114 INSECT PESTS 



water as above. Wherever weevils are found in any 

 number, advantage may be taken of their "lie doggo" 

 propensities by shaking them into a cloth or umbrella 

 and gathering them up for destruction. (See Plate 24.) 



A beetle known as Anomala vitis feeds upon the soft 

 tissues of the leaves of vines. It is, however, more com- 

 mon in the south of Europe than in England, and is 

 related to the sacred Scarab, formerly worshipped by 

 the Egyptians, drawings of which may be seen on Cleo- 

 patra's Needle, The insect is only about J of an inch in 

 length and behaves very much Uke a weevil. Its larva 

 lives in dung. The same treatment as for weevils applies. 



Another small beetle, Eumolpus vitis, attacks the roots 

 and causes injury which at times prevents the formation 

 of new shoots and may even kill the vine. It is about 

 ^ of an inch in length. The vigilance which will be 

 exercised to keep out the weevils will also upset the 

 calculations of Eumolpus. (See Plate 24.) 



Two remaining beetles which attack vines are the Cock- 

 chafer and the Wire worm. In greenhouses these should 

 be successfully combated by the cleansing of the soil by 

 renewal each season, and the entrance of the May-bugs 

 prevented by the use of gauze window coverings which 

 are employed also as a bar to the entrance of birds and 

 wasps who come after the fruit. 



We now pass to the Lepidoptera, where a varied if not 

 very distinguished company awaits our attention. All 

 of them are moths. First there is the Gothic {N. typica) 

 which is a leaf-eater. Its caterpillar has the rather 

 unusual habit of commencing life as a tree-feeder and 

 later on descending to feast upon winter greens and low- 

 growing herbage generally. The moth itself occurs in 

 June and during the breeding season, which may be 

 extended over two months, lays eggs on the underside 

 of the vine leaves and other fruit foliage. During their 

 youth these caterpillars are gregarious, arranging them- 

 selves in a curiously formal fashion side by side as they 



