is a complicated one.
In its destructive form it is a small, yellowish, wingless root-
louse about 3/5 of an inch in length found clustering on the roots
of the vine. In feeding, the louse inserts the sharp and slender
stylets of the beak and sucks out the sap, thus causing an
irritation which produces an abnormal enlargement of the roots
known as nodules. These swellings are yellow in color, soft
and watery, and after a time break down and decay, causing
the death of the root. The underground forms molt three
times before becoming mature; they are all females and re-
produce without being fertilized. The number of eggs laid
by a single individual varies considerably with the climate
and the season, but rarely exceeds a hundred. The eggs are
oval in form, yellow in color and about 1 of an inch in length;
_ they are laid singly or in clusters on the roots of the vine.
456 ‘FRUIT INSECTS
There may be six generations of the root-inhabiting form
annually, and experimental rearing has shown that reproduction
may continue in this way for several years without appreciable
loss of vigor or of prolificness. Normally, however, during
the latter half of the season some of the lice infesting the roots
become more elongate than the others and have longer legs
and antenns. These forms do not become mature at the third
molt and begin to lay eggs, but continue their development ;
at the fourth molt, wing pads become visible on the thorax; and
at the fifth and last molt, which takes place after the nymph
has crawled to the surface, functional wings are acquired.
After waiting a few hours for the wings to dry and the body to
harden, they take flight and, if a wind is blowing, may be trans-
ported a considerable distance. After feeding about a day on
the under side of one of the tender leaves at the end of the shoots
they are ready to deposit their yellowish-white eggs of two
distinct sizes; from the larger eggs are developed the true
females and from the smaller ones the true males. Both sexes
are wingless, and the female after fertilization deposits a single
so-called winter egg on the bark of the older canes. These
sexual forms are much smaller than the others, and functional
mouth parts are lacking. The insect does not pass the winter
exclusively in the egg state, but many of the younger individuals
of the root-inhabiting form, as well as many of the later migrants
from the leaves, hibernate in small groups on the larger roots.
The winter eggs hatch in the spring soon after the first grape
leaves have become well expanded, and the young lice normally
crawl up the canes to the leaves, where they settle on the upper
surface and begin sucking out the juices of the leaf. The
puncture made in feeding stimulates the growth of the leaf
cells so that a hollow gall is formed, projecting from the under
side of the leaf and opening by a narrow slit on the upper
surface (Fig. 390). The opening is guarded by a dense growth
of down. Within this cavity the insect continues its develop-
GRAPE INSECTS 457
ment and becomes mature after the third molt, which occurs
in about fifteen days. The forms producing the galls are all
wingless females, and each individual of the earlier generation
may lay from 500 to 600 eggs during the three weeks of her life
as an adult. Towards the end of the season the later broods
are not so prolific, 100-200 eggs being the maximum. The eggs
hatch in about eight days, and the young escape from the gall
Fie. 390. — Phylloxera galls on wild grape leaf.
by the opening on the upper surface of the leaf and migrate
to the tender leaves at the end of the branches, where new galls
are formed. From five to seven generations of the gall-
inhabiting form occurs annually. Nearly all the young of the
earlier generations migrate to the leaves, but after the third
generation an increasing number migrate to the roots, where
they join their underground sisters in their insidious attack
~ on the vine.
458 FRUIT INSECTS
The complete life history, as outlined above, occurs only
when the phylloxera is living on the species of grapes more
closely related to its native food-plant. In Europe and in
California the leaf galls are rarely seen. Under these circum-
stances it is supposed that the lice hatching from the so-called
winter eggs may migrate at once to the roots. That such is
the case, however, does not seem to have been proved by direct
observation.
Means of control.
The grape phylloxera has been found a most stubborn pest
to fight, and immense sums of money have been spent in ex-
perimental work in its control. The underground forms can
be killed by injections of carbon bisulfide into the ground
around the roots, provided the soil is neither too loose, so that
the gas escapes too quickly, or so impervious that it does not
reach the insects on the roots. The application of carbon
bisulfide, however, is too expensive for use on a large scale
and it is now rarely employed in commercial vineyards.
In irrigated regions it is sometimes feasible to destroy the
phylloxera by inundating the vineyard for two to three months
in the fall or for a longer time in the winter. The phylloxera
are more easily killed by water in the summer, but unfortunately
there is a great danger of injuring the vines by flooding at that
time. The ground should be covered by 1 to 2 feet of water,
and the submersion must be continuous for the whole period.
Obviously this method of control is only of limited application.
The most practicable method of avoiding phylloxera injury,
and the one most widely practiced in Europe and in California,
is the use of resistant stocks. The native wild grapes of the
eastern United States, while the original food-plant of the phyl-
loxera, and usually badly infested, suffer little, if at all, from its
attacks. The most resistant of these wild species which can
be used for stocks on which to graft the susceptible varieties
are Vitis riparia and Vitis rupestris. In the selection of resistant
—
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~ 52 aaa
ee ee ee ee ee
GRAPE INSECTS 459
stocks experience has shown that many factors have to be con-
_ sidered if commercial success is to be attained. There are many
varieties of both Vitis riparia and rupestris, many of which are
worthless for stocks. A satisfactory stock must be adapted.
to the soil and climate of the region and be of sufficient size
and vigor to give a strong, healthy growth to the vine and thus
render it able to set and mature a heavy crop of high quality.
The selection of resistant stocks is, therefore, a more or less
local or regional problem, requiring close observation and care-
ful experimentation by experienced growers who are thoroughly
familiar with local conditions and with all the complicated
problems of the grape industry.
REFERENCES
Riley, 6th Rept. Ins. Mo., pp. 30-87. 1874.
Mayet, Les Insectes de la Vigne, pp. 47-147. 1890.
A good résumé of the extensive European work on the phylloxera.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Appendix to Viticultural Rept., 1896. 1897.
Resistant Vines.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 131. 1901.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 192, pp. 99-111. 1907.
Cal. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 197, pp. 118-147. 1908.
OTHER GRAPE INSECTS
CLIMBING CUTWORMS: apple, p. 138.
TWIG-PRUNER: apple, p. 200.
FLEA-BEETLES: apple, p. 203.
RING-LEGGED TREE-BUG: apple, p. 208.
GREEN JUNE-BEETLE: peach, p. 296.
CHAPTER XIV
CRANBERRY INSECTS
As cranberries are usually grown in bogs which are regularly
inundated during the winter and which can be reflowed at will,
many cranberry pests can be controlled by a proper manipu-
lation of the water. In some cases, however, spraying must be
resorted to. As it is difficult to drive on the bogs with a sprayer,
some growers have installed permanent pipes running through
the beds and connected with a central power pump. The pipes
are provided with outlets at regular intervals to which a rubber
hose can be attached. After such a spraying plant has been
installed it is a simple matter to spray a bog thoroughly.
THe BLACK-HEADED CRANBERRY WORM
EKudemis vacciniana Packard |
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2p eed aa gga eal eae A
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hae 3 Sat
So
ores
The black-headed cranberry worm, or fire-worm, as it is more —
often called, is one of the most troublesome pests with which
the grower has to deal. As a rule, the higher, drier bogs are
less subject to injury from this source than are those regularly
submerged during the winter. Submergence protects the eggs
from winter-killing and also probably reduces the abundance
of parasitic enemies. Bogs in which there is a heavy growth ~
of vines are also more liable to heavy infestation.
The insect passes the winter in the egg-stage. The flat,
circular, disk-like, bright yellow eggs are readily found on the
460
aac |
CRANBERRY INSECTS 461
under surface of the leaves. They are about half the size of an
ordinary pin head, and nearly a dozen are sometimes laid on
a single leaf. The eggs hatch about the time the vines begin
growth in the spring. The newly hatched caterpillar is pale
ereen with a shining black head. After feeding a day or so on
the under side of the old leaf it crawls to the tip of an upright,
webs together the expanding leaves and feeds within the shelter
thus formed. The light green color of the under side of the
leaves thus exposed in these closed tips contrasts strongly with
the dark green of the normal foliage and is usually the first
indication of the presence of the pest. The caterpillar becomes
full-grown in about three weeks; it is then dark green in color —
with a black head and is about half an inch in length. It
transforms to a yellow-brown pupa, usually on the ground, but
sometimes within the nest of webbed leaves, and the moths
emerge in about a week. By this time the leaves of the webbed
tips have turned brown, and, if abundant, give the vines a
scorched appearance. The moths have an expanse of about
2 of an inch; the wings are ash gray in color and the front wings
are crossed by irregular bands of brownish. The first brood
of moths fly during June and lay eggs which hatch in late June
and early July, in Massachusetts. The second brood larve
make comparatively larger nests than do those of the first
brood and often web together several tips. They feed on the
leaves, tender buds, flowers and young fruits, giving infested
areas a scorched appearance, hence the name, fire-worm, by
which this pest is commonly known among cranberry growers
in certain regions. The caterpillars of the second brood are,
as a rule, much more abundant than of the first and the damage
done correspondingly greater. These caterpillars become full-
grown from the middle to the last of July, pupate on the ground
and give rise to a crop of moths, which deposit the winter eggs
on the under side of the leaves in late July and early August.
There are two full broods each year.
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462 FRUIT INSECTS
Control.
4
Efficient work can be done against either brood of cater- —
pillars by thorough spraying with arsenate of lead, 6 to 7 pounds —
in 50 gallons of water, as soon as the eggs begin to hatch. As —
the eggs often hatch over a period of four or five weeks, it is —
sometimes advisable to repeat the application in a week or —
ten days. Where water is available for reflowing, a large .
proportion of the pupz can be destroyed by letting the water ?
rise up among the vines without covering them and holding it —
¥
there for three days. This reflowing should be done when the —
greatest number of pupz are on the ground.
A rank growth of vines tends to make the control of this
insect difficult and much loss may be prevented by so managing
the water and drainage as to keep down the growth of vines —
and encourage the production of fruit.
REFERENCES
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. K, pp. 10-15. 1890.
U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers’ Bull. 178, pp. 9-12. 1903.
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 115, pp. 6-9. 1907.
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 126, pp. 3-5. 1908.
Wis. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 159, pp. 6-11. 1908.
THE YELLOW-HEADED CRANBERRY WORM
Alceris minuta Robinson
This insect has been discussed as an apple pest on page 59.
As a cranberry pest it is most troublesome on dry bogs. The
green-bodied yellow-headed caterpillars web together the leaves
at the tips of the uprights in practically the same way as the
black-headed worms. In Massachusetts there are two broods
annually, and in New Jersey three.
Unlike the preceding species the yellow-headed cranberry
worm hibernates in the adult state as a slaty-gray moth having
an expanse of about. 2 of an inch. They emerge from their
CRANBERRY INSECTS 463
winter hiding places in the spring and lay their minute, disk-
like yellow eggs on the under side of the leaves. The eggs so
closely resemble the eggs of the black-headed worm that they
can be distinguished only with great difficulty. The eggs
laid by the overwintering moths are fresher and brighter than
those of the black-head worm which have been exposed to the
weather for several months. In New Jersey the overwintering
females lay their eggs in late April and early May. If the bogs
are flooded at that time, they usually find a few exposed vines
around the dams and along the edge of the bog. The eggs hatch
in ten days and the larve mature in late May or early June.
