•280 



THE YOUNG NATURALIST. 



in reality is no fly at all, but a little beetle. 

 It is only about the size of a largish pin's 

 head, black with yellow stripes down the wing 

 cases. There are several species, and some 

 of "them are without the yellow stripes. 

 When touched they jump like fleas. They 

 are more or less common every season, and 

 may generally be found in numbers during 

 the warm days, just when the turnips are 

 showing their first two leaves. These leaves 

 are the favourite food of these beetles, and 

 during line weather they may be found gnaw- 

 ing these tender seedling leaves ; they do not 

 like wet, however, and should there come a 

 week of wet weather the beetles are washed 

 to the ground, and the plants are allowed to 

 grow too strong for the beetles to do them any 

 injury. These beetles will also feed upon 

 charlock and other weeds, I have seen them 

 where there has been no turnip for at least a 

 mile, and to have a lot of such plants growing 

 along the borders of the fields is pointed out 

 by " Rusticus " to be an act of folly, as they 

 simply act as preserves for these insects, 

 where they breed in numbers, and as soon as 

 the turnips come up they migrate to them, 

 and destroy them. He suggests that all such 

 weeds should be pulled up, and dried, and 

 burnt on fine days, when these insects are on 

 the wing, and if a handful of sulphur be 

 thrown upon the fires this will more effectu- 

 ally drive away the pests. During the past 

 year this "Fly" has been abundant in some 

 places. At Scotswood-on-Tyne some fields 

 on badly farmed land had to be re-sown on 

 account of its ravages. Dusting the leaves 

 with wood ashes has been found useful if 

 done in a morning while the dew was yet 

 upon them. 



The injury done by this " Fly " is as I have 

 already said, is confined chiefly to the two first 

 leaves the turnip puts up, and if preventive 

 measure; are taken in time much of the 

 damage might be averted. The grub that 

 produces this insect feeds inside the turnip 

 leaves between the upper and under skin, and 

 I know of no way of getting rid of it in this 

 stage. 



Another unwelcome guest in a turnip field 

 is the larva of the common turnip moth 

 . (Agrotis segitu n J. It attacks the bulb, which 

 | is sometimes 1 ored through and through by 

 j these creature 3. It is a caterpillar about an 

 ; inch and a half long when full grown, and it 

 | is not much to the advantage of a turnip to 

 have half a dozen of these grubs gnawing 

 j away at it for three or four weeks. The best 

 j way to diminish such things of this sort is to 

 | encourage others that prey upon them. This 

 j grub is a favourite food of Rooks and 

 | Partridges. The "Fly" will be a prey to 

 '■■ any insectiverous bird. Frogs and toads 

 j will also devour the "Niggers," but although 

 they render us great service in this and other 

 I ways, both frogs and toads are maltreated, 

 ; and cruelly illused, by people who are too 

 I stupid to make use of their own eyes, for 

 j surely farmers above all other men ought to 

 j be those which could tell us which are the 

 useful and which the injurions creatures upon 

 their farms, but so far from this being the 

 case, very few of them know anything at all 

 about such things. 



j 



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________ i 



LEPIDOPTERA IN MAY. 



Nocture. — The Noctuce that emerge in May 

 are not nearly so numerous as the Gcometva. 

 Many are recorded in Merrin's list that 

 rarely, if ever, appear before June. These we 

 do not include in the following list, as we find 

 we misled our readers by doing so, and their 

 names are of more service in the June list. 



C. Ocularis. — A rare insect. Others of the 

 genus sit on tree trunks, probably this does 

 also. Where it occurs the poplar should be 

 carefully looked at towards the end of the 

 month, and through June. 



A. aim. — A very rare and beautiful species, 

 the larva being more frequently found than 

 the imago, but even that oftener by accident. 

 It has been taken in many places, and should 

 be looked for at the end of the month, and 

 through June, on tree trunks, at sugar, &c. 



