108 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[April, 
Fig. 1.—APPLE APHIS— Eriosoma Mali. (Highly Magnified.) 
.The large Apple Aphis with no covering—.■*, The Aphis emitting the cotton-like fiber— c. Young Aphides feeding in the nest— i, The Antennas, or feelers—e. Sucking Tube, 
magnified—/, Natural Size of Aphis— g, Dianch from Gloucester (England), covered with the cottony fiber—h. Branch found in Connecticut, covered with the cottony fiber. 
Microscopic Views of the Insect II. 
BY MRS. CHARLOTTE TAYLOR. 
Representative Aphidians—Aphis Lanigera or Amt. 
lean Apple Blight—Poplar Aphis—Banana Apni. 
—Currant and Grape Vine Aphides—Oak Aphis. 
As was mentioned last month, every plant is 
infested by one or more varieties of Aphis. At¬ 
tention is now solicited to some that threaten, by 
their rapid multiplication, if left unchecked, to en¬ 
tirely destroy our fruit. The Aphis lanigera , 
(a. fig. 1,) as named by Illiger, or Eriosoma mali 
by Leach, of the genus Eriosoma , most errone¬ 
ously called the American Apple Blight , demands 
the immediate attention of every cultivator, and 
of every unselfish man. It is not indigenous to 
this country, having been found destructive in 
England in 1810, and in France still earlier. 
Twenty years ago, I searched many orchards 
throughout the Eastern States, and found with 
difficulty a single specimen. Now, every orchard 
here contains them, and they are traveling West 
and Southwest deplorably fast. 
They do not thrive here as well as in England. 
There, when plentiful, they make the trees ap¬ 
pear as if covered with snow, or “whitewash.” 
The cottony substance they throw off, is not half 
as long in this country as in England. The warm, 
moist weather there, seems to be more favorable 
to them than our glowing, scorching sunshine and 
frequent long continued drouths ; and myriads of 
them are destroyed by our Summer showers, 
which sometimes come down with almost tropi¬ 
cal fury, sweeping away and drowning whole 
colonies.at a dash. But with all these drawbacks, 
their increase is formidable. The illustration (g, 
tig. 1.) represents an infested branch which grew 
near Gloucester in England: ( h , same fig.), is 
from a branch obtained in Connecticut last sum¬ 
mer These will give an idea of their prolificness. 
This Aphis generally commences its depreda¬ 
tions as eariy as April. At first a hoariness may 
be noticed on one side of the branches of apple 
trees, which increases daily until the limbs are 
encircled. The little creatures causing this ap¬ 
pearance, are hatched from eggs deposited in the 
crevices of the bark the previous Fall. They 
puncture the sap-wood with their strong beaks, 
as they imbibe the sap, every pore, or suture 
ol Jie body ejects a saccharine fluid, which 
hardens in the air* flakes off, and becomes a fi¬ 
brous v\)tton-like shred, which in time entirely en¬ 
velope;. vium. This goes on rapidly, the young 
coming from this warm nest and adding to it. 
Among the ibers may be seen small clear glo¬ 
young are brought forth alive. The fiber is 
greasy, sticky, and disagreeable to the touch, and 
is sweet as sugar to the taste at first, but be¬ 
comes acid with age. If left undisturbed, they 
rob the tree of its sap, the bark hardens, the 
leaves turn yellow and fall off, the infection 
spreads from branch to branch, and the tree dies. 
Knapp, Hausmann, and other writers, stale 
that these insects do not become winged. I have 
seen their wings, but missed the insect with them 
on, and therefore have not given an illustration. 
The aphides are pale green at first, darker after 
the second moulting ; after the third, they become 
Fig. 2.—POPLAR APHIS — Eriosoma Populi. — (Highly Magnified.) 
a, The Aphis as it floats in the air—6, The Young Aphis (the horizontal short line at the left shows the actual length) 
—c, The imago, or perfect winged insect— d, Cell or chamber of the insect on a leaf. 
bules of congealed honey dew, supplied to form 
the food of the young until their first change of 
skin, after w ich they puncture for themselves, 
and throw off cottony fiber. These globules have 
been mistaken for eggs, but at this season the 
dark brown, and when this skin is cast off, the 
wings appear. They are shorter than those of 
other Aphides, and more closely veined. As they 
approach the winged state, they cease ta feed, and 
no longer eject the cottony fiber, but are stiUcov- 
