CHAPTER NINETEEN 



INSECTS IN THE GARDEN 



He is rather handsome as bugs go, but utterly dastardly. 



CHARLES DUDLEY WARNER 



VARIOUS insects attack garden plants, and if left 

 alone, these insect enemies may seriously injure crops or 

 even destroy them entirely. The gardener therefore 

 needs to know what insects attack the different vege- 

 tables, how to tell when they are present, and what to do 

 in destroying or controlling them. 



In the course of their lives, insects pass through re- 

 markable changes in form and appearance. Often the 

 habit of living and feeding entirely changes in passing 

 from one stage to another. In general, the best methods 

 of combating any given insect depend on its life history 

 and how it feeds at the time when it injures the plants. 

 In this chapter, therefore, we shall study the life history 

 and feeding habits of some of the insects that are of most 

 interest to the gardener and learn the best ways of pro- 

 tecting garden plants from them. 



THE CHEWING INSECTS 



The chewing insects are those which at some stage of 

 life chew or bite into plants from the surface. They may 

 therefore be killed by poisons sprayed or dusted over the 

 plants which they are eating. Other methods of control- 

 ling them may be used, depending, as we shall learn, on 

 the way the insect lives. 



The cabbage butterfly. Cabbage plants, especially in 

 late summer, are often infested with greenish-colored 

 caterpillars, commonly spoken of as " cabbage worms." 

 These caterpillars have such hearty appetites that they 