Pupation takes place in the nest of webbed leaves and the next
brood of moths fly in June. The second brood of caterpillars
are, aS a rule, more abundant and destructive than the first ;
they make larger nests and often web together six or seven
uprights and runners. They are especially fond of boring into
the fruits. A third brood of caterpillars feed during August
and September and give rise to a brood of moths that winter
over in sheltered places, under rubbish, etc.
Control.
The moths may be prevented from laying their eggs on the
cranberry vines in the spring by holding the winter flowage on
the bogs till about May 20 in Massachusetts, at which time
most of the moths will have disappeared. In the case of dry bogs
or where it is impracticable to hold the water on the bogs late
in the spring the yellow-headed worm can be readily controlled
by one or two thorough applications of arsenate of lead, 10
pounds in 100 gallons of water, spraying just as the eggs are
hatching. In Massachusetts the spraying for the second brood
should be made about the first week in July.
REFERENCES
N. J. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. K, pp. 15-21. 1890.
U.S. Dept. Agr. Farmers’ Bull. 178, pp. 12-17. 1903.
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 115, pp. 18-14. 1907.
eee ee a a ee enn eww
464 FRUIT INSECTS
CRANBERRY SPAN-WORM
Cleora pampinaria Guenée
Cranberry vines are usually infested to a slight extent by
various kinds of span-worms or measuring worms, also known
as loopers. The most important of these, and one which is ~
sometimes abundant enough to cause serious injury locally is
the present species. The caterpillars appear in the bogs in.
June and become full-grown in early July. They are over an —
inch in length, slender, smooth and vary in color from mottled
pale yellowish to brown. When full-grown the caterpillars
bury themselves a short distance in the sand and transform
to rough brown pups. The pale ash gray moths emerge in a
few days and lay eggs for a second brood of caterpillars, which
mature in August. The moths have an expanse of one and
one half inches and have the wings sprinkled with black and
crossed with diagonal toothed or scalloped blackish lines.
The first brood of caterpillars are usually found working
along the edge of the bogs; those of the second brood are more
evenly distributed. When abundant they strip the vines of
their leaves and make the bog look as though swept by fire.
They may be destroyed by spraying with arsenicals, as suggested
under black-headed cranberry worms.
REFERENCES
Us S: Farm. Bull. 178; ps 19. 1903:
U.S. Bur. Ent. Bull. 66, Pt. III. 1907.
Another span-worm, Cymatophora sulphurea Packard, some-
times becomes destructive in Massachusetts. The caterpillars
of the first brood attack the cranberry vines just as they begin —
to put out new foliage. They not only eat the leaves, but also
destroy the buds. The full-grown caterpillar is less than an
inch in length and pale green in color, with a narrow cream
eel
CRANBERRY INSECTS 465
colored stripe running the entire length of the body just below
the spiracles, the body striped the entire length both above
and below with fine longitudinal whitish lines. The cater-
pillars become mature about the middle of June and transform
to pupz Just below the surface of the sand. The sulfur yellow
moths begin to appear in a few days and continue on the wing
until the middle of July. The second brood of caterpillars
becomes mature in late July and early August.
The measures for the control of this species are the same as
those recommended above.
REFERENCE
Franklin, Ent. News, XVIII, pp. 17-20. 1907.
_ Tor CRANBERRY GALL-FLY
Cecidomyia oxycoccana Johnson
The terminal buds of the cranberry are sometimes deformed
into a gall-like growth by the presence of several yellowish or
orange-red maggots about one sixteenth inch in length. In-
fested buds are killed and when the injury occurs late in the
season the formation of fruit buds for the following year may
be prevented. The larva becomes full-grown in about ten
days, spins a delicate cocoon inside the deformed bud and there
transforms to a pupa. The adults emerge a few days later;
they are delicate, two-winged, mosquito-like flies, having an
expanse of less than an eighth of an inch. The females have
the abdomen deep red and the sides of the thorax yellowish ;
the male is a uniform gray. The female is provided with an
extensile ovipositor at the tip of the abdomen by means of
which she is able to place her minute white eggs in the center
of a developing bud. There are several broods annually.
The insect also infests loose-strife and certain heaths.
The cranberry gall-fly has never been a serious pest. It
2H
466 FRUIT INSECTS
cannot be controlled by poisons or by reflowing the bogs. In —
some cases it might be worth while to destroy all plants of loose-
strife or heaths growing near the cranberries in which the flies ‘
might breed. 4
REFERENCE
U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers’ Bull. 178, pp. 17-19. 1903.
THE CRANBERRY FRUIT-WORM
Mineola vaccinia Riley
The cranberry fruit-worm is usually present in most bogs and
often causes serious loss, especially in the higher, drier bogs
which are not submerged during the winter.
The parent moths have an expanse of about # inch; the
front wings are ash-gray, mottled with black and white; the
hind wings a uniform smoky gray. The moths fly during July
and deposit their thin, flat, nearly circular, scale-like, pale yel-
lowish eggs on the berries, most often at the calyx end. The
eggs hatch in about five days and after feeding on the outside
for a day or two the young caterpillar enters the berry through —
a small hole usually near the stem, which it closes with a web
of silk. The caterpillar eats out the seed cavity and pulp of
the berry and then migrates to a second and sometimes to a
third or fourth berry before it becomes mature in late August
or in September. The injured berries color prematurely,
wither and drop from the vines. When full-grown the larva,
which is then about ~ inch in length and of a pale green color,
descends to the ground and there just below the surface con-
structs a silk-lined, sand-covered cocoon, within which it remains
in the larval state throughout the winter. In dry bogs pupa-
tion may occur as early as April, but where winter submergence
is practiced it does not, as a rule, take place till after the water _
is drawn off in May. The moths emerge in July.
CRANBERRY INSECTS 467
Control. -
While the caterpillars in their winter cocoons are able to sur-
vive ordinary winter submergence of the bogs many may be
killed by flowing the bogs for ten days or two weeks directly
after picking. The water should then be drawn off to allow
the vines to ripen. Holding the winter flowage on the bogs
till the middle of May is of great value in controlling the fruit-
worm, but as it is likely to reduce the size of the crop it is not
advisable to practice it except every third or fourth year. On
dry bogs recourse must be had to spraying, although it has not
as yet given fully satisfactory results; 1 pound Paris green
and 2 pounds resin fish-oil soap in 50 gallons Bordeaux mixture
have been recommended ;, the resin fish-oil soap is used as a
sticker.
Many infested berries are picked with the crop and taken to
the screen house, where they are screened out before the fruit
is sent to market. These screenings should be burned promptly
before the caterpillars have time to emerge, and after the pick-
ing season is over all cracks and crevices about the screen house
should be cleaned out to destroy all the caterpillars that have
spun up in them.
REFERENCES
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 115, pp. 3-6. 1907.
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 126, pp. 1-8. 1908.
Wis. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 159, pp. 19-20. 1908.
THE CRANBERRY KATYDID
~ Scudderia texensis Saussure
In New Jersey this large, green, broad-winged katydid has
sometimes been very destructive to the fruit, the seeds of which
they devour. The adult katydid is about 14 inches in length
and the female is provided with a flat, sickle-shaped ovipositor
_by means of which she inserts her flat, slightly kidney-shaped,
468 FRUIT INSECTS
yellowish-brown eggs in the edges of the leaves of certain grasses
growing in the bogs or on the dikes and dams. Deer grass ©
(Panicum dichotomum) and double-seeded millet (P. viscidum)
are preferred for oviposition. There is only one brood a year,
the winter being passed in the egg-stage. The younger katy-
did nymphs do not attack the berries. The berry-feeding habit —
does not develop until. they reach the last nymphal stage.
The number of katydids can be greatly decreased by keeping
the bogs free from the grasses in which they lay their eggs.
On the dams where it is desirable that the grasses be allowed
to zrow in order to protect the banks, the tops containing the ~
eggs may be burned off with a gasoline torch in the fall.
Various species of long-horned or meadow grasshoppers are
usually abundant in cranberry bogs. They, too, are fond of
cranberry seeds and aid the katydids in their destructive work.
Their ravages may be prevented by keeping the bogs free from
grass; clean bogs are rarely subject to attack.
REFERENCE
U.S. Farm. Bull. 178, pp. 26-30. 1903.
THe CRANBERRY GIRDLER
Crambus hortuellus Hiibner
In cranberry bogs along the Atlantic coast spots of consider-
able size are sometimes seen where the vines have been killed
and have turned brown as if scorched by fire. The cause of
the trouble is a sooty grayish caterpillar, about five eighths
of an inch in length when mature, that lives in a flimsy silken
tube at or just below the surface of the sand and feeds on the
bark of the prostrate stems of the vines.
The parent moth (Fig. 391) has an expanse of about ¢ inch;
the front wings are pale straw color marked with bands of yel-
low and silver towards the apex. The wings are folded closely
CRANBERRY INSECTS 469
around the body when at rest. In Massachusetts the moths fly
from early June till late July and appear a little earlier in New
Jersey. The female deposits her creamy white, oval eggs,
0.4 mm. in length, at the base of the food-plant; before hatch-
ing they turn to a pinkish-red color. One female was observed
to lay 700 eggs in confinement. The eggs hatch in seven to
ten days and the young caterpillars soon begin to construct
the silken tube in which they live alongside the food-plant just
at the surface of the ground. The larve feed on grass and sheep
sorrel and probably other plants as well as on the cranberry.
Most of the caterpillars become full-grown by November and
hibernate in the
larval condition
inside a tight
waterproof silken
cocoon to which
considerable sand
adheres. Some of
the belated cater-
pillars are said to
feed again for a
short time in the spring, but the majority transform the follow-
ing May or June to a pale honey yellow pupa, about one third
inch in length, without leaving the winter cocoon. The moths
emerge very irregularly during June and July.
Control.
The cranberry girdler, working as it does at the surface of the
sand beneath the layer of dead leaves and trash always found
in an old bog, cannot be reached with an arsenical spray. After
the larva has completed its winter cocoon it can withstand
submergence for several months, but as the cocoon is not formed
till November it is possible to destroy great numbers by re-
flowing the bogs for a week or ten days immediately after pick-
ing. Where water is not available for reflowing, badly infested
aie: sol Moth of the cranberry girdler.
|
470 : FRUIT INSECTS
areas should be burned in the spring before growth starts to _
kill the caterpillars, for the vines are ruined anyway and the ~
land may then be replanted at once. The burning can be done —
most conveniently and safely with a gasoline torch when the
vines are damp so there is no danger of the fire spreading. Bogs —
which are kept well sanded are rarely injuted by the girdler.
REFERENCES
Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 64, pp. 75-76. 1894.
Scudder, Ins. Life, VII, pp. 1-5. 1894.
U. S. Dept. Agr. Farmers’ Bull. 178, pp. 21-24. 1903.
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 115, pp. 14-15. 1907.
