INSECTS ATTACKING TIIK PEAR, AND THEIR CONTROL 1029 



FIG. 309. THE 



I'KAU TllKM'S: 



K(,<;s (en- 

 larged) 



trees, is a small, darkish brown, winged insect measuring about 

 one-twentieth of an inch in length. It appears in destructive 

 numbers when the buds are opening, attacking 

 the tenderest of the flower parts. While all 

 fruits are subject to attack, pears of the varieties 

 Kieffer and Seckel sustain the greatest damage. 

 In severe attacks the trees are wet with sap that 

 runs down the fruit spurs discoloring the bark, 

 while bud scales, blossom bracts, and sepals of 

 unopened blossoms become blackish or discolored. 

 At time of full bloom trees severely injured 

 appear as if struck by blight. The eggs are 

 mostly deposited in the blossom and fruit stems. Hatching takes 

 place in a few days, and after feeding for about two weeks the 

 larvae drop to the ground. In a protecting cell, the insect com- 

 pletes its transformations and emerges from the ground in spring 

 as an adult. 



Treatment. The thrips is a difficult 

 pest to combat because of the nature and 

 suddenness of its attacks. Spraying is 

 the most efficient method of control. The 

 period for effective spraying is during the 

 time when buds are breaking and until 

 they are entirely opened at the tips. The 

 most efficient mixtures are nicotine prepa- 

 rations in combination with an oil emul- 

 sion or soap. A very satisfactory formula 

 is three-fourths pint of nicotine solution 

 (40 per cent) in one hundred gallons of 

 water, adding from two to five pounds of 

 soap. Apply the spray in liberal quan- 

 tities as a rather coarse driving spray, 

 holding the nozzle fairly close to the buds 

 in order to force the liquid into the ends 

 of the buds. When petals drop, the 

 treatment should be repeated to destroy 

 the larvae. Considerable protection may 

 be afforded to the trees by a heavy application of a whitewash as 

 buds are beginning to break at the ends. The whitewashes made 



FIG. 310. THE 

 PEAR THRIPS : 

 LARVAE 

 ( enlarged ) 



