TWENTY-NINTH FRUIT-GROWERS' CONVENTION. 



149 



INSECTS OF THE YEAR. 



By EDWARD M. EHRHORX, of Mou>tain View, 

 Entomologist of Santa Clara County. 



To make an annual record of the presence or absence of injurious 

 insects seems to have become an important matter among entomolo- 

 gists, generally speaking. Here in California this has not received 

 as much attention as our various horticultural industries warrant, and 

 may be this is caused by the greater task of collecting data in so great 

 a territory as the State of California. My attempt to-day is to give you 

 a list of the insects of the year as far as it has been possible to collect 

 data from the various counties, and I hope that in the future, by co- 

 operation with others interested in this line, we shall be able to make a 

 complete record of all injurious insects, and it may be well to also 

 make a record of our friends, the predaceous and parasitic insects 

 existing in our State. 



Aphids, or Plant Lice. — The present season has been characterized 

 by the abundance of plant lice in every locality. This abundance can 

 probably be attributed to the cool spring and summer months. In the 

 apple districts, the woolly aphis {Schizoneura lanigera) was present in 

 greater numbers, despite the fact that our common ladybirds were 

 plentiful. Prune aphis (Aphis prnnif alias), especially on young trees, 

 was reported from a great many localities. The black aphis of the peach 

 (Mysus persicse niger) has been reported as numerous and doing damage. 

 This is a dangerous pest, and every effort should be made to exter- 

 minate it. The root form could possibly be attacked during the winter 

 months, and tobacco or other insecticides may prove valuable. 

 Although, generally speaking, no serious damage has been reported on 

 account of other species of this multiplying group, yet the abundance 

 of honey dew, with dirty, discolored foliage in autumn, has caused 

 much inquiry from nearly every quarter. 



Shade trees have not been exempt. The elm tree cockscomb gall 

 louse (Colopha idmicola), the brown willow louse {Lachmus sp.), the 

 poplar louse {Pemphigus sp.), and the fir tree louse {Chermes pinifolise) 

 have been very numerous, and in places some of these species have 

 covered the walks and roads with honey dew to such an extent as to 

 give them the appearance of oiled roads. 



The grape louse {Phylloxera vastatrix) is slowly encroaching upon 

 the vineyards, and some of the resistant stocks are proving to be not as 

 resistant to the attacks of this insect as at first announced. 



Scale Insects. — Generally speaking, there has been a little increase in 

 the apricot scale {Lecaniiim armeniacum, Craw). In nearly every case, 

 where samples accompanied the inquiry, indications were found of the 



