50 31ississij)pi Valley Horticultural Society. 



INSECTS AFFECTING THE STRAWBERRY. 



HY PROF. S. A. FORBES, OF ILLINOIS. 



At least two dozen species of insects are on record as enemies of the straw- 

 berry in the Eastern United States and Canada, and liow many more n)ay 

 infest it -whose injuries have never got into print, of course no one can telL 

 Every part of the plant is attacked by them, sorjie limiting themselves to a 

 single structure, and others devouring two or three indifferently. The 

 fibrous roots are eaten by the root-worm, the white grub, and the larva of 

 the goldsmith beetle ; the stem or crown (as it is commonly called) is gnawed 

 and pierced by the root-worm, and excavated by the crown-borer and the 

 crown miner. Ai least a dozen enemies attack the leaf, either biting and 

 gnawing its tissues or sucking its juices, and one of these, the strawberry 

 plant-louse, also sucks the sap of the crown and even of the peduncle of the 

 flower. The blossom itself is destroyed by two or three; and finally, the 

 ripened fruit is likewise occasionally injured. 



Some find their more usual food in other plants, taking the strawberry 

 only when it comes in their way ; still others, limiting themselves to the 

 strawberry field, are doubtless the native enemies of the wild plant, whose 

 multiplication has been immensely facilitated by the enormous increase of 

 the food ; and still a few others are believed to be of European origin, im- 

 ported to this country by accident. 



I have herein summarized what is known to me w'ith regard to the most 

 important of these insects, thinking it might be worth while to bring the es- 

 sential facts together in one place for reference. I have included those found 

 injurious eastwai'd as well as in the limited region covered by the member- 

 ship of this Society, in order that you of the Mississippi valley may be on 

 the lookout for the invasion of eastern enemies ; but I have not noticed es- 

 pecially the strawberry pests of the Old World or of the Pacific Slope. I have 

 drawn freely upon the waitings of Thomas, Riley, Packard and Saunders in 

 the preparation of this paper, my own contributions to the subject relating 

 chiefly to the crown-borer, the root-worm and the crown-miner. 



It is proposed to treat separately the insects injurious to the root, to the 

 stem or crown, and to the foliage, flower and fruit, taking them up under 

 each head in the order of the classification. Under this arrangement the 

 first to be treated will be those attacking the exposed parts of the plant, 

 namely, the foliage, blossom and l)erry. 



INSECTS INJURINc; THE LEAVES, FLOWER AND FRUIT. 



The Strawberry Worm. Emphi/tuft mnculatn.^, Norton. 



Order Hymenoptera, Family Tentliredinida'. 



This insect is one of the most destructive enemies of the strawberry lit 

 localiiies where it secures a footing, but is not as wide.spread and continuous- 



