For Reference .> i TO p TAKEN FROM THIS ROOM ( ^i^^» ; •.:-. J if ... ''■■>f ^;p%?rc^V }. LIBRARY OF 1885-1056 XT^^d^-c.-:^;^^ .^<^==^^^ '.y FARM INSECTS. {' D R;X C I; I'M .T.H.lsKeus FARM INSECTS: BEING THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF THE INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE FIELD CROPS OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, AND ALSO THOSE WHICH INFEST BARNS AND GRANARIES. WITH SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR DESTRUCTION. By JOHN CURTIS, F.L.S., HONORAEY MEMBER OF THE ASHMOLEAN SOCIETV OF OXFORD, AND OF THE ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF FRANCE J CORRESPONDING MEMBER OF THE IMPERIAL AND ROYAL GEORGOFILT SOCIETY OF FLORENCE, OF THE ACADEMY OF NATURAL SCIENCES OF PHILADELPHIA, ETC. ILLtrSTEATED WITH NUMEEOUS ENGEAVINGS. BLACKTE AND SON: FREDERICK STREET GLASGOW; SOUTH COLLEGE STREET EDINBURGH, AND WARWICK SQUARE, LONDON. MDCCCLX. GLASGOW : BLACKIE AND CO., PRINTERS, VILLAFIELD. CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAOB The Natural History and Economy of the different Insects affecting the Turnip Crop, 15 CHAPTER II. The Natural History and Economy of the Turnip Saw-fly, and its BlacK Caterpillar, called the Black Palmer, Black Canker, Black Jack, Black Slug, and Nigger or Negro, 37 CHAPTER III. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting the Turnip Crops ; including the Plant-lice, Maggots of Flies, Caterpillars of Moths, &c., . . 63 CHAPTER IV. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting the Turnip Crops ; including the White Cabbage-butterflies, the Turnip-seed Weevil, &c., , . 94 CHAPTER V. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting the Turnip Crops; including the Surface-caterpillars, the Turnip-gall Weevil, and the Dipterous Flies and Rove-beetles infesting Anbury, ........ 112 CHAPTER VI. The Natural History and Economy of the Insects called Wireworms, affecting the Turnips, Corn Crops, &c. ; also of their parents the Elaters or Beetles, called Skip-jacks, Click-beetles, &c., .152 CHAPTER VII. The Natural History and Economy of the Animals called Wireworms, some of which affect the Turnips, Corn Crops, &c., 189 CHAPTER VIII. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting the Corn Crops, many of them improperly called Wireworms; including Ground-beetles, Chafers, or May-bugs, also the Caterpillars of a Moth and Saw-fly, and the Larvas of some minute Flies, ^^^ iv CONTENTS. CHAPTER IX. PAOB The Natural History and Economy of various Insects aflfecting the Corn Crops; including a Saw-fly, the Hessian Fly, the Wheat-midge, and tne Barley-midge, 252 CHAPTER X. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects, &c., affecting the Corn Crops ; including the Parasitic enemies of the Wheat-midge, the Thrips, Wheat-louse, Wheat-bug, and also of the little worm called Yibrio, 279 CHAPTER XI. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting the Corn Crops in the Field and Granary; including Moths, Weevils, and other Beetles, &c., , . 304 CHAPTER XII. The Natural History and Economy of the Insects affecting the Peas and Beans; including Weevils, Maggots, Bees, Plant-lice, Grain -beetles, Moths, and the Mole-cricket, 342 CHAPTER XIII. The Natural History and Economy of a Weevil affecting the Pea Crops, and various Insects which injure or destroy the Mangel-wurzel and Beet, .... 