826 
practicable. They are simply drawn across 
the fields and capture the hoppers as the 
latter endeavor to escape their approach. 
Though the hoppers may escape from the 
kerosene bath they are doomed. 
= IPP FF 
Hopper Dexner 
Plan of a Very Good Hopper Dozer. 
—After Libahns 
Wig. 1. 
The best time of operation is on warm 
days if possible, early in the season be- 
fore the hoppers have acquired wings. 
A. brief description of some of the most 
common and destructive California spe- 
cies follows. 
H. O. Essie 
Grape Lear Hopper, See under Grape. 
Zebra Caterpillar 
Mamesira picta Harris 
The zebra caterpillar often attracts at- 
tention by appearing in considerable num- 
bers in the early fall on alfalfa. 
Comstock * describes the caterpillar as 
of a light yellow color with three broad 
longitudinal black stripes, one on each 
side and the third on the top of the back. 
These stripes on the sides are broken by 
numerous pure white lines. The pupa is 
of a brownish color. The adult moth has 
dark chestnut brown forewings and pale 
yellow hindwings. 
The eggs of this caterpillar are depos- 
ited on the alfalfa leaves and hatch in a 
few days. The young larvae eat the epi- 
dermis of the leaves, which soon appear 
whitish from their attack. They web the 
tops of the stalks of alfalfa together. 
One may go through an alfalfa field and 
notice here and there plants of which the 
tops are webbed together and the leaves 
present a whitish and dead appearance. 
In the young stages the larvae work in 
colonies, and only on the upper and con- 
Sequently more tender portions of the 
alfalfa plant. I have seen as many as 
50 small larvae on one leaf and several 
hundred on the entire plant. As they be- 
come larger they will scatter to adjoining 
* Manual for Study of Insects, page 303. 
ENCYCLOPEDIA OF PRACTICAL HORTICULTURE 
plants, eating the leaves as they go. Often 
at a radius of several feet from the orig- 
inally infested plant the larvae may be 
found working on the leaves. 
From September to October the cater- 
pillars on becoming full grown enter the 
soil to pupate. The winter is passed in 
this stage, the moths appearing in the 
spring. There are probably several gen- 
erations, but the last generation in the 
fall is the one in which the larvae are 
numerous enough to attract attention. 
At present the best method for the con- 
trol of this pest on alfalfa is to go 
through a field picking and destroying 
infested tops, which are conspicuous be- 
cause of their whitish color, when the 
larvae are in the young stages and con- 
sequently massed on one or two stalks. 
If the fields are pastured at this time of 
the year very little damage will result 
from this insect’s attack. 
This insect occurs in the Atlantic states, 
Colorado, Utah and California. 
Besides alfalfa, it attacks cabbage, cel- 
ery, beets and other garden vegetables. 
E. J. Vosurr, 
Cal. Com. Hort. IJ, 11. 
Cocoanut Palm 
The cocoanut palm grows in the 
tropics along the seashore in rich sandy 
soil. It is native to the islands of the 
Indian ocean and is now widely distrib- 
uted throughout the tropical countries of 
the world. The only part of the United 
States where it grows in any considerable 
quantities is in the southern part of 
Florida, but even here it does not suc- 
ceed so well as farther south, showing 
that 1t must live in a climate practically 
free from frost. 
Geological specimens have been discov- 
ered in Central and South America, show- 
ing that it once had a much wider dis- 
tribution than at present. In the tropical 
islands it has been discovered to be one 
of the first trees to find a foothold upon 
the newly formed soil. It is a luxurious 
grower, often reaching a height of more 
than 100 feet with leaves from 10 to 20 
feet in length. At the bases of the 
leaves appear large yellow or white flow- 
