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The Florists^ Review 



17 



SAVING MUMS FROM MIDGE 



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PEST DANGEROUS IN JUNE. 



How to Recognize It. 



''JIow (loi's till' •■lirysantlieiiiuiii 

 midf^f look?" asks .-i subscriber. If 

 you read the article in The Hcvicw lor 

 .l;nniary 1, !!'-(•, wliicli first warned 

 llic trade of Mie iiiidf;c, and tlie further 

 artiide in the issue of June 17, lltL'd, 

 you ;ire a(le(iuatt'ly inf()ruic<l by illus 

 t rat ions and descriptions, so as to be 

 ;ihle to recognize the j)est wlicn it makes 

 its ajipearance iipon your jilants ;ini| 1o 

 i-ouibat it intelligently. 



The insect itself, as it ajiiiears in the 

 adult stafje, is a tiny fly and its leufith 

 is ;ibout e(|ual to tlu' diaiueler of an 

 averajjfe jiinhead, while its width is 

 .about onetliird of its own lenj^th. In 

 the earliest st.aj^e of its life its <-olor 

 is tlie same as that of the leaf. In mid 

 die u^c it is somewhat yidlow, but about 

 tlic tiuie tliat it lea\(s its h rbor i' i-- 

 a reddish ccdtir. It is exceedinjily hard 

 to '^ee. 



Habits Show Means of Control. 



The mid<;e has two tbccy wing^s, 

 which arc apparently not used for the 

 purjiose of llyinfi, but rather as an aid 

 in balanciiifj itself upon the leaf of 

 the plant. When the i)est conies forth 

 from the t;,'^^ it leaves a bit of fluff on 

 the sides of the hole in the leaf frOTn 

 which it enierfics. It rarely migrates 

 from one jdant to another, and several 

 j;eiieratioris of females are often found 

 on one jdant. The male, however, does 

 ■^u from one ]d;iiit to another to some 

 extent. The insect is short-lived. The 

 life ot the male is much shorter than 

 that ol the female. In 

 tile latter, life is sustained 

 as Ion;; :is from two to 

 11 \(' days. 



It i^ extremely impor- 

 tant to know the habits 

 of the insect, in onier 

 that, when it is found to 

 exist in the greenhouse, 

 it e:iM be iiitelli^'ently 

 eombated and linally e.x- 

 terminated. The damage 

 to the pl.ants is not done 

 b.\- the insect its(df, but 

 it is the container of the 

 e^ys which reduces the 

 coniiiiereial value of the 

 jdant s !i nd llowers. 1 nime- 

 di.ately upon emer^in^ 

 from till' e;;;,'. the insect 

 leates ,-iihI begins to lay 

 its e^<:s, producing' from 

 ei^'hty to l.'o l•;;^s .'ind 

 dyin^^ .-i natural death be- 

 fore it is f(u'ty ei^hl hours 

 old in some instances. -\s 

 tar as can be ascertained, 

 during' the warmer months 

 the hat(diin^ jieriod of 

 the e^j^rs is from eleven 

 to eiulitcen days; during 

 the winter months thi> 

 t'il'j.^ may rem;iin in the 

 )daiit from three U< live 

 months, depending upon 

 the temperature main- 

 t.'iitied in the ereenliouses. 



friM'/ing does not affect the \i;ibility 

 of the eggs in the least. 



Jn laying tlu; eggs the female pushes 

 them into the soft [lart of the leaf: the 

 growth of tlu! ])lant is rapitl and wher- 

 ever a number of eggs ;ire buried there 

 is a scar on the leaf or stem. Instances 

 are not uncommon of the presence ot 



ltcii\e means of stopidiig thi^ nefarious 

 work ot this pest. liut it must be re- 

 membered that if the gas is used, it 

 must be iipplied at about the time the 

 insect emerges from the egg and in suf- 

 ficient (plant ity to ]iermeate thoroughly 

 the ;iir around the jdant. As stated 

 ab(p\c. the eggs of the insect hatch be- 



•as many as fifty eggs on one leat. tweeii the hours of midnight and 2 a. m., 



I'nder these circumstances, it is not aiicl it the air of the greenhouse is filled 



hard to understand why the |daiit is with the g.is .it this time, th(> insect 



often badly cri])ple(l and uiidersi/.ed. will be liilled bet'ore it has n eh.'iiice to 



.*-;ometinu's the bloom, if it appears at lay ils eggs. 



