POPULAR GARDENING SUPPLEMENT. 



183 



made of mosquito netting in the form of a 

 short hag, and which must he attached at its 

 edges to a ring (say of wire, or a Willow 

 twig) to be about twelve inches in diameter, 

 and this to a short handle. A butterfly or 

 moth caught and you give the net a twist 

 so that the insect cannot fly away. 



To catch moths, which fly mainly at night, 

 set a little lantern out-of-doors near a cup of 

 cheap, strong-smelling molasses, and with 

 net in hand capture them as they appear 

 drawn to the sweets. Collect also by put- 

 ting caterpillars and the leaves on which 

 you find them into a box, with netting top, 

 and letting them spin cocoons, or grow hard 

 and dry. Cocoons or chrysalids found on 

 bushes, fences etc., may similarly be bo.xed. 



To Kill the Insects. Provide three bot- 

 tles of different sizes, into each of which 

 place some cyanide of potassium for poison- 

 ing the insects by placing them in the bot- 

 tles. Attach a small lump of the cyanide to 

 each bottle bottom by pouring over it a 

 mixture of plaster of Paris and water 

 to harden and hold it fast. The bottles 

 should be large mouthed and have ground 

 glass stoppers; any druggist can furnish 

 such. Another excellent way of killing is 

 to have a small vial of chloroform or ether, 

 if of which a small drop is applied to the 

 head of an insect it will succumb at once. 



COLLECTIXG Box. Such a one should be 

 provided in which to pin the insects after 

 they have been caught and killed. If possi- 

 ble a thin sheet of cork, or even sliced bottle 

 corks, should be glued to the bottom to hold 

 the pins. So-called entomologist's pins are 

 to be preferred to ordinary pins. 



Labeling. As the insects are put into the 

 case they should be numbered by writing on 

 a round piece of paper that is placed on the 

 pin which is thrust through the insect. Then 

 catalogue the numbers of the insects with 

 the name of each, location and date of col- 

 lecting and any other remarks. 



Most insects should at all stages be pinned 

 through the midtlle of thorax (the part back 

 of the head); hard-shelled beetles through 

 the middle of the right wing. 



Preparation. To properly get butterflies 

 in shape a pressing board Is necessary. This 

 is made of two pieces of common siding 

 about a foot long, placing the thin edges 

 toward each other, leaving a space between 

 them wide enough to admit the body of the 

 insect, and nailing the pieces carefully to a 

 cross-piece at each end. Then with the in- 

 sects in this opening, spread the wings and 

 stick a needle in the board to hold each in 

 place until a small strip of card-board can 

 be placed over the wings on each side and 

 fastejied down with pins. Care must be 

 taken not to rub the scales ofl" the wings. 

 If the legs are cramped under the body, 

 draw them out and extend them as they ap 

 pear when the insect is walking. By a little 

 practice you will be able to get them pre- 

 pared in good condition. The insects should 

 be left on the pressing board for one or two 

 weeks. 



The Cabinet. For temporary use a good 

 insect case may be made from a confection- 

 ary or other light wooden box. Cover the 

 inside with strips of white paper and paste 

 strips of cork over the bottom, over which a 

 bottom of thin white pasteboard should be 

 placed. Pin the larger insects directly to 

 the bottom. Very small ones should be 

 glued to small, triangular pieces of card- 

 board, through one end of which the pins 

 are passed. Try and get the insects as near 

 the same height on the pins as possible. 



For a permanent case it will be necessary 

 to employ a cabinet maker to make this, as 

 It must be nearly air-tight, in order to keep 

 live insects from destroying the specimens. 

 The best size is 14by 10 inches, and 3J^ inches 

 deep. If of this size, insects can be put in 

 at both the top and bottom, thus saving 

 room. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 



Fungi Which Kill Insects. 



ADSTRACT OF OTTO LUGGEr's REPORT IN BULLETIN OF 

 MINNESOTA EXPERIMENT STATION. 