383 CHAPTER XIV. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting Carrots and Parsnips ; including Plant-lice, the Maggots of Flies, the Caterpillars of Moths, &c., . . 402 CHAPTER XV. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting the Potato Crops; including Plant-lice, Plant-bugs, Frog-flies, Caterpillars, Crane-flies, Wireworms, Millipedes, Mites, Beetles, Flies, &c., 426 CHAPTER XVI. The Natural History and Economy of various Insects affecting the Clover Crops and Pasture Lands, 474 Index, 517 ENGRAVINGS ON STEEL. complete explanation of these Engr is given at the end of each Chapter. Platk a. TURNIP CEOPS. 1 Two species of Skipping-beetles, called Tur- nip-flies or Turnip-fleas, .... Plate B. TURNIP CROPS. The Turnip Saw-flies, with their Black Cater- pillars, called Niggers, .... Plate C. TURNIP CROPS. Two-winged Flies and Moths whose Cater- pillars feed on Turnip Leaves, 92 Plate D. TURNIP AND RAPE CROPS. A white Butterfly, the Caterpillars feeding on Rape, and Beetles attacking the Turnip, . 110 Plate E. TURNIP AND MANGEL-WURZEL CROPS. Surface-grubs or Caterpillars with their Moths living on Turnip and Mangel-wurzel Roots, 1 50 Plate F. WHEAT AND TURNIP CROPS. Wireworms, and the Click-beetles they pro- duce, 188 Plate G. ARABLE AND PASTURE LANDS. Click-beetles, Wireworms, False Wireworms, &c., infesting Arable and Pasture Lands, 210 Plate H. CORN CROPS. Larvae and Parasites of Chlorops, a Two- winged Fly infesting Com Crops, . . 250* Plate I. GRAIN CROPS. PAGE Com Saw-fly with its Parasite, and Wheat- midge with its Larvae, &c., . . .273 Plate J. GRAIN CROPS. Parasites of Wheat-midge, Wheat-thrips, and Plant-lice, infesting Com Crops, . . 302 Plate K. CORN FIELDS AND GRANARIES. Moths and Beetles infesting Com Fields and Granaries, 340 Plate L. PEAS AND BEANS. Maggots and Weevils feeding on Peas and Beans, 382 Plate M. BEAN AND MANGEL-WURZEL CROPS. A Weevil, with its Parasite, injurious to Bean Crops ; and Beetles, with their Larvae, de- structive to Mangel-wurzel, . . . 400 Plate N. CARROT AND PARSNIP CROPS. Moths and Flies, with their Parasites, affect- ing Carrot and Parsnip Crops, . .424 Plate 0. POTATO CROPS. Plant-bugs, Frog-flies, and various Insects infesting Potato Crops, 472 Plate P. CLOVER CROPS AND PASTURE LANDS. Weevils and a Chrysomela affecting Clover, Tares, &c.. 516 Plate H is to be placed facing the Title-page. LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. No. PAGE 1— Altica NEMOROM — the Turnip fly or flea, 18 2 — Altica concinna— the Hop flea or beetle, 33 Altica consobrina — the Blue Cabbage- flea or beetle, 33 Altica obscurella— the Bastard Turuip flea or beetle, 33 3 — Athalia spinaRUM— the Turnip Saw-fly, 44 4— Aphis FLORis-RAPiE— the Turnip-flower Plant-louse, 65 Aphis rap^ — the Turnip-leaf Plant-louse, 65 5 — Aphis brassic^ — the Cabbage aud Swed- ish Turnip-leif Plant-louse, . . 69 6— COCCINELLA bipunctata — the Double- spotted Lady-bird, .... 72 COCCINELLA DISPAR, .... 72 COCOINELLA SEPTEM PUNCTATA — the Seven-spotted Lady-bird, ... 72 7 — Chrysopaperla — the Goldeu-eye Fly, . 77 8 — SCEVA balteata, 80 SC^VA PYRASTRI, 80 SC^VA RIBESII 80 9 — Drosophila flava — the Yellow Turnip- leaf Miner, . . . . . .84 10 — PuTTOMYZA NI0RIC0BNI8 — the Slate-black Turnip-leaf Mining-fly, ... 85 11 — Cerostoma sylostella— the Turnip Diamond-back Moth, . ... 