THE 



VOL. IX.] 



AUGUST, 1886. 



[No. 8. 



SOME INSECT EISTEMIES OF THE KOSE. 



So many inquiries have been made 

 recently for some efficient and avail- 

 able means of combating the common, 

 yet at the same time very injurious 

 insects that prey upon the rose, that 

 we have thought it might be acceptable 

 to our readers if we should devote some 

 space to the consideration of the habits, 

 appearance and ravages of these insects, 

 at the same time orivinor such su^i^ores- 

 tions as we may be able to offer for 

 their destruction. 



The Rose Slug has been very abund- 

 ant for several years, and judging from 

 the pertinacity it manifests in the work 

 of destroying the foliage of our roses 

 year after year, we have little to hope 

 for in the way of relief from the labors 

 of its natural enemies. This insect is 

 one of the Sawflies, is known to Ento- 

 mologists by the name of Selandria 

 rosoe, and is described by Harris as a 

 small fly of a deep and shining black 

 color, the body of which is in the male 

 a little more than three twentieths of 

 an inch long, and in the female about 

 one-fifth of an inch, while the wings 

 expand about two-fifths of an inch. 

 They come out of the ground during 

 the month of June, at various times, 

 not all at once. The females do not 



fly much, but may be found during the 

 day resting on the rose leaves, and 

 when touched they draw up their legs 

 and fall to the ground. When about 

 to lay their eggs they turn a little on 

 one side, unsheath their saws, and 

 thrust them obliquely into the skin of 

 the leaf, depositing in each incision a 

 single egg. The eggs hatch in from 

 ten days to a fortnight, so that the 

 young slugs can usually be found on 

 the leates about the twentieth of June. 

 These have a round head with a black 

 dot on each side of it, and eleven pairs 

 of short legs. The upper surface of the 

 body is green, paler on the sides, yel- 

 lowish underneath, and the whole is 

 soft, with a transparent, jelly-like ap- 

 pearance. 



These slugs eat the upper surface of 

 the leaves, leaving the veins and skin ; 

 thus cjivinw the leaves a skeletonized 

 appearance. When they are numerous, 

 which has been the case now for several 

 years, there will not be a green leaf 

 remaining, and the whole rose-garden 

 will look as if scorched by fire. When 

 these slugs have attained their full 

 growth they drop to the ground, bur- 

 row into the earth to the depth of an 

 inch or so, form little cells in which 



