104 DESTRUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA: 



accomplished in many cases, particularly with heavy 

 beetles which have been injured and are either lying 

 helplessly on their backs or trying to roll over and over, 

 by the ant first proceeding to gnaw oiF the feet of the 

 insect attacked. Having done this they next bite off the 

 palpi, little appendages near the jaws, generally finishing 

 up by severing the segment which joins the body and 

 thorax together, and sucking out the juices from inside 

 the body. Lepidoptera^ when too heavy to drag away, are 

 bitten up into portable pieces in the same manner. It is 

 quite certain that if a moth of any kind is bruised so that 

 it cannot fly, eggs thus deposited will not come to anything. 

 This fact should be remembered, for after all it is better 

 to prevent this egg-laying, if at all possible, than to be 

 compelled to deal with the hosts of young grubs which 

 are certain to be hatched from the vines on which the 

 eggs have been deposited. 



Where stakes are used for vines, they must be carefully 

 seen to, as the eggs are often deposited in crevices of any 

 stake having a rugged exterior. A good washing with 

 lime, sulphur, and soap mixed is of great advantage when 

 cleaning up the vineyard. 



Should the moths have deposited their eggs in spite 

 of the above precautions, hand picking must be re- 

 sorted to, although in a large vineyard this plan is 

 too expensive to be generally adopted. The hand or 

 knapsack spraying machine comes in well here, and a 

 light spraying of Paris green, say, 1 lb. to 200 gallons 

 of water would, if carefully carried out, destroy every 

 caterpillar which ate the leaf or portion of it, if the 

 plant had been carefully and thoroughly sprayed. The 

 under part of the leaf can best be reached by using a bent 

 nozzle. Hellebore, if dusted over the leaves, is also good. 



In spraying for these caterpillars, be careful that the 

 liquid is forced vip well from below, as the larvae are 

 principally to be found feeding upon the lower edges of 

 the leaves, and doubtless get on the back of the leaf for 

 purpose of shelter, and possibly as a means of escaping 

 detection. 



