INSECTS INJURIOUS TO BEANS AND PEAS 



115 



During the years mentioned this pea aphis overran and laid 

 waste fields of peas from Nova Scotia to Virginia and Mary- 

 land, in the last as well as neighboring States, destroying about 

 50 per cent, of the annual output, and this in spite of vigorous 

 efforts that were made to control it. An estimate of the loss 

 for 1899 along the Atlantic Coast States reached the sum of 



czn::jC7 



Fig. 70.— Pea aphis, a. Winged female; b, same from side with wings folded in natural 

 position when feeding; c, apterous female; d, nymph in last stage; e. third joint of 

 antenna of winged form, a-d. Much enlarged, e. more highly magnified. (Author's 

 illustration, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



$3,000,000. During 1900 the loss over the same area was placed 

 as early as June 15 at $4,000,000. Several cases of severe 

 damage were reported, in which 80 or more per cent, of the peas 

 on farms of 500 or 600 acres were completely destroyed. In 

 short, pea-growers as far westward as Wisconsin sustained such 

 severe losses as to give rise to the expression that the country 

 had been visited by a veritable scourge. 



Attack begins on the young vines ; the "lice" gather in clusters 

 about the terminals, and as the leaves become covered they 

 attack the stems, and by their numbers and voracity sap the 

 life of the plant. Whole areas are frequently seen covered with 



