HANDBOOK OX INSECT ENEMIES OF FLOWERS AXD SHRUBS 67 



Prevention. — In areas where this 

 insect is a serious problem, bringing all 

 waste sandy areas under cultivation will 

 aid in reducing the pest. By this 

 means the breeding areas are disturbed. 

 and by working the soil early in the 

 sprint: the pupae are killed. Choice 

 plants may be protected against the 

 ravages of the beetle by covering them 

 with a fine netting. 



Other Pests of Peony 



Page 



Rose leaf beet le 76 



Stalk borer 34 



Rose curculio 77 



Tarnished plant bus 35 



Four-lined plant bug 94 



Flower thrips 74 



Oystershell scale 56 



San Jose scale 57 



Ants 12 



PETUNIA 



Potato Flea Beetle 



The potato flea beetle (Epitrix cu- 

 cumeris (Harris \) is a serious pest of 

 petunia. It eats small round holes 

 (fig. Ill) in the under sides of the leaves. 

 causing the surface above to turn brown 

 and fall away. It also feeds on honey- 

 suckle, primrose, sunflower, and violet, 

 a- well as many vegetable crops and the 



leaves of certain trees and shrubs. The 



beetle 'fie. 11F is black, oval, and 

 about Ke inch long. Flea beetle- in 

 general are discussed on page 8. 



Treatment. — See treatment for flea 

 beetles (p. 8). 



Other Pests of Petunia 



Page 



Yellow woolly bear 3 



Hornworms 4 



Spotted cucumber beetle ._ „ 7 



Asiatic garden beetle 21 



Grasshoppers 9 



Flea hopper 89 



Tarnished plant bug 35 



Ground mealybug 64 



Greenhouse orthezia . 32 



Redspiders 11 



PHLOX 



Phlox Plant Bus 



Phlox plants are often attacked by the 

 phlox plant bug (Lopidea davisi Knight). 

 The insect feeds in all stages on the 

 upper surfaces of the more tender leaves 

 and buds of perennial phlox. Injured 

 leaves show white or pale-green spots 

 (fig. 112 1 on the upper surfaces. Often 

 the plant becomes stunted and the 

 blossom head loses its symmetry. In 

 some cases the entire plant may be 

 killed. The adult phlox plant bug 

 (fig. 112) is not over J 4 inch long, is 

 very active, and may easily be recog- 

 nized by the dull orange or reddish 

 wing covers and the black stripe on the 

 back. The adults from the summer 

 brood lay their eggs in the fall in the 



Figlre 111. — Feeding 

 petunia caused by 



holes on leaf of 

 the potato flea 



beetle. Inset, adult flea beetle, 8 



times natural size. 



Figure 112. — Adult and nymph of the 

 phlox plant bug on an injured leaf. 

 Note whitening or stippling on the 



leaf. About 3 times natural si 



