194 



CULINARY OR KITCHEN GARDEN. 



being also removed, and treated with the same 

 care, will possess the same prolific faculty." 

 Their power of reproduction, as observed by- 

 Bonnet and Eeaumer, is such that the count- 

 less myriads of them which appear in our fields 

 and gardens yearly can be accounted for with- 

 out our having recourse to miraculous causes. 

 " With such an inexhaustible power of fecun- 

 dity, it is fortunate for man that no insects 

 are subject to the attacks of such a variety of 

 enemies. 1st, There are the lady-birds (Cocci- 

 nella— figs. 14 and 15), which feed upon the 

 aphides both in their larvae and perfect states; 

 2dly, The aphidivorous Syrphidae, the maggots 

 of which are exceedingly useful in diminish- 

 ing the number of the plant-lice. Then there 

 are the Hemerobii; or golden-eyes, whose larvae 

 are called Aphis-lions (fig. 69), a ferocious fa- 

 mily nearly related to the ant-lions. Another 

 set of insects are parasitic, and deposit minute 

 eggs in the old aphides, which then change to 

 dull ochreous, horny objects, sticking to the 

 leaves on which they had fed, frequently exhi- 

 biting a hole in their sides, from where the 

 parasitic little ichneumon called Aphidius had 

 issued." The earwig and ant wage constant 

 war against them, and soft-billed birds work 

 wonderful destruction amongst them ; and to 

 these we may add, as valuable to man — 



The Aphis-lion, fig. 69, of which there are 

 numerous species. They belong to the family 



Fig. 69. 



APHIS-LION, GRUB, AND EGGS. 



Hemerobiidae and order Neuroptera. The pre- 

 servation of this family should be sedulously 

 cared for, as they are bred, live amongst, and 

 feed upon the plant-eating species of aphides, 

 and are of the greatest importance to man. The 

 aphis-lion makes its appearance in May, and may 

 be observed walking about upon the leaves of 

 plants, resembling more in appearance a small 

 mass of cottony-like matter than a living insect. 

 This covering is composed of the fragments of 

 the skins of the aphides it has destroyed, and 

 which, by a peculiar power invested in its jaws, 

 as soon as it has sucked the vitals out of its 

 prey, it throws upon its back, until, by re- 

 peated additions, it at last assumes the form of a 



large semi-globular mass, probably as a means of 

 hiding it from its own peculiar enemies, or 

 more probably as a covering of protection to its 

 soft and fleshy body. When the larva is fully 

 grown, it spins a cottony cocoon of a globular 

 form, within which it is transformed into a short 

 inactive pupa. Its duration in the pupa state 

 varies with the season of the year : it, however, 

 remains in this state throughout the winter, 

 the fly being produced in the early part of sum- 

 mer. The flies are generally abroad in the 

 evening, remaining quiet through the day ; they 

 are by no means active on the wing. On being 

 touched they give out a most disagreeable odour. 

 The females deposit their eggs on the leaves of 

 plants, especially such as are infested with 

 aphides, attaching them to the leaf by a long 

 slender arm or stalk, of a whitish colour — the 

 eggs, when so placed, having somewhat the 

 appearance of minute fungi. This stalk of at- 

 tachment is composed of a glutinous matter the 

 female discharges at the time of laying the egg, 

 and this matter, hardening by exposure to the 

 air, maintains the egg in a firm position. The 

 insects, as soon as they are hatched, finding 

 themselves in the midst of masses of aphides, 

 commence warfare at once ; and, as we have 

 observed above, as the slaughter goes on, the 

 skins, or fragments of them, are transferred to 

 the back of the aphis-lion, until it becomes 

 clothed as we have described. 



And amongst parasitic insects which aid in 

 the reduction of the aphides, may be instanced 

 the 



Aphidius avence. — This little ichneumon fly 

 deposits its eggs in the apterous female aphides, 

 and by this means reduces their numbers ex- 

 ceedingly. It is black and shining ; horns 

 long, and in the male having twenty joints; 

 the body is brown, narrowing towards the base, 

 which is rough and ochreous, as is also the 

 margin and a patch on the back ; legs rusty ; 

 hips and thighs, excepting the first pair, pitchy ; 

 feet blackish ; upper wings having a large smoky 

 stigma, and a large central cell, the posterior 

 ones entirely wanting. 



Aphidius rapce, fig. 70. — Very similar in ap- 

 pearance and 

 Fig. 70. habits to the 



last ; the 

 horns, how- 

 ever, are shor- 

 ter, and only 

 fourteen-join- 

 ted ; the un- 

 der side of the 

 base and. the 

 mouth ochre- 

 ous; stigma of 

 upper wings 

 smoky ochre ; 

 legs bright 



ochreous, variegated with dark brown, and 

 rusty. 



Phytomyza nigricornis (the black-horned leaf- 

 miner), fig. 11, often attacks turnip crops. They 

 operate by feeding upon the parenchyma of the 

 leaves, in which they form long irregular gal- 

 leries on the inside of the lower cuticle; they are 



APHIDIUS RAP^S. 



