436 



heraclei (celery-fly) was another common pest very troublesome in 

 gardens and allotments, attacking the leaves of celery, parsnips, 

 and parsley. The attacks may be controlled by the removal and 

 burning of any leaves showdng developing bUsters. Examination of 

 the larvae at the end of October showed that nearly all were parasitised 

 by a Chalcid. 



Two fruit pests of increasing importance have been investigated 

 during the year, namely Plesiocoris rvgicollis (apple Capsid bug), 

 which, however, was held in check by two sprayings of nicotine and 

 soft-soap, and the strawberry moth [Oxygrapha comariana, Z.], the 

 eggs of which, laid on the stipules, resemble those of the codling moth 

 \Cydia pomonella]. A case of a serious infestation of plum trees in 

 a well kept orchard at Evesham, believed to be due to a shot-hole 

 borer beetle, was investigated in August, when traces of Scolytus 

 rugulosus were found on many of the trees, and the borings of Xyleborus 

 dispar were discovered low down in the. trunk of a dying tree that 

 had been cut down. The best measures against the latter beetle 

 include the cutting down and burning of all hopelessly infested plum 

 trees early in September, when the number of beetles reaches a 

 maximum ; the examination of hedges and forest trees in the neigh- 

 bourhood of gardens, and the avoidance of the use of unbarked orchard 

 props ; the application, early in March, of a repellent dressing to the 

 trees in the form of a stiff paste by means of a brush, the mixtures 

 recommended being clay and lime, soft-soap and washing soda, soft- 

 soap with a trace of carbolic acid, and clay with lead arsenate, though 

 the last should never be used if stock is grazed in the orchard ; the use 

 of trap-trees is advocated, for which purpose the stumps left in the 

 groimd from the previous September might be used, or oak or haw- 

 thorn stakes, newly-cut, should be driven into the ground among the 

 plum trees, then removed and burned by June, when the eggs begin 

 to hatch. Scolytus rugulosus (fruit bark-beetle) is a smaller insect 

 than X. dispar, and the damage due to it, which occurs in the bark, 

 does not prove so rapidly fatal. The spring attack begins in April 

 or May and is at its height in June, a new brood reaching maturity 

 in August. A third brood may appear in October, but this is probably 

 dependent on the weather to some extent. The general methods 

 of treatment recommended against A', dispar may be adopted, but 

 the danger of woodstacks containing plum or apple branches 

 must be guarded against, as S. rugulosus breeds in dry felled 

 timber, while X. dispar requires it to be full of sap. Oak 

 stakes are useless as traps for S. rugulosus, as it does not attack 

 this tree. 



The reappearance of Charaeas graminis (antler moth) in hill pastures 

 during the summer of 1917, was found to be of comparatively Httle 

 importance, since no good meadow grass or crops were attacked, but 

 only upland pastures at an altitute of 750 ft. and over. The special 

 ■causes leading to the outbreak were : — The scarcity of birds, especially 

 the lap^ftdng ; the severe winter without the usual mild spells ; and 

 the regulations forbidding the burning of moorlands and mountain 

 grass areas [see also this Review, Ser. A, v, pp. 478, 481]. Six 

 previous outbreaks of this pest have been recorded in Great 

 Britain during the past century, two of them having occurred in 

 Cumberland. 



