Insects TnJHrious to the Ajjple. 



157 



once or twice noticed a few on tlie smaller lioiinlis. Many years a^n 

 Mr. Fred Smith, who first pointed out the es;^s to me, noticeil that 

 they were nl'ten laid in a line, end to end; 1 have only seen this 

 occasionally since and then M'hen laid amongst the line hairs. The 

 ova (Figs. l:;i and 132) when first laid are almn.st wlute, tlien they 

 become creamy-yellow and later assume a i'aintly rnsty-red hui' 

 before hatching. Fnrley ((i) dcscrilies them as liecnming a pale 

 yellow-red also. Th(.;y are elongated oval in Ibrni, somewhat pointed 

 •at the ends, one of winch is prudin.'ed into a thin process which is 

 apparently curled under the (?gg and cannot easily be seen unless 

 the ovnnr is ^-c^•y carefully remii\-('d. What this process is h.ir we 

 do not at present know. 



Furley, in his careful oliser\ations, found that in Worcestershire 

 in I'Jdfi very few eggs were laid nntil the 

 middle of (October. In Kent we have 

 found many as early as the lidth of Sep- 

 temfier. La\dng certainly may go on until 

 Xovember in late years. 



Mr. Getting records (8) that at I Joss 

 he found ]ilenty of eggs on the 14tli of 

 September, and at Fershore they were 

 observed some da3's earlier. 



With fresh eggs we nnr>' also find 

 numbers of empty egg-shells ; sometimes 

 I have counted twenty empty shells to 

 one sound one. These are mainly old 

 shells of the previous broods, Ijut some few 

 may have been destroyed by iiredaceons 

 mites, for in some twigs sent me by 

 Messrs. Calelj Lee and Sons, of Swanley, a small red acarus was 

 watched destroying them. The presence of these old egg-shells is 

 verv important. They explain tlie frec|uent errors that have been 

 made in regard ti.> washes liaving destroyed the ova. 



Another point of great interest concerning the eggs is the irregu- 

 larity with which they hatch out. The date not only varies in 

 different localities and in different years, but during the same season 

 in the same plantation. They incubate at different periods according 

 to the variety of apple upon which they are situated. This may be 

 due to the heat generated by tlie tlow of sap regulating their hatching 

 to the time of the bursting of the baids. In lOOfi they hatched out 

 at Wye on the 10th of .April on one \'ariety of apple, on a different 

 variety next to it not until tlie 20th. 



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