INSECTS AXD DISEASES 73 



cucurbits, strawberry, cotton, etc. This fact enables 

 it to thrive over a wide range of territory and dur- 

 ing ahnost any and all seasons. Like most of the 

 aphids, however, it has its parasites to contend 

 with, so that it is rarely abundant in all parts of the 

 country every season. Like most of the plant lice, 

 it passes the winter in the egg stage on a variety of 

 plants. These eggs hatch in early spring, and a 

 succession of summer broods is given off until fall, 

 when another crop of eggs is produced. The early 

 broods are capable of getting their food from what- 

 ever kind of plant they happen to be on, but as the 

 melon plants come on, winged forms are produced, 

 which enable them to migrate to the melon fields, 

 where they often settle in great numbers and con- 

 tinue to breed as long as the melon plants furnish 

 succulent food. After the melon plants have passed 

 their usefulness, the lice then migrate to other 

 plants. 



Like all members of this class of insects, these 

 lice are provided with a sharp beak, through which 

 they take their food in liquid form by inserting it 

 into the tissues of the leaves, thus causing them to 

 curl up and eventually die. This, of course, inter- 

 feres, more or less, with the complete development 

 of the fruit, so that oftentimes the later fruits are 

 entirely worthless. 



Remedies. — First of all, the grower must familiar- 

 ize himself with the insect and its work before he 

 can do much towards holding it in check. If he is 

 acquainted with plant lice in general, he will have 

 no trouble in identifying this, as in general appear- 

 ance it resembles the other forms. The first indica- 

 tion of its presence in the melon field will be made 