THe Faust ARMY-WORM
Calocampa nupera Lintner
Cranberry vines are often seriously injured by the cater-
pillar of a curiously marked noctuid moth which has an expanse
of about 12 inches. On the fore wings there is near the center
a conspicuous black spot and a V-shaped brownish spot; the
apex is yellowish-brown and the hind half is purplish towards
the base; .the rest of the wing is streaked and banded with
white and various shades of brown. The upper part of the
head and the front of the thorax are covered with a dense mass of
yellowish-brown scales contrasting with the reddish-brown tufts
of the thorax. The moths appear in August and September
and probably go into hibernation, for we have records of the
moths flying in April. The eggs are laid in clusters on the under
side of the leaves or on the twigs. The eggs are nearly round,
slightly flattened, brownish-gray in color and marked with a
series of ridges radiating from the tip. The eggs hatch in
late April or early May and the young, light yellow or greenish
caterpillars begin feeding on the cranberry buds, often causing
a serious loss of blossoms. In the younger caterpillars the two
CRANBERRY INSECTS 471
front pairs of prolegs are not
provided with hooklets and
do not function in walking ;
these caterpillars therefore
have a looping gait -like a
measuring-worm. As the cat-
erpillars become larger they
often defoliate the cranberry
vines; they also attack vari-
ous weeds and grasses. We
have reared them on wild
cherry leaves. When full-
grown, the caterpillar is nearly
two inches in length ; the head
is a uniform brown without
Fic. 392. — The cranberry fulgorid,
adult female (x 8).
spots; the body varies in color from light green to very dark
velvety brown and is striped with narrow lines of yellowish.
Fic. 393. — Fifth stage nymph of the
eranberry fulgorid (x 9).
They become full-grown in
July and go into the ground,
where they transform to a
brownish pupa; the moths
emerge in August and Sep-
tember.
Means of control.
The younger caterpillars,
can be poisoned by thorough
applications of arsenate of
lead, 4 to 7 pounds in 100
gallons of water. The older
caterpillars are not easily
killed by arsenicals. Where
water is available the young caterpillars can be destroyed by
reflowing the bogs for twenty-four to thirty-six hours soon after
the middle of May in Massachusetts.
If reflowing is deferred
472 FRUIT INSECTS
till the caterpillars are larger, many of them will be washed —
ashore alive and resume their destructive work when the wateris —
drawn off. In some cases where water is not available for more —
than one reflow it is advisable to hold the winter flowage on
the bogs till about the middle of May, thus preventing either
the deposition or hatching of the eggs.
REFERENCE
Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 115, pp. 9-13. 1907.
THE CRANBERRY F'ULGORID
Phylloscelis atra Germar
Cranberry vines in the bogs of Long Island are occasionally
injured by a small, broad-bodied, nearly black, jumping in-
sect (Figs. 392 and 393) which in feeding, -
punctures the vines, causing the leaves to turn
brown. The fruit does not mature properly
but shrivels and drops prematurely (Fig. 395).
The young insects first become noticeable in
the bogs about the time of blossoming. They
feed close to the ground under the protection
of the vines. They are very active when dis-
turbed and difficult to catch. They do not
become mature until the last of August and
“4 in September. The adults live for a consider-
1c. 394.— Egg f :
of the cranberry able time but die off gradually at the approach
fulgorid. Mathe- “of cold weather. The egg measures .8 mm.
son del. (X 50). ° 3 : 2
in length and is shown in Figure 394.
Control. |
Experiments on Long Island would indicate that the young
nymphs can be killed by a thorough application of “ Black
CRANBERRY INSECTS A4T3
~ Leaf 40” tobacco extract, 1 pint in 100 gallons of water, adding
4 or 5 pounds of soap to make it stick and spread better.
SC Md
Fig. 395. — Injured and uninjured cranberries.
aR
CHAPTER XV
INSECTICIDES
ARSENIC in its various compounds is the cheapest and most
efficient insecticide in common use. For this purpose only
compounds insoluble in water can be used, since arsenic in
solution is injurious to foliage, even when present in only small
quantities.
ARSENIC
White arsenic, arsenious oxid (As.O3), is a white powder.
It is the cheapest form in which arsenic can be obtained. It is
soluble in water and therefore very injurious to foliage. A
cheap and efficient insecticide may, however, be prepared from
it by the following methods:
For use with Bordeaux mixture only. — Sal soda, 2 pounds;
water, 1 gallon; arsenic, 1 pound. Mix the white arsenic
into a paste and then add the sal soda and water, and boil
until dissolved. Add water to replace any that has boiled
away, so that one gallon of stock solution is the result. Use
one quart of this stock solution to 50 gallons of Bordeaux mix-
ture for fruit trees. Make sure there is enough lime in the
mixture to prevent the caustic action of the arsenic.
For use without Bordeaux mixture. —Sal soda, 1 pound;
water, 1 gallon; white arsenic, 1 pound; quicklime, 2 pounds.
Dissolve the white arsenic with the water and sal soda as above,
and use this solution while hot to slake the 2 pounds of lime.
Add enough water to make 2 gallons. Use 2 quarts of this
stock solution in 50 gallons of water.
A474
re ans
INSECTICIDES 475
As there is always some danger of foliage injury from the use
of these homemade arsenic compounds, and as they cannot
be safely combined with the dilute lime-sulfur when used as a
summer spray, they are now rarely employed in commercial
orchard spraying.
PARIS GREEN
Pure Paris green, 3 Cu(AsOz)2 -Cu(C2H302)2, is composed of
copper oxid CuO, acetic acid HC.H302 and arsenious oxid
AssO3 chemically combined as copper-aceto-arsenite as fol-
lows : |
Copper Cee Re Sk se BL oe per cent
Arsenious oxid . . . . . ..-:. 58.65 per cent
Acetic acid a ia tena coe ee OO G per Celt
The commercial grades often contain impurities and vary
somewhat from the above. By the National Insecticide Law
of 1910 Paris green must contain at least fifty per cent of ar-
senious oxid, and must not contain arsenic in water soluble form
equivalent to more than three and one half per cent of arseni-
ous oxid. |
For many years Paris green has been the standard arsenical
insecticide for orchard use; but owing to the danger of foliage
injury on stone fruits and even on pears and apples when used
freely, it has now been generally replaced by the safer and more
adhesive arsenate of lead. Furthermore, Paris green cannot
be safely combined with the dilute lime-sulfur when used as a
summer spray, nor can it be used in the self-boiled lime-sulfur
on peach. In spraying apples it is usually used at the rate of
eight ounces in 100 gallons of water. The danger of foliage
injury is greatly lessened by using Paris green in Bordeaux
mixture, or if applied in water by adding lime twice the bulk of
Paris green.
LonDOoN PURPLE
London purple is an arsenite of lime obtained as a by-prod-
-uct in the manufacture of aniline dyes. Its composition is
476 FRUIT INSECTS
variable, the arsenic content varying from 30 to 50 per cent.
It is a finer powder than Paris green and, therefore, remains —
longer in suspension in water. It is used in the same way as
Paris green, but owing to the presence of much soluble arsenic
is likely to cause foliage injury. This can be averted by the
use of lime as advised under Paris green. London purple is”
now little used in orchard spraying.
ARSENATE OF LEAD
Arsenate of lead was first used as an insecticide in 1893,
by the Gypsy Moth Commission of Massachusetts, as a sub-
stitute for Paris green, since it had been found that the latter
poison would seriously injure the foliage if applied sufficiently
strong to kill the gypsy moth caterpillars. It has now almost
entirely replaced Paris green and London purple for orchard
work throughout the country. It adheres better to the leaves,
may be used at considerably greater strength without injuring
the foliage and may be combined with the dilute lime-sulfur
solution when used as a summer spray. Combined with the
self-boiled lime-sulfur it can be safely used on the peach.
Chemically, arsenate of lead may be either triplumbic ar-
senate, Pb3 (AsO,)2, or plumbic hydrogen arsenate, PobHAsOs,.
The commercial product usually consists o1 a mixture of these
two forms, the proportion depending on the method .of manu-
facture employed. The triplumbic arsenate of lead is prepared
by combining normal sodium arsenate (Na3AsQO,) with either —
lead acetate (PbC.H3;0,) or lead nitrate (Pb (NO3)2). If any ~
di-sodium hydrogen arsenate (Naz HAsQO,) be present, there
is then formed some of the plumbic hydrogen arsenate.
Arsenate of lead is usually sold in the form of a thick paste,
but for some purposes the powdered form is preferred. Under
the National Insecticide Act of 1910, arsenate of lead paste
must not contain more than 50 per cent water and must con-
INSECTICIDES ATT
tain the arsenic equivalent of at least 12} per cent arsenic
oxid (As.O;). The water soluble arsenic must not exceed an
equivalent of # of one per cent of arsenic oxid. Some of the
commercial preparations contain a larger percentage of arsenic
than required by the law. In the best grades of arsenate of
lead paste the chemical is in a finely divided condition, and
thus when diluted for use remains in suspension for a con-
siderable time. If the paste contains less than 50 per cent
water it is likely to be lumpy and requires considerable time
and labor to get it into condition for use.
Arsenate of lead is used at various strengths, depending upon
the insect to be killed and on the susceptibility of the foliage
toinjury. Four pounds in100 gallons can be used on the peach
if combined with the self-boiled lime-sulfur; on apple four or
five pounds in 100 gallons is usually sufficient, although a greater
strength can be used without danger of injury to the foliage ;
on grapes for killing the grape root-worm beetles and the rose
chafer eight to ten pounds in 100 gallons have been found
necessary. The poison is more readily eaten by these beetles
if sweetened by two gallons of molasses in 100 gallons, but
unfortunately the addition of molasses greatly decreases the
adhesiveness of the poison. ,
Arsenate of lead is also sold in the form of a powder. In case
the powder is fine enough to remain in suspension when mixed
with water it gives practically as good results as the paste form.
One pound of powdered arsenate of lead is equivalent to 2
pounds of the paste form.
Homemade arsenate of lead. — Haywood and McDonnell
give the following directions for making arsenate of lead.
‘“‘ For every pound of arsenate of lead it is desired to make, use:
FormMuua A:
‘ Ounces.
Sodium arsenate (65 per cent) . ‘ Rit ak Bak M at
iheadaeetabe: (susar ol lead) ew: ek a ehh ce Ue ek 22
pO IS te ee Te OS eee Ee. eee ee
478 ' FRUIT INSECTS
ForMvULA B: Ounces
Sodium arsenate (65 per cent) .o 2 ow. sk tS ee
Lead nitrate 25 Go SE ea eee oe
Dissolve each salt separately in from 1 to 2 gallons of water!
(they dissolve more readily in hot water), using wooden vessels.
After solution has taken place, pour slowly about three fourths
of the lead acetate or nitrate into the sodium arsenate. Mix
thoroughly and test the mixture by dipping into it a strip of
potassium iodid test paper? which will turn a bright yellow if —
lead is in excess. If the paper does not turn yellow, add more
of the lead salt slowly, stirring constantly, and test from time
to time. When the solution turns the paper yellow sufficient
lead salt is present, but if it should occur that the paper does
not turn yellow after all the lead salt has been added dissolve
a little more and add until an excess is indicated. The great
advantage of this test is that it is not necessary to filter the so-
lution or wait for it to settle.
If the paper is not at hand, the test may be made by adding
a few drops of a solution of potassium iodid, when, if lead is in
excess, the instant the drops touch the solution a bright yellow
compound, lead iodid, will be formed.
It is very essential that the lead salt be added in slight excess,
but a large excess should be avoided.
If the material has been carefully prepared with a good grade ~
of chemicals, it will not be necessary to filter and wash the lead —
arsenate formed, though it would be a safe precaution to allow
the lead arsenate to settle, then decant the clear solution and
discard it. Approximately 1 pound of actual lead arsenate
will be obtained by using the amounts of chemicals specified,
1 The solution of lead acetate may have a milky appearance. This will be no
objection and it need not be filtered.
