INSECT PESTS 137 



flowers develop. The buds remain unopened, and after retain- 

 ing their green colour for a time, dry up and become brown. 

 Buds containing a smaller number of mites may burst at the 

 proper season, but the shoots and leaves and bunches of bloom 

 are dwarfed, and growth is weak. 



The mites feed and shelter in the buds over winter. In a 

 forward season and from buds that may have been only partially 

 infested, the mites may leave their hiding-place in March and 

 infest other buds. The real migration commences about the 

 middle of April and is over by July. These migratory mites 

 are adults, and, entering new buds, make their way inwards. 

 Then the females proceed at once to lay eggs. The eggs 

 hatch in due course, and the buds show at the end of August 

 and in September the characteristic swollen appearance. Egg- 

 laying during the winter is practically nil, but eggs have been 

 found in all the months of the year. 



The mites are practically unassailable in the buds, therefore 

 the migratory period is the time when treatment, to be successful, 

 should be given. Hand-picking the swollen buds during winter 

 may keep the pest in check. Hard pruning followed by the 

 removal of large buds has given fair results in some cases. Dust- 

 ing or spraying with a mixture of lime and sulphur, known as 

 Collinge's treatment, is advised. This consists of a mixture of 

 1 Ib. of quicklime, 1 Ib. of flowers of sulphur, and 20 gallons 

 of water. Slake the lime and add the sulphur, forming into a 

 paste as quickly as possible ; add the water and stir into a 

 " milk " of lime and sulphur, making up to 20 gallons and strain- 

 ing before use. Alternatively may be used one part of unslaked 

 lime and two parts of flowers of sulphur, mixed together. The 

 bushes should be sprayed with the fluid when they are dry, or 

 dusted with the lime and sulphur mixture when they are wet, 

 three times at the end of March or the beginning of April, again 

 at the middle of April and again in May. The quicklime and sul- 

 phur in dry form is liable to scorch the leaves to some extent. 



Codlin Moth. Considerable damage to Apple crops is often 

 caused by the caterpillars of the Codlin moth. The moths appear 

 towards the end of May, and the females, as they fly about from 

 tree to tree, deposit their eggs on the blossoms or in the " eyes " 

 of the fruit. Caterpillars hatch out and soon commence to bore 

 their way towards the centre of the frui*., where they feed upon 

 the pips. Affected Apples either fall prematurely or rapidly 



