GARDEN PESTS 67 



Beware of that warm, still evening, in spite of the 

 vesper bell. In other words, " trust her not, she's fooling 

 thee." You will find she has come like a thief in the 

 night, and afterwards you may get out your quassia or 

 petroleum and spray well, spray thoroughly, indefati- 

 gably, but in vain. 



Had you only dispersed the petroleum an evening 

 earlier, ^Irs. Aphis would have said all sorts of horrible 

 things about you, and your coarseness and all that, but 

 she would have gone away. 



The aphides are the weakest of insects singly, but they 

 conquer by sheer numbers and the fearful rate of increase. 

 A thunder-storm will drown millions, but their numerical 

 strength is up again with the first warm day. Both the 

 winged and wingless varieties seem to be produced indis- 

 criminately, and in some mysterious way certain females 

 lay eggs, whilst others bring forth live young. It is 

 advisable to pinch out the tops of the plants, as only the 

 tender shoots are attacked. Remember that the effective 

 time for spraying is before the attack, as a preventive, as 

 described above. Weeds should not be allowed to remain 

 in the vicinity. (See Appendix A.) 



Here the larva of the Ladybird Beetle (C. bipunctata) 

 does us yeoman service, spearing the aphides with its 

 sharp mandibles and disposing of great numbers. 



Ants may also be seen fondling these insects and even 

 carrying them up and down the plant, but in this case 

 it is of no benefit to the grower. The aphides exude a 

 sweet fluid which ants have a great liking for. Fanciful 

 people talk of ants keeping ''cows" and refer to the 

 fondUng process as the act of '' milking " them. 



The aphides and weevils here treated of are also ad- 

 dicted to Peas, but the tiny yellowish, black-headed 

 maggot found in the pods of our marrow-fats when they 

 are getting ripe are the children of the Pea Moth 

 {G. pisana), a dehcate creature with dainty wings of a 

 French grey colour tipped with black and measuring 



