71 



turn pale and become stunted, and eventual!}' the whole plant succumbs 

 unless remedies are applied. Cuttings and young- rooted plants are 

 especiall}' susceptible to injury, and more particular!}' in spring-. 

 These mites injure by suction, slowly reducing the A'italit}' of plants 

 until in time their functions are more or less deranged. Amono- 

 ornamental plants that are much affected are violet, rose, clematis, 

 minuet, pink, fuchsia, pelargonium, godetia. passiflora, feverfew, 

 thunbergia, verbena, heliotrope, moon- 

 flower, calla, smilax, and Easter lily; 

 while of other crops, beets, beans, sage, 

 tomato, eggplant, pepper, cucumber, 

 squash, cowpea, hops, and berries of 

 various kinds are attacked. As a rule 

 this species is not especially liarmful to 

 the sugar beet but is quite destructiA'e 

 at times in fields of other crops; for ex- 

 ample, to beans, which have been badly 

 injured in South Carolina in recent 

 years. 



Remedies. — This red spider is resistant 

 to '"gassing" or fumigation, either with 

 tobacco or hydrocvanic-acid gas. It is, 

 however, peculiarly susceptible to sul- 

 phur, a sovereign remed}^ for mites in 

 general. Flowers of sulphur mixed with water at the rate of 1 ounce 

 to the gallon and sprayed over the plants is of great value in its eradi- 

 cation; or the sulphur may be combined with a wash, for example, 

 with strong soapsuds. 



Potash, fish oil, whale oil, and other soap solutions, resin wash, and 

 kerosene-soap emulsion are also valuable, and the addition of sulphur 

 increases their effectiveness; but these washes are too stroijg for some 

 delicate plants and are apt to injure them. For violets and similar 

 plants, as they occur in greenhouses, no other remed}- is used by flor- 

 ists generally than frequent syringing or spraying with water or with 

 a solution of neutral soap. Directions for the application of the soap 

 washes to violet and other greenhouse plants are furnished in Bulletin 

 1^7, uew series, of the Division of Entomology (pp. 40-42). 



Fig. 05. — Tf'tranijchus bimaculatus: n, 

 adult; b, palpus; c, claw.s (after Banks, 

 Division of Entomology). 



o 



