ORCHARD PESTS 93 



the Nut Weevil. The insect measures about | inch in 

 length and is nut-brown in colour. (See Plate 20.) 



Our last case will be that of the Strawberry, where we 

 find the green Rose Chafer {Cetonia auraia), a most beauti- 

 ful golden-green insect which reaches the adult stage in 

 the month of June. It is however destructive to the 

 leaves and flowers of strawberry plants as well as to roses 

 and turnips, evidently liking a varied diet. Like the 

 Cockchafer, the larva of this insect hves in the soil, as 

 long as two or three years, where it eats at the roots of 

 the plants. The best method of deaHng with them is 

 to knock out the beetles from trees and shrubs and destroy 

 them, the gas-liming of the soil being also taken in hand 

 during winter to dispose of the grubs. Rooks, starlings, 

 plovers and gulls devour large numbers. (See Plate 20.) 



Strawberry plants are also subject to the Stem Eelworm 

 {Telenchus devastatrix), a tiny creature only | inch long, 

 which bores into the tissues of the plant. The adult 

 worms lay eggs which may remain in the dead tissues or 

 in the soil for some time before hatching, and as they are 

 very proUfic it becomes very difficult to cope with this 

 pest. Clover, grasses, plantain and other weeds are 

 affected by eelworm. The best method of deaHng with 

 it is the artful one of putting down a catch crop which 

 eelworm readily goes to and then uprooting it with the 

 eel worms therein. (See Plate 20.) 



