INSECTS AFFECTING THE ROSE. 



INJURING THE LEAVES. 



The Rose Slug. 



Selandria rosss. 



This insect is familiar to most lovers of the queen 

 of flowers, and is justly dreaded on account of its 

 serious injuries. But no one should allow it to pre- 

 vent the planting and enjoyment of roses, for it is 

 easy to keep the pest in check. 



The Rose Slug is the young or larva of a four- 

 winged saw-fly, related to the parent of the Pear-tree 

 Slug and the Imported Currant Worm. It bears a 

 general resemblance to the fly shown at Fig. 81, 

 which represents the adult of the Pear-tree Slug. 

 The larvas shown in the figure will also serve to 

 illustrate the appearance and mode of work of the 

 Rose Slug. According to Dr. Harris, the parent 

 saw-flies, in the latitude of Massachusetts, " come out 

 the ground at various times between the 20th of 

 May and the middle of June, during which season 

 they pair and lay their eggs. The females when 

 • about to lay their eggs turn a little to .one side, 

 unsheath their saws, and thrust them obliquely into 

 the skin of the leaf, depositing in each incision thus 

 made, a single egg. The young begin to hatch in 

 ten days or a fortnight after the eggs are laid. The 

 period of their existence in the caterpillar state prob- 

 ably does not exceed three weeks. They have a 



