313 GEEENHOUSB MANAaEMENT. 



its work is noticed, the beetles should be hunted and 

 destroyed ; in this way they can generally be held in 

 check. The beetles deposit their eggs on the stems near 

 the ground, and the larrae pass down and feed on thp 

 roots, where they may become so numerous as to destroy 

 the plants. The liberal use of wood ashes will do much 

 to hold them in check, but the plants should be taken 

 out and burned, the soil removed and the benches thor- 

 oughly whitewashed, if they become very numerous. 



BED SPIDER {Tetranychus telarius Linn.) 



Few insects seem to have so little choice in their 

 host plants as the red spider (Fig. 108), as they not only 

 attack plants in the greenhouse and garden, but also in 

 the field and forest. They are very minute, being rather 

 less than one-twentieth of an inch in 

 length, and vary in color from green and 

 yellow while immature, to dark red in 

 their adult form, with small greenish 

 spots upon their sides. 



The red spider spins a fine web upon 

 the leaves of plants, under the protection 

 of which they feed. They have stout 

 FIG. 108. j^'WS or mandibles, by means of which 



BED SPIDER. ^jjgy. j-gg^^ g^^yg^y ^j^g cuticle of thc Icavcs, 



and also a barbed sucking apparatus, which is used to 

 take the food from the leaves. Numbers of these insects 

 upon a leaf, sucking out its juices, cause it to turn yellow 

 and finally to drop from the plant. The first sign of the 

 working of this insect is in the taking on by the leaves 

 of a light green color, and the appearance of minute 

 yellowish spots. 



This insect thrives in a hot, dry atmosphere, and 

 its appearance can generally be prevented if the houses 

 are properly ventilated and syringed. If the spider does 

 appear, steps should at once be taken to destroy it. If 



