160 Second Report on Economic Zoology. 
The Vine Weevil in Ferns and other Pot Plants. 
Some insects sent by a correspondent from Forest Gate, E., that 
were attacking pot plants and ferns just below the surface of the 
ground, were the so-called Vine or Black Weevil ( Otiorhynchus 
sulccttus). This and allied pests are dealt with in Leaflet No. 2 
(revised). 
The best way to destroy weevil and other maggots on the roots of 
pot plants is to water the plants with the following mixture : — One 
quart of soft soap dissolved in one gallon of boiling soft water, to 
which add one pint of crude carbolic acid. Mix the whole by 
means of a force pump into an emulsion. This will keep some time 
if bottled off and kept air-tight. When used add thirty times the 
amount of water to each part of the emulsion. 
It is best to slightly remove the earth round the roots before 
watering with this mixture. The emulsion may become semi-solid, 
if so dissolve in some warm water first. 
This has been found most successful in treating weevil and fly 
larvae attacking roots of plants, and is better than the use of crude 
carbolic acid and water alone. 
The Rose Aphis. 
(Siphonophora rosas, Reaumur). 
The Rose Aphis is an annual pest all over Great Britain, and is 
frequently enquired after. It was very harmful in 1903. 
The Rose Aphis infests several kinds of wild and all cultivated 
roses. It is subject to great variation in colour and form and shows 
undoubtedly dimorphism. A distinct variety exists called variety 
(jlctuca, Buckton ; both type and variety readily mix together. 
The apterous viviparous female is shining green or ferruginous 
red, with very long curved black cornicles ; legs yellowish-green with 
black knees, and tarsi and the eyes deep red. 
A very distinct red variety exists, particularly in the autumn. 
The apterous viviparous female may live in the open right through 
the winter, even when snow is on the ground. The lice or larvae 
produced by these females every now and then give rise to pupje, 
which are reddish green above, with brown wing-cases and four spots 
on the lateral edges. The winged viviparous females seem to appear 
both in winter and summer; in the open air they are green with 