' 2 If potassium iodid paper cannot be obtained it may be prepared by disachem
ing a few crystals of potassium iodid in about a tablespoonful of water and satu-
rating filter paper or blotting paper with this solution. After the paper has dried,
cut into strips and keep dry until needed.
INSECTICIDES 479
which is equivalent to practically 2 pounds of commercial lead
arsenate in the paste form. It may be made up to 50 gallons
with water if a formula is being used which calls for 2 pounds
of commercial lead arsenate to 50 gallons, or if a stronger appli-
cation is desired add less water.”
Zinc ARSENITE
Arsenite of zinc, Zn (AsOz)s, is a light fluffy powder and con-
tains the equivalent of 40 per cent arsenious oxid. It has been
used extensively on the Pacific slope as a substitute for arsenate
of lead. It kills insects somewhat more quickly than the latter
poison and is fairly safe on apple foliage when used with Bor-
deaux or lime. When used in water or sweetened with molasses
or glucose it causes severe injury to grape foliage, but may be
safely used with Bordeaux mixture. It is probable that foliage
injury by zinc arsenite is due to the solubility of this poison
in water containing a small quantity of carbonic acid; the latter
is usually present on the leaves, being derived from the respira-
tion of the plant. One pound of zine arsenite is equivalent in
effectiveness to about three pounds of arsenate of lead.
HELLEBORE
Hellebore is a light brown powder made from the roots of the
white hellebore plant (Veratrum album), one of the lily family.
It is applied both dry and in water. In the dry state, it is usu-
ally applied without dilution, although the addition of a little
flour will render it more adhesive. In water, 4 ounces of the
poison is mixed with 2 or 3 gallons, and an ounce of glue, or thin
flour paste, is sometimes added to make it adhere. A decoction
is made by using boiling water in the same proportions. Helle-
bore soon loses its strength, and a fresh article should always
be demanded. It is much less poisonous than the arsenicals,
480 FRUIT INSECTS
and should be used in place of them upon ripening fruit. It is
used for various leaf-eating insects, particularly for the currant —
worm and rose slug.
SOAPS
Soap solutions are often used as contact insecticides for kill- —
ing plant-lice and other small, soft-bodied insects. The so- —
called whale-oil or fish-oil soaps are most widely used for this |
purpose. The commercial brands are usually by-products —
from the manufacture of other products, and contain many
impurities; furthermore, many of them contain an excess of
free or uncombined alkali and are consequently very likely to
injure young and tender foliage. An excellent fish-oil soap may
be easily prepared at home by the following formula:
Caustie soda) 2. oa 2 oe 6
Weater che 9 7) eS es ar ee
Pish=oil } i: 55) Se cais Goes hae ae ee
Completely dissolve the caustic soda in the water, and then add
the fish-oil very gradually under constant and vigorous stirring.
The combination occurs readily at ordinary summer tempera-
tures and boiling is unnecessary. Stir briskly for about twenty
minutes after the last of the oil has been added.
A good insecticide soap can be prepared in a similar way from
cotton-seed oil soap-stock or from the more impure grade
known as pancoline. In fact, there is‘on the market a good
insecticide soap made from similar materials.
SULFUR
Sulfur is commonly sold in two forms, — flowers of sulfur and
flour of sulfur. Flowers of sulfur or sublime sulfur is a fine,
impalpable yellow powder insoluble in water, and is formed by
condensing sulfur vapor in a large chamber of brick work. If
the sulfur vapor is condensed to the liquid form in a cold re-
INSECTICIDES 481
- ceiver, roll sulfur is formed. Flour of sulfur is made by grind-
ing roll sulfur to a fine powder.
In the form of a powder or dust, sulfur is especially valuable
against red spider.. In California flowers of sulfur mixed with
equal parts of hydrated lime is blown on the trees for the control
of red spider and mite. Sulfur is sometimes used for the same
purpose mixed with water at the rate of 1 pound in 3 gallons of
water, in which a little soap has been dissolved to help keep the
sulfur in suspension. The sulfur settles quickly and should be
agitated constantly during spraying. The sulfur will remain in
suspension longer if first made into a paste with water contain-
ing 4 of 1 per cent of glue. |
LIME-SULFUR SOLUTION
A solution of lime and sulfur was first used as an insecticide —
in California in 1886. The mixture at that time was known
as the lime-sulfur and salt wash, but experience has shown that
the presence of the salt does not increase the value of the wash,
and it is now usually omitted. The lime-sulfur solution is the
most widely used, safest and most efficient contact insecticide
now available for the control of scale insects and blister-mite.
In many regions it has also replaced Bordeaux mixture for
the control of fungous diseases on apple and pear.
When lime and sulfur are boiled together in water, a compli-
cated chemical reaction takes place. The calcium (Ca) con-
tained in the lime (CaO) combines with the sulfur (S) in varying
amounts. Two of the compounds thus formed are calcium
pentasulfid (CaS;) and calcium tetrasulfid (CaS,), containing
respectively 80 and 76 per cent of sulfur. At the same time
there is always formed a smaller quantity of thiosulfate (CaS20s).
These three compounds are soluble in water and give to the solu-
tion its insecticidal value. It is supposed that a solution will be
more effective in proportion as it contains a higher percentage
ee ie ee ll
21
482 FRUIT INSECTS
of the pentasulfid. To insure the complete union of the sulfur —
and lime, it is necessary to boil the mixture about one hour. —
If boiled much less than an hour, some of the ingredients will be ;
left in a free and insoluble condition, forming a sediment. If —
boiled much more than an hour, insoluble compounds of calcium
and sulfur are formed, which go to increase the quantity of
sediment. 3
To avoid the formation of sediment in the solution, it is im- —
portant that only high grade lime be used, that the lime and —
sulfur be combined in proper proportions, and that the mixture ©
should not be cooked in too concentrated a form.
To obtain the best results, use lime guaranteed to contain at
least 95 per cent calcium oxid; lime containing less than 90 per —
cent should be avoided. Lime containing more than five per —
cent magnesium oxid should never be used, as the presence of the —
magnesium causes an unnecessary loss of sulfur, produces the
poisonous hydrogen sulfid gas (HS) and increases the amount
of sediment. In order to avoid the presence of uncombined
lime or sulfur in the mixture, twice as much sulfur as lime is
used (90 per cent calcium oxid), since this is the proportion in
which they combine under these conditions. :
Several formulas have been used in the past, but the follow-
ing, worked out at the Geneva Agricultural Experiment Station,
is on the whole the most satisfactory for commercial work.
er
Homemade concentrated lime-sulfur solution.
. {95 per cent calcium oxid . . . . . . 388 pounds
Lump lime 190 per cent calcium oxid . . . . . +. 40 pounds
oii a Aer. Tea aren een NR I MR AAR e A ce i
WV aber ses ey > ae ee es eu) Ane Ng ee
Make a paste of the sulfur with about 10 gallons of hot water.
Add the lime. As the lime slakes add hot water as necessary
to prevent caking. When the lime has slaked add hot water to
make 50 gallons and boil one hour, stirring constantly. Water
INSECTICIDES 483
_ should be added from time to time to keep the liquid up to 50
gallons. Store in air-tight hardwood barrels. Test the strength
of the solution with a Beaumé hydrometer and dilute for use
according to the following table:
DILUTIONS FOR DORMANT AND SUMMER SPRAYING
WITH LIME-SULFUR MIXTURES
AMOUNT OF DILUTION
NUMBER OF GALLONS OF WATER TO ONE GALLON OF
LIME-SULFUR SOLUTION
READING ON HyDROMETER
For San José Bar blisterauite For summer spray-
scale a ing of apples
Degrees Beaumé
= ae 9 123 45
34 82 12 43+
33 8+ 1B 413
32 8 11 40
31 qs 103 373
30 Ts 10 364
29 63 1 341
28 63 9 322
hie 6 Ss 31
26 53 8 291
25: oF 13 272
24 . 3) re 26
23 44 63 244
22 4i 6 293
Bit. 33 5k 212
AY. %; 35 +5) 192
19 . 31 43 182
1 eae 3 4i 17
yee 23 4 16
16 . 21 33 15
15". 21 31 14
14. 2 3 122
484 FRUIT INSECTS
An older formula and the one most widely used in the past is
given below. This does not give a concentrated wash but the
mixture is applied at the original strength without dilution.
Homemade lime-sulfur.
Quicktime (i055 F ae eh ole Oe ee, EO OUTS
Sulfur (flour or flowers). . . . . . 15 pounds
Water Pa Mwy ela eet cael ge age ral See see
The lime and sulfur must be thoroughly boiled. An iron kettle 4
may be used for this purpose, or the mixture may be cooked in
mee
is,
Fic. 396. — A plant for cooking lime-sulfur solution.
barrels by forcing live steam into it through a pipe or rubber
hose (Fig. 396). Place the lime in the kettle or barrel and add
INSECTICIDES 485
hot water gradually in sufficient quantity to produce the most
rapid slaking of the lime. If too much water is added at first,
it ‘““drowns” the lime and slaking takes place very slowly.
When the lime begins to slake add the sulfur and stir it in thor-
oughly. When the slaking is completed add more water and
boil the mixture about one hour. As the lime and sulfur go
into solution a rich orange-red or olive-green color will appear,
depending on the kind of lime used. After boiling one hour
add water to the required amount and strain into the spray
tank. This wash is most effective when applied warm, but may
be used cold.
Owing to the excess of lime used a solution made by the above
method will contain a large quantity of sediment. As this sedi-
ment is liable to clog the nozzles and interfere with the appli-
cation of the wash, and as it has little insecticidal value, this
method of preparation has been abandoned by most commercial
growers, who now use the concentrated solution.
Concentrated commercial lime-sulfur. — There are on the mar-
ket many brands of the concentrated lime-sulfur solution.
They usually test from 30 to 33 degrees Beaumé and should
for use be diluted according to the table given above.
Self-boiled lime-sulfur. — This preparation is used primarily
as a fungicide for the prevention of brown rot on stone fruits.
This is not a boiled solution, as might be inferred from the name.
It is prepared by placing in a barrel 8 pounds of the best stone
lime, to which is added a small quantity of cold water in order
to start it slaking. Eight pounds of sulfur worked through a
sieve to break up the lumps is then added slowly to the slaking
lime, which is kept from burning by the addition of just enough
cold water so as not to drown it. The slaking mixture must
be stirred constantly. Just as soon as the slaking is completed
(which should be in five to fifteen minutes), fill the barrel with
cold water (50 gallons). The mixture is strained into the
_ sprayer tank through a sieve of 20 meshes to the inch. It must
486 FRUIT INSECTS
be agitated constantly while being applied, as it settles rapidly. —
When properly made this is simply a fine mechanical mixture of —
lime and sulfur produced by the heat and bubbling action of —
slaking, and should have but little sulfur in solution. This_ J
mixture is especially adapted for the spraying of peaches and | 4
plums in foliage, as it causes no injury. Arsenate of lead may ~
be added to this mixture for the control of plum curculio. a
EMULSIONS.
