NEW ENGL.AND FARMER. 



Published hy John B. Rdsseil, at JVo. 52 JVorth Market Street, (over the Agricultural fVarehouaeJ.-^lHOMis G. F^ssenden, Editor. 



VOL. Vl. 



NATURAL HISTORY. 



BOSTOrS, FRIDAY, JULY 4, 1828. 



No. 50. 



FOR THE NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



INSECTS ON PEACH TREES. 



jTlie following able and usdlil article was writlen for ihe lasl 

 number of Ihe Massachuselis Agricultutal Journal, in aiiswei* 

 lo a leuer from John Lowell, Esq , Presidenl of the-Mas- 

 saciiusetts Agriculiural Society ,an'-i one of the Editors of tluu 

 Journal.) 



Maton. June 6. 1828. 

 Deak Sir — Tlic insects which you sent, are 

 iilant-lice, or Aphides peculiar to the leaves of 

 the Peach-tree. Scarcely a plant exists to whicli 

 . species is not appropriated, and hence most of 

 hem are called by the name of the plant on 

 ■vhich they live ; as Aphis Rosce ; Aphis Cerasi ; 

 A. pruni ; a. Brassicce : &,-c. Sfc. ; aud this species 

 may be called Aphis persicw. 



Aphides are furnished with a proboscis with 

 wliich they puncture the leaves, then- pedicels, 

 the buds, or the young twigs of plants, and 

 through it draw the sap for their nourishment. — 

 Those which derive it from leaves proceed from 

 minute eggs, deposited the preceding year, near 

 the leaf-buds : the eggs endure the winter, and 

 are hatched as soon as the buds begin to expand. 

 The apludes, by pumping the sap from the under 

 surface of the leaf, cause it to project, abov^, in 

 irregular convexities of a reddish colour, and, at 

 length, to become tortuous and changed in struc- 

 ture. Independently, then, of the exhaustion of 

 the sap, by those small insects, the tree suffer" in 

 consequence of the interruption or imperfect per- 

 formance of the functions belonging to the leaves. 

 De Geer,* when describing the aphis of tlie 

 Elm, informs us that the aphis hatched fi-om the 

 egg in spring, the mother of the succeeding race, 

 by repeatedly wounding the leaf, causes it to curl, 

 and become unequal, thus forming a secure shel 

 ter for her young. Reaumurf asserts that it is 

 only when the leaves are young and tender that 

 this deformity is produced, and that, when the 

 leaves are fully grown and tough, they are not al- 

 tered in form by the punctures of aphides. 



The aphis of the peach-tree is very briefly no- 

 ticed by Kirby and Spence, (Introduct. vol. i. p. 

 202, edit. 2d.) but does not appear to have been 

 described by entomological writers. 



The economy and habits of aU apliides are sim- 

 ilar, or vary only as it respects the part of the 

 plants on which they subsist. The first which 

 appear in spring are hatched from eggs, and are 

 females only. They change their skins repeated- 

 ly, and perish soon after bringing forth their 

 young. These young aphides proceed in the 

 same way, being also viviparous ; and the race is 

 continued by a succession of viviparous females 

 till autumn, when males and females both appear, 

 and terminate the series for the season. The 

 product of their union is however changed ; for 

 these females deposit the eggs beforementioned, 

 which are destined to continue the species anoth- 

 er year, through several successive generations, 

 without the intervention of males. 



This is not the only wonderful fectf in the his- 



tory of aphides ; there is another which is equal- 

 ly true of all species. 



Wherever Aphides prc.v&il there will ants en- 

 deavor to gain access. They are attracted hy 

 the sweetish fluid which exudes from the two lit- 

 tle horns terminating the body of the aphis. The 

 ants not only colled this from the surface of the 

 leaves, but catch it as it is ejected by the apliides, 

 and even compel them to yield it at their pleas- 

 ure. This tliey eflect by patting briskly and al- 

 ternately each side of the body of the aphis with 

 their antennas : the flow of the fluid being thus 

 stimulated and accelerated, and distilhng drop by 

 drop, is greedily swallowed by the successful op- 

 erator. *^ 



Ants are, of course, on the most friendly terms 

 with aphides ; but the latter have redoubtable en- 

 emies of the insect kind. These are the larvae of 

 the lady-bug, (Coccinei-la) that of the foetid lace- 

 winged fly (Hemeroeius) and that of a two-wing- 

 ed fly, (SiRPHus.) 



The first is an elongated, flattened, blueish lar- 

 va, spotted with yellow or red, and having six 

 legs nesr the head. It may often be seen on 

 lousy plants, where it regales itself by feasting on 

 the nuuierous carcases which its superior size and 

 strength enable it to slaughter. As the genus 

 CocciNELLA not Only abounds in species, but also 

 in individuals, it is very generally diifused amongst 

 plants, and its services are very considerable. 



The second Aphidivorous insect is the young 

 of a fly, having 4 wings resembhng the most del- 

 icate lace, with brilliaoit eyes ; but which, not- 

 withstanding its beauty is extremely disgusting 

 from the powerful excreinentitious odour it ex- 

 hales. This fly (Hemeroeius joe?-to,) suspends its 

 eggs by threads m clusters where aphides prevail. 

