474 ECONOMIC ZOOLOGY AND ENTOMOLOGY 



and soon after this, if the roots of the plants are examined, the 

 aphids will be found there also. The ants have carried the 

 aphids from their nests to the roots, where they continue to 

 care for them, taking them to new plants when the old plants 

 die or become overcrowded. During the summer winged 

 generations of the aphids appear, and thus distribute the species 

 over wider areas. Late in the fall the winged sexual generation 

 occurs, and the eggs are laid on the underside of the leaves, 

 where they remain until they hatch in the following spring. 

 Little can be done to control the aphids on the roots of the 

 plants. If the bed is badly infested the vines should be lightly 

 covered with straw early in the spring and the whole area 

 burned over. This will burn all the leaves and stems and 

 destroy all the aphids as well as many other insects. A quick, 

 hot fire will not seriously injure the plants. Care should be 

 taken in selecting plants for transplanting to see that there are 

 no eggs on the leaves nor aphids on the roots. 



