DWARFING OR INJURING THE BUDS 331 
The Flower Thrips (Euthrips tritict. Fitch) 
In the Southwest the opening flower and fruit buds of various fruit 
trees are subject to serious injury by minute, slender, active insects which 
enter them in large numbers and suck the juices of the tender, growing 
parts. The adults have two pairs of narrow, fringed wings. The 
younger stages are wingless, but do equal damage with the adults. 
The injury is sometimes so severe that young trees are killed. 
An effective remedy is thorough spraying with tobacco extract. 
Distillate oil emulsion may be added to this, as recommended for the 
pear thrips. The Flower Thrips is illustrated on page 26. 
The Peach Bud Mite (Tarsonemus waitet Bks.) 
Young peach trees in nurseries sometimes suffer severe injury to the 
terminal bud or shoot, due to the work of an exceedingly small, eight- 
legged mite. The main shoot dies, or fails to develop, and the tree 
then puts out several new shoots below, destroving its symmetry and 
rendering it worthless for transplanting. 
Some of the mites hibernate under bud scales, but it is possible that 
others may spend the winter on some other host plant. 
Careful pruning will help the tree to overcome injury and send out a 
new terminal shoot. Lateral buds that start up should be removed, 
in order to avoid a bushy top. Spraying with self-boiled lime sulphur 
early in the growing season may kill most of the mites. 
The Grape-blossom Midge (Contarinia johnsoni Sling.) 
The flower buds of early varieties of grapes sometimes fail to develop 
properly through the work of this tiny insect. Buds attacked show an 
abnormal swelling or redness, and only occasional berries will set, so 
that the bunches of fruit will be straggling, if not entirely wanting. 
The injury is due to the larve of a minute midge that appears just 
as the buds are beginning to swell and lays its eggs in the opening ends. 
After three weeks the larve are full grown, drop to the ground, and 
remain there until the following vear. 
Spraying with tobacco extract when the buds first begin to swell 