.ill, will open sidewise and perhaps turn Tobacco dust will h(d|i to keep the in- 

 down instead of uji. sects down, but will not (dean tliem out. 

 The eggs hatch between midnight and as does the nicotine solution. The hy- 

 2 a. 111., and it is at this period that dnx-y.-mic acid gas will not exterminate 

 measures for the e.xtenninat ion of the the pest unless it is ;i[i]died every few- 



insect are most efficacious. The time ot 

 the insect's emergence from the shell 

 is the only time at which it is exposed 

 .ind c'ln be kilb'd before it has a chance 



Id lay its eggs. 



Effective Measures. 



The most effective means of coiiibat 

 iiig the insect is the nicotine s]pr;iy. .^ s 

 stated above, the insect lays its eggs 

 in the soft parts of the leaf or stem 

 (d' the ]d;iiit. In baying the eggs the 

 insect will jiuncture the leaf, in order 

 to push the eggs within it. and, if the 

 leaf is coverecl with a coating of nico- 

 tine, tile midge must necessarily punc- 

 ture this co.ating before it reaches the 

 leaf. .\s a result, it will die before ae- 

 eom]dishing its purpose. The spraying 

 should be done .at least every tweU'e 

 hours ♦o be effective. In regard to the 

 strength of the mixture we will sjieak 

 later. 



llyclidcy.-inic .-icid gas is also an et 



The White "Warts" House Eggs of the Mum Midge 



lays, or so jiersist cut ly as to reach tli(ii 

 at .'I time when tlii-\' .are unprotected. 



Appearance of Egg Housings. 



The presence ot' midge is readilv 

 i(con|ii/ed by the protuberances or 

 ' ■ \\ ;irts, ■ ■ as shown in the :ici-om|i;Hiy- 

 iiig illustration, which form on flie leaf 

 or the stem ot' the ch rysaiit heniiim plant. 

 Tliesi s(ecalle(| '"g.-ills'' ;ire colK' 

 shaped and jiroject (ddiipielv. When 

 lully (le\clope(l the projection is about 

 oni twadfth of .an iiudi long, and it 

 Usually Occurs on the iqiper suitaCe (if 

 the leaf. If the insect h.as already 

 emerged from its egg, a small hole in the 

 leaf or stem of the plant will be f(niml, 

 from which the insect came out. Ifsomi 

 ot the leaves of the plants are partK' 

 1 ri[i|ile(l, or if light green or white spots 

 a I (■ f(uind on the leaves, you have a good 

 example of the midge. If these light 

 sjiots are opened carefully with a shiirp 

 knife, .a soft subst.anci' 

 will be foiiml, whi(Ii is 

 the eeo lit' the midge. It 

 the egg is almost re.ady to 

 liat(di, its c(dor will be 

 reddish .and the egg will 

 have ;i soft sh(dl. When 

 the insect enierg(>s from 

 the egg it is ,-( fully de 

 \i'loiied .•idult, .■illil it 

 niates immedi;it elv. 



The \;iri(iiis pieveiitive 

 measures are wadi sum- 

 m,iri/,ed in the Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture bul- 



irtiii .\o. s;;:;. as follows: 



■ ' from the life history it 

 is clear th.at certain 

 I'oints must be kept in 

 mind if the best practic;ii 

 results are to be secured. 

 First, several geiier.ations 

 are always jiresi'iit in 

 greenhouses during the 

 '•pring .and t'.all (jccur- 

 reiices: ^eceiid. the .adults 

 enierge ;iiid iii.ate during 

 the early morning hours 

 .and eeg laying (jui(d':lv 

 foilnws; third, pr(dinii- 

 nary (■ontr(d experiments 

 show that the egg stage 

 may be controllecl by 

 means ot' spr;iyiiig or dip- 

 ping the cuttings or 

 plants; fourth, it has been 

 demonstrated that th( 



