340 



EXTRACTS FROM CORRESPONDENCE. 



Trumpet-creeper injured by Lygaeus reclivatus. 



Herewith I send you some specimens of an insect wbicli has appeared in large num- 

 bers on a " trumpet-creeper" in this neighborhood. There are no signs of it on any 

 other plant in the garden, but I am told it appears regularly on this one every autumn. 

 I fail to find anything to indicate that these insects were hatched out on the vine, 

 although they may possibly have come to life in the cracks in the wall behind it. I 

 wish to know if it is injurious to vegetation, and whether it should be destroyed or 

 encouraged. — [William Campbell, 328 East Fourth street. Salt Lake City, Utah, Oc- 

 tober 5, 1888. 



Reply. — The insect in question is one of the plant bugs known as Lygwus reclivatus 

 Say. It injures vegetation by puncturing the twigs of plants and sucking the sap. 

 It is found on a large variety of plants, and it is curious that they only affect in your 

 neighborhood the trumpet-creeper. 



If you desire a remedy you can do no better than to spray the plants with a dilute 

 emulsion of kerosene and soap, made according to the following formula : 



Kerosene 2 gallons = 67 percent. 



Common soap, or whale-oil soap = i pound ^_.>., „„^ „„„+ 



Water 1 gallon 5 - -^"^ P^^ ««°*- 



Heat the solution of soap and add it boiling hot to the kerosene. Churn the mix- 

 ture by means of a force-pump and spray-nozzle for five or ten minutes. The euiul 

 sion, if perfect, forms a cream which thickens on cooling, and should adhere without 

 oiliness to the surface of glass. Dilute, before using, one part of the emulsion with 

 nine parts of cold water. The above formula gives 3 gallons of emulsion, and makes 

 when diluted 30 gallons of wash.— [October 9, 1888.] 



Thrips tritici injuring Orange Blossoms. 



Inclosed in the bottle which I seud you are a lot of insects and orange flowers. 

 These were taken from trees that were badly affected with what we call blight or 

 wilt. The foliage appears as though it were terribly affected with the drought ; some- 

 times the entire tree, but more frequently a few branches. The leaves will fill out 

 during a rainfall, but soon wilt again when the weather becomes fair and cloudless. 

 The foliage soon falls, the limbs becoming bare ; the terminal twigs will then die, 

 sometimes back to the body of the tree. — [Robert C. May, Rock Ledge, Fla., April 

 12, 1889. 



Reply. — The insects which you send, and which were found in the flowers of the 

 orange, belong to the species known as Thr'qjs tritici. It received this name from 

 the fact that it was originally described from wheat. Upon orange, so far as we 

 know, it is found principally in the blossoms; in fact, it inhabits all sweet-scented 

 flowers. They appear to feed for the most part upon the stamens and petals, from 

 which they suck the oil. These parts of the flower fall naturally, and the work of 

 the T7i rjj>8 only hastens their dropping. The fruit-producing pistil is usually left 

 uninjured. Ordinarily, therefore, it can not be considered an enemy to the plant, 

 although it may, when occurring in enormous numbers, do some damage. A solution 

 of whale-oil soap in the proportion of 1 pound to 4 or 5 gallons of water will destroy 

 the insects when sprayed upon the flowers in a fine spray. — [April 16, 1889.] 



W^hite Ants in Australia. 



I am troubled with " White Ants" in my orchard. They are killing some of my 

 fruit trees and vines. Can you in your next issue recommend any preventative or 

 permanent cure that will not be too expensive ? They appear to be a common pest 