Emulsions are oily or resinous sprays in which these sub- :
stances are suspended in water in the form of minute globules, —
a condition brought about by the addition of soap. They form
an important class of contact insecticides useful particularly
against scale insects and plant-lice. |
KEROSENE EMULSION
Kerosene emulsion is one of the oldest of our contact in-
secticides. It is especially valuable for use against plant-lice
and other small, soft-bodied insects. It is prepared by the
following formula :
SO eee das ee maa meme er true len Le ior) |
Water qn) SAS a eae a ae ee
Kerosene. 02.0 Ste ea: ee ee
Dissolve the soap in hot water ; remove from the fire and while —
still hot add the kerosene. Pump the liquid back into itself
for five or ten minutes or until it becomes a creamy mass. If
properly made the oil will not separate on cooling.
For use on dormant trees, dilute with 5 to 7 parts of vatee |
For killing plant-lice on foliage, dilute with 10 to 15 parts of
water. Crude oil emulsion is made in the same way by substi-
tuting crude oil in place of kerosene. The strength of oil emul-
INSECTICIDES : , A487
- sions is frequently indicated by the percentage of oil in the
diluted liquid :
For a 10 per cent emulsion add 17 gal. water to 3 gal. stock emulsion.
_ For a 15 per cent emulsion add 103 gal. water to 3 gal. stock emulsion.
For a 20 per cent emulsion add 7 gal. water to 3 gal. stock emulsion.
For a 25 per cent emulsion add 5 gal. water to 3 gal. stock emulsion.
- DISTILLATE EMULSION
Distillate emulsion is widely used in ae
Distillate (28° Beamme) oo. a fe oe 20 gallons
Witale-onl soapeooo. 7. ie se, 5. |e O80, ponds
RISER ere eee Mee ie cate ai en kine yer a Seren DOTS
Dissolve the whale-oil soap in the water, which should be
heated to the boiling point, add the distillate and agitate thor-
oughly while the solution is hot. For use add 20 gallons of
water to each gallon of the stock emulsion.
CarBotic Acip EMULSION
This spray is used in California for mealy bugs, plant-lice
and the soft brown scale.
Whale-oil’ soap... ore on ae = 40 pounds
Crude-carbolie acid), o's = oO gallons
PNW IERE fo toe no phe at en oh eo ented oe on EOP OMS
Dissolve the soap completely in hot water, add the carbolic
acid, and heat to the boiling point for 20 minutes. For use
add 20 gallons of water to each galion of stock emulsion.
MIsciBLE OILS
There are now on the market a number of concentrated oil
emulsions, known as soluble or miscible oils, intended primarily
for use against the San José scale. For this purpose they are
ed eS
488 FRUIT INSECTS
i
fairly effective when diluted with not more than 15 parts of {
water. To lessen danger of injury to the trees applications —
should not be made when the temperature is below freezing, —
nor when the trees are wet with snow or rain. Trees are less ;
susceptible to injury just before the buds start in the spring. 4
Methods have been devised for preparing these concentrated
emulsions at home, but as there is considerable danger attend- j
ing the process, it is better to buy them ready-made. 3
4
ToBacco :
Tobacco is one of our most useful insecticides. The poison- —
ous principle in tobacco is an alkaloid, nicotine, which in the —
pure state is a colorless oily fluid, slightly heavier than water,
of little smell when cold and with an exceedingly acrid burn-
ing taste even when largely diluted. It is soluble in water and
entirely volatile. It is one of the most virulent poisons known ;
a single drop is sufficient to kill a dog.
Commercial tobacco preparations have been on the market
for many years. The most important of these are Black Leaf,
‘Black Leaf 40’’ and Nicofume.
Black Leaf was formerly the most widely used tobacco ex-
tract. It contains only 2.7 per cent nicotine and has now been
replaced by the more concentrated extracts. It is used for
plant-lice at the rate of 1 gallon to 65 gallons of water.
“Black Leaf 40” is a concentrated tobacco extract containing
40 per cent nicotine sulfate. Its specific gravity is about 1.25.
In this preparation the nicotine is in a non-volatile form, it
having been treated with sulfuric acid to form the sulfate.
“Black Leaf 40” is used at strengths varying from 1 part in
800 parts of water to 1 part in 1600 parts. It can be satisfac-
torily combined with other sprays, as, for instance, lime- —
sulfur solution, arsenate of lead and the various soap solutions. —
When used with water about 4 pounds of soap should be added —
INSECTICIDES 489
to each 100 gallons to make the mixture spread and stick
better. 3
- Nicofume is a tobacco extract containing 40 per cent of nico-
tine in the volatile form. It is intended primarily for use in
greenhouses. Strips of paper soaked in this preparation are
smudged in greenhouses to destroy aphids. |
Tobacco is also used in the form of dust for the same purpose.
It is especially valuable against root-lice on asters and other
plants. Tobacco extracts can be made at home by steeping
tobacco stems in water, but as they vary greatly in nicotine con-
tent and are sometimes likely to injure tender foliage, it is better
to buy the standardized extracts.
BorDEAUX MIXTURE
Bordeaux mixture has been for many years the most widely
used fungicide, but has now been replaced by the dilute lime-
sulfur solution for orchard spraying in many parts of the country,
owing to the serious foliage injury and russetting of the fruit
often caused by its use. In addition to its fungicidal properties
it also acts as a deterrent to many insects, especially flea beetles.
Hither arsenate of lead or Paris green may be used in combina-
tion with it.
Bordeaux mixture is prepared by mixing a solution of copper
sulfate (CuSO,) and milk of lime (Calcium Hydroxide) accord-
ing to the following formula:
Copper SUMPAtO ee Contos, Mee ta Ged pounds
Anas Fe Se, a 2, itn ae en line ee AS OUT OLS
WEG, 2 es ke ee en eer shee oo BO Se MONS
In some cases a weaker mixture is used, containing 3 pounds
of copper sulfate and lime respectively. These formulas are
often abbreviated thus: 4—4—50 and 3-3-50.
When needed in large amounts Bordeaux mixture is most
490 FRUIT INSECTS
conveniently prepared by using a stock solution of copper sul
fate and milk of lime, storing them in tubs on an elevated plat- ;
form from which the desired quantity of each can be casts |
drawn off into the spray tank.
Dissolve the required quantity of copper sulfate in water in =
the proportion of one pound to one gallon, several hours before
the solution is needed; suspend the copper sulfate crystals — q
in a sack near the top of the water. A solution of copper sulfate ‘
is heavier than water. As soon, then, as the crystals begin to 4
dissolve, the solution will sink, bringing water again in contact
with the crystals. In this way, the crystals will dissolve muse
sooner than if placed in the bottom of the barrel of water. In
case large quantities of stock solution are needed, two pounds —
of copper sulfate may be dissolved in one gallon of water.
Slake the required quantity of lime in a tub or trough. Add
the water slowly at first, so that the lime crumbles into a fine
powder. If small quantities of lime are used, hot water is pre-
ferred. When completely slaked or entirely powdered, add more
water. When the lime has slaked sufficiently, add water to
bring it to a thick milk or to a certain number of gallons. The
amount required for each tank of spray mixture can be secured
approximately from this stock mixture, which should not be
allowed to dry out. Hydrated or prepared lime of good quality
may be substituted for the stone lime. Place the required quan-
tity in the barrel or tank and add water. No slaking is required.
Do not use air-slaked lime.
Take five gallons of stock solution of copper sulfate for every
fifty gallons of Bordeaux required. Pour this into the tank.
Add water until the tank is about two thirds full. From the
stock lime mixture add the required quantity. Stir the mixture,
add water to make 50 gallons. Experiment Stations often rec-
ommend the diluting of both the copper sulfate solution and the
lime mixture to one half the required amount before putting
together. This is not necessary, and is often impracticable
orc,
fogs
9
_ INSECTICIDES : 491
for commercial work. It is preferable to dilute the copper
sulfate solution. Never pour together the concentrated stock
mixtures and dilute afterward. Bordeaux mixture of other
strengths as recommended is made in the same way, except
that the amounts of copper sulfate and lime are varied according
to the requirements.
It is not necessary to weigh the lime in making Bordeaux
mixture, for a simple test can be used to determine when enough
of a stock lime mixture has been added. Dissolve an ounce of
yellow prussiate of potashin a pint of water and label it “‘ poison.”
Cut a V-shaped slit in one side of the cork so that the liquid.
may be poured out in drops. Add the lime mixture to the di-
luted copper sulfate solution until the ferrocyanide test solution
will not turn brown when dropped from the bottle into the mix-
ture. It is always best to add a slight excess of lime.
FUMIGATION
The fumes of hydrocyanic acid gas are very destructive to
insect life. Fumigation with this gas is practiced extensively
in greenhouses, in citrus orchards, where the trees are inclosed
in portable tents for the purpose, and for the destruction of scale
insects on nursery stock.
Hydrocyanic acid gas is a deadly poison, and the greatest
care should be exercised in its use. For generating the gas
always use 98 to 100 per cent pure potassium cyanide, and a good
grade of commercial sulfuric acid. The chemicals are always
es ee
combined in the following proportion :
Motassiym cyanide’. lobe es ee leounce
SMe aCidn Oe eS ee eee, Soe Tot id’ ounee
NPR ee Bite ke Say oe i SOs Bate an 2 Had OUNCES
Use an earthen dish, pour in the water first, then add the
sulfuric acid to it. Put the required amount of cyanide into a
492 FRUIT INSECTS
thin paper bag, and when all is ready, drop it into the liquid
and leave the room immediately. 3
Dormant nursery stock may be fumigated in a tight box or
fumigating house made especially for the purpose. Foun
houses are built of two thicknesses of matched boards, with
building paper between, and are provided with tight-fitti A
doors, and with ventilators. The stock should be reasonably
dry to avoid injury, and should be piled loosely in the house to
permit a free circulation of the gas. Use 1 ounce of potassium
cyanide to each 100 cubic feet of space, and let the fumigation
continue 40 minutes to one hour.
OS Ee SR
Z
* A
abdominalis, Hartigia, 334.
_ Ablerus clisiocampe, 168, 179.
abnormis, Aphelinus, 175.
-— aculiferus, Leptostylus, 194.
_ Adoxus obscurus, 451.
enea, Tischeria, 71.
_e@nescens, Magdalis, 199. |
Agrilus ruficollis, 332.
— stnuatus, 230.
-albida, Syneta, 205.
Alceris minuta, 59, 462.
minuta cinderella, 60.
_ Aleyrodes packardi, 369.
_ Allorhina mutabilis, 298.
nitida, 296.
Alsophila pometaria, 86.
alternata, Rhynchagrotis, 139.
Alypia octomaculata, 420.
americana, Harrisina, 416.
americana, Malacosoma, 112.
americana, Schizoneura, 157.
_ American plum borer, 253.
eet y »5- ~~ 5 ae
: American raspberry beetle, 323.
_Ampeloglypter ater, 426.
_ sesostris, 425.
_ Amphicerus bicaudatus, 423.
amygdali, Pulvinaria, 264.
_amygdalina, Caltroa, 288. -
Anaphes gracilis, 168, 175.
_ Anarsia lineatella, 284.
Ancylis comptana, 361.
_ nubeculana, 61. f
-ancylus, Aspidiotus, 179.
annue, Aphis, 152.
_annulata, Brochymena, 208.
annulipes, Pimpla, 16.
