ON ROSES. 



must be taken and killed much as we admire it. The 

 Rosechafer comes of a very destructive family — a family which 

 includes the formidable Stag Beetle and the familiar Cock- 

 chafers. It is only as a perfect insect that it feeds upon 

 flowers, or rather upon their principal parts : as a larva it 

 lives, like its near relatives just named, upon wood. The 

 Rosechafer will sometimes hibernate as a perfect insect, burying 

 itself in the soil. 



Phyllopertha hortkola, or Coch-y-Bondhu of anglers, is a 

 most common species, often, in fact, found in myriads flying 

 round trees in summer-time. Roses do not escape their 

 unwelcome attention, and suffer similarly to w^hen attacked by 

 the Rosechafer. The insects have reddish-brown wing-cases, 

 and dark green head and thorax ; they fly towards evening, and 

 may then be captured with a beetle-net. During the day they 

 are found upon various trees in the garden, from which they may 

 be shaken and destroyed, as they are very sluggish at that time. 



One or two of the Weevils, chiefly characterised by long, 

 snout-like mouths, are found feeding upon the newly-budded 

 portions of Rose-trees. Otiorrhynchiis picipes is one sinner ; it 

 is chestnut-brown in colour. Another Weevil, which in certain 

 seasons and certain localities proves most destructive, is Otior- 

 rhynchiis scabrosus, a very rough-coated, oblong-ovate, black insect, 

 measuring some :^in. long. It affects standard trees and gnaws 

 the bark off" the young shoots, causing them to decay. Like 

 the other members of its family, it is nocturnal, and during 

 the day hides itself in the soil beneath or in the vicinity 

 of the trees. Generally the bark is gnawed in a circle, but 

 not always. Hand-picking with a lantern or shaking the trees 

 over a sheet of paper smeared with a sticky compound, is the 

 best remedy. 



Rose-leaf Hopper. — Closely allied to the disgusting-looking Frog- 

 Hopper of our gardens, is Typhlocyba rosce, an insect about ^jin, 

 long, yellowish-white, and with practically transparent wings. The 

 under-sides of the leaves are the parts affected, and the insects 

 extract the juices from them without being readily seen. It is 

 not until the foliage begins to assume an unhealthy appearance 

 and is blotched with white, that the little pests are found. They 

 are very active, and can fly strongly and well : on this account 

 they are difficult insects to deal with, as they are off on the 

 slightest movement. Again, living as they do on the under- 

 surfaces of the leaves, they are not so readily reached by 



K 2 



