INSECTS INJURIOUS IN THE FLOWER-GARDEN. 



833 



of May till August, feeding upon the plants of 

 the genus Verbascum, often completely destroy- 

 ing every vestige of the foliage excepting the 

 mid-ribs. It also attacks the leaves and often 

 the petals of other plants, particularly those of 

 Scrophularia. The caterpillar, when fully 

 grown, is above 2 inches in length, of a dirty 

 white or slaty colour ; each segment is marked 

 with four black dots, sometimes distinct, at 

 other times confluent. There are also smaller 

 black dots along the sides, and a row of yellow 

 ones along the back. The head is yellow, spotted 

 with black. The perfect insect appears in May, 

 about 2 inches from tip to tip of the expanded 

 fore wings, which are of a reddish-brown colour, 

 clouded and lined with black streaks, with a 

 largish white spot on each somewhat resembling 

 the figure 3. The hind or under wings differ 

 little except in size, and being of a lighter colour 

 than the upper ones, sometimes almost white. 

 The eggs are laid upon the Verbascum and 

 allied plants, and if the weather be warm they 

 are hatched in a few days. The caterpillars, 

 when fully grown, descend into the ground 

 near to the roots of the plants upon which they 

 have been bred, and there form cocoons of 

 leaves and earth, so hard cemented together as 

 to resemble hard clods. This, together with the 

 large size of the caterpillar while feeding, affords 

 the means of their destruction, by hand-picking 

 in the one case, and searching for these clods in 

 the other. They remain in the pupa state till 

 the following May, even sometimes for two 

 years. 



The spotted buff-moth, Spilosoma lubricipeda 

 (Bombyx lubricipeda), fig. 73, although attacking 

 many of the productions of the kitchen garden, 

 such as turnips, carrots, mint, scarlet-runners, 

 &c, yet its voracious habits extend to many 

 flowering plants also ; indeed, almost no green 

 leaf appears to be exempt from its attacks. For 

 description of it, see page 196. 



Melitcea euphrosyne (Papilio and Argynuis 

 euphrosyne). — This is the pearl-bordered fritil- 

 lary butterfly, and is frequently found destroy- 

 ing garden violets, making its appearance in 

 August and September. The wings are about 

 2 inches across when fully expanded, tawny, red- 

 spotted, and lined with black, with a row of 

 silvery spots round the edges. The caterpillar 

 is black and spiny, with two rows of orange 

 spots on its back. It produces two broods 

 yearly, the first in May and the second in Sep- 

 tember. Netting the perfect insect and finger- 

 picking the caterpillar from the plants seem the 

 only remedies. 



Drosophila graminiam Fallen. — The maggot 

 of this insect appears in abundance in spring 

 upon many plants of the order Carophyllaceae, 

 cutting passages usually terminating in an irre- 

 gular blotch or blemish, and not unfrequently 

 denuding the plants entirely of their foliage. 

 Amongst flower-garden plants subject to its 

 attacks may be mentioned the common Lobels 

 catchfly, Silene armeria, Visicaria oculata, seve- 

 ral species of Lychnis, &c. 



The chrysanthemum leaf-miner (Tryptera ar- 

 temisice Fabr., Acidia artemisice Walker, Tephritis 

 artemisice Macquart) is occasionally met with on 



Fig. 279. 



the leaves of the Indian chrysanthemums, en- 

 tering the leaves by the upper surface, and pene- 

 trating to the parenchyma, which it eats out, 

 particularly towards the centre, and may often 

 be traced scooping out winding and irregular 

 channels between the cuticles of the leaf. The 

 cuticle over the excavated parts rises up like 

 swollen veins above the surface, and in these 

 cavities the eggs are deposited. The lower and 

 older leaves are fortunately only attacked, and 

 hence less injury is caused to the plant than if 

 the younger and upper ones were assailed. We 

 know of no other insect that feeds on this species 

 of plants, therefore think a further description 

 of it here of little importance. The leaves at- 

 tacked should be cut off as they appear infested, 

 and burnt. 



The pine-destroying beetle (Hylurgus pini- 

 perda), fig. 279. — The numerous insects which 

 have been injurious to our 

 pine forests appear, in this 

 country at least, to have 

 been little regarded, until 

 the introduction of so many 

 new and valuable plants of 

 the same natural order from 

 various parts of the globe. 

 The injury inflicted on them 

 by insect enemies has caused 

 investigations to be made re- 

 garding their habits and 

 mode of suppression. This 

 subject has been long 

 studied in Germany, as a re- 

 ference to the entomological 

 authors of that country 

 abundantly testifies. It 

 would far exceed our pre- 

 sent limits were we to go into a minute and 

 detailed description of all the insects that infest 

 our woods and forests ; we shall therefore con- 

 fine oui'selves to those that are most injurious 

 to trees planted for ornament in the park and 

 pleasure-grounds; and of these the Hy lurguspini- 

 perda claims particular attention. This beetle, al- 

 though an exceedingly small one — not one quar- 

 ter of an inch in length — has committed great 

 destruction upon our Conifers ; and although 

 it is said by some to prefer the Scotch fir (Pinus 

 sylvestris), still it is found, upon closer investi- 

 gation, to attack the silver fir (Abies picea), the 

 Weymouth pine (Pinus strobus), the spruce fir 

 (Abies alba and excelsa). Kollar describes 

 this beetle as being somewhat shaggy and 

 black ; the wing-cases are pitchy black, irregu- 

 larly streaked, entire at the tips ; thorax some- 

 what anteriorly narrowed ; antennae and feet 

 brownish red. The larva is thick, cylindrical, 

 milk-white on the middle of the body ; the 

 head dull yellow, also the front of the body and 

 the anal extremity, but somewhat lighter. The 

 pupa resembles that of the common bark-beetle. 

 The mode of attack of the beetle is to drill a 

 hole on the side of a lateral branch, and having 

 reached the pith it directs its course upwards, 

 feeding on the pith at about the rate of one inch 

 in four days, and continuing to ascend until the 

 pith is consumed, when it makes its escape 

 through the terminal bud, although sometimes 



prNE-DEaTROYING 

 BEETLE. 