85 12— Pldsia (Noctua) gamma— the Y-moth, 88 13— Pontia BRASaiO^- the White Cabbage- butterfly, 95 PTEROMALUS PUPARUM or BRASSICiE — parasitic on the chrysalis of Pontia brassicce, 95 14 — Pontia rap^— the small White or Turnip Butterfly, 101 15 — Pontia napi — the Kape-seed or Green- veined White Butterfly, . . .101 Hemiteles melanarius— an Ichneumon, parasitic on the clirysalia of Pontia napi, 101 16— Chrysomela (PH.EDON) BETUL^— a beetle, 104 17— CURCULIO (CeUTORHYNCHOS) ASSIMILIS— the Turnip-seed Weevil, . . . 105 18— Cetonia aurata— the Green Rose-chafer, 108 19— NOCTUA (Mamestra) brassic^— the Cab- bage-moth, 114 No. PAOB 20— NocTDA (Triph^Na) pronuba— the Great Yellow Underwing Moth, . . . 116 21— NocTUA (Agrotis) exclamationis— the Heart-and-dart Moth, . . . .118 22— Noctoa (Agrotis) segetuji- the Com- mon Dart-moth, 120 23— Curculio (Cedtorhynchus) pledeostig- MA— the Turnip-gall Weevil, . .132 24— Trichoceea HIEMaLIS, the Winter Tur- nip-gnat, 137 25— OxYTELUS RUGOSOS— the Ptough Rove- beetle, 139 OxYTELUS souLPTURATUS— the Sculptured Rove-beetle, 139 26— Anthomyia eadicum— the Root-eating Fly, 143 Anthomyia tuberosa — the Potato-fly, 143 27 — Elater (Agriotes) lineatos — the Striped Click-beetle, .... 154 Elater (Agriotes) obscdrus— the Ob- scure Click-beetle, .... 154 Elater (Agriotes) spdtator — the Pas- ture or Spitting Click-beetle, . . 154 23 — Elater (Lepidotus) holosericeus- the Satin-coated Click- beetle, . . .190 Leptus phalangii — the Scarlet Acarus, 190 29— JULUS LONDINENSIS— the London Snake- millipede, 201 JULUS pulchellds — the Beautiful Snake- millipede, 201 JULUS TEERESTEis— the Earth Snake- millipede, 201 PoLYDESMUa COMPLANATUS — the Flat- tened Millipede, 201 30— Staphylinus or Bembidium, . . 212 31 — Zabrus GIBBUS — the Corn Ground-beetle, 214 32— Anisoplia aqricola— the Field-chafer, 219 Anisoplia horticola — the Gardeu- chafer, or May-bug, .... 219 33— NocTUA (Caradrina) cubicdlaris— the Pale Mottled Willow-moth, . . 225 34 — Chlorops TiENioPUS — the Ribbou-footed Corn-fly, 234 CcELiNiua NIGER— the Black Ichneumon, 234 Pteromalus micans — the Glittering Pteromalus, 234 Vlll LIST OF ENGRAVINGS ON WOOD. 253 264 264 No. PAGE 35— OSCINIS GKANARIDS— the Grain Oscinis, 239 OsciNiS VASTATOR— the Destructive Os- cinis, 230 SiGALPHUS CAUDATU8— the Chlorops Ich- neumon, 239 36— Cephus pygm^us— the Corn Saw-fly, 253 Pachtmerxjs CALCITRATOR — the Cephus Parasite, ...... 37— Cecidomtia tritici— the British Wheat midge, Macroglenes penetrans— the Platygas ter Parasite, Plattgaster TiPULiE— the Wheat-midge Ichneumon, 264 38— Thrips oerealium— the Com Thripg, 287 Thrips minutissima— the Potato Thrips, 287 39— Aphis granaria— the Wheat Plant- louse, 290 Aphidius AVEN^— the Oat Plant-louse Aphidius, 290 Ephedrus plagiator— the Corn Plant- louse Ephedrus, 290 40— MiRis dolabratus— a Corn and Grass bug, MiRis TRITICI — a Wheat-bug, 41— Vibrio tritici— the Wheat Vibrio or 296 296 299 42— LEnCANiA OBSOLETA — the Antiquated Leucania, or Oat Wainscot-moth . 306 43— Cbioceris melanopa— the Oat-beetle . 307 44— Tinea granella— the Wolf, or Little Grain-moth, 315 45 — Calandra ortz^ — the Rice-weevil, . 