236 



Insect Pests. 



in some quarters ; but during the winter of 1897 (6) Lewis examined 

 infested buds at very frequent intervals, also in 1899, and always 

 found a certain number of eggs. 



The mites may be found outside the buds from early March 

 onwards for some months, but the main number are to be seen in 

 April. They may then be seen moving over the burst buds, at their 

 base, and you may find them on the blossom strigs and in the 

 blossoms. 



Mr. C. Warburton, in a paper read before the Linnean Society, 

 mentioned that the mites hold on by their anal sucker and wave 

 their legs in the air ; he further noticed a point of some importance, 

 hitherto undetected, namely, that the mites possess the power of 

 leaping off the plant into the air, and he assumes that they do this 



FIG. 179. THE CURRANT BUD MITE (Eriophyes ribis) AND OVA. 

 (From Lewis.) 



in order to attach themselves to passing insects, and in that way get 

 distributed, to a certain extent, from one plantation to another. 



In the beginning of June, the mites have been seen congregated 

 round the young buds, between the main stem and the basal portion 

 of the leaf petioles. By the end of the month many infested buds 

 which have not burst dry up, and the mites apparently die in 

 them. Throughout July many old buds which have not dried 

 contain both mites and eggs, and the latter are always plentiful 

 from the beginning of March. It is not until towards the end 

 of July that the presence of the mites in the newly-formed buds 

 may be noticed. On the 10th of August buds not more than 

 ^ inch in length were found by Lewis to contain mites, and many 

 of these buds contained eggs by the middle of the month. In the 



