THE GREEN SPOT 





I'm a little wasp, a parasitic wasp. My Latin name is Encarsia formosa, 

 but most of my friends just call me Encarsia. You may have heard of 

 me. I know the whiteflies have. I'm an interesting gal who's had an inter- 

 esting life and I've much to share. So where do I begin? I know. Let me 

 tell you about my childhood. 



I grew up in the South Side of the greenhouse. It was a rough 

 neighborhood. Between us wasps, the ants, and those whiteflies, a day 

 didn't pass without something foul goin' down. 



It all began with my Ma, a bench-wise woman of the crops, who 

 abandoned me at birth. I love her all the same. Ma was into honeydew. 

 She got a fix of some potent H.D. one day, had me, put me inside some 

 whitefly (just a kid himself) while I was still an egg, and flew away. All 

 this happened even before I saw my first ray of sunshine. 



Living inside the whitefly wasn't so bad. He was a good host. I was 

 snug in there. Warm, content, well-fed — I was basically a happy-go-lucky 

 girl. It was in that whitefly that I grew up — it's where I matured; it's 

 where I "blossomed." Me and my gracious host, good old Bob, we got 

 along fine. Until one crazy day, that is. I woke up on the wrong side of 

 the pupa or somethin' like that. Anyway, I snapped — I killed Bob. 



Then the craziest thing happened — Bob started turning black. I don't 

 know exactly what happened for sure, but I grew up in a hurry and got 

 the heck outta there. I chewed my way out, in fact. 



Oh well, that was then and this is now. I guess things turned out all 

 right. I'm not married or anything. Men are hard to come by. The reason 

 was made clear a while back — I ran into Ma and she said that men are 

 not only scarce, but worthless too. Then she proceeded to explain 

 asexual reproduction. 



She was right. I've had about a hundred and seventy-eight kids now. 

 Truthfully, between you and I, I've lost count. 



I live in the North End now (although many of my kids, all grown up 

 and on their own, still run the benches of the South Side. The North 

 End's not much better than the South Side, but it is a little. I've got a 

 shabby little leaf that I call home. Hey, it's not great, but it's clean and 

 all mine. I'm still looking for that ideal dream-leaf: plenty of food, clean, 

 no ants, and lots of decent whiteflies for neighbors, just like Bob. If you 

 happen to hear of an opening, contact my agent — I'm willing to relocate. 



Michael S. Cherim. Encarsia's agent and author of this short anthropomorphic drama, 

 is from the Creen Spot, Ltd., supplier of biological pest control agents nationwide. 

 He can be reached at 603-942-8925. 



Association Oncers 



President 



BOB DEMERS, |R. 



Demers Nursery & Garden 



Center 



656 South Mammoth Road 



Manchester, NH 03103 



625-8298 



Secretary I Treasurer 



CHRISTOPHER ROBARGE 



UNH / TSAS 



Horticultural Facilities Manager 



Durham, NH 03824 



862-1074 



Directors 



KENNETH GOSSELIN 



207 Cranwell Drive 



Manchester, NH 03109 



627-6599 



TAMMY HATHAWAY 



61 Squamscott Road 



Stratham, NH 03885 



778-3912 



ANN HILTON 



Gateway Gardens 



430 Loudon Road 



Concord, NH 03301 



229-0655 



HENRY HUNTINGTON 



Pleasant View Gardens 



RFD #3, PO Box 3701 



Pittsfield, NH 03263 



435-8361 



ROBERT RIMOL 



17 Wyndmere Drive 



Londonderry, NH 03053 



603-425-6563 



PETER VAN BERKUM 



4 James Road 



Deerfield, NH 03037 



463-7663 



HARRY STOLLER & CO., Inc. 



109-113 Essex St., Haverhill, Mass. 01830, (508) 373-6838, (800) 322-0332 

 We cater to the small and medium size nursery in any quantity desired: 



1. New heavy grade domestic burlap sqs. 

 untreated & no-rot-treated 



2. Open burlap bags 



3. New windbreak burlap 



4. Balling bags 



5. Wire baskets 



6. Flat-folded burlap basket liners 



7. Truck covers 



a Sisal twine & poly twine 

 9. Woven polypropylene sqs. 



DECEMBER 1995 ♦ JANUARY 1996 



