I2 70 



Rural Schuol Leaflet 



cherries remain hanging on the tree and ripen, but they finally sink in on 

 one side and decay. Sweet as well as sour cherries are attacked. 



These flies may be controlled by lightly spra\-ing the foliage of the lower 

 limbs, or of all the branches if desired, with arsenate of lead, at the rate 

 of 5 pounds to loo gallons of water, which has been sweetened by the ad- 

 dition of 3 gallons of cheap molasses. A pint of this material is sufficient 

 for a medium-sized tree. The flies suck up the sweetened drops of liquid 

 and are killed before they lay their eggs if the spraying is done just before 

 the fruit begins to redden. If the sweetened poison is washed off by rain, 

 another application should be made. 



Winter 



THE APPLE-LEAF APHIS 



Aphis pomi 



Appearance oj the insect. — There are three 



species of plant lice that are found on the apple 



tree in considerable numbers, two of which are 



often very injurious both to the fniit and to 



the foliage. One of these is the apple-leaf 



aphis, a species found in this coimtn.^ since 



1897. It was imported from Europe, probably 



on nursery stock, and is now widely distributed. 



The body of the insect is pear-shaped, bright 



green in color, and the aphides of the first 



eggs of apple-leaf generation found on the opening buds in the 



(^P^i^ spring are wingless. The second generation of 



aphides usually contains a large proportion 



of winged forms, which fly to other parts of 



the same tree or to other trees where a new 



colony is produced. The aphides live all 



the year on the apple tree. 



Story of its life. — In the fall the true 



mother aphis deposits small black shining 



eggs on the bark of the smaller twigs, 



especially on the suckers. The eggs remain 



on the tree aU winter and hatch in the 



spring as the buds begin to break. Genera- 

 tion after generation of the aphides are 



produced throughout the siunmer on the 



apple tree. Many of the aphides of these 



generations are wingless; but usualh' some 



of each generation, especially of the later 



ones, are bom with wings. In October, 





Young aphid-es 



