GARDEN PESTS IX NEW ZEALAND 



Crickets and Grasshoppers. 



Fortunately, neither crickets nor grasshoppers (Fig 10 1 and 2) 

 are a serious menace to the New Zealand horticulturist though at times 

 especially in the warmer parts of the country, crickets may do some' 

 extensive damage. The control of these pests is a difficult matter since 

 they are mobile insects, and breed in places outside the boundaries of 

 the horticulturist s activities. .Some benefits can be secured, however 

 by thorough cultivation which breaks up the egg-masses which are 

 placed in the ground. In the case of serious outbreaks, the use of a 

 oisoned bait would have to be resorted to, and the following is recom- 

 mended from the several recipes in use : With 251b. of bran mix 3 or 4 

 gallons of water in order to make a thin mash; to this, add 2 quarts of 

 molasses and lib. of Paris green, thoroughly mixing the whole If 

 crickets alone are to be dealt with, then use a little more of the Paris 

 I his mash is spread on the ground invaded by the insects. 



Caterpillars. 



Of the leaf-feeding insects, the caterpillars of moths are the most 

 commonly met with, there being a considerable number of destructive 

 species. Caterpillars (Fig. 10, 3) can be readily distinguished by their 

 structure from the grubs of other insects. They resemble shortearth- 



. ea- 



of T F+i Pe ' and m 11 havin ^ th * bod J Divided into several segments, 



o + 11 , 



m Th are , US r U J ^ teei ! ; but here the ^semblance to worms 

 tops. I here is a distinct head the first segment-provided with jaws, 



ft ?Y n ? e J S I de l each of the next thre * segments, or thorax, i 

 a pair of short feet The remaining segments comprise the abdomen, 

 and possess sucker-like feet, varying in number according to the kind 

 of caterpillar; in some forms there may be as many as five pairs of such 

 teet, in some three pairs, and in others two, but in all the pair on the 

 terminal segment persists Many caterpillars are more or less hairy, and 



The following are amongst the 



i ^* is a common sight to see small greenish cater- 



pjllars sheltering between two or more leaves of plants that have been 

 tied together by the silken threads spun by the caterpillars; protected 

 thus, the insects feed more or less in security. These caterpillars belong 

 to several species of the tortricid moths, which are themselves compara- 

 tively small and drab in colour. Of these species, the most abundant 

 one comprising over 84 per cent, of the leaf-roller population, is the 

 Australian apple-leaf roller (Tortrix postvittana); the caterpillars of 

 3 insect by no means confine their attacks to the apple, but feed 

 equally well upon pear, orange, grape, rose, insignis pine, oak, pelar- 

 omums etc Apart from attacking the foliage, the caterpillars fre- 

 quently tie a leaf to the surface of apple and stone fruits, and feed upon 

 the skin of the latter, causing a blemish. 



The apple-leaf roller passes the winter in the caterpillar stage 

 between two leaves. In the spring these caterpillars transform to pup* 

 which give rise to moths from the end of August to about the end of 

 'ctober; there are at least two broods of caterpillars during the vear 

 but the limits of these broods are not clearly defined. The caterpillars 

 are attacked by several species of parasites. 



