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insect which is almost always to be found on willows and 

 sallows, and is widely distributed throughout the country, 

 though its occurrence in apple orchards is still somewhat 

 irregular. Abroad the insect is known to attack apples in 

 Norway, while allied species cause a similar form of injury 

 to apples in Canada and the United States. 



Capsid bugs feed on the sap of plants, sucking it up 

 through, a trunk (or proboscis), and in order to reach the sap, 

 they drill small holes or punctures, which in the case of the 

 apple form the centres ol more or less extensive injuries. 

 The first signs of attack are shown by the appearance, early 

 in the season, of small brown spots on the young growing 

 leaves, each spot marking the position of a puncture. As 

 the leaves become larger, the parts round each puncture either 

 die and fall out or fail to develop properly, with the result 

 that attacked leaves are deformed, ragged and under-sized. 

 The bugs also attack the shoots which are checked or even 

 killed, thus encouraging the formation of an excessive number 

 of side shoots, and in consequence a badly-shaped, stunted 

 tree. 



Of all injuries, however, the most obvious is that to the 

 fruit. Attacked apples are usually deformed; the skin shows 

 rough russetted patches with scattered pits and pimples in- 

 dicating the position of the original punctures. Really bad 

 specimens are shapeless, often with cracks extending deeply 

 into the interior, and the whole surface so discoloured, rough 

 and corky, that the fruit has little resemblance to an apple. 

 The crop of course is much reduced, since many fruits fall 

 off before they reach maturity, while a large percentage of the 

 remainder are always so scarred as to be of little value for 

 the market. There appears to be some variation in the extent 

 of the injury to different varieties of apple, certain varieties as, 

 for instance, Bramley's Seedling, sometimes suffering less 

 than others, but nothing definite can yet be stated with regard 

 to this point. In addition to apple, black and red currants 

 are also attacked, the leaves showing the characteristic 

 spotting. It seems likely that the bugs have only recently 

 transferred their attentions to apple and currant. 



Description and Life-History. The eggs of the Green 

 Apple Capsid are oval, white in colour, and are laid under 

 the bark of the apple twigs, being therefore practically in- 

 visible unless the twig is peeled. Towards the end of April 

 earlier or later, according to the season the eggs produce 

 small green insects which if it were not for their great activity 

 might possibly be confused with aphides (green fly). The 

 young Capsids, as soon as hatched, creep in between the de- 

 veloping leaves and flower buds, puncturing them and 

 sucking up the sap. Feeding on the leaves, shoots and fruit- 

 lets, the young bugs grow rapidly, and from the end of May 



