56 



THE WESTERN POMOLOGIST. 



1871 



^nt0m0l008. 



Dr. S. H. Kridelbauoh, Bditob, Clabinda, Iowa. 



^^Send in the Insects.— Dr. R. is chairman of thir Com- 

 mittee on Entomology for the State Horticultural Society, 

 and would take it as a favor to he furnished with specimens 

 of insects from the various localities of the State, by mail 

 during this year. Those sending will please state all they 

 know concerning the habits of tne insects sent; what they 

 are found feeding on, etc. 



That brancn of Natural History known as Ento- 

 mology is one of the sub-kingdoms of Zoology. 

 The name is deriveil from two Oreek words — eniom, 

 which means cut in two, &ndlogii.t,to speak; and the 

 more common name by which the smaller animals 

 are known — Insects, is derived from the Latin word 

 Insectii, which has the same meaning as that of e?itom((. 

 They have two entannse and six legs, and most gen- 

 erally four wings, although in this latter respect they 

 may be deficient, they respire by trachete, and 

 generall}' undergo several transformations (met- 

 amorphosis) before arriving at a mature or 

 reproductive state. All of the organs of motion 

 are attached to the middle division — the thorax. 

 They are made up of a series of horny rings or 

 segments united by soft membraneous skin which 

 gives flexibility to the whole body, which is in 

 some kinds covered with feathers, while others are 

 covered with hairs or bristles, and others with 

 spines. The segments usuall}' number thirteen, 

 but are not unfrequently so closely attached as to 

 be almost entirely obliterated, and present a less 

 number. The tubes formiug the legs and antennse, 

 and the integument comprising the wings are harder 

 than the other portions. 



Almost every variety of color is distributed and 

 exhibited in the coverings of various members of the 

 insect families, in some of which these colors, or 

 shades of them, are most curiously and beautifully 

 presented. 



The motions of insects are varied in every con- 

 ceivable form. Some crawl, some walk, some run, 

 some fly, some swim and dive in the water, some 

 bore holes in the earth, while others bore holes in 

 wood. 



To the many peculiarities already mentioned 

 concerning the members of the insect world, we 

 may add their peculiar tastes and varieties of habits 

 which characterize-their modes of living; some are 

 vegetarians, others are cannibals, living upon and 

 making preys of the weaker members of their 

 tribes. It is in this last — the bug eating bug, we 

 find the friends to agriculture and horticulture, and 

 in the tribes of vegetable eating bugs we find their 

 foes. Of the characters and habits of these insects, 

 it is the intention of this department of the West- 

 ern PoMOLOoisT to teach its readers ; and, there- 



fore, during the current year, it is hoped that its 

 readers will forward by mail, specimens of such 

 insects as may make their appearance in different 

 parts of the country, together with a description of 

 their habits, as fully as may possibly be ascertained. 

 True insects are animals homogaugliate or sub- 

 articulate, having their bodies divided into three 

 portions— the head, the thorax and the abdomen, as 

 shown in the accompanying engraving. The 



Antennae, 



Head. 



1st pair wings. 



.Thorax. 



•2d pair wings. 



■Abdomen. 



thorax comprehends that portion of the body be- 

 tween the head and the abdomen, from which issue 

 the legs and wing-s. The abdomen is the third prin- 

 cipal portion of an insect's body, and lies behind the 



legs. 



» » » 



For The Western Pomologist. 



Insects lujurlons to tlie Apple Tree and Its 

 Fruit— A New One. 



Bt W. H. W., Hartford Co.. Conn. 



What a host of enemies the fruit grower has to 

 contend with. Only let one attempt to hunt out 

 the various insects inimical to the apple tree 

 and its fruits, and he will be astonished at their 

 number, and the variety of ways they work for 

 their living; all drawing their support from the 

 life of the tree or its fruits. 



Having a knowledge of some of the various 

 injurious insects that infest the apple, I thought to 

 improve that knowledge by reading up authorities ; 

 but soon came to the conclusion that thej' w'ere too 

 numerous to even -mention, by name, in anj' com- 

 mon magazine article ; so thought I would only 

 name a few, and remark on a new one whioh has 

 only of late come to our knowledge as infesting the 

 fruit. The most destructive enemies of the apple 

 tree are the Round-Headed Borer (Siipenla bivitata) ; 

 Flat-Headed apple tree Borer {Chrynohothris ftmora 

 ta) ; Oyster-shell Bark-Louse (A,tpidiotHs conclvifiyr- 

 mis) ; Canker Worm (Aniso]itery.x rernatu) ; Tent 

 Caterpillar {Olinocnmpa Americdiia ;) Apple - twig 

 Borer {BodricJiti.t hicaodatus) : Hammond's Leaf- 

 t_yer {Acrobam Hammondi) ; Apple-leaf Cluster-cup 

 {Olcidiumpyratum) ; this last is a sort of Fungus on 

 the leaf 



The most destructive insects infesting the fruit 

 are the Apple Curculio ; the Apple Worm {Carpo- 



