44 



MISC. PUBLICATION 



U. S. DEPT. OT AGRICULTURE 



weakened and stunted. These insects 

 produce large quantities of honeydew, 

 which drops to the leaves below. As in 

 the case of whiteflies, a sooty fungus 

 develops upon the honeydew, which 

 smuts the foliage and mars the beauty 

 of the plants. The soft scale attacks a 

 wide range of plants, including abutilon, 

 araucaria, bougainvillea, camellia, 

 clematis, ferns, hawthorn, hibiscus, 

 holly, i\T (English), morning-glory, 

 oleander, palms, phlox, pittosporum, 

 poinsettia, rose, wistaria, and others. 



Figure 71. — Soft scale on the under 

 side of a leaf. About natural size. 



Treatment. — Spray two or three 

 times at intervals of 10 days with the 

 white-oil emulsion, as recommended for 

 mealybugs (pp. 31, 101). 



Fuller's Rose Beefle 



Fuller's rose beetle (Pantomorus god- 

 mani (Crotch)), while preeminently a 

 greenhouse pest, occasionally becomes 

 a serious menace in the flower garden. 

 Both the larvae and beetles are destruc- 

 tive, the former attacking the roots, and 

 the latter feeding on the foliage, buds, 



and flowers, and at times severing the 

 leaves. The adult beetles do most of 

 their feeding at night. The beetles also 

 make the plants unsightly by their 

 deposits of black excrement. The 

 beetle (fig. 72) is brown or grayish, about 

 z /% inch long, with a short snout, and a 

 white diagonal stripe across each side. 

 Among the plants injured by this insect 

 are achryanthes, azalea, canna, camel- 

 lia, chrysanthemum, deutzia, dracaena, 

 gardenia, goldenglow, hibiscus, lilies, 

 palm, and rose. 



Figure 72. — Fuller's rose beetle, 

 twice natural size. 



About 



Treatment. — Where only a light 

 infestation exists, jar insects from the 

 plants into a pail containing water and 

 oil. Apply a spray or a dust containing 

 50 percent of barium fluosilicate or 

 cryolite (p. 97). A pyrethrum powder 

 (containing at least 0.4 percent of 

 pyrethrins) (p. 98) will kill those beetles 

 actually covered by the powder. Lead 

 arsenate spray serves as a repellent. 



Prevention. — Large woody plants 

 may be protected from adult feeding by 

 banding them with sticky material or 

 other barriers, since the beetles cannot 

 fly and must crawl up the plant to feed. 

 None of the branches should be per- 

 mitted to touch the ground. 



Other Pests of Gardenia 



Page 



Citrus mealybug 31 



Long-tailed mealybug . 31 



Greenhouse orthezia 32 



Flower thrips 74 



GERANIUM 

 Oroide Tortrix 



The caterpillar of the orange tortrix 

 (Argyrotaenia citrana (Fern.)) webs and 

 often rolls the leaves on which it feeds. 

 It is a flower-garden pest in the warmer 

 climates, especially in southern Cali- 

 fornia. Among the plants it feeds on 

 are asparagus, begonia, geranium, gold- 

 enrod, Jerusalem-cherry, lantana, laven- 



