408 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



and the part above the point of injury lopped over and eventually- 

 died. An examination of young taken in the act, showed that 

 it was very probably this species. 



Pea louse (Nectarophora pisi Kalt.). Injuries by this 

 species are more or less apparent from year to year and watchfulness 

 for its appearance is advisable. This little enemy of the pea has 

 caused considerable injury in recent years, and some knowledge 

 of its life history and habits is a decided advantage in attempts 

 so control it. It lives not only on ordinary garden peas, but also 

 infests sweet peas, red and crimson clover, as well as vetches and 

 tares. The insect hibernates on clover, particularly crimson clover, 

 where that is grown, and probably on other food plants. The few 

 overwintering individuals appear on peas, begin to multiply 

 rapidly, and as the season advances become more and more abund- 

 ant and cause a corresponding amount of injury. The above 

 suggests that it is well to sow peas in fields rather distant from such 

 leguminous plants as this species can live on, so as to delay the 

 attack as much as possible. It also follows that early peas are 

 much more exempt from injury than later varieties, and in sec- 

 tions where this pest is at all abundant, growers have largely 

 abandoned the later kinds. This dreaded pest is controlled to a 

 certain extent by a number of natural enemies, such as lady beetles, 

 syrphid or flower flies, lace-winged flies, soldier beetles etc., but 

 ordinarily these are not abundant enough to materially reduce the 

 numbers of the pest. A fungus disease is sometimes a valuable 

 aid, particularly in warm and humid weather. We would advise 

 first, a growth, so far as possible, of early varieties away from 

 other plants on which the species may winter, and secondly, good 

 cultivation to hasten the development of the crop. Rotation is 

 advisable, because a field in peas is likely to be infested the fol- 

 lowing year. In addition, it may be necessary at times to spray 

 thoroughly with a contact insecticide such as the standard kerosene 

 emulsion diluted with about 12 parts of water, or a whale oil soap 

 solution. The latter, however, is said to be less efficient than 

 the former. Spraying is expensive, and something may be accom- 

 plished by brushing the lice from the vines and then covering 

 them with a cultivator. It might even be possible to devise an 

 automatic brush, which could be attached just ahead of the culti- 

 vator, and thus, with no additional labor, bury many of the insects 

 and at the same time cultivate the crop. 



