84 



PLUM. 



under different scientific appellations, thereby adding not a little to 

 the perplexities of the subject.* 



The life-history of the Plum Sawfly, as given by the above wi'iters, 

 is, in its main points, as follows. The female Sawfly begins her 

 operations by making a slit in a calyx leaf of a Plum blossom, or 

 expanding bud. Apparently only one egg is laid in each blossom (or 

 rather calyx). The egg is very small, geenish white, and transparent. 

 The caterpillar hatches in from about a week to a fortnight's time, and 

 eats its way into the young embryo fruit, where it continues within 

 what would have been the kernel, and when it has consumed all that 

 suits its purpose for food in one Plum goes on to another. This 

 caterpillar is (as we observe of our own) twenty-footed. The colour 

 whitish, or with a reddish-yellow tinge ; head dark brown or yellow ; 

 body lesser towards the hinder extremity, and it gives out a strong 

 bug-like smell. 



The caterpillar is full grown in a period variously observed as from 

 three to four, or five to six, weeks. Then the young Plum falls, the 

 caterpillar creeps out, buries itself in the ground, where it spins a 

 cocoon ; here it is stated to spend the winter, still in the larval state, 

 and in spring to change to the chrysalis or pupal state, from which the 

 perfect Sawfly comes out in time to lay her eggs amongst the opening 

 Plum blossoms. The flies are somewhat like the Apple Sawfly, figured 

 at page 1, with two pairs of transparent wings. The general colour 

 black or shining black ; legs mostly yellow, or of a reddish or brown 

 yellow. 



The above notes of life-history are taken from the observations of 

 Dr. Taschenberg, Dr. Eitzema Bos, and Canon Schmidberger, 

 published in their respective works referred to above. 



Means of prevention and remedy (also given by the same observers) 

 consist, for one thing, in collecting and destroying the infested little 



* In the ' Praktische Insekten-Kunde ' of Dr. Taschenberg, the name given is 

 that of Hoplocampa fulvicornis, Klug. ; in the ' Tierische Schadlinge und NiitzHnge ' 

 of Dr. Eitzema Bos, it is Selandria fulvicornis, Klug., and the internal evidence of 

 quotation in each of these papers shows it to be the same insect of which a very good 

 account is given by Schmidberger in ' Kollar's Insects,' under the name of Ten- 

 thredo morio, Fab. A short account of the infestation corresponding with the above, 

 so far as a few lines can correspond with full descriptions, is also given in Kalten- 

 back's ' Pflanzenfeinde ' under the name of Selandria fulvicornis, Klug. It is, 

 however, very requisite, in mention of the Tenthredo morio. Fab., to mention also 

 the name of the authority by whom it is so called, as the Selandria=Tenthredo 

 morio, Fab., of Cameron's ' Mon. of the British Phytoiihagous Hymenoptera ' (vol. i. 

 p. 199), and the S. morio. Fab., of Taschenberg's 'Insekten-Kunde,' are clearly 

 different insects from the Z'. morio of Schmidberger, inasmuch as the caterpillar is 

 stated to have a green body spotted with black, whereas the colour of the cater- 

 pillar of the kind described above is whitish or yellowish. 



