148 



AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT STATION. 



by holes in the leaves as shown in Fig. 31. The application of 

 hot water would probably destroy a great many plant lice which 

 are said to be doing considerable damage to the gooseberry bushes 

 in the nursery rows in Aroostook county. Several natural enemies 

 keep the currant worms in check. A small ichneumon fly is known 

 to be parasitic on the eggs, and other species destroy the larva?. 



FIG. 33. 



The placid Soldier-bug shown in Fig. 33, a, 

 enlarged, and natural size below, is known to de- 

 stroy them. This insect or one related to it is 

 reported by Mr. E. W. Merritt of Houlton, Me., 

 as feeding upon the larvae, piercing them with its 

 short beak and then sucking them dry. This insect 

 should not be destioyed. It may be known by the 

 following description : Head, thorax and legs 

 black ; abdomen, red, with an elongated black 

 spot in the middle, crossed by a white line. 



THE WHITE SCALE. 



Aspidiotus nerii, Bouche. 



Specimens of this insect were received upon leaves of the English 

 Ivy. The plants were so badly infested that the leaves were nearly 

 white with the scales. The lady sending the specimens stated that 

 she had some time before placed leaves with the white spots on 

 them, which came from a neighbor's, on a shelf near her plant, 

 which would account for the attack. This insect attacks the orange 

 and lemon trees in Southern California and Florida besides a num- 

 ber of other trees and plants. The Fig. 34 we give shows an acacia 

 twig infested by this insect, the scales showing natural size. 



