310 



STATE BOARD OF. AGRICULTURE. 



The Tree-crickets. {Oecanthus Spp.) 



Many times one finds long rows of punctures on the sides of raspberry and 

 blackberry canes, and also on the new growth of peach trees. When such a 

 twig is split along the row of punctures, each hole is found to contain an egg, 

 the egg of a tree-cricket. The rows vary in length from one to several inches, 

 and sooner or later usually cause the twig to split open, weakening the twig 



Fig. 29. — Tree-crickets and their eggs, after Riley, Fifth Rep. State Entomologist of Mo. 



if not killng it outright. The cricket that causes all this trouble is a delicate 

 little creature, light colored, sometimes with dark markings, and provided with 

 good sized wings. It is perfectly harmless except for the habit of placing its 

 eggs in twigs in the autumn. In fact it is said to feed largely on plant-lice and 

 therefore to be our friend. 



BEMEDIES. 



The only practical method of combating these insects is by cutting out the 

 affected canes and twigs and destroying them by fire. If not at all numerous, 

 they may safely be ignored. 



AFFECTING THE FOLIAGE. 



Raspberry Saw-fly. {SeJandria rubi.) 



The rasjiberry saw-fly is an old offender from which we may expect to hear 

 periodically. The false-caterpillar, that does the damage, is a delicate green 

 "worm" about three-fourths of an inch long and densely covered with green 

 spines. They sometimes occur in great numbers and eat numerous holes in 

 the foliage especially of the red raspberry. The life history of the insect is 

 as follows: The eggs are laid under the skin of the leaf, not far from one of 

 the large ribs during the latter half of May, the larvae, at first white, and 

 afterward the color of the leaf, are covered with transverse rows of divided 

 spines. When full-grown, or in about a month from the time of the laying 

 of the eggs, they descend and burrow into the ground to spin firm cocoons 

 composed of silk and bits of earth. Here they change to pupte and emerge 

 the following spring as adult saw-flies. 



