4 BEAN. 



answer to those of larva and pupa), although they have six 

 legs and are active, they have not wings. 



The young are slaty grey, hut soon acquire a blackish 

 velvety coat. The pupa is larger and slaty grey, excepting 

 the abdomen, which is black with various white spots, and 

 the wing-cases are also black. 



Of the two kinds of females producing living young, the 

 wingless kind is shiny (or sometimes dull) black ; eyes and 

 cornicles black ; shanksand the middle joints of the horns are 

 somewhat ochreous. The head, body, and abdomen are so 

 much grown together as to seem almost like one piece (see 

 fig. 4, magnified). 



The winged female is shiny and black, or with a brownish 

 tinge ; the shanks and middle joints of the horns are amber- 

 yellow, and the wings are yellow at the base, with a green 

 line and mark on the fore edge, and brown veins. 



The egg-laying female — that is, a third description, which 

 appears in autumn, and lays the eggs from which a new 

 series of generations, producing living young, will start again 

 in the following year — is very like the wingless viviparous 

 form figured above. The male (fig. 2, magnified) is black and 

 winged. — (' Farm Insects,' by John Curtis, and ' Mon. of 

 Brit. Aphides,' by G. B. Buckton, F.R.S.). 



Prevention and Remedies. — No better plan appears to be 

 known than cutting off the infested tops of the Beans, but it 

 should be done as soon as the " Colliers " are noticed. This 

 point is very important, on account of the extraordinary rate 

 at which Aphides increase. The tops should be trampled on 

 thoroughly as they are cut off; or sheared into baskets and 

 burnt ; or destroyed in some way before the Aphides can 

 leave them, for if these are left amongst the Beans the insects 

 are able to make their way back again to the growing plants, 

 and thus little good will have been done. 



In garden cultivation, where there is only a small amount 

 of crop to be attended to, it sometimes answers to throw soot 

 on the infested plants. This lodges well amongst the 

 Aphides and in the axils of the leaves. Any dry dressing 

 that would thus lodge, and make the Bean-tops more or less 

 unpalatable to the Aphides, would be of use. Where only a 

 small extent of crop needs attention, a good drenching with 

 strong soapsuds, or syringing with a solution of soft-soap, 

 would also be useful ; the soapy matter sticks to the Aphis, 

 and is thus a much surer remedy than many of the attempted 

 applications which run off at once from the skin of the 

 insects, and consequently are useless. 



Probably the addition of a very small quantity of paraffin, 