_ Anomala lucicola, 402.
-marginata, 402.
_Anomolon exile, 121.
-antennata, Xylina, 39.
_ Anthonomus quadrigibbus, 35.
_ signatus, 372.
a
4
4
‘
:
:
INDEX
antiqua, Notolophus, 105.
Antique tussock-moth, 105.
Apanteles cacecie, 58.
hyphantrie, 111.
Spe, io:
Aphelinus abnormis, 175.
diaspidis, 337.
fuscipennis, 168, 175.
mali, 157.
mytilaspidis, 168, 175.
Aphids, on apple, 142.
Aphis annue, 152.
forbesi, 382.
mali, 147.
malifolie, 149.
persice-niger, 289.
pomi, 147.
scotit, 259.
setarie, 259.
sorbi, 149.
apicalis, Labena, 197.
appendiculatus, Gymnonychus, 344.
_| Apple bud-aphis, 151.
bud-borer, 184.
bud-worm, 46.
curculio, 35.
flea-beetles, 204.
fruit-miner, 26.
insects, 9.
leaf-aphis, 147.
leaf-hopper, 180.
’ leaf-hopper, Bird’s, 183.
leaf-sewer, 61.
leaf-skeletonizer, 67.
maggot, 31.
red bugs, 28.
weevil, 38.
wood-stainer, 198.
Apple-tree borer, flat-headed, 194.
borer, round-headed, 185.
borer, spotted, 193.
tent-caterpillar, 112.
Aramigus fulleri, 389.
Araneus displicatus, 59.
Archips argyrospila, 62.
493
A494 INDEX
Archips cerasivorana, 309.
obsoletana, 364.
rosaceana, 65.
arctica, Hadena, 138.
Argyresthia conjugella, 26.
argyrospila, Archips, 62.
Arsenate of lead, 476.
Arsenic, 474.
Arsenite of zine, 479.
Arrhenophagus chionaspidis, 337.
arundinis, Hyalopterus, 258.
Ascogaster carpocapse, 16.
Aspidiotiphagus citrinus, 168.
Aspidiotus ancylus, 179.
forbesi, 312.
howard1, 234.
juglans-regie, 360. ~
ostreeformis, 260.
perniciosus, 162.
rapax, 180.
uve, 429.
Astichus tischerie, 76.
ater, Ampeloglypter, 426.
atra, Phylloscelis, 472.
Aulacaspis pentagona, 295.
rose, 336.
aurantii, Prospaltella, 168.
avene, Siphocoryne, 151.
B
badistriga, Homohadena, 138.
baja, Noctua, 139.
Bembecia marginata, 335.
Bethylus sp., 16.
bicaudatus, Amphicerus, 423.
bifidus, Telenomus, 111.
Big-headed borer, California, 197.
bimaculata, Oberea, 326.
bimaculatus, Tetranychus, 208, 315.
birdit, Empoasca flavescens, 183.
Bird’s apple leaf-hopper, 183.
bivulnerus, Chilocorus, 168, 261.
Blackberry crown-borer, 335.
insects, 315.
leaf-miner, 317.
psyllid, 322.
Blackbird, red-winged, 64.
Black-headed cranberry worm, 460.
‘“Black Leaf,’’ 488.
‘‘Black Leaf 40,’’ 488.
Black-lined cutworm, 139.
Black-marked strawberry slug, 366.
Black peach aphis, 289.
Black vine-weevil, 387.
blancardella, Lithocolletes, 72.
Blister-mite, pear-leaf, 227.
Bluejay, 92.
Bordeaux mixture, 489.
borealis, Ceresa, 162.
Bracon charus, 197.
eurygaster, 201.
mellitor, 185.
pectinator, 197.
Brochymena annulata, 208.
quadripustulata, 209.
Bronze apple-tree weevil, 199.
Brown fruit-chafer, 298.
Brown-tail moth, 135.
bruceata, Rachela, 93.
‘Bruce’s measuring-worm, 93.
brunnea, Colaspis, 393.
Bryobia pratensis, 206.
bubalus, Ceresa, 160.
bucculatricis, Encyrtus, 58.
Bucculatrix pomifoliella, 56.
Bud-moth, 42.
Buffalo tree-hopper, 160.
Byturus unicolor, 323.
C
caecie, Apanteles, 58.
calidum, Calosoma, 92, 121.
California big-headed borer, 197.
grape root-worm, 451.
tussock-moth, 104.
caliginosus, Harpalus, 380.
Caliroa amygdalina, 288.
Calliephialtes messor, 17.
Calocampa nupera, 470.
Calosoma calidum, 92, 121.
scrutator, 92, 121.
sycophanta, 133.
canadensis, E'pochra, 355.
Canarsia hammondi, 67.
candida, Saperda, 185.
canellus, Typophorus, 391.
Canker-worm, fall, 86.
spring, 77.
Carbolic acid emulsion, 487.
caricinus, Corymbites, 55.
ie se ESPs fiers Pa Ave ee <i a
SunETED ore POTTS se ;
carolina, Mantis, 111.
Carpocapsa pomonella, 10.
carpocapse, Ascogaster, 16.
catskillensis, Odynerus, 44.
Cecidomyia oxycoccana, 465.
Cenocelius populator, 190.
Cenopis diluticostana, 286.
cerasi, Myzus, 310.
cerasivorana, Archips, 309.
Ceresa borealis, 162.
_ bubalus, 160.
taurina, 162.
ceryicaulis, Scymnus, 157.
Chalcis ovata, 102.
chalybea, Haltica, 403.
charus, Bracon, 197.
Cherry fruit-flies, 304.
fruit sawfly, 307.
insects, 304.
plant-louse, 310.
seale, 312.
Cherry-tree tortrix, 309.
Chickadee, 17, 76, 82, 89.
Chilocorus bivulnerus, 168, 261.
— stmilis, 168.
Chiloneurus diaspidinarum, 175.
chionaspidis, Arrhenophagus, 337.
_Chionaspis furfura, 176.
Chrysobothris femorata, 194.
malt, 197.
chrysorrhea, Euproctis, 135.
Cigar-case-bearer, 47.
cinderella, Alceris minuta, 60.
cingulata, Oncideres, 202.
cingulata, Rhagoletis, 304.
Cirrospilus flavicinctus, 58.
citrinus, Aspidiotiphagus, 168.
citrinus, Rhopoidens, 168.
clandestina, Noctua, 139.
claripennis, Euphorocera, 103.
Clean farming, 7.
Cleora pampinaria, 464.
Click-beetles, 55.
Climbing cutworms, 138.
clisiocampe, Ablerus, 168, 179.
Clover mite, 206.
Cnidocampa flavescens, 106.
Coccinella novemnotata, 157.
coccisugus, Hemisarcoptes, 175.
Coccotorus scutellaris, 251.
; cockerellt, Dicraneura, 416.
INDEX 495
Codlin-moth, 10.
cognataria, Lycia, 346.
Colaspis brunnea, 393.
Coleophora fletcherella, 47.
malivorella, 49.
Collops quadrimaculatus, 168.
comes, T'yphlocyba, 408.
comptana, Ancylis, 361.
concinna, Schizura, 125.
confusella, Gelechia, 287.
conjugella, Argyresthia, 26.
Conotrachelus crategi, 236.
nenuphar, 2438.
conquisitor, Pimpla, 121.
Contarinia johnsoni, 437.
pyriwora, 225.
cooke1, Hoplocampa, 307.
Coptodisca splendoriferella, 75.
Corimelena pulicaria, 324.
corni, Lecanium, 261.
Corymbites caricinus, 55.
cylindriformis, 55.
tarsalis, 55.
‘Cottony maple scale, 427.
Crambus hortuellus, 468.
Cranberry fruit-worm, 466.
fulgorid, 472.
gall-fly, 465.
girdler, 468.
insects, 460.
katydid, 467.
spanworm, 464.
worm, black-headed, 460.
worm, yellow-headed, 462.
Craponius inequalis, 440.
crategi, Conotrachelus, 236.
crategt, Pseudanthonomus, 38.
Crepidodera helxines, 205.
rufipes, 205.
cretata, Saperda, 193.
cristatus, Prionidus, 111.
Crop rotation, 8.
Cucumber flea-beetle, 205.
cucumeris, Epitrix, 205.
cunea, Hyphantria, 107.
Currant-borer, imported, 339.
Currant fruit-fly, dark, 356.
fruit-fly, yellow, 355.
insects, 339.
plant-louse, 350.
worm, green, 344.
a il a a a a a ek a al
496
Currant worm, imported, 341.
Currant-stem girdler, 357.
Cutworm, black-lined, 139.
dark-sided, 139.
dingy, 139.
mottled-gray, 139.
red, 139.
speckled, 139.
spotted-legged, 139.
variegated, 139.
well-marked, 139.
white, 139.
white-spotted, 138.
yellow-headed, 138.
Cutworms, climbing, 138.
cylindriformis, Corymbites, 55.
Cymatophora ribearia, 345.
sulphurea, 464.
D
Dark currant fruit-fly, 356.
Dark-sided cutworm, 139.
Dasyneura grossularie, 353.
Datana ministra, 123.
defoliaria, Erannis, 92.
delicatus, Macrocentrus, 16.
Dermestid beetle, 102, 104.
Desmia funeralis, 418.
Dewberry insects, 315.
dianthi, Rhopalosiphum, 291.
diaspidinarum, Chiloneurus, 175.
diaspidis, Aphelinus, 337.
Diaspis rose, 336.
Dicraneura cockerelli, 416.
Dictyna foliacea, 59.
diluticostana, Cenopis, 286.
Dingy cutworm, 139.
dispar, Porthetria, 128.
dispar, Xyleborus, 232.
displicatus, Araneus, 59.
disstria, Malacosoma, 119.
Distillate emulsion, 487.
Dusting, 7.
E
earinoides, Microdus, 47.
Hight-spotted forester, 420.
Elaphidion villosum, 200.
Emulsion, carbolic acid, 487.
INDEX
Emulsion, distillate, 487.
kerosene, 486.
Emulsions, 486.
Emphytus gillettet, 369.
Empoasca flavescens birdit, 183.
mali, 180.
Empria ignota, 368.
maculata, 366.
Empusa grylli, 111.
Enarmonia prunivora, 23.
| Encyrtus bucculatricis, 58.
Ennomos subsignarius, 99.
Epicerus wmbricatus, 371.
Epidiaspis piricola, 234.
Epinotia pyricolana, 184.
Epitrix cucumeris, 205.
Epochra canadensis, 355.
Erannis defoliaria, 92.
tiliaria, 89.
Erinose of the vine, 421.
Eriocampoides limacina, 214.
Eriophyes pyri, 227.
vitis, 421.
Erythraspides pygmea, 417.
Eudemis vacciniana, 460.
Eulia quadrifasciana, 66.
Euphoria inda, 298.
melancholica, 298.
Euphorocera claripennis, 103.
Euproctis chrysorrhea, 135.
European fruit lecanium, 261.
fruit-tree scale, 260.
peach scale, 295.
pear scale, 234.
eurygaster, Bracon, 201.
Euthrips pyri, 223.
tritici, 301, 379.
Euzophera semifuneralis, 253.
Evoxysoma vitis, 442.
Exartema malanum, 46.
permundanum, 321.
exile, Anomolon, 121.
exitiosa, Sanninoidea, 266.
