294 



Northern Rhodesia : Government Notice No. 44 of 1922 — Livingstone, 

 29th March 1922, 1 p. MS. 



Under the above notice, dated 29th March 1922, Government 

 Notice No. 34 of 1919, prohibiting the importation of citrus trees or 

 parts thereof from the Union of South Africa, is cancelled, and these 

 may now be imported from the Cape and Natal Provinces only, by 

 permits to be issued by the Secretary for Agriculture. 



Miles (H. W.). Some Important Insect Pests oJ Strawberries. — 



Separate from //. Bath & West & Southern Counties Soc., Bath, 

 5th Ser., xvi, 1921-22, 16 pp., 12 figs. 



Owing to the increased cultivation of strawberries in the Cheddar 

 and Tamar Valleys, the life-histories and habits of the most important 

 pests likely to occur in the west and south-west of England are here 

 recorded. A key is given for identification of the insect concerned 

 from the nature of the damage. 



Larvae of Melolontha melolontha, L. {vulgaris, F.) (cockchafer) are 

 pests of strawberries, raspberries and even young trees. Remedial 

 measures include light traps, and planting in soot and lime. Cetonia 

 aurata, L., has a similar life-history. The eggs are laid in soil which 

 contains abundance of organic matter. On hatching the larvae feed 

 on this for a time varying up to three years. The adults are also 

 said to feed on strawberry flowers. 



The life-history of Agriotes obsatrus, L., has already been noticed 

 [R.A.E., A, viii, 138]. The remedial measures for this wireworm 

 and for Athotis haemorrhoidalis, L., include planting in a dressing 

 of superphosphate, and incorporating it with the soil around the roots. 

 Soil insecticides are of little value. 



Weevils attacking strawberry roots include Otiorrhynchus tenehri- 

 cosus, L. (red-legged weevil), 0. picipes, F. (raspberry weevil), 0. 

 sulcatus, F. (vine weevil) and Phyllobiiis oblongus, L. (oblong leaf 

 weevil). The larvae may be found in September and all through the 

 winter. The adults feed on young portions of unfolding leaves and 

 buds, later on the petals and stamens and then on the fruit. Where 

 soil fumigation with carbon bisulphide cannot be followed, Theobald 

 suggests forking in a mixture of 1 pint carbolic to 1 bushel of ash, or 

 naphthahne and fine ash at the rate of 1 : 10. Spraying with 4 lb. 

 lead arsenate paste to 100 gals, water about 14 days before the buds 

 open kills the adults, and it is advisable to spray again immediately 

 after the flowering period is over. The adults of Anthonomus rubi, 

 Hbst. (strawberry blossom weevil), hibernate in the soil and rubbish. 

 In spring they feed on leaves and buds, and later deposit eggs among 

 the stamens, one to each bud, afterwards crawling down the stem and 

 cutting it partly through so that the drooping petals form a protecting 

 covering for the larvae, which hatch in eight or ten days. 

 They feed on the pollen and completely destroy the stamens. The 

 adults emerge two or three weeks after pupation and feed on the leaves. 

 Spraying as for Otiorrhynchus spp. is recommended. The application 

 of powdered sulphur and lead arsenate has been successfully used in 

 America and noticed elsewhere [R. A.E., A, vii, 256]. So far as is at 

 present known the adults of Barypithes (Exomias) araneiformis, Schr. 

 (small strawberry weevil) are injurious and eat the fruit. They may 

 be trapped by laying large pieces of damp bark covered with moss 

 between the rows. 



