40i 



JCUSKAL. OF HOETICULTUEE AND CGTTAGH GAUDSXEB. 



[ Jane 8, 1871. 



ground. A hint, therefore, may snggest itself to market gar- 

 deners. If you let off part of your land for building purposes, 

 beware of the crickets and cockroaches which the tenants may 

 introduce into the neighbourhood. 



At last I arrive at the insect I have in view — literally so ; at 

 least, I had it in view the other day nearer than I wished, 

 when, stooping down in my garden, an individual and his fluid 

 habitation were jerked from a twig upon my eye, and for a 

 time prevented me from seeing anything else. The Cuekoo- 

 spit [Cercopis spumaria) is a familiar species to us in the gar- 



fN.,^ 





Cercopis spumaria. 

 a, Perfect insect raagnified ; &, froth ; c, larva. 



den and in the open country throughout May and June, when 

 it is seen in its larval condition. Little, if any notice, as far 

 as I know, is taken of it in books which treat of the insects 

 troublesome to the gardener, and yet it is certainly a nuisance, 

 for it attaches itself to shrubs, to the produce of the kitchen 

 garden, and to flowering plants, diligently extracting the sap, 

 but also makes itself unpleasant by transferring its frothy 



Cercopis spumaria magnified. 



envelopment to our person or clothes as already observed. 

 We, of an entomological turn, make acquaintance with the 

 Cuokoo-spit more frequently than we could wish in our hunts 

 after other insects, and should we be engaged at this time of 

 the year in sweeping the herbage to obtain beetles or cater- 

 pillars, we are sure to find our nets adorned with numerous 

 Cuckoo-spits which have been dislodged from their leafy 

 dwelling-places ; in fact, a friend suggests that if the insect is 

 still to bear the appellation of the " bird of spring," it should 

 henceforth be called, not "Cuckoo-spit," but "Cuckoo-spite," 

 as a decided annoyance to the commonweal generally. Bat 

 why was it named after the cuckoo at all? Only, perhaps, be- 

 cause it shows itself about at the same season of the year 

 when the bird's well-known cry is to be heard. What other 

 connection there may be between the two it is not easy to say. 

 It is also called the Frog-hopper, according to some authors — not 

 so inaptly, perhaps, as the perfect insect has considerable powers 

 of leaping. Eirby and Spence, however, call it, not the Frog- 

 hopper, but the Frog-spittle, and this name, too, might have 

 arisen from the frothy investiture of the larva being often 

 abundant on grass, and, therefore, in the vulgar mind perhaps 

 attributable to frogs, though how these leapers, agile as they 

 are, could convey saliva to shrubs and tall plants on which we 

 find the insect at times, is not easy to say. Though most 

 noticeable in the early summer, the Cuckoo-spit may likewise be 

 observed in its adult condition, when it also attacks the juices" 

 of plants. On the Begonia, and species of similar charac- 

 teristics. Cuckoo-spits will sometimes congregate in September, 

 and ejecting, like the larva, part of the moisture in the form 

 of small drops, not as a frothy exudation. 



