38 THE EEPORT OF THE Xo. 36 



In a few places, the Zebra caterpillar {Ceramica picta Harr.), the corn 

 maggot {Pliorhia fusciceps Zett.), the pea weevil {Bruchus pi^on/in L.) made them- 

 selves known, but without causing any serious loss. 



Aside from injurious insects, slugs showed up in large numbers and worked 

 considerable havoc in bean crops, which failed in many districts. 



The only insect on fruit shrubs worth mentioning was the imported currant 

 worm {Pteronus rihesii Scop.), which destroyed a number of currant and. goose- 

 berry bushes. On the other hand, the currant aphis (Myzus ribis Linn.), which 

 was \ery numerous last year, was hardly represented this year. 



Satisfactory conditions prevailed in orchards; very few apple aphis, a few 

 caterpillars.Z^fltoMa m'mistra Dru.. Scliizura concinna S. & A., and Hemerocampa 

 leucostigma S. & A., the latter being the most numerous. As regards the rest, condi- 

 tions were about normal. A good many tussock moth caterpillars were noticed on 

 oniamental trees, as well as a few spiny elm caterpillars {Vanessa nntiopa). 



APHIDS; THEIR HUMAX IXTEEEST. 

 A. C. Baker, Washington, D.C. 



The aphids, or as they are commonly called, plant lice, are among the most 

 interesting of all insect forms. Their importance from several standpoints only 

 adds to the interest which their peculiar habits arouse and their wide distribution 

 and abundance force them on the attention of all those who are in any way 

 interested in plant growth. Thus the early philosophers were attracted by these 

 curious insects and were at a loss to understand their origin. Some claimed 

 they were engendered of the dew, others that they developed from the waste 

 products of ants. 



The galls produced on plants by certain species are among the principal 

 ingredients in the manufacture of inks and dyes. Galls of Melaphis chinensis axe 

 known on the market as nut galls or Chinese galls, and are used almost exclusively 

 in some of the secret methods of sealskin dyeing. The trade in these galls alone 

 reaches into the millions of dollars annually. The galls of this species were known 

 and used by the Chinese many years before Europe learned of them and a rather 

 extensive account is given in the Pen tsao kang mu. They are gathered, steamed 

 and dried and are then ready for shipment. Galls of certain species of Pemphigus 

 have been used for many years in Syria, China, etc., for the preparation of bright 

 colored dyes for the fine silks Avhich we value so highly, and these galls are listed 

 on the market at a high figure. Some of the better known ones have been imported 

 into this country and Europe but a large number of species remain yet unstudied 

 and the uses to which their galls may be put are as yet unknown. 



Most species produce in large quantities the substance known as honeydew. 

 This is merely the excrement of the aphids, and not, as is very often supposed, a 

 secretion of the cornicles or so called honey tubes. This substance has been 

 known for many centuries, but its origin was in the early days not understood. 

 Pliny speaks of it as the sweat of heaven or the saliva of the stars, and it was 

 not until fairly recent times that its true nature was made known. The sub- 

 stance was gathered, however, in large quantities. The Arabs used it on their 

 cakes mu^h as we have all used honey in our boyhood days, and it is used in 

 parts of the Avorld as a medicine. In France it has been employed by the peasants 