321 Calandra granaria— the Granary- weevil, 321 46— CucuJUS TESTACEUS— the Corn Cucujus, 330 Trogosita mauritanica— the Cadelle, 330 47— Tenebrio molitor— the Meal-worm Beetle, 334 48— CuRCULio (SiTONA) CRiNiTA— the Spotted Pea-weevil, 343 Cdrculio (Sitona) lineata— the Striped Pea-weevil 343 49— Tortrix (Gbapholitha) pisana— the Pea-pod Moth, 349 No. 50 — BoMBUS LUCORUM — the Wood Humble- bee, EoMBUS terrestbis — the Earth Humble- bee, 51 — Ilithta colonella — the Humble-bee Honey-moth, ..... 52 — Aphis fab^ — the Bean Plant-louse, or Black Dolphin, 53 — Brdchus granarius — the Bean Grain- Bruchds pisi— the Pea-beetle, 54 — Tinea (Laverna) sarcitella — the Sack or White-shouldered Woollen Moth, , 55 — Gryllotalpa vulgaris — the Mole- cricket, 56— SiLPHA OPACA — the Beet Carrion-beetle, 57— PsiLA Ros^— the Carrot-fly, 58 — Tinea (Depressaria) cicdtella — the Common Flat-body Moth, . 59 — Lygus solani — the Potato-bug, . Ltgds umbellat arum— the Umbellife- rous Plant-bug, 60— EuPTERYX solani — the Potato Frog-fly, 61— TiPULA OLERACEA— the Crane-fly, Daddy or Old Father Long-legs, 62 — LiTHOBius FORFICATUS— the Thirty or Forty foot Centipede, .... Geophilus LONGICORNIS — the Long-horn- ed Centipede, 63— SciARA FUCATA — the Potato Sciara, 64 — Apion apricans — the Purple-clover Weevil Apion assimile— another Clover-weevil, 65— Edclidia glyphica — the Burnet-moth, EUCLIDIA mi — the Shipton-moth, . 66 — Helix hortensis— the Garden-snail 67— LiMAX AGRESTis- the Milky Slug, LiMAX ATER— the Black Slug, LiMAX EMPIRICORUM — the Adult Black Slug 68— Staphylinus (Ocypds) olens- the Fetid Eove-beetle, or "Devil's Coach -horse," 69— LUMBRICUS TERRE8TRI8 — the Dew or Earth worm, PAOK 351 351 354 355 358 358 455 460 476 476 486 486 495 497 497 497 504 513 INTRODUCTION. Before entering upon the subject of this volume — " The Insects Injurious to the Agricultural Crops of Great Britain" — it will be advisable for me to state my object in offering my remarks to the attention of those who have a;n interest in the soil. It is not within my province to write an Essay on Agriculture, but I cannot help stating my belief that it is too lightly esteemed by a numerous section of our population engaged in manufactures and commerce, who seem to consider it a matter of little importance, whether we grow sufficient corn for ourselves, or rely mainly for our supplies upon foreign countries. Although, however, I have no intention to discuss the importance of agri- culture, I confess myself one of those who consider it the basis of the wealth and prosperity of this countrj^ ; and I, therefore, strongly feel, that no time can be ill spent which is devoted to the investigation of any subject that bears upon the culture of the land, and is likely to aid in multiplying the produce and benefiting the producer. Whilst Chemistry and Geology have lent their valuable assistance in rendering the land more fertile, little attention has, comparative!}^, been paid to those noxious animals which annually consume an amount of produce that sets calculation at defiance ; and, indeed, if an approximation could be made to the quantity thus destroyed, the world would remain sceptical of the resiilt obtained, considering it too marvellous to be received as truth. If the same diligence were exercised by the farmer in destroying rats, mice, sparrows, &c., as is shown for the preservation of game, the producer and consumer would alike be benefited to a vast amount ; and if insect ravages could be brought more under control, by lessening the number of these destructives X INTEODUCTION. whenever they appear in excess, the benefