INTRODUCTION. XVII 



division is into Orders. The insects spoken of in this volume belong to the two 

 most important of these orders the Coleoptera, or Beetles, and the Lepidoptera, or But- 

 terflies. Nearly all the other enemies of Fruit and Fruit trees are included in these 

 orders. 



There are four stages in the lives of insects : the egg, larva, pupa, and imago. 

 The word larva means mask. That is, the larva is a masked condition of the future 

 butterfly. This word, larva, is commonly used to signify the embryo condition of 

 insects generally ; but in this work I have chosen to confine it exclusively to the 

 Lepidoptera, and shall call the young of other Orders by other terms. Embryo bee- 

 tles will be called grubs. The larva or caterpillar stage of the Lepidoptera, and the 

 grub of the Coleoptera, is the period of their lives when they do the chief injury. 

 Pupa means the chrysalis stage the period of transformation from the embryo to the 

 imago or image the perfect insect. 



The word Moth will often occur in a work like this, and may lead to confusion 

 if not explained. The difference between a moth and a butterfly is, that the latter 

 flies by daylight, the moth at night. In other words, the butterflies are the diurnal, 

 the moths the nocturnal Lepidoptera. Butterflies and moths may be known from 

 each other by the difference of the antennae ; the former having little knobs on the 

 ends of their feelers, and the latter being without them. 



This work is without plan as. a scientific book. Although treating of insects, it 

 does not arrange them into orders, classes, or families, but only discusses a few 

 species, chiefly in the order of their importance as enemies of fruit and fruit trees. 



The object of the Author has been to make a book to meet the wants of the 

 practical man, who has but little time for the study of any subject except his business, 

 and least of all, a science involving, as Entomology does, hundreds of thousands of 

 species. To make such a work intelligible, illustrations addressed to the eye are a 

 necessity. The fruit-grower should be able to identify his insect enemy positively 

 when he sees it there should be no guessing. The Curculio and Lady-bug, for 

 instance, are both beetles ; both are found upon the same trees ; they will often fall 

 down together when those trees are jarred. The one is our worst enemy, and the 

 other one of our best friends. I have known people kill the friend and overlook 

 the enemy. 



I have been studying these enemies for many years. At first it was an investi- 

 gation made necessary for the protection of my own crops ; and that experience 

 painfully taught me knowledge that I had not been able to find either in books or 

 cabinets. The interest thus excited has been increased by the reading of such valu- 

 able works as those of Kirby and Spence, Huber, Latreille, Say, Harris, Fitch, and 

 many others. From this reading and personal experience, I am satisfied that the 

 interests of Fruit-growers would be promoted if all the practical knowledge on this 

 subject could be gathered into a separate work, and I have felt that it was a duty to 

 make a beginning by contributing my portion towards a better understanding of this 

 difficult subject 



