American Pomology. Apples

by J. A. Warder

Lachnosterna fusca, (Frœlich), is the White Grub, or May Beetle. A heavy brown insect, an inch or more in length, which makes its appearance with the first warm evenings, when the Black Locust begins to open its fragrant blossoms, to which these beetles are attracted. They also attack the foliage of other trees, particularly the cherry, which they entirely strip of leaves and fruit. Though very destructive in the perfect form, these insects are most to be dreaded while in the larval condition, which is supposed to continue for some years. They then work under cover, and can only be traced by the ravages they commit. Every strawberry grower is familiar with the large White Grub that so often destroys his hopes of a crop, by killing the plants when in full growth and fruitage, by cutting off all the fibres.

Remedy.—The full-grown insects are very busy in the evening, but become stupid and lethargic before morning, clinging to the leaves and twigs, when they may be shaken down, caught on sheets, gathered, and destroyed. If let alone, they will fall to the ground toward day break, and secrete themselves in the grass and soil until night. All that can be killed in this stage of their existence, the better, as this will prevent the deposition of innumerable eggs. The White Grubs must be destroyed one at a time in cultivated grounds; kill them whenever found. Encourage chickens and birds to follow the plow and spade, as they will consume great numbers. Hogs will find and eat them greedily, and may be allowed to root them out even from a meadow, if badly affected; for, though a harsh remedy, it is not so bad as the disease.

Pelidnota punctata, or the Spotted Pelidnota, is a large yellowish insect, with a black dot on each side of the thorax, and three others on the outer side of each wing-cover. It is found in the day time, upon the leaves of the grape vine. Like the rest of the tribe, these insects are voracious, and the grubs may also feed upon the roots of the grape; therefore they had better be destroyed, though as their numbers are seldom large they are not found to be very injurious.

Haltica chalybea, or the Grape Vine Flea-beetle, appears early in the season, and eats holes in the buds and leaves. It is small, 0.16 inch long, oval; shining, deep greenish-blue, or deep green, or purple. This insect spends the winter in the earth about the roots of the vine, and feeds upon them.

Anomala lucicola, or the light-loving Anomala, is found on the grape vine in July. It resembles the May Beetle, but is smaller, being 0.35 inch long.

These are not all the beetles that feed upon the grape vine.

Macrodactylus subspinosa, or the Rose-chafer, is another melolonthian beetle, which is exceedingly destructive to grapes and various other plants in many parts of the country, in May and June. This insect is smaller than the others of its group, but is equally destructive as a leaf-eater, on account of its numbers. On the grape, it cuts off the young bunch of buds and blossoms, and thus seriously diminishes the crop, as well as by destroying the foliage. It is of a buff-yellow, with black feet, about 0.33 inch long. They continue to ravage vegetation about a month, and then retire into the ground, an inch deep, and deposit their eggs, which hatch in about twenty days, and the young grubs feed upon tender roots, attaining their full size, three-quarters of an inch, before winter, when they descend deeper to hybernate.

The Rose-beetle has many natural enemies, among which are the Dragon-flies; but we must depend upon human efforts for their destruction, an almost hopeless task, for their name is legion, but so much the greater necessity for the effort, and as they are sluggish, they may easily be caught and thrown into hot water, or otherwise destroyed.

Tree Pruners are the larvæ of beetles that excavate a burrow in small limbs of trees, so as to make a section almost across their substance; most of them then bore upward into the limb, and await the action of the winds to break off the part and waft them to the ground, where they pass through their change to the perfect insect. They exercise a wonderful instinct in leaving just fibres enough to support the branch until they are ready for their descent, but it often happens that the twig breaks off partially and hangs by a thread, dying, of course; we see the brown leaves on the trees, and this is the first indication of the presence of the insects. If we examine the fallen spray, we shall be surprised to observe the cause of its falling. In the case of the oak tree, the damage is done by the Elaphidion villosum, (Fabricius), a long-horned beetle. The larva remains in these twigs until the next season, hence the importance of gathering and burning all that fall to the ground.

An insect of somewhat similar habits often cuts off stout shoots of the Hickory, making a very neat section of a small limb, leaving only the bark, so that it readily breaks off with the wind; and a similar effect has been observed in strong annual shoots of the pear, toward the end of summer. The fallen piece and the stump are cut as neatly as by the shears, but no perforation is discovered along the axis, in which the larva could be concealed; hence we have but to suffer the trimming thus performed without our will, and look upon it as a sort of natural shortening-in of our trees.