Eye-spotted apple-twig borer, 209.
F
Fall canker-worm, 86.
Fall webworm, 107.
False army-worm, 470.
False tarnished plant-bug, 221.
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INDEX 497
fausta, Rhagoletis, 304. Goniozus sp., 16.
_ femerata, Chyrsobothris, 194. Gooseberry fruit-worm, 353.
fennica, Noctua, 139. insects, 339.
Fidia viticida, 443. midge, 353.
Flat-headed apple-tree borer, 194. span-worm, 345.
flavescens, Cnidocampa, 106. gracilis, Anaphes, 168, 175.
flavescens, Empoasca, 183. Grackle, rusty, 60.
flavicinctus, Cirrospilus, 58. -grallator, Labena, 197.
Flea-beetle, apple, 304. Grape-berry moth, 430.
cucumber, 205. Grape-blossom midge, 437.
grape-vine, 403. Grape-cane borer, 423.
pale-striped, 204. - gall-maker, 425.
red-legged, 205. girdler, 426.
smartweed, 204. Grape curculio, 440.
strawberry, 370. insects, 397.
willow, 205. leaf-folder, 418.
Flea-beetles, 203. leaf-hopper, 408.
fletcherella, Coleophora, 47. Phylloxera, 455.
fletcheri, Pamphilius, 321. plume-moth, 422.
Flour paste, formula, 316. ‘root-worm, 443.
foliacea, Dictyna, 59. root-worm, California, 451.
foliacea, Haltica, 204. scale, 429.
forbesi, Aphis, 382. Grape-leaf skeletonizer, 416.
forbesi, Aspidiotus, 312. Grape-seed chalcis, 442.
Forbes’ scale, 312. Grape-vine flea-beetle, 403.
Forest tent-caterpillar, 119. root-borer, 452.
Four-banded leaf-roller, 66. sawfly, 417.
Four-lined leaf-bug, 347. Graphops pubescens, 393.
foveolatum, Tyloderma, 389. Greedy scale, 180.
fragarie, Tyloderma, 388. Green currant worm, 344.
fragilis, Malacosoma, 118. — Green fruit-worms, 39.
frenchii, Frontina, 102. Green June-beetle, 296.
Fringed-wing apple bud-moth, 45. Green peach aphis, 291.
Frontina frenchit, 102. Green strawberry slug, 368.
Fruit-tree bark-beetle, 277. ; grossularie, Dasyneura, 353.
Fruit-tree leaf-roller, 62. grossularie, Zophodia, 353.
fullert, Aramigus, 389. - | grotet, Xylina, 39.
Fuller’s rose beetle, 389. Ground-beetles, 82, 92, 380.
Fumigation, 491. gryllt, Empusa, 111.
funeralis, Desmia; 418. guttivitta, Heterocampa, 127.
furfura, Chionaspis, 176. Gymnonychus appendiculatus, 344.
fusca, Lachnosterna, 395.
‘fuscipennis, Aphelinus, 168, 175. H
G Hadena arctica, 138.
Half-winged geometer, 96.
Gelechia confusella, 287. Haltica chalybea, 403.
geminatella, Ornizx, 73. foliacea, 204.
gilletter, Emphytus, 369. agnita, 370.
Gipsy moth, 128. punctipennis, 204.
- Glypta simplictpes, 66. Haltichella sp., 17.
2
498
hamatus, Schistocerus, 423.
hammondi, Canarsia, 67.
Harpalus caliginosus, 380.
pennsylvanicus, 380.
Harrisina americana, 416.
Hartigia abdominalis, 334.
Hellebore, 479.
helxines, Crepidodera, 205.
Hemerocampa leucostigma, 100.
vetusta, 104.
Hemisarcoptes coccisugus, 175.
Heterocampa guttivitta, 127.
Heterocordylus malinus, 28.
hirticula, Lachnosterna, 395. -
Holcocera maligemmella, 45.
Homohadena badistriga, 138.
Hoplocampa cookei, 307.
Hop plant-louse, 256.
hortuellus, Crambus, 468.
Howard scale, 234.
howardi, Aspidiotus, 234.
hudsonias, Systena, 204.
humuli, Phorodon, 256.
Hyalopterus arundinis, 258.
Hyperaspidius sp., 179.
Hyphantria cunea, 107.
hyphantrie, Apanteles, 111.
hyphantrie, Meteorus, 111.
Hypostena variabilis, 16.
I
ignita, Haltica, 370.
agnota, Empria, 368.
tlicis, Lachnosterna, 395.
Imbricated snout-beetle, 371.
wmbricatus, Epicerus, 371.
Imported currant borer, 339.
Imported. currant worm, 341.
inequalis, Craponius, 440.
inconspicua, Neurotoma, 254.
inda, Euphoria, 298.
indigenella, Mineola, 68.
inermis, Stictocephala, 161.
inquisitor, Pimpla, 102, 121.
tpomee, Schizura, 139.
Insecticides, 474.
Insects, control of, 6.
development of, 5.
feeding of, 3.
metamorphosis of, 5.
INDEX
Insects, respiration of, 4.
structure of, 1.
awnteger, Janus, 357.
anvitus, Lygus, 221.
Ithycerus noveboracencis, 210.
J
Janus integer, 357.
johnsoni, Contarinia, 437.
juglans-regie, Aspidiotus, 360.
K
Kerosene emulsion, 486.
L
| Labena apicalis, 197.
grallator, 197.
Lachnosterna fusca, 395.
hirticula, 395.
tlicis, 395.
spp., 393.
lanigera, Schizoneura, 153.
laticinctus, Microdus, 44.
laticinerea, Xylina, 39.
Lead arsenate, 476.
Leaf-crumpler, 68.
Leaf-footed plant-bug, 379.
Leaf-hopper, grape, 408.
Lecanium corni, 261.
magnoliarum, 295.
nigrofasciatum, 2938.
persice, 295.
Lepidosaphes ulmi, 171.
Leptoglossus phyllopus, 379.
Leptostylus aculiferus, 194.
Lesser apple leaf-roller, 59.
Lesser apple worm, 23.
Lesser peach-tree borer, 276.
leucostigma, Hemerocampa, 100.
ligulellus, Ypsolophus, 52.
limacina, Eriocampoides, 214.
Lime-sulfur solution, 481.
Lime-tree span-worm, 89.
liminaris, Phleotribus,,. 282.
Limneria pallipes, 111.
lineatella, Anarsia, 284.
lineatus, Pecilocapsus, 347.
Lithocolletes blancardella, 72.
Ree > vi
London purple, 475.
Losses caused by insects, 1.
lucicola, Anomala, 402.
Lycia cognataria, 346.
Lygidea mendaz, 28.
Lygus invitus, 221.
pratensis, 301, 375.
M
Macrocentrus delicatus, 16.
Macrodactylus subspinosus, 397.
maculata, Empura, 366.
Magdalis enescens, 199.
magnoliarum, Lecanium, 295.
mahaleb, Myzus, 257.
Malacosoma americana, 112.
disstria, 119.
fragilis, 118.
pluvialis, 118.
malanum, Exartema, 46.
mali, Aphelinus, 157.
malt, Aphis, 147.
malt, Chrysobothris, 197.
mali, Empoasca, 180.
mali, Monarthrum, 198.
mali, Pterocyclon, 198.
malifolie, Aphis, 149.
maltfoliella, Tischeria, 69.
maligemmella, Holcocera, 45.
malinus, Heterocordylus, 28.
_malivorella, Coleophora, 49.
Mamestra subjuncta, 139.
Mantis carolina, 111.
margaritosa, Peridroma, 139.
marginata, Anomala, 402.
marginata, Bembecia, 335.
Mealy plum louse, 258.
melancholica, Euphoria, 298.
mella, Tachina, 102, 121.
mellitor, Bracon, 185.
Memythrus polistiformis, 452.
mendax, Lygidea, 28.
Mesochorus politus, 58.
messor, Calliephialtes, 17.
messoria, Paragrotis, 139.
Metallus rubt, 317.
Meteorus hyphantrie, 111.
Microdus earinoides, 47.
- laticinctus, 44.
-
¢
a
INDEX
499
Microweisea misella, 168, 261.
suturalis, 168.
Mineola indigenella, 68.
vaccinit, 466.
ministra, Datana, 123.
minuta, Alceris, 59, 462.
Miscible oils, 487.
-misella, Microweisea, 168, 261.
Monarthrum mali, 198.
Monophadnus rubi, 319.
Mottled-gray cutworm, 139.
Mottled umber-moth, 92.
mutabilis, Allorhina, 298.
mytilaspidis, Aphelinus, 168.
Mytilaspis pomorum, 171.
Myzus cerasi, 310.
mahaleb, 257.
persice, 291.
ribis, 350.
N
Negro-bug, 324.
nenuphar, Conotrachelus, 243.
Nepticula pomivorella, 74.
Neurotoma inconspicua, 254.
New York Weevil, 210.
‘*Nicofume,’’ 489.
Nicotine, 488.
nigricornis, Gicanthus, 211, 325.
nigrifemora, Sympiesis, 76.
nigrofasciatum, Lecanium, 293.
nitida, Allorhina, 296.
niveus, Gicanthus, 211.
Noctua baja, 139.
clandestina, 139.
fennica, 139.
Nodonota tristis, 255.
Nothrus ovivorus, 89.
Notolophus antiqua, 105.
noveboracencis, Ithycerus, 210.
novemnotata, Coccinella, 157.
nubeculana, Ancylis, 61.
nupera, Calocampa, 470.
Nuthatch, 17
O
Oberea bimaculata, 326.
ocellata, 209.
Oblique-banded leaf-roller, 65.
obscurus, Adoxus, 451.
500
obsoletana, Archips, 364.
Obsolete-banded strawberry leaf-roller,
364.
ocellana, Tmetocera, 42.
ocellata, Oberea, 209.
octomaculata, Alypta, 420.
Odynerus catskillensis, 44.
(canthus nigricornis, 211, 325.
niveus, 211.
Oncideres cingulata, 202.
opalescens Sanninoidea, 275.
orgyie, Telenomus, 104.
Oriental moth, 106.
Ornix geminatella, 73.
ostreeformis, Aspidiotus, 260.
Otiorhynchus ovatus, 386.
sulcatus, 387.
ovata, Chalcis, 102.
ovatus, Otiorhynchus, 386.
ovivorus, Nothrus, 89.
oxycoccana, Cecidomyia, 465.
Oxyptilus periscelidactylus, 422.
Oyster-shell scale, 171.
P
Pacific peach-tree borer, 275.
packardi, Aleyrodes, 369.
Paleacrita vernata, 77.
Pale-striped flea-beetle, 204.
pallidus, Spathius, 197.
pallipes, Limneria, 111.
Palmer-worm, 52.
Pamera vincta, 379.
Pamphilius fletcheri, 321.
persicus, 287.
pampinaria, Cleora, 464.
Paragrotis messoria, 139.
scandens, 139.
Paris green, 475.
Peach bark-beetle, 282.
bud-mite, 301.
insects, 266.
sawfly, 287.
stop-back, 299.
twig-borer, 284.
Peach-tree borer, 266.
borer, lesser, 276.
borer, Pacific, 275.
Peach twig-borer, 284.
Pear-blight beetle, 232.
