370 On the occurrence of certain Insects, by James Hardy. 



baMy not 8. Hieracii, wbicli is not known to roll tbe edges of tbe 

 leaves. It is very small, and green-coloured, and lives within 

 tbe involute portion of tlie sides of tlie leaves on wbich. it operates. 

 Wben both, edges are affected the leaf, when the two rolls meet, 

 is like a pod. 



Chermes or Adelges Ahietis infested the terminal buds of the 

 spruce-fir in an extreme degree last season, even in high exposed 

 woods at 600 feet of elevation. I have seen scraggy ill-thriven 

 trees almost killed with the pseudo-cones of this species; and 

 some remarkable deformations of leading shoots when the gall 

 had been apical. The trees affected by it appeared to be spotted 

 with frost-bite, or to be sprinkled with some acid poison. On 

 February 21st and 22nd, 1881, some of the females of the autumn 

 brood were alive, and considerably grown — of a plum-coloured 

 brown — on the bark of the shoots at the base of next year's 

 buds. At that period Dr. Stuart found at Whitehall a little 

 colony on the leaves of a twig of spruce, which were enclosed in 

 a glazed sealed-up envelope, much darker hued than the exposed 

 females. These were probably males that had not attained their 

 developement when winter surprised them. This species does 

 not increase solely by eggs, for the researches of Eatzeburg, 

 {Forst-Insecten, Vol. III.) shew that the female can produce 

 living young as well as eggs, before the winged state is attained. 

 At the period referred to, the Chermes Laricis was in a very dwarf 

 condition, and was concealed in the fissures of the bark of the 

 larch twigs, and specked them like grains of gunpowder. In 

 spring they crawl up, and attack the tufts of foliage issuing from 

 the buds, shortly after it acquires prominence ; and when the 

 buds are restrained by the frosts from pushing out their needles, 

 they occasion great damage by absorbing the sap. When the 

 trees are closely planted they aid greatly in destroying the vitality 

 of the lateral branches. Larch trees in this condition have 

 seldom more than a few live boughs, near the summit of the 

 long lean poles that form their stem. 



Plum Scale. Dr. Stuart, 12th Feb., 1880, sent me from his 

 garden at Chirnside, an assemblage of shining brown Scale 

 insects, clustered round some knots on a branch of a Victoria 

 plum tree. They agree to the characters assigned to Lecanium 

 PersiccB (v Amygdali.) Some of the Scales have a small perfor- 

 ation, whence a parasite had issued. Another Brown Scale 

 found at Alnwick on a branch of black currant is mentioned 

 in Club's Proc. viii. p. 403. 