This insect belongs to the Hemipterous order, though some- 

 times taken for a beetle by the unscientific, and is therefore a 

 relative of that well-known pest the aphis, or " fly " of various 

 species. Both the females and males of the Cuckoo-spit or 

 Frog-hopper have leaping propensities ; the latter especially 

 distinguish themselves, passing through the air sometimes for 

 several feet. But it is the economy of the larva which is the 

 most interesting part of its history, and in that stage of its 

 existence we find the species most troublesome. De Geir 

 thinks that the froth in which it is concealed serves chiefly to 



protect it from the intense heat of the sun. Eiiby and others 

 point out that it serves also to screen the Cuckoo-spit from 

 carnivorous insects and birds. In spite of this froth the wasp, 

 says Kirby, will pounce upon it and carry it oS. One thing ia 

 evident, that the secretion is needful for the life of the larva, 

 for when removed from it and deprived of the means of pro- 

 ducing more, the Cuckoo-spit speedily collapses and dies. De 

 Geir, by close investigation, discovered that this seeming 

 saliva is, first of all, drawn from the sap of the leaf or stalk 

 on which the creature rests, and then exuded from the abdomen 

 in the form of a number of minute bubbles, each of whick 

 contains air, which is prevented from escaping by the adhesive 

 nature of the liquid. By working the abdomen up and down 

 the insect drives these bubbles in the direction it wishes them 

 to be, usually contriving that most of them shall surround the 

 front segments of its body. The trunk or proboscis, by which 

 the larva obtains its nourishment and its protection, is so con- 

 structed as to be an air-tight tube, through which the sap is 

 pumped up. The point is sharp, but on each side is an addi- 

 tional cutting instrument, which is serrated, and assists th& 

 action of the trunk. One observer, who examined a number 

 under the microscope, reports that a few (about one in ten) 

 have a double set of these lancets, and an extra coil of 

 muscles in the head. When full-grown the Cuckoo-spit larva 

 prepares a sort of cell, in which it becomes a pupa. An outer 

 film is formed of a part of the froth, which is suffered to dry^ 

 and the interior is so disposed as to form a resting place for 

 the larva. The state of pupation does not last very long. It 

 is fortunate that this species does not seem inclined to multiply 

 considerably in our gardens, for no very ready remedy or means 

 of checking it suggests itself. The removal of the feeding 

 larvje would be a tedious and disagreeable job, and the capture 

 of the adult " hoppers " is not easy, owing to their springiness, 

 already alluded to. 



The Asparagus season has now commenced, and people oi 

 almost every grade manage to get a taste, at least, of this- 

 delicacy, which usually keeps up its price in the market pretty 

 steadily. The cause of this is, I suppose, in a measure, the 

 attention and time its cultivation requires, but it is also liable 

 to various inroads from molluscous and insect enemies, which 

 in some seasons diminish the crop. Snails and slugs do much 

 mischief at certain periods, and in some 

 places the Asparagus beetle {Crioceris As- 

 ■parar/i) gives the gardener some trouble. 

 The beetle is found during the summer 

 months, being busy depositing eggs upoa 

 the stalks, end one entomologist insinuates 

 that Asparagus-eaters who patronise this 

 vegetable towards the end of the season,, 

 help to reduce the numbers of this insect, 

 b. 'Cause they devour the eggs with the 

 heads on which they are deposited. By 

 preference, it is said, the larvaj feed on the 

 young plants, adhering thereto very firmly 

 by a sort of sucker at the extremity of the 

 body. These are of a dull brown hue and 

 shining, having the head small. I cannot 

 boast of any personal acquaintance with 

 this species, but suspect that the state- 

 ment made by some writers, that the larval 

 state only lasts ten days, can hardly be 

 correct. It appears, however, to be the 

 fact, that both larvae and perfect insects 

 may be found upon the plants at the same 

 time. The pupa condition takes place in 

 the ground. By a careful examination of the surface of the 

 earth at early morning, as soon as any of the beetles have been 

 seen, some of them may be secured ere they mount the Aspara- 

 gus to deposit their eggs. 



An exceedingly troublesome insect in some gardens ia that 

 called the St. Mark's Fly (Bibio Marci), though I am hardly sure 

 that a reason can be found why it should be placed under the 

 patronage of any saint in the calendar. The special object of 

 its attack is very frequently the Strawberry, and in some bee's, 

 as the larvje have gregarious tastes, a hundred or more will be 

 found together. But aa they prefer undisturbed spots, a hor- 

 ticulturist points out that wherever the one or two-year planting 

 system is pursued, these are less likely to be troublesome than 

 when the beds are left for several seasons. This larva (or 

 grub as it will probably continue to be popularly called), is of 

 a dark brown colour, cylindrical and flattened beneath, with a 

 small and shining head. The mouth is furnished with strong 



Crioceris Asparagi. 



