100 INSECT PESTS 



when they emerge as beetles after the third year they 

 are just as destructive in defoliating plants, fruit and 

 forest trees. Systematic beating of the trees for the 

 destruction of the beetles themselves is one of the methods 

 that must be followed in a bad year, and the ground 

 must be opened out in autumn for rooks, starhngs, 

 plovers, and gulls, who will pick out the larvae in large 

 numbers. In addition, heaps of turf, htter, etc., may be 

 used as traps, and should be frequently turned over for 

 the white grubs which collect therein. Gas Ume and 

 kainit as dressings may be used, the former in the winter. 

 Also, when hoeing, a watch should be kept with a view 

 to hand-picking. (See Plate 3, Fig. 12, and Plate 22.) 



Another soil nuisance is the Leather Jacket, which is 

 the larva of the Daddy-long-legs or Crane fly {Tipula 

 oleracea). There are several kinds of Crane fly, more 

 brightly coloured than the greyish brown insect familiar 

 to everybody, but they are not so common as Tipula 

 oleracea. (See Plate 2, Fig. A, and Plate 22.) 



The larva is about an inch long, brown, with a small 

 head which can be drawn back into the body, and pos- 

 sessing the strong jaws which are responsible for the root 

 injuries so often complained of. The female crane-fly 

 lays her eggs, 200 to 300, on meadow land in August, 

 and the grubs feed all through the winter, often coming 

 out on mild days in January, when they are soon taken 

 by some hungry bird. The pupa is as long as the larva, 

 and, as with all pupae, has traced on its outer surface 

 the outline of the future insect. Gas hme in winter is 

 the best treatment, preceded by as much opening of the 

 soil as possible, to give the starlings and rooks a chance, 

 who are very fond of Leather Jacket. Later on, for the 

 farmer, harrowing and rolhng has the effect of bringing 

 the grubs out, again to be taken into the birds' larder. 



Snails and slugs are not insects but molluscs. They 

 are often a great nuisance to the gardener, however, and 

 80 a word or two here about them may be acceptable. 



