88 THE APHIS VASTATOR ON OTHER PLANTS. 



the pea, though equally destructive, is a very distinct in- 

 sect from the vastator, as I shall hereafter point out. 



(357.) I have found the vastator somewhat sparingly 

 upon the Jerusalem artichoke, but certainly not to a suffi- 

 cient extent to do mischief. Some artichokes supplied by 

 a London greengrocer for the dinner table were hard at 

 one end and soft at the other ; but whether this has been 

 the result of the malady, I am unable to state. 



(358.) The common nettle is in some places attacked 

 by the vastator. When this is the case, the leaves die 

 principally at the edges and in the fleshy parts, in a man- 

 ner precisely similar to that in which the potatoe suffers. 

 At last the whole of the leaves die, and the plant becomes 

 ultimately shrivelled. The root is found to be soft and 

 watery, and shows a great tendency to rot, especially at 

 the part where it joins the stem. The nettle is also attack- 

 ed by another species of Aphis. 



(359.) The mallow, also, is liable to the attacks of this 

 insect ; and when attacked, the leaf dies much in the same 

 manner as is seen in the turnip ; it turns yellow, at first 

 partially and then totally, and leaf after leaf is destroyed. 



(360.) The vastator also attacks the common heartsease 

 much in the same manner as in the last instance ; and 

 when the plant has been attacked for a certain period, the 

 stem generally begins to rot at its lower part, and the plant 

 is doubtless eventually destroyed. 



(361.) The Coreopsis tinctoria is liable to the attack of 

 the vastator. The insect lives upon the leaves and des- 

 troys them as in other vegetables. In the garden balsam 

 the Aphis injures the leaves partially or totally, and thus 

 destroys its existence, and in this case the root swells about 

 the collar. 



