Clje €anatlian llntamalujjbt. 



Vol. L. LONDON, DECEMBER, 1918 No. 12 



POPULAR AND PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGY. 

 Practical Results in Spraying a Commercial 

 Orchard for the Green Apple Bug. 

 by w. h. brittain, provincial entomologist for nova scotia. 

 The cost of spraying for sucking insects is so much higher than 

 for fungous diseases and biting insects, that even progressive fruit 

 growers sometimes hesitate before applying the remedies recom- 

 mended for insects of this type. In the case of orchard aphids, 

 it is often difificult to advise a definite course of action — outbreaks 

 of these insects are so dependent upon climatic conditions and the 

 action of parasitic and predaceous enemies. In the case of severe 

 infestations of the Green Apple Bug (Lygus communis var. nova- 

 scotiensis Knight), no such hesitation need be experienced. An 

 abundance of data has now been accumulated, which shows that 

 even when a single year only is considered, economically profitable 

 results can be expected, though, of course, the benefit from the 

 work should be considered over a period of years. The tables 

 accompanying this paper give details of the results of control 

 operations in one orchard. Needless to say, such results can only 

 be obtained by a thorough knowledge of the life-history and habits 

 of the pest and by the most thorough and searching work. 



The orchard for experiment was taken over in 1917 as a demon- 

 stration in the control of the Green Apple Bug. One part, com- 

 prising, approximately 6 acres, consisted of very large 60 year old 

 trees of mixed varieties; another part consisted of about four acres 

 of 30 year old trees, mostly Golden Russets. The remainder con- 

 sisted of a mixed lot of trees of varying ages, but mostly younger 

 than the Golden Russets, comprising between two and three acres. 

 This lot was very thickly planted and set with fillers of plums, 

 pears, etc. 



The work of the insects was first noticed in the pld orchard 

 where the infestation was still most severe. Here it was gradu- 

 ally rendering the trees worthless, reducing the crops of the chief 



