REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 199 



lying apparently dead. On warm sunny days they move about and eat, and on cold or 

 wet days, they lie concealed at the root of the tree in the earth." — E. S. Atkins. 



These beetles being wingless, they can only reach the buds of the trees by climbino- 

 up the stems ; therefore, any mechanical means of preventing this, such as a band of 

 cotton batting, or one of the many kinds of " tree protectors, " placed around the trunks 

 at the time the mature beetles appear in April and May, would be a sufficient remedy. 



The Pear Leap Blister (Phytoptus (Typhlodromus) pyri, Sheuten). — This 

 troublesome pest of the pear is becomng much more widespread in Canada. Speci- 

 mens have been sent in from several localities in the east as well as from British Col- 

 umbia. Mr. L. Woolverton says : — " The Pear leaf Blister mite is gaining ground on 

 the pear trees in this district, and, so far as I know, growers have done nothing to 

 check it. Some trees have their leaves full of it. " Among several communications 

 from British Columbia, I received one from Mr. T. A. Sharpe, giving an excellent de- 

 scription of the appearance of the injury : 



"Agassiz, B. C, July 6. — I send pear leaves which appear to be affected 

 with reddish brown spots on under side, but showing very plainly on the surface. 

 Under the microscope, the under side of the leaf is burrowed and raised into hum- 

 mocks with craters or openings on the crest. A small insect, not visible to the naked 

 eye, appears to be more or less plentiful on the leaves. Are these insects the cause or 

 are they a secondary injury coming on after the fungus sets in 1 In any case, what is 

 the remedy ? " 



Mr. Sharpe then gives an account of several experiments he tried with various 

 mixtures to find a remedy. During the season he has studied this attack with care 

 and has found in the galls another mite (a Tyroglyphus) which moves much more 

 quickly than the Phytoptus ; but he has not yet been able to detect whether or not 

 it is predaceous on the blister mites. The remedy for this pest which has given the 

 best results, is spraying the trees early in spring with Kerosene emulsion. 



The Apple Aphis (Aphis mali, Fab., 

 Fig. 9) Attack : Green plant-lice clustered, 

 sometimes in enormous numbers, around 

 the outside and in between the young leaves 

 of the opening buds on apple trees in spring ; 

 also on the young shoots in summer and be- 

 neath the leaves in autumn. The small 

 black shining eggs are laid in autumn on the 

 branches of apple trees, and do not hatch 

 9.— Apple Aphis : winged female. unt il tne following spring. 



The Apple Aphis or green fly is a common insect wherever the apple is grown, and 

 although frequently very abundant, it is seldom that its injuries to its host are of a 



serious nature in this part of Canada. 

 From British Columbia, however, there 

 have been received during the past three 

 or four years many complaints of great 

 losses from this pest, — particularly since 

 the publication of the excellent reports of 

 Mr. J. R. Anderson, the energetic statis- 

 tician of the Provincial Department of 

 Agriculture, have shown the fruit growers 

 Fig.10. Jointsofantennaof Apple Aphis winged female. f that province that useful information 



can, on application, be obtained as to the best means of fighting their insect foes. 

 From late correspondence with some of the leading fruit growers, it has occurred to me 

 that part of the damage to apple trees complained of under the name of " aphis," 

 " green fly," &c, may have been due to other insects. That the climate of British 

 Columbia is particularly well suited to the development of many species of plant-lice, 

 however, is undoubtedly the case, as I observed in the summer of 1883 and during the 

 spring of 1885, and it is important that as soon as possible the different species should 



