GREEN SOLDIER-BUG ON ORANGE TREES. 81 
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of berries before the bugs came; but the last week of bearing the crop 
was again destroyed by the same insect. 
Is it a new plague, or has it been known before, and can you tell me 
what it is, and what will prevent its ravages in the future ?—{Mrs. Gro. 
ScHALL, North Wales, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, July 4, 1883. 
[The insect accompanying this letter, and which was said to injure 
strawberries, was a common beetle known as Stelidota strigosa, Schon. 
It has never been recorded as doing any-appreciable damage to any 
crop before. It feeds ordinarily upon fallen fruit, in which the female 
alxo lays her eggs. The larva attains its full growth in a short time, 
and the beetle issues in late summer and hibernates in this state. With 
regard to remedies, it will be difficult to advise. Feeding on the fruit 
as it does, the ordinary poisons cannot be used. The insects and their 
breeding habits should be carefully studied on the spot; in this way a 
remedy can doubtless be found. | 
GREEN SOLDIER-BUG (RAPHIGASTER HILARIS) ON ORANGE TREES. 
* * * You also request observations on the Green Soldier-bug. I 
‘forward by same mail twigs of the orange tree injured by the bug. The 
insects are coupling now. The females will soon lay the eggs in a 
cluster on a leaf, straddling over them while laying. The young ap- 
pear in the latter part of February or the first part of March. As ob- 
served by the eye the young are black, with white spots, which color 
they retain until nearly fall grown, when they acquire wingsand change 
to a bright green. How this is done I do not know. They mature very 
quickly, and increase with surprising rapidity, continuing to breed 
until November. In the spring and early summer they confine their 
attacks principally to garden vegetables and succulent weeds. They 
are particularly abundant on tomato-vines, egg-plants, turnip-tops, and 
mustard, seldom doing much damage to orange trees at this season. 
When pea-vines are well grown, about or a little before the time of blos- 
soming, they abandon nearly everything for the pea-vines. Last year 
they totally destroyed my garden. Not one tomato came to perfection. 
Where the insect had inserted its sucking-tube a reddish-yellow spot 
appeared. When cut the fruit was full of lumps and totally devoid of 
flavor. The tomato-vines grew so enormous a crop that the ground 
was almost covered by the fallen fruit. Last year I had 35 acres 
planted in cow-pea vines, which bore an enormous crop of peas; 
but not enough sound peas could be gathered to plant 5 acres addi- 
tional land. Later it was impossible to find a sound pea. I attempted 
to turn under the vines, but so luxuriant was the growth that it could 
not be done. Towards the end of August the pea-vines were dead or 
dying, when the bugs swarmed to the orange tree, killing nearly all the 
8995—Bul. 4—--6 