 The larva is provided with a pair of large, curv- 

 ed, and pointed teeth, moving laterally, and per- 

 forated with holes, through which it sucks the 

 juices of its victims. The havoc it makes is as- 

 tonishing, for one minute suffices to destroy and 

 extract all the fluid of the largest aphis. 



The last are the grubs of two-winged flies 

 Strphi) of various kinds. Some of these flies 

 are black with yeUow spots on the body. I have 

 often seen them about trees and plants deposit- 

 ing their eggs, which they do on the wing, like 

 the Bot-fly, curving the tail beneath a leaf and 



leaving an egg where aphides are discovered 



Others lay their eggs near the buds of trees, 

 where the young may find their appropriate noiu'- 

 ishment as soon as hatched. These grubs are 

 pointed near the head and larger towards the 

 tail ; their mouth is furnished with a triple point- 



' Vol. in. p. 88. t Vol. iii. p. 296. 



{ See Kirby and Spence. Introduct. vol. ii. y. 89, do. vol. 



p. 176. AYso Reaumur, and Dc Geer. It is tn be observed 



that the first generations of Aphides arc the most numerous, and 

 that they progressively decrease in numbers. This arises from 

 several causes ; one is the slaughter of the race by its enemiesj 

 the second is that some become winged and fly away to other 

 trees j the third cause is that they become gradually less prolif- 

 ic, till the appearance of a few oviparous females aud still fewer 

 males terminates the series. This circumstance is a curious 

 fact in physiology. A single impregnation in the autumn is 

 sufficient for the fecundatien of all the generations the next 

 year. Prolific females only are produced, and these, at first, 

 in great numbers ; though their successors still continue to bring 

 forth their kind, the energy of the impregnation would appear 

 to be gradually lessened from the gradual decrease of their 

 numbers, till, at last, it is exhausted at the birth of a few males 

 and females, whose care it is to provide for another era in the 

 race, by the production of the above-mentioned wonderfully 

 fertilized eggs. (See also Encyclopedias. Aphis.) 



ed dart, with which they pierce their prey, elevate 

 it into the air, and devour it at leisure. What is 

 more singular still, that this grub is entirely blind: 

 but the provident care of the parent fly, in plac- 

 ing it in the very miilst of the sluggish aphides, 

 enables it, without much groping about, to detect 

 and destroy them by hundreds. 



Mr Kirby says that on examining his currant 

 bushes, which but a week before were infested 

 by myriads of aphides, not one was to lie found ; 

 but beneath each leaf were 3 or 4 full fed grubs 

 of the Aphidivorous fly, surrounded by heajis of 

 the slain, the trophies of their successful warfare. 

 He also says that he has found it very easy to 

 clear a plant or small tree office, by placing upon 

 it several larvje of CocciNELLA-or Strphi. 



Aphides are not the only insects which cause 

 the deformity in the leaves of trees. I am per- 

 suaded that n minute elongated Thrips contri- 

 butes greatly to the same disease. (One of the 

 lai-vae wascoiicealed in a leaf you sent me, and ] 

 have frequently seen them on the Peach-tree.) 1 

 am led to this conclusion from having frequently 

 examined small trees where the leaves were curl- 

 ed, without being able to discover either aphides, 

 their skins, or the aphidivorous larvse ; but have 

 found one or two larvse of the Thrips, or the per- 

 fect msect beneath nearly every leaf. Linnieus 

 conjecturetl that the monstrosity observed on the 

 flowers of a kind of Lotus was caused )3y these 

 mmute insecis ; and I have repeatedly detected 

 them m sii'.itir excrescences of leaves and flow- 

 ers. Since they, like the aphides, are ftiniished 

 with a proboscis, it is highly probable that, like 

 them also, they use it in inflicting the same del- 

 eterious punctures. The largest Thrips does nol 

 exceed one line in length, aud hence they are not 

 readily detected. 



I have tried various methods to destroy plant- 

 lice, and give the preference to a decoction of to- 

 bacco. This may be thrown upon the trees by 

 means of a garden engine ; and if the stream bt; 

 directed beneath the Umbs with considerable force 

 it will not only dislodge but kill the Uce. A so- 

 lution of potash or soap-suds, would, perhaps-; 

 answer the same purpose. Fumigation with to- 

 bacco is also successful where it is practicable. 



Please excuse haste. 

 I am, dear sir, 



very respectfully, 



your humble serv't, 

 T. W. H ARRIS 



FOR THE NEW BSGLAND FARMER. "^ . 



STATE COLLECTION OF MINERALS. 



Mr. Fessenden, — The rapid improvements iu. 

 agriculture, manafactures, and the facilities for in- 

 ternal commerce, bringing into requisition all our 

 resources from the mineral kuigdom — ledges oi' 

 granite, marble, slate, and soap-stone — beds of 

 marl, clay, peat, and sand — ores of uon and oth- 

 er metals, are all needed to prosecute the great 

 works of unprovement, and to advance individual 

 as well ns public prosperity. About two hundred 

 and fifty different species, or varieties of minerals 

 have already been discovered in the State of Mas- 

 sachusetts, and many of them appUed for the ben- 

 efit of the arts. Numerous deposits and .some va- 



