THE INSECT FAUNA OF THE ORANGE. f> 



maggots, are disposed to consider them the originators of the mischief. 

 A sound orange is, however, most perfectly protected by its oily rind 

 against the attacks of these and most other insects, and it has been 

 found that they die of starvation rather than penetrate it to reach the 

 pulp within. 



DROPPING OF FRUIT. Sucking-bugs (Hemiptera) of several kinds at- 

 tack the orange, and their punctures invariably cause the fruit to drop 

 and rot. 



All fruit trees drop their fruit from causes more or less obscure, but 

 in some way connected with the condition of the plant. The Orange is 

 no exception to this rule, but whenever the loss of fruit is attributable 

 to the bites or punctures of insects, the depredators themselves may be 

 readily discovered, as all are of large size and easily seen. 



WINTER-KILLED BRANCHES. Borers and mining insects are com- 

 monly found in dead twigs and branches killed by frost in severe win- 

 ters. They need occasion no alarm, as they are chiefly scavengers, sub- 

 sisting upon the dead wood and bark, and seldom do injury to the 

 living parts of the plant. 



THE INSECT FAUNA OF THE ORANGE. 



ATTRACTION WHICH THE ORANGE TREE HAS FOR INSECTS. The 

 dark green and glossy foliage of the orange tree, its dense shade, vig- 

 orous growth, and above all the succulence of the young shoots and 

 leaves, render it unusually attractive to insects, not only of leaf-eating 

 kinds, which are general feeders, but also to many predatory and 

 innocuous insects which lurk in cool and shady places or seek pro- 

 tection among sheltering leaves. 



Thus many kinds of insects are seen about the trees, some of them 

 injurious, some beneficial, and some occasional visitants, whose pres- 

 ence is without significance for good or ill. In general, it may be said 

 that those which are most visible to the casual observer, and which ap- 

 pear to seek no concealment, are not injurious. They are, as a rule, 

 predatory insects, such as the wasps and sucking-bugs, which prowl 

 about the trees in search of prey, or harmless flies and bees, visiting 

 the flowers for nectar, or sporting among the foliage. 



The injurious species generally lie concealed. They hide in folded 

 leaves, excrete a scale, or form a covering of sticks and bark. Many of 

 them are of small size, or, if large, they have some device for their 

 better concealment, and by some peculiarity of form or of coloration 

 they are made to resemble portions of the plant on which they rest, and 

 thus escape observation. The large green " Katydid " readily passes for 

 a leaf, and in spite of its size is very difficult to detect among the 

 foliage. The "Orange Dog," a caterpillar more than 2J inches long, is 

 so marked with brown and white as to be inconspicuous when re'sting 

 upon the bark, from its resemblance to a lichen -covered twig. Its 



