92 



THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



twig in which it is set (Fig. 32). This 

 weakens the canes, and they are often 

 [Fig. 38.1 broken off by the wind. 



This injury does not 

 amount to much, but 

 the perfect insect has a 

 very bad habit of cut- 

 ting off leaves in sum- 

 mer; and sometimes ex- 

 tends its mischievous 

 work to the grape-vine, 

 trimming off both leaves 

 and fruit, working at 

 night when perfectly 

 sa f e from observation or 

 molestation. One of my 

 correspondents in Tex- 

 as wrote me, a few years 

 ago, that one of these 

 pests would completely 

 defoliate a young grape- 

 vine in a single night, 

 and he was a long time 

 in discerning the suc- 

 Gaii produced by Agriius cessful noctumal prun- 



ruficolhs (.ifter Rilev). j i- j ■ j 



^ ^' er, and when discovered 



he was at a loss how to circumvent it. De- 

 stroying the eggs is the only way I know 

 of fighting this insect. 



The Currant and Gooseberry. 



After two or three centuries of almost 

 [Fig. 30.] entire exemption from noxious 

 insects, it is no wonder that our 

 people came to look upon the 

 Currant as a fruit for everybody, 

 and one that could be raised in 

 almost any corner of the garden 

 without care or cultivation ; but 

 all at once and without warning, 

 not only did its ancient enemy 

 from the other side of the At- 

 lantic appear in this country and 

 commence its destructive work, 

 but several native species of in- 

 sects joined in making havoc with 

 our Currant and Gooseberry 

 First, the Imported 

 (after Riley). Currant Worm {Nematus veiitri- 

 cosus King, Fig. 33) made its appearance 

 about Rochester, New York, in 1857; then 1 



Larva of Agri- bushes, 

 lus ruficollis 



it was soon discovered that we had a 

 Gooseberry span-worm {Eufitchia rihcraria, 

 Fitch), the former being the larva of a four- 

 winged fly, and the latter [Fig. 30.] 

 the caterpillar of a small 

 moth. These two species 

 spread with great rapidity, 

 and seemed for a while to 

 defy all the usual insecti- 

 cides and other methods of 

 destruction. Then the late 

 Mr. Walsh of Illinois dis- 



Snowy Tree-cricket, 



covered a native saw-fly, male. 



the Pristiphora grossularice, which was 

 also double-brooded like its European 

 congener, and fed upon the Currant and 



IFig. 31.] 



Snowy Tree-cricket, female. 



Gooseberry, rather preferring the latter. 

 With these three insects ; with a borer or 

 two that perforates the stems of the plants, 

 and several species of 

 plant-lice infesting 

 leaves, roots, and green 

 shoots, the cultivators 

 of the Currant and 

 Gooseberry have had 

 all they could do to 

 keep their plants alive, d 

 and obtain even a mod- 

 erate crop of fruit. As 

 all these Currant and 

 Gooseberry pests have 

 been very fully de- 

 scribed in the writings 

 of Fitch, Walsh, and 

 Prof. Riley, I will not 

 detain you by repeat- 

 ing any part of the 

 same, but merely say 

 that for the different 

 species feeding on the ® 

 leaves, nothing has ^^^ „^ s^„„.^ .,.„^^. 

 been discovered better "■"=';,fI.--'"% ="Ti „"'"„''f 



punctures ; p, section ot 



in the way of destroy- ""= ■, 5' "^^ fni^.'-ged ; </, 



J J granulations at lip, more 



ing them than pow- '''s'''y<="'="'S'=''(*f'"'*''=>''' 

 dered white hellebore. A few dustings 



