50 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



in this quiescent pupa stage in its earthen cell. Finally the pupal 

 shroud or skin is cast off and the active adult or curculio appears. 



For a week or more after they emerge from the ground in the 

 spring, the curculios feed upon the growing quince fruits, and pos- 

 sibly to a slight extent upon the leaves. After feeding on the fruit 

 for about a week, as described above, the beetles copulate and soon 

 begin laying eggs. The eggs hatch in from seven to ten days, and 

 the little grubs at once begin eating their way into the fruit. The 

 grubs continue feeding in the fleshy part of the fruit for about a 

 month, forming therein a large worm-eaten cavity. 



With our present knowledge of its life and habits, the jarring 

 process is the most successful method for fighting the quince curculio 

 yet suggested and tested. Those who practice the jarring method 

 successfully, jar the trees every day, if possible, from the time the 

 beetles appear until their numbers decrease beyond the danger point, 

 or only a few are captured each time. This jarring process involves 

 considerable labor and expense, but experienced fruit growers tell us 

 it costs only from 15 to 20 cents to jar a tree during the season. One 

 should consider that this slight expenditure may often favorably de- 

 cide the important question of a large crop of fine fruit or a meager 

 crop of knotty and wormy fruit. The insects of the quince are prac- 

 tically the same as those of the apple. (Bui. 148 Cornell Agr. 

 Exp. Sta.) 



PEACH INSECTS. 



The Black Peach Aphis. The black peach aphis infests the 

 roots, tender shoots, and foliage of the peach, causing more serious 

 injury when occurring on the roots. Its presence on the roots is often 

 unsuspected, the failure of the trees being attributed to other causes. 

 Young trees recently planted are most subject to injury, before they 

 have become well established in the soil. Infested trees may fail to 

 grow off well, at the end of two or three years being scarcely larger 

 than when planted. The foliage assumes a yellowish green, sickly* 

 appearance, the leaves becoming somewhat curled on the edges and 

 blotched with red, suggesting a wet soil or incipient yellows. 



The insects occur in two forms winged and wingless the for- 

 mer occurring only on the shoots and leaves, while the latter occur 

 on both the foliage and roots. An individual aphis is quite small, 

 the body in both forms averaging about 2 mm. in length, shining jet 

 black or dark brown in color, oval in shape, though the body of the 

 wingless form is stouter. The young are faint greenish-brown in 

 color, gradually becoming darker as they grow, till the jet black con- 

 dition of the adult is reached. They feed by means of a beak, which 

 is thrust into the tissues of the plant, and the sap removed by their 

 combined attack constitutes a serious drain on plant vitality. The 

 insect lives on the roots of the plant during the entire season, and 

 breeding is continuous, except during the winter, which is spent in 

 hibernation. The aphides are usually attended by ants, which aid 

 them in securing food, transporting them from place to place and 

 otherwise caring for them. In the spring the aphides make their 

 way above the ground and begin to feed and breed on the tender 



