6 E. A. ORMEEOD — PEEVENTION OF nrSECT-IIfJUET. 



habits of the insects, and much that is valuable regarding prac- 

 ticable remedies, whilst the communications being from many cor- 

 respondents in different circumstances of soil and climate, a variety 

 of methods of attack on the pest, suitable for various conditions, 

 is furnished. 



In the course of last year the Congress of Vienna drew attention, 

 under the name of Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, to the 

 importance of attending to the connexion that might be worked 

 out between conditions of weather and states of vegetation, and 

 whatever may be worked out on this head regarding crops and 

 trees, there is plainly shown, by a glance over the agricultural 

 returns of this country extending over many years, to be such 

 coincidence in certain states of the weather, and the appearance, 

 either immediately or subsequently, of some of our crop-pests, that 

 the subject well deserves our own careful attention. 



We know how turnip-fly and drought appear in connexion, also 

 how the attack of daddy-long-legs (which perhaps I should rather 

 mention as that of larvae of different kinds of Tipulae) is increased 

 by wet conditions, and was thus strongly brought to our notice 

 after the long rainfall of 1879. 



How these various meteorological states act on insect-life we 

 know something about in many cases, though we ought to under- 

 stand a great deal more ; but as I fear to infringe too long on your 

 time, I should like now to be permitted merely to draw attention, 

 by one example somewhat in detail, to the great benefit we may 

 receive by artificially copying in treatment the lesson that we may 

 learn from special weather effects. 



Taking an example from the apple-orchard, observations on the 

 apple-weevil, Antlionomus pomorum, show that the amount of attack 

 is very much influenced by the nature of the weather in the spring, 

 which affects the duration of the period during which the beetle 

 can deposit its eggs, and also the suitableness of the blossom-buds 

 as food for the larvae when hatched. 



This beetle is a small brownish weevil, about the eighth of an 

 inch in length, with some transverse markings of whitish and pitchy 

 colour on the wing-cases, and it begins its work early in the year. 

 As soon as the blossom-buds are sufficiently advanced for its 

 purpose, the female weevil pierces with her rostrum or snout 

 through the still-closed bud into the parts of fructification, and 

 lays her eggs slowly one by one in different buds, so that, if circum- 

 stances are favourable, she will occupy as much as three weeks in 

 the task. She cannot commence the operation till the buds are 

 well formed, and she discontinues it immediately the petals begin 

 to unfold ; consequently the duration of her laying-time depends 

 very much on the state of the weather, and if the opening of the 

 flower-buds is rapid, egg-laying is correspondingly cut short. 



The same influences act on the young larvae — they require pro- 

 tection from rain and sunshine, and therefore siich an amount of 

 sunshine as unfolds the petals of the bud is injurious to their 

 development, and very beneficial to our crop of apples. 



