238 FRUIT AND ITS CULTIVATION. 



the final brood laying eggs on the shoots in autumn. The 

 purplish-brown lice puncture the rind of the shoots, suck 

 out the sap, and cause the leaves to curl and eventually 

 to shrivel and die. The trees should be sprayed in Febru- 

 ary with a lime-sulphur wash to kill the eggs. Spring 

 spraying, either just before the buds open or after the petals 

 have fallen, to kill the first brood of female aphides, is also 

 desirable. 



Mealy Plum Aphis (Hyalopterus pruni). Another aphis, 

 with pale green bodies covered with a dense coating of 

 mealy secretion. They congregate in clusters on the 

 under sides of the leaves, and in time cover the surface 

 with a sticky substance called honeydew. The lice appear 

 in early summer, and disappear before autumn. There 

 are wingless and winged females, the latter flying from 

 tree to tree. Spraying with an insecticide when the pest 

 is first seen is the best remedy. 



Red Plum Maggot (Opadea funebrana). This is the 

 larva of a small moth. The latter lays an egg at the base 

 of the stalk of a fruit in June or July. In due course 

 a maggot appears, and gnaws its way into the fruit, feed- 

 ing on the flesh. The maggot, which has a reddish body 

 and a brown head, reaches maturity early in September, 

 when it quits the fruit, spins a cocoon in crevices of the 

 bark, pupates in spring, and appears as a moth the follow- 

 ing June. These maggots spoil the value of the fruit for 

 eating. Fruit which ripens prematurely should be ex- 

 amined, and if infested be promptly burnt. Grease-banding 

 should also be practised. 



Plum Sawfly (Cladius padus). The larvae feed on the 

 surface of the leaves, devouring the soft parts, but leaving 

 the upper epidermis intact. The females lay their eggs 

 on the under surface in May and June, and the latter hatch 

 out in about eight days. The larvae are pale green in 

 their younger stages, and of a darker green shade, with 

 an orange-coloured head, as they increase in age. When 

 three weeks old the first brood of larvae descend to the 



