THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 215 



Protecting the trees from sunburn and injury will prevent attack 

 by this insect ; cutting out with a knife or prol)ing into the burrows 

 Avith a wire is effectual. Mechanical protectors tied around the trunks 

 of the trees, from two to three inches below the ground to a height 

 of two or three feet, will prevent the beetles from laying their eggs. 

 For this purpose heavy paper or wood veneer may be used. The 

 tree trunks may be painted with pure white lead and linseed oil, 

 but it is said that ready mixed paints should not be used, as they 

 may contain injurious oils. Painting the tree trunks with soft soap 

 also prevents the adults from laying their eggs. 



Red Spiders. 



The common red spiders and the brown or almond mites are very 

 destructive to the almond and other deciduous fruit trees in California. 

 Most of the injury during the early summer is due to the brown mite, 

 while the later injury is due to the red spider. The mites puncture 

 the surface of the leaves, sucking out the sap and producing a pale 

 grayish color. Later these infested leaves fall, and as a result, the 

 fruit often is undersized from lack of nourishment. The eggs of the 

 red spiders are laid mostly on the under surfaces of the leaves, and 

 appear as minute reddish or light colored globules. If the trees have 

 not been sprayed with lime-sulphur or crude oil emulsion just as the 

 buds have begun to swell in the late winter, it is almost certain that 

 the mites will be numerous enough to warrant spraying during the 

 summer season. Blowing flowers of sulphur on the leaves has been 

 used by manj- growers, and lately, finely divided sulphur suspended in 

 water has been used with great success. Sulphur in this form is placed 

 on the market in California by several of the leading chemical companies 

 and may be purchased from them. 



CITRUS FRUIT INSECTS. 



The Citrus Red Spider. 



Red spiders are numerous on citrus trees during the summer months. 

 The adult red spiders are minute reddish mites, with eight legs. As 

 on the deciduous tree foliage, the red spiders produce a silvery or 

 grayish effect on the leaves. Very often the citrus fruit grower 

 believes that he will not have an infestation of this pest, due to a 

 ha^ty examination of the leaves of the outer branches of his trees. 

 The mites are most numerous on the inner branches and the grower 

 should look these over carefully before he decides whether or not 

 spraying will be necessary. 



Control measures consist in dusting the trees with dry flowers of 

 sulphur, or spraying with commercial lime-sulphur solution diluted 

 to 2 or 2^ per cent and applied as a fine misty spray, under a pressure 

 of from 150 to 200 pounds. This spray is used at the time the mites 

 are numerous. 



