120 



IRISH GAKI3ENING. 



Ec;gs ok Appi.k Sicker on FKiiriNt; Sin ks 



(Masnitk-di 



Apple Sicker. 

 The apple sucker {Psylla iiuili) is credited with a 

 tCreat deal of damag-e to apple trees during- the period 

 of blossoming- and setting- of fruit. The flower clusters 

 die off, become brown, and may or may not fall away 

 from the spurs. The fly lays its eggs in the autumn on 

 the spurs and young shoots, and these hatch out in April. 

 The young insect is a louse-like creature of a dull 

 yellow and brown colour. It penetrates into a flower 

 bud if it can find one, but failing that into a shoot bud- 

 Their occupation of the bud can often be known by 

 the presence of drops of honey dew. They cause the 

 death of the bud. By the end of May or beginning of 

 June the}' develop wings, and the females start c^g lay- 

 ing in September. The best remedy is to spray just 

 before or during flowering with tobacco or nicotine 

 solution. It is also helpful to spray in late summer with 

 the weak parafiin solution already referred to, in order 

 to destroy the egg-laying females. 



Gooseberry and Cirrant Sawflv. 



The sawflies (Xematus ribesii) are terrible pests to 

 gooseberry and currant growers. The caterpillars 

 appear in May and June, and cause great destruction 

 to the foliage, even in a few days. When mature the 

 caterpillars change from green to orange colour, and 

 lower themselves to ground, bury themselves, and pass 

 into the pupa state. The early broods escape as perfect 

 insects in about three weeks' time and start egg-laying; 

 the later broods hybernate in the ground. These latter 

 emerge as winged insects in April and May. The eggs 

 are laid on the under-surfaces of the leaves. 



The remedy usually recommended for this pest is the 



use of gas-lime that li.is been I'xposeil to the air for 

 some time. I'his is stirretl into the soil over the roots, 

 the objiii hiiiig to kill the pup.i. Spraying the foliage 

 with a weak parallin enuilsiiMi ov with hellobore wash 

 (?.\ lbs. (o ID gallons o\' water) is also recommended. 



No ri:. -Some corresponilenls put ilown "gooseberry 

 citi-rpillar " hutcIn , aiul as tlu're is another caterpillar 

 (lii.ii ill tiie .M.-igpii' moth) Ih.il attacks the gooseberry 

 it is impossible to say which is the one intended. 

 Tlu- caterpillar of the Magpie moth is one of the 

 "loopers"' (that is, it walks with the centre of its body 

 curved in the form oi' an arch), and is white with black 

 spots (.m it, hence the name, " Magpie." In the begin- 

 ning o\' wintiM- the ralerpill;irs may be found in tin- 

 rolK-d-np leaves of tlu- goosi-ln-rry still hanging on tlu' 

 inish or lying on the grounil. ov in crevices of the bark. 

 Obviously in this case care should be taken to remove 

 the fallen leaves with an inch or so of soil and burn or 

 sterilise by fire. Spraying, as recommiiuleil for sawtly 

 caterpillar, may also be resorted to. 



Eu.MiNK Mom. 



The small ermine moth {I/ypoiioiucii/a tiinliiwlla) is 



frequently destructive to the foliage of the apple. In 



their later stage of development the caterpillars live in 



colonies within liie protection of a "tent" formed of a 



A Branch of Goosf:bkkrv dkfoliated with 

 OF Sawflv 



Sliowing Winged Fly, Caterpillarb, and Cocoon. 



