APPLE CHERMES. 
5 
These Chermes or Apple-suckers have the power of doing great 
mischief by sucking away the juices of the young buds, and (later on 
in the spring) of the stalks of the blossom or blossom-buds. So far 
“Apple-suckers,” from life, with wings expanded, and raised in act of taking 
flight, mag.; nat. length one-twelfth of an inch. Pupa of Pear-sucker, mag., after 
Prof. W. Saunders.* 
back as 1837 they were noticed in the Trans, of the Imp. and Royal 
Agricultural Soc. of Vienna as, though commonly causing no great 
injury, yet that in some years they were very numerous, and, when 
very numerous, that many blossoms were destroyed by them. 
Although they are well known as British insects, I am not aware 
of there being any published record of observation of their habits, or 
of notable injury caused by this species in this country, and no men¬ 
tion is made of this infestation amongst the many valuable accounts 
of insect attacks given in the ‘ Gardeners’ Chronicle,’ so far as I can 
find by search in the forty volumes I have at hand, being from the 
years 1841 to 1881 inclusive. 
The first observations which I received of these Apple-suckers as a 
seriously injurious attack was sent me early in March by Mr. W. F. 
Gibbon, of Seaford Grange, Pershore, who followed up the life-history 
to the peculiar change of colouring, marking complete maturity of the 
sexes in the autumn, and subsequent egg-laying. And I was also 
favoured with able coincident observations, with specimens accom¬ 
panying, by Mr. J. Hiam, of Astwood Bank, Redditch. 
In all respects observed the history coincided with that recorded 
by various German observers, mainly by Schmidberger, who made an 
especial study of the habits of this insect; and of these I give the 
main points for comparison with the English observations of last 
season. 
* The figure of the Pear-sucker is given merely to convey a general idea of the 
appearance of that of the Apple-sucker (which it much resembles) in undeveloped 
q state, as I was unable to secure a specimen of the P. mali in pupal state for illustra¬ 
tion. The figure is reduced from that at p. 146 of ‘ Insects Injurious to Fruit,’ by 
Prof. W. Saunders Inspector-General of the Gov. Exp. Farm Stations, Canada. 
