BLACKBERRY PESTS— BLOOMING PERIOD OF TREE FRUITS 



653 



Spray with Paris green, arsenate of 

 lead or, if tlie fruit iias formed, with 

 hellebore. 



For formulae see Sprays. 



Scurfy Scale. See under Apple. 



Seed-like Gall. See Pithy Gall, this 

 section. 



Snowy Tree Cricket 



OecanlJiiis nifeu.s DeGeer 



General .Vppearance 



The adult insects are slightly more 

 than half an inch long and light yellow 

 or greenish in color. The antennje are 

 very long and hair-like. There is one 

 black dot on the face beneath each an- 

 tenna. The females appear narrow, be- 

 cause the wings are folded along the 

 sides and over the backs, while in the 

 males they are spread out flatly on the 

 back. The black-tipped ovipositor also 

 helps to distinguish the female. The eggs 

 are about one-eighth of an inch long, 

 slender, slightly curved and white. They 

 are inserted in the stems of the host. 



Life History 



The eggs are placed singly in the 

 canes or twigs in the autumn and remain 

 dormant during the winter. The first 

 warm spring days cause them to hatch 

 and the young, wingless, green crickets 

 begin feeding upon plant lice or other 

 soft-bodied insects. Throughout its en- 

 tire life, from the time it leaves the egg 

 until egg-laying commences in the fall the 

 insect is working for the benefit of the 

 farmer. By autumn all forms are mature 

 and egg-laying begins, the adults disap- 

 pearing soon afterwards. 



Food and Host Plants 



The damage done by the snowy tree- 

 cricket is due almost entirely to its 

 method of puncturing the small stems 

 and canes In egg-laying. It often hap- 

 pens that so many eggs are placed in the 

 canes as to cause considerable loss. Rasp- 

 berries and blackberries receive the most 

 injury, though young deciduous fruit 

 nursery stock is also often severely in- 

 jured. 



The feeding habits of this species 

 places it among the beneficial insects and 

 partially offset the damage done in de- 



positing the eggs. The young and old 

 alike feed upon soft-bodied insects, prin- 

 cipally plant lice, and due to their rav- 

 enous appetites they are able to consume 

 great numbers of other injurious pests. 



Control 



The method of eliminating subsequent 

 broods and attacks consists in cutting 

 out all canes showing the characteristic 

 signs of having been punctured for egg- 

 laying. It has been said by many re- 

 liable authorities that the good done by 

 the snowy tree cricket in destroying in- 

 jurious plant lice and other soft-bodied 

 insects more than recompenses the farm- 

 er for the harm done and that only in 

 rare cases should the eggs be destroyed, 

 even after the injured canes or branches 

 have been removed. 



E. O. EssiG, 

 Sacramento, Cal. 



Tarnished Plant Bug. See Strawberry. 

 Tree Cricket. See Snoicy Tree Cricket, 

 this section. 



Blooming Period of Tree Fruits 



The value of bloom charts and their 

 bearing on the question of mixed plant- 

 ing is appreciated by a large number of 

 our best fruit growers, but a brief dis- 

 cussion of the subject may be of value. 



Causes of Unfruitfuliiess 



Probably the most frequent questions 

 asked by orchardists relate to the bar- 

 renness of orchards and the causes of 

 unfruitfulness. 



There are many conditions which pre- 

 vent a normal development of bloom and 

 set of fruit. The following may be enu- 

 merated: 



Bapid Wood Growth 



It has been often observed that trees 

 making very rapid wood growth fail to 

 bear heavy crops of fruit. This is well 

 illustrated in the case of young trees 

 which fail to bear during the first years 

 of their growth. The reason for this is 

 not well understood, but it is fully estab- 

 lished that the growth and reproductive 

 forces are in a measure alternative and 

 that whatever favors the one will retard 



