INSECT ENEMIES AND FRIENDS. 



503 



insects cannol pass over to the stems 

 11I the trees is a most effectual pro- 

 tection. Whatever sticky substance 

 may lie used, it is not advisable to 

 ;i|>|>lv il to the hark, as it may injure 

 the tree, but a hand ol common 

 grease- prool paper al out Sin. in width 

 should he fastened round the stem 

 lit. or more from the ground, and 

 on this spread the cart grease or 

 whatever else may be preferred. 

 The bark if at all rough should 

 be scraped smooth below this band, 

 moth may not be able to pass under it, 

 be sufficiently long to lap well over, 

 easier and better, on the whole, il the 

 spread on a strip of calico, sacking, etc 

 width as the paper hand, over which it 

 These holds should be fastened both at ti 

 Of the various sui stances, such as cart j 



THE WINTER MOTH 

 Male and two females. 



so that the 

 and it should 



ft is perhaps 

 " smear " be 



, of the same 



ihould he tied. 



p and bottom. 



Tease, tar, soft 



will often draw the wirewoniis away 

 from a crop. Most buds are, for- 

 tunately, very fond of them. These 

 grubs vary somewhat in si/e accord- 

 ing to the kind; but the largest 

 species is hardly more than -Jin. 

 in length and ^in. in diameter ; 

 they are ol a yellowish colour, with 

 brown heads and legs. The latter 

 are short and placed near the head. 

 The click beetles are long narrow 

 insects, of a dull brown, grey, or 

 colour, as a rule, but some are more 



soap, etc., really good cart grease appears to lie the 

 best, on the whole, but it must be renewed as soon as it 

 becomes hard, or so clogged with insects that it is no 

 further use. Of course if trees are supported by stakes, 

 or in any other way by which the females might gain 

 access to them, they must be treated in the same way as 

 the stems. 1 hese hands should be put into position quite 

 early in October, and be kept in working order until the 

 middle of January. In spite of all precaution, some 

 females may find their wav to the buds, some no doubt 



11 th 



should b 

 or paraffii 



being carried there by the males when pairing 

 place. If this be the case, in the spring, as si 

 injury is noticed, the tree 

 sprayed with Paris greet 

 emulsion, properly diluted. The 

 winter moth measures about tin. or 

 rather more across the wings when 

 expanded, the upper wings being 

 reddish brown or light grey in colour, 

 and marked with tine transverse 

 undulating dark lines ; the lower pair 

 are rather paler than the others, the 

 body is slender, and of a yellowish 

 grey colour. The female is stout, 

 about |in. in length, brown or 

 grey in colour, and, as before men- 

 tioned, has no proper wings. f he 

 full-grown caterpillar is about fin. in 

 length, and is green or yellowish 

 green in colour, with several pale 

 longitudinal lines. It is hatched 

 buds are opening, and is lull grown 

 then drops to the ground, buries itself 

 a chrysalis, from which ih 



taking 

 as any 



MOTTLED AM Bkk MOTH 

 Male, Female, and Catei fill, 11 . 



just as the 

 in June. It 

 , and becomes 

 moth emerges in 

 October, November, or December, and at times in 

 January. The mottled amber moth {Hibemia defolaria) 

 is almost as great a pest as the winter moth, and its 

 habits are just the same. It is, however, a larger and 

 handsomer insect. 

 Wireworms [Athous ami Agriotes, several spans). — 

 These pests are the grubs of beetles belonging to the 

 family Elateridse. There are a considerable number of 

 species, and they are commonly known as click or skipjack 

 beetles, on account of the power they possess of springing 

 away with a click when disturbed. The w ireworms attack 

 a great variety of plants, and are especially fond ol 

 Carnations and other nearly allied genera. Insecticides 

 have little or no effect on them, so that trapping must be 

 resorted to. The best traps are slices of Carrot, Mangold, 

 Potato, Turnip, or pieces of Rapecake, buried about 

 lin. below the surface of the ground. Each slice should 

 have a small wooden skewer stuck into it, so that it may 

 be the more easily found. Examine the traps every 

 111. lining, and it is often said that wireworms are so loud 

 of Rapecake thai they will eat il until they bursl ; but 

 this is a pure fiction, as they have been led only on cake 

 for some weeks, and have thriven wonderfully well on 11. 

 Strewing the ground, however, with .small pieces ol cake- 



yellowish brown 

 brightly coloured. 

 Woodlice. — These well-known creatures are very destruc- 

 tive, and many persons will be surprised to learn that they 

 belong to the same class as shrimps, lobsters, and crabs, 

 namely, the Crustacea, but so it is. They do an immense 

 amount ol mischief in gardens, greenhouses, Melon 

 frames, Mushroom beds, and to Peaches and Straw- 

 berries; in lad, nothing in the way of vegetable matter 

 that is solt enough for them to gnaw comes amiss. Out 

 ol doors they usually attack the collar of the plant, 

 which is a very vital part, and fruit grown against a wall 

 is often much injured by them ; woodlice also some- 

 times gnaw Straw berries and open the seeds It is very 

 difficult to exterminate these creatures, as their skins are 

 so hard, and impervious to any insecticide, and as thev 

 only teed at night one cannot catch them easilv. If, as 

 is often the case, they congregate at the bottom of a wall 

 in cracks in the earth they may be killed wholesale by 

 pouring boiling water along the soil where it touches the 

 wall, and walls "ii which fruit trees 

 are grown should be kept well pointed, 

 so that there may he no cracks or 

 holes in which the woodlice can hide. 

 Small bundles of dry moss placed near 

 the fruit provide handy places for them 

 to hide in, and where they may be easily 

 found. Bricks, tiles, slates, and boards 

 laid on the ground and left undis- 

 turbed for a lew days make excellent 

 traps, as they form dry places to 

 shelter under. Woodlice detest mois- 

 ture and tidiness, so that no rubbish 

 should be allowed to lie about. Il 

 is said that thev may be poisoned 

 by laying pieces of Potato about 

 that have been boiled in water with 

 arsenic. Toads are their sworn enemies 

 ol them. It is a mistake to regard toads 



id kill number 



as enemies. In the case of woodlice, for instance, as we 

 have said, they are the friends of man, as toads relish 

 the strange pests that infest plant houses, and are of great 

 use generally in gardens. When the garden is large, 

 several may he obtained to assist in keeping down insect 

 loes. 



'IREWOHMS. 



ami 2. Agriotes lincalns. 

 Hint (i. Agriotes sputator. 

 9. Wiieioeiin, magnified. 



1 I. Agriotes obscurns, 

 Wivetvovms, nat. size. 



W and II. Chrysalis. 