It is now a well-knowu fact that quite a 

 large immber of diseases attacking plants, 

 insects, animals and man are produced by 

 very lowly organized plants. All such vege- 

 table parasites are produced from seeds or 

 spores, and their growth produces a diseased 

 condition of its host, and eventually its death. 

 As famihar instances of fungi producing dis- 

 ease in plants I mention : blights, rusts, mil- 

 dews, smuts, etc. 



The same assertion can be made m regard 

 to insects killed by contagious diseases. In 

 turning over an old piece of decaying board 

 quite frequently numerous dead ants can be 

 seen fastened to it, and all plainly show tlie 

 cause of their death by being surrounded 

 with mycelium threads, or by having a horn- 

 like process growing through the soft integu- 

 ment between their heads and thorax. Cer- 

 tain plant-lice, frequently found upon clover, 

 coidd be seen in vast numbers upon the 

 leaves of that plant, dead, and surrounded 

 and imbedded by spores. Various caterpil- 

 lars, chiefly those of our gaudy diurnal but- 

 terflies, die from the effects of a disease pro- 

 duced by a fungus. Chinch Bugs suffer 

 greatly by one of these diseases, as will be 

 mentioned later. Even the common Two- 

 striped LiOC\ifit{CaIoptenus bivittatus), usually 

 a rather tough insect and proof against the 

 usual ailments of insects, was kiDed in num- 

 bers by a vegetable disease. 



The " Faulbrood" of our honey-bee is also 

 produced by a microscopic plant, the Bacil- 

 lus melitophtliorus or alvei. This disease is 

 well known in many regions, and frequently 

 threatens to put for the time a stop to any 

 further attempts in raising bees. 



The larvfe of our May-beetles, well known 

 I)y the popular name of White Grubs, are 

 quite often attacked by a fungus, Oordyceps 

 militaris Fries, and when found always 

 attract the attention of the curious. The 

 inflorescence generally presents the appear- 

 ance of a pair of elongate horns, one issuing 

 from each side of the head. These two 

 horns— sometimes there are four — are usually 

 of different lengths, and grow to the length 

 of three to five inches. Other larvae are also 

 affected in a simUar manner, for instance, 

 those of our Stag beetles, of the Seventeen- 

 years Cicada, and others. 



The most thoroughly studied species of in- 

 sect-killing fungi in Europe is Entomoph- 

 thora radicans Bref . , which produces quite 

 frequently an epidemic disease upon the 

 larvse of the Cabbage butterfly. It occurs 

 in this country as well. The usually lively 

 caterpillars of this noxious butterfly soon 

 show the effects of an infection: they become 

 quiet, slow in all their motions, die suddenly, 

 and are soon entirely enshrouded by a green- 

 ish-white fungus, the infloresence of which 

 lasts but a few hours, leaving nothing of the 

 caterpillar but a. brown shrunken skin, sur- 

 rounded by large masses of white spores. 



One of the most frequently observed dis- 

 eases produced by fungi is the " Fbj Cholera," 

 produced by Einpusa muscce, Cohn. This 

 disease can here be observed every year, 

 from the middle of September to the begin- 

 ning of winter, but in more southern regions 

 it is found throughout the year. The first 

 stages of it are indicated by the restlessness 

 of the attacked flies; they soon, however, 

 become weak and slow in their motions. 

 Having securely fastened themselves with 

 I their broad tongues to the object upon which 

 they happen to be when attacked by the last 

 stages of the disease, a succession of spas- 

 modic tremors pass through their wings and 

 legs, and the tormentor and destroyer of our 

 slumber is no more. The abdomen of the 

 victim of this disease, previously already 

 swollen, becomes more and more distended, 

 and a fatty, whitish substauce pushes through 

 the softer membranes between the rings or 

 segments. Soon after a whitish halo of 

 spores is formed around the dead body, 



readily seen if the fly happens to have fast- 

 ened to the glass of windo^v or mirror. 

