370 FRUIT INSECTS 



a month from the hatcliing of the egg the minute, mealy white, 

 four-winged flies appear to lay eggs for another brood. 



The winter eggs hatch in early spring and those nymphs that 

 escape the spring frosts give rise to adults in May; breeding 

 continues until cold weather. As a rule, the insects are most 

 abundant the latter part of the season. The nymphs secrete 

 a sweet sticky substance kno^vn as honey-dew, which collecting 

 on the leaves serves as a medium for the growth of a black 

 fungus, which gives infested plants a characteristic sooty 

 appearance. 



Methods of control. 



Fortunately the strawberry whitefly is rarely abundant 

 enough to injure the crop to any great extent. The nymphs 

 are easily killed by the ordinary contact insecticides, soap 

 solution, nicotine, etc., but as they are found exclusively on 

 the underside of the leaves it would be a difficult matter to hit 

 them. It might be possible, however, to do effective work 

 by using an upturned nozzle attached to the end of a short rod 

 to be used as a handle. 



References 



Cornell Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 190, pp. 155-158. 1901. 



Morrill, Can. Ent. XXXV, pp. 25-35. 1903. 



Mass. Agr. Exp. Sta. Tech. Bull. 1, pp. 53-62. 1903. 



The Strawberry Flea-beetle 

 Haltica ignita llliger 



This small, green, coppery or blue flea-beetle about I inch 

 in length is widely distributed throughout the country from 

 Hudson Bay to Florida and Texas. The beetles emerge from 

 hibernation in early spring and feed voraciously on the tender 

 foliage of a number of wild and cultivated plants, including the 

 grape and strawberry. They have been found most destructive 

 to strawberries in the South, Florida and Texas. The injury to 