INDEX
Pear borer,. 232.
borer, sinuate, 230.
insects, 214.
midge; 225.
psylla, 218.
slug, 214.
thrips, 228.
Pear-leaf blister-mite, 227.
pectinator, Bracon, 197.
pennsylvanicus, Harpalus, 380.
pentagona, Aulacaspis, 295.
Pepper-and-salt currant moth, 346.
Peridroma margaritosa saucia, 139.
periscelidactylus, Oxyptilus, 422.
permundanum, Exartema, 321.
perniciosi, Prospaltella, 168.
perniciosus, Aspidrotus, 162.
persice, Lecanium, 295.
persice, Myzus, 291.
persice-niger, Aphis, 289.
persicus, Pamphilius, 287.
Phigalia titea, 96. ;
Phleotribus liminaris, 282.
Phorbia rubwora, 329.
Phorodon humuli, 256.
phyllopus, Leptoglossus, 379.
Phylloscelis atra, 472.
Phylloxera vastatrix, 455.
Physcus varicornis, 168.
Phytodietus vulgaris, 44.
pictipes, Sesia, 276.
Pimpla annulipes, 16.
conquisttor, 121.
inquisitor, 102, 121.
sp., 44.
Pipiza radicum, 157.
piricola, Epidiaspis, 234.
Pistol case-bearer, 49.
placida, Rhynchagrotis, 139.
placidus, Podisus, 121.
Plant-lice, on apple, 142.
Plum borer, American, 253.
Plum curculio, 243.
gouger, 251.
insects, 243.
leaf-beetle, 255.
plant-louse, 257.
Pulvinaria, 264.
web-spinning sawfly, 254.
pluvialis, Malacosoma, 118.
Podisus placidus, 121.
- Pin
Podisus serieventris, 121.
Pecilocapsus lineatus, 347.
polistiformis, Memythrus, 452.
politus, Mesochorus, 58.
Polychrosis viteana, 430.
pometaria, Alsophila, 86.°
pomi, Aphis, 147.
pomifoliella, Bucculatriz, 56.
pomivorella, Nepticula, 74.
pomonella, Carpocapsa, 10.
pomonella, Rhagoletis, 31.
pomorum, Mytilaspis, 171.
populator, Cenocelius, 190.
Porosagrotis vetusta, 139.
Porthetria dispar, 128.
Potter-wasps, 82. :
pratensis, Bryobia, 206.
pratensis, Lygus, 301, 375.
pretiosa, Trichogramma, 16.
Prionidus cristatus, 111.
Prodenia sp., 139.
Prospaltella aurantii, 168.
perniciosi, 168.
prunivora, Enarmonia, 23.
Pseudanthonomus crategi, 38.
Psylla pyricola, 218.
Pterocyclon mali, 198.
Pteronus ribesw, 341.
pubescens, Graphops, 393.
pulicaria, Corimelena, 324.
Pulvinaria amygdali, 264.
vitis, 427.
punctipennis, Haltica, 204.
punctipennis, Schistocerus, 425.
Putnam’s scale, 179.
pygmea, Erythraspides, 417.
pyri, Eriophyes, 227. —
pyrt, Euthrips, 223.
pyri, Sesia, 232.
pyricola, Psylla, 218.
pyricolana, Epinotia, 184.
pyrwora, Contarinia, 225.
Q
quadrifasciana, Eulia, 66.
quadrigibbus, Anthonomus, 35.
quadrimaculatus, Collops, 168.
quadripustulata, Brochymena, 209.
Quince insects, 236.
curculio, 236.
INDEX
R
Rachela bruceata, 93.
radicum, Pipiza, 157.
rapax, Aspidiotus, 180.
Raspberry beetle, American, 323.
cane-borer, 326.
cane-maggot, 329.
horntail, 334.
insects, 315.
leaf-roller, 321.
_ sawfly, 319.
webworm, 321.
Red cutworm, 139.
501
Red-humped apple caterpillar, 125.
Red-legged flea-beetle, 205. ~
Red-necked cane-borer, 332.
Red-spider, 208, 315.
Resplendent shield-bearer, 75.
Rhagoletis cingulata, 304.
fausta, 304.
pomonella, 31.
ribicola, 356.
Rhopalosiphum dianthi, 291.
Rhopoidens citrinus, 168.
Rhynchagrotis alternata, 139.
-placida, 139.
Ribbed cocoon-maker of the apple,
56.
ribearta, Cymatophora, 345.
ribesit, Pteronus, 341.
ribicola, Rhagoletis, 356.
ribis, Myzus, 350.
Ring-legged tree-bug, 208.
riparia, Vitis, 458.
rosaceana, Archips, 65.
rose, Aulacaspis, 336.
rose, Diaspis, 336.
Rose chafer, 397.
Rose scale, 336.
roseticola, Tischeria, 71.
Rosy apple aphis, 149.
Root-borer, grape-vine, 452.
Round-headed apple-tree borer, 185.
rubt, Metallus, 317.
rubi, Monophadnus, 319.
rubivora, Phorbia, 329.
ruficollis, Agrilus, 332.
rufipes, Crepidodera, 205.
rugulosus, Scolytus, 277.
rupestris, Vitis, 458.
502
Rusty brown plum aphis, 259.
rutilans, Sesia, 384.
Ss
Saddled prominent, 127.
San José scale, 162.
Sanninoidea exitiosa, 266.
opalescens, 275.
Saperda candida, 185.
cretata, 1938.
saucia, Peridroma margaritosa, 139.
scandens, Paragrotis, 139.
Schistocerus hamatus, 423.
punctipennis, 425.
Schizoneura americana, 157.
lanigera, 153.
Schizura concinna, 125.
tpomee, 139.
Scolytus rugulosus, 277.
scotti, Aphis, 259.
scrutator, Calosoma, 92, 121.
Scudderia texensis, 467.
Scurfy scale, 176.
scutellaris, Coccotorus, 251.
Scymnus ceryicaulis, 157.
semifuneralis, Huzophera, 253.
serveventris, Podisus, 121.
Serpentine leaf-miner, 74.
Sesia pictipes, 276.
pyrt, 232.
rutilans, 384. —
tipulrformis, 339.
sesostris, Ampéloglypter, 425.
setarie, Aphis, 259.
signatus, Anthonomus, 372.
similis, Chilocorus, 168.
sumplicipes, Glypta, 66.
Sinuate pear borer, 230.
sinuatus, Agrilus, 230.
Siphocoryne avene, 151.
Smartweed flea-beetle, 204.
Snowy tree-cricket, 211.
Soaps, 480.
sorbi, Aphis, 149.
Southern plum aphis, 259.
Spathius pallidus, 197.
Speckled cutworm, 139.
splendoriferella, Coptodisca, 75.
Spotted apple-tree borer, 193.
Spotted-legged cutworm, 139.
INDEX
Spotted tentiform leaf-miner, 72.
Spraying, 6.
Spraying schedule for apples, 9.
Spring canker-worm, 77.
Stictocephala inermis, 161.
Stop-back of peach, 299.
Strawberry crown-borer, 388.
crown-girdler, 386.
crown-miner, 385.
crown-moth, 384.
flea-beetle, 370.
insects, 361.
leaf-roller, 361.
root-louse, 382.
root-worms, 391.
slug, black-marked, 366.
slug, green, 368.
thrips, 379.
~ weevil, 372.
whitefly, 369.
Striped peach worm, 287.
subjuncta, Mamestra, 139.
subsignarius, Ennomos, 99.
subspinosus, Macrodactylus, 397.
sulcatus, Otiorhynchus, 387. —
Sulfur, 480.
sulphurea, Cymatophora, 464.
suturalis, Microweisea, 168.
sycophanta, Calosoma, 133.
Sympiesis nigrifemora, 76.
Syneta albida, 205.
Systena hudsonias, 204.
teniata, 204.
7
Tachina sp., 82, 89, 93, 111.
mella, 102, 121.
Tachinophyto sp., 17.
tentata, Systena, 204.
Tarnished plant-bug, 301, 375.
Tarnished plant-bug, false, 221.
tarsalis, Corymbites, 55.
Tarsonemus waitet, 301.
taurina, Ceresa, 162.
telarius, Tetranychus, 208.
Telenomus bifidus, 111. °
orgyte, 104. ©
Tent-caterpillar, apple-tree, 112.
forest, 119. me
leaf-roller, obsolete-banded, 364.
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INDEX 503
-Tent-caterpillar, western,.118. vetusta, Hemerocampa, 104.
Terrapin scale, 293. vetusta, Porosagrotis, 139.
Tetranychus bimaculatus, 208, 315. villosum, Elaphidion, 200.
telarvus, 208. . vincta, Pamera, 379.
texensis, Scudderia, 467. Vine chafers, 402.
- Thrush, 82. : viteana, Polychrosis, 430.
tiliaria, Hrannis, 89. viticida, Fidia, 443.
tipuliformis, Sesia, 339. vitis, Hriophyes, 421.
Tischeria cenea, 71. | vitis, Zvoxysoma, 442.
malifoliella, 69. vitis, Pulvinaria, 427.
roseticola, 71. Vitis riparia, 458.
tischerie, Astichus, 76. rupestris, 458.
titea, Phigalia, 96. vulgaris, Phytodietus, 44.
Tmetocera ocellana, 42.
Toads, 64, 117, 121. Ww
Tobacco, 488.
Tree-cricket, 325. ‘| waitei, Tarsonemus, 301.
snowy, 211. Walnut scale, 360.
Trichogramma pretiosa, 16. Warblers, 82.
Trioza tripunctata, 322. Well-marked cutworm, 139.
tripunctata, Trioza, 322. Western tent-caterpillar, 118.
tristis, Nodonota, 255. White cutworm, 139.
tritict, Huthrips, 301, 379. White ennomid, 99.
Trombidium sp., 16. White grubs, 393.
Trumpet leaf-miner, 69. White-marked tussock-moth, 100.
Tussock-moth, antique, 105. White peach scale, 295.
California, 104. White-spotted cutworm, 138.
white-marked, 100. Willow flea-beetle, 205.
Twig-girdler, 202. _ Woodpecker, 197.
Twig-pruner, 200. downy, 17.
Two-spotted mite, 208. __ ; Woolly aphis, 153.
Tyloderma foveolatum, 389.
fragarie, 388. x
Typhlocyba comes, 408. ;
Typophorus canellus, 391. Xyleborus dispar, 232.
Xylina antennata, 39.
C groter, 39.
d : laticinerea, 39.
ulmi, Lepidosaphes, 171.
unicolor, Byturus, 323. Y
Unspotted tentiform leaf-miner, 73. .
uve, Aspidiotus, 429. Yellow currant fruit-fly, 355.
Yellow-headed cranberry worm, 462.
V Yellow-headed cutworm, 138.
Yellow-necked apple caterpillar, 123.
vacciniana, Hudemis, 460. Ypsolophus ligulellus, 52.
vaccinit, Mineola, 466.
variabilis, Hypostena, 16.
varicornis, Physcus, 168. Z
Variegated cutworm, 139. Zaporus sp., 58.
vastatrix, Phylloxera, 455. Zine arsenite, 479.
vernata, Paleacrita, 77. Zophodia grossularie, 353.
HE following | pages contain advertisements of a
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of every kind whatsoever. p
It is the fullest, the newest, the most authoritative of all works of its
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