23 



The Apple-Leaf Aphis ( Aphis mali ? ) Fabr. 



This species of Aphis is very common throughout the northern United States and 

 Canada, and has, during the past season, appeared in such numbers in some localities as 

 to excite much alarm among fruit growers. The eggs are deposited by the parent lice in 

 the autumn, about the base of the buds of the apple tree, and in crevices of the bark on 

 the twigs. When first laid they are light yellow or green, but gradually become darker 

 in colour and finally black. During the winter these tiny, oval, shining black eggs may 

 be found with the aid of a magnifyin glass on almost every apple tree. 



As soon as the buds begin to expand in the spring, small lice are hatched from these 

 eggs, which locate themselves on ^iie swelling buds and young tender leaves, and inserting 

 their sharp beaks into the tissues, feed on the sap they contain. The lice vary in colour 

 from green to dark greenish-brown, the darker colour prevailing at first, the lighter colour 

 in a few days afterwards. When they are abundant, the buds — especially the blossom 

 buds — are sometimes thickly covered with them, yet it is seldom that any serious injury 

 results from their attack. The growth at this period of the year is so rapid, and the sap 

 circulates through the branches in such abundance, that the comparatively small quantity 

 consumed by these plant lice seems- scarcely to be missed. In a few days the young 

 leaves expand, when the insects are distributed over the foliage, and -usually attract no 

 further notice. 



All the lice hatched in the spring are females, and they reach maturity in ten or 



twelve days, when they commence to give birth 

 to living young, producing about two every day 

 for two or three weeks, after which the older 

 ones die. The young locate about their parents 

 and mature in ten or twelve days, when they 

 also become mothers as prolific as their prede- 

 cessors. As the season advances some of the 

 females acqilire wings, by means of which they 

 fly to other trees where they found new colonies. 

 In fig. 3 both winged and wingless specimens are 

 shown much magnified. Late in the autumn 

 males, as well as females, are produced, and the 

 Fia. 3. work of the year closes with the deposit of eggs 



as already described. Were it not for the 

 activity of Lady-birds and other useful predaceous insects, which appear early upon the 

 scene and devour multitudes of these lice, they would soon swarm on every leaf of our 

 apple trees and become a source of serious trouble. , 



The Melon Moth (Eudioptis hyalinataj, Linn. 



A specimen of this beautiful little moth, known also under the name of Phakellura 

 hyalinatalisj has been taken by Mr. J. Alston Mofiat, in the neighbourhood of Hamil- 

 ton, the first capture, as far as we know, of this insect in Canada. It is shown in fig. 4. 

 The wings are of a pearly white colour with a peculiar iridescence, bordered with black, 

 and they measure, when expanded, nearly an inch across. The body and legs are of the 

 same glistening white, and the abdomen terminates in a movable brush-like tuft of a 

 pretty bufi" colour, tipped with white and black. It is very widely disseminated, being 

 found throughout the greater part of North and South America ; and is very common in 

 some sections in the Southern States. 



The larva, shown also in the figure, is, when mature, about an inch and a quarter 

 long, translucent and of a yellowish green colour, with a few hairs scattered over its body. 

 They are frequently found feeding on melon and cucumber vines, and do not confine their 

 attacks to the leaves, but eat also into the fruit, either excavating shallow cavities on the 

 surface, or penetrating directly into its substance. They spin their cocoons on a fold of 



