THE MEXICAN EKllT WORM. 



169 



flattened on tlic under side and at the ends, and are closely api)lied. end 

 to end, forming a stiff, cylindrical rod in winch each egg appears as a 

 joint or cell. The yonng issue through a large hole eaten in the upper 

 sitle of the i^gg. 



The noriual food of this bug in the South is a laiige Thistle, upou the 

 heads of which young and old may be found clustering and sucking the 

 juices of the plant. The young l)ngs are 

 rarely found in Florida except u[)o.n the 

 Thiptle, or similar succulent jdants, but 

 the adult bugs, being strong on the 

 wing, make excursions to very great 

 distances, and enter the orange groves 

 at the time of blooming, to suck the 

 opening buds or tender shoots. Again 

 they may be iound attacking the ripen- 

 ing fruit, and causing it to drop in con- 

 sequence of their punc^tures. The dam- 

 age done in this way is often very con- 

 siderable, and in some reiJorted cases 

 has amounted to an almost total loss of 

 the crop. 



Like many bugs of this family, they 

 are particularly active in hot weather, aiid it is then very difficult to 

 get within reach of the adult insects, as they take wing readily and 

 fly away. But in cool or cloudy weather they are more sluggish and 

 may easily be found and killed by hand-i)icking, or by knocking them 

 into a bag or net with a stick. 



Where Thistles are abundant this bug is sure to prove a serious 

 pest, as the Thistles form a propagating ground from which they spread 

 to a distance. A single large patch of Thistles has been known to infect 

 a wide area, but when these were cut down and destroyed, the bugs in 

 time disappeared from the groves in the neighborhood and gave no fur- 

 ther trouble. 



Fig. 78.—Leptofilossxisphyllopiis. (Original.) 



THE MEXICAN FRUIT WORM. 



An unknown worm, of perhaps an inch in length, is said to be very- 

 destructive to oranges in Mexico. It penetrates the fruit to the core, 

 and feeds ui)()n the i)ulp, both fresh and after it has begun to rot in con- 

 sequence of the attack. 



A few years ago a very large percentage of the oi anges sold in the 

 markets at Vera Ciuz contained these worms, and were entirely uneat- 

 able. It is said that no mark upon the outside of the fruit reveals the 

 presence of the worm within. 



In the absence of any definite knowledge in regard to this insect, it 

 is only possible to i)oint out the danger of its introduction first into the 



