NOTES ON VARIOUS INSECTS. 



Eriocampa cerasi (Peck), 

 The Cherry-tree or Pear-tree Slug. 

 As this common insect has not been noticed in this series of reports, 

 a few words in relation to it may be convenient for reference. They 

 were written in response to the following inquiry from Orange, N. J.: 



For a few seasons past some of our pear trees have been badly dam- 

 aged by numerous slugs which adhere to the upper sides of the leaves 

 and devour all the spongy portion. These pests, a sort of flesh-colored 

 «nail, appear in great numbers soon after the leaves have attained their 

 full size. Last season some of our trees were defoliated three times by 

 these little pests. Consequently the trees made only a partial growth, 

 and those that produced fruit were damaged to such an extent that the 

 fruit did not attain half the usual size. Is there a remedy ? 



The pear-tree slug, the ravages of which are told in the above com- 

 munication, is a well-known fruit-tree pest, occurring on the pear, cherry, 

 plum, and quince, and also at times on the mountain ash. It was described 

 under the name of Sclandrla cerasi, over a hundred years ago by Pro- 

 fessor Peck, of Massachusetts, in a little pamphlet, for which a gold 

 medal and fifty dollars were awarded by the Massachusetts State Agri- 

 cultural Society. 



The parent fly is a four-winged hymenopterous insect, of a glossy 

 black color, with transparent wings, with the 

 exception of a dusky cloud crossing the front 

 pair. It is one of the " saw-flies," and bears 

 *^'tree"8iu^,*'^Rro-" ^^^ scientific name of Eriocampa cerasi (Peck), 

 farged^^'^'^^^' ^°" and is represented in Figure 16. 

 The female appears in the early part of June, and deposits her ^^g^ 

 singly in incisions made in the leaf, either on the upper or the lower 

 side. The eggs develop into 

 slugs in about two weeks time. 

 Their slimy and disgusting ap- 

 pearance is too familiar to fruit- 

 growers to need description. In 



the month of August, a second Fig. it.— The pear-tree slug, in natural size and 



brood of the slugs make their enarge . 