 These spores gradually cover the whole in- 

 sect with a white dust, and they appear in 

 ever increasing numbers as the body of the 

 victim dries up, until at last its whole interior 

 is empty and only a shell remains. 



The Chinch-bug and its Disease. 



During the last three years Chinch-bugs 

 have occasioned immense damage to the 

 various crops in the west. They have been 

 steadily on the increase, and were rapidly 

 spreading in a northerly and westerly direc- 

 tion. This increase was entirely due to the 

 very favorable atmospheric conditions pre- 

 vailing throughout the summers of 1885, 

 1886 and 1887, which were very dry and 

 warm, and just suitable to these bugs, which 

 are essentially dry and warm summer insects. 

 Owing to a wet, cold, and very backward 

 spring in 1888 they were not in a very healthy 

 condition when warm weather commenced, and 

 large numbers were killed in their wintering 

 quarters. After this no bugs could be found, 

 and all danger was thought to be over. Real 

 warm weather now became the rule, and the 

 slumbering vegetation, as by magic, became 

 a blooming reality; so became the Chinch- 

 bugs ! The gentle southern wind was loaded 

 with them, and they landed in immense 

 numbers, everywhere, to begin their destruc- 

 tive work in our fields. To prevent their 

 inroads, all the infested fields and experi- 

 mental plots were surrounded by a low board 

 fence, six inches high, and snugly fitting to 

 the ground so as to prevent the insects from 

 crossing under this fence. The upper edge 

 of the boards were painted from time to 

 time with tar, which prevented the bugs 

 from crossing. The insects were at this 

 time of all sizes and ages; adults of the first 

 brood, eggs, young hatched bugs, and pupae 

 of the second brood were all mixed together, 

 and all were decidedly hungry, as their in- 

 tense activity and the swarming armies of 

 famishing bugs plainly indicated. To gather 

 in this crop of bugs, round holes, about six 

 inches in diameter, were drilled in the ground 

 close to the fence, and as one hole became 

 filled with insects, it was closed and another 

 one was opened close by for the reception of 

 more victuns. So matters worked to our 

 satisfaction, when an unexpected assistant 

 came to help us, making the structure of 

 more fences unnecessary. The above-men- 

 tioned holes were quite deep, and conse- 

 quently were always wet, and the starving 

 Chinch-bugs soon became unhealthy and 

 weak, thus presenting the best conditions for 

 any disease to claim them as its victims. 

 And such a disease, produced by a fungus, 

 was not slow in making its appearance, as 

 could be seen by the numerous dead bugs. 

 The margins of all the holes, but chiefly those 

 more densely crowded with captives, soon 

 became whitened with dead bugs enshrouded 

 in white mycelial threads and dust-like 

 spores; in fact, in a few days the upper rims 

 of these holes looked as if recently white- 

 washed. Nor did the disease stop there ! 

 On the contrary it spread very rapidly to 

 adjoining fields. The victims of the disease 

 could be seen everywhere by the thousands. 

 All showed the characteristic white myce- 

 lium threads and spores of the disease. 

 Although almost exclusively attacking 

 Chinch-bugs, the disease was not slow in also 

 slaughtering such small flies as found the 

 society of such companions to their taste. 



Most, if not all, the Chinch-bugs would 

 have been killed at the Experiment Station, 

 if the suitable conditions for this disease had 

 lasted a few days longer. But the wet spell 

 soon passed, and was followed by warm and 

 very dry days, which soon stopped any fur- 

 ther increase and spread of the disease. 

 But by artificially producing such conditions 

 the disease was kept at work for some time, 

 but only on a very limited scale. Nor could 

 it be spread, because in nature such artificial 

 conditions could neither be produced nor 

 maintained on ,any extensive scale. 



As many parts of the southern portion of 

 this State were overrun with Chinch-bugs, 



