THE RURAL* NEW-YORKER 
March 5, 
260 
THE OUTBREAK OF APPLE LICE IN 1909. 
The season of 1909 has been notable 
as a year of remarkable development 
and excessive abundance of plant lice, 
accompanied by widespread injuries of 
these insects. The fruit growers have 
not suffered so widely and uniformly 
from these tiny but persistent and effec¬ 
tive pests since 1903, although during 
the season of 1907 there were many 
complaints of aphides and their injuries. 
The greatest injuries have probably been 
done to apples. In many orchards ser¬ 
ious and extensive losses were caused 
during the past season by these tiny 
pests. There were three different species 
that caused the trouble, and often all 
three were present in the same orchard 
and on the same tree. These are known 
as the European grain aphis, the rosy 
aphis, and the common green apple 
aphis. 
The Life History of an Aphid. —The 
life history of an aphid is rather complex 
and very interesting. In a typical ex¬ 
ample, the dark brown eggs are laid 
on the stems and branches of a plant 
in the Fall, where they remain until 
Spring. At the starting of the buds they 
hatch into wingless females, which are 
often called stem-mothers. These stem- 
mothers give birth (to young which mature 
and reproduce their kind. Thus there 
may be generation after generation the 
season through of these wingless lice, 
each succeeding generation becoming 
larger and larger in number of individ¬ 
uals. As the plant on which they live 
becomes overcrowded, or as other con¬ 
ditions . arise, which we do not well 
understand, some of the individuals of 
the different generations may suddenly 
appear with fully developed wings. 
These may fly to other food plants of the 
same kind or different kinds, and there 
start another colony of the aphides. It 
is in this way that aphides distribute 
themselves. Finally, in the Autumn, true 
sexual males and females are produced, 
which pair, and these fertilized females 
then deposit the true, dark brown eggs, 
thus completing the life history. Plant 
lice multiply with extraordinary rapidity. 
One mother may give birth to 100 young, 
each of which, in a week or 10 days 
becomes full-grown and begins to bring 
forth other young in her turn. Thus it 
is easy to see how a few lice left after 
a careless spraying or after even the 
most thorough treatment may restock the 
plant in a few days. This readily ex¬ 
plains the need of successive applications 
at frequent intervals of whatever insec¬ 
ticide may be used. 
Reason of the Outbreak. —We do 
not know with any definite degree of 
accuracy, the conditions that favor or 
permit the abnormal development of 
these insects in some years and prevent 
excessive infestations in others. We 
have observed, however, that Winters 
with sudden variations from high to 
low temperatures followed by cold Mays 
and Junes seem conducive to the de¬ 
velopment and increase of plant lice. 
These were the conditions in the Winter 
and Spring of 1902-’03 and of 1908- 09, 
and the succeeding Summers of these 
years brought an abnormal abundance of 
aphides. It is quite possible that such 
variations affect the enemies of aphides 
much more than the aphides themselves. 
The eggs of aphides have a tough hard 
shell, and seem well fitted to withstand 
great variations of temperature and pass 
through variable Winters unharmed. 
The parasites and predaceous enemies 
of aphides pass the Winter, for the most 
part, in the adult stage, or as pupie 
above the surface of the ground. Un¬ 
doubtedly, these adult and pupal stages, 
passed in such situations, suffer a greater 
mortality from adverse Winter condi¬ 
tions than the. eggs of the aphides. We 
have fairly definite knowledge that in 
normal seasons the “green bug” or aphis 
on grain is held in check by a small 
wasp-like parasite. It has been pretty 
definitely determined, however, that this 
parasite will multiply and develop only 
at temperatures above 56°. On the other 
hand, its host, the “green bug” or “grain 
aphis” will breed freely and increase 
at temperatures down to 46°. Hence, 
mild Winters and cold Springs, that are 
too cold for the parasite but warm 
enough for the grain aphis, are just 
the conditions under which this pest 
flourishes. It is quite possible that sim¬ 
ilar conditions control the rise and fall 
of apple aphides. Our variable Winters 
and cold Springs allow the aphides to 
breed freely, but are possibly just a 
little too cold or adverse in some way 
for the parasites and predaceous enemies 
that normally keep them in check, to 
breed, and consequently the aphides in¬ 
crease ad libitum. 
The Injuries of Aphides on Apples. 
,—A plant louse does not have jaws and 
ibtte off bits of the leaf and chew them 
as a caterpillar or potato “bug” does. 
On the contrary, an aphid has its mouth- 
parts modified into a long, slender beak 
or proboscis, which is forced down 
through the skin of the leaf or apple 
into the soft juicy tissues. Besides being 
a piercing instrument, the beak also 
serves as a tube or sucking apparatus 
through which the juices of the plant 
are drawn into the mouth. J herefore, 
the presence of great numbers of these 
plant lice, each with its tiny pump, 
sucking out the vital juices of the plant 
occasion a tremendous drain on the tree. 
The leaves remain small, curl greatly, 
especially the terminal ones, and become 
wholly unable to do their work for the 
tree. When the aphides are present in 
great numbers, as they were laSt 
year, the apples are dwarfed, caused to 
grow in clusters, made knotty, and are 
otherwise deformed, wholly unfitting 
them for market. The whole tree is 
weakened and retarded in growth and re¬ 
productive powers. See Fig. 104. 
Methods of Control. —It must be 
frankly confessed that these are difficult 
insects to control effectively and, at the 
same time, to do it in a practical busi¬ 
ness-like manner. The eggs of aphides, 
in general, hatch while the buds are 
swelling, and the lice are often abund¬ 
ant on the bursting buds. (Fig. 105). 
We believe that a thorough spraying 
of lime-sulphur solution in the Spring 
will kill some, perhaps many, of the 
eggs. Then, as soon as the lice are seen 
on the swelling buds they should be 
sprayed with a solution of whale-oil soap, 
one to five gallons, and every aphid 
should be hit. Since they are sucking 
insects it will do no good simply to 
spray the solution on the leaves. In 
order to be effective, the whale-oil soap 
solution must be actually put on the body 
of each plant louse. This calls for 
thorough, careful spraying. A 12 to 15 
per cent emulsion of kerosene oil is 
also a standard remedy for these pests. 
It is made by dissolving one-half pound 
of hard laundry soap in one gallon of 
soft hot water. When the soap is dis¬ 
solved, pour in two gallons of kerosene 
oil and agitate or churn until a white 
creamy emulsion is formed. Then 
dilute with 11 to 13 gallons of soft 
water and spray just as soon in the 
Spring as the lice are seen. The first 
brood will probably appear on the open¬ 
ing buds, and it is important to kill these 
in order that successive generations may 
be prevented. Do not wait until the 
leaves begin to curl, because the lice 
cannot be hit when they are hidden in 
the rolled leaves. There is a new 
preparation now being put on the market 
called Nicotine Sulphate that promises 
well as an insecticide, especially against 
aphides. The nicotine in “Nico-fume” 
liquid and the "Black Leaf Extract’” is 
in a free condition, that is, not com¬ 
bined. In this condition it very readily 
volatilizes or evaporates. In the nico¬ 
tine sulphate solution the nicotine is 
combined with an acid and does not, 
therefore, evaporate readily at ordinary 
temperatures. In other words, when 
this solution touches an aphid or a leaf 
it will remain much longer and the nico¬ 
tine will have more opportunity to do 
its work. It seems to me that the possi¬ 
bilities of this insecticide are excellent, 
but I would advise moderation and care 
(Continued on page 261) 
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38 Lafayette Street Utica, New York 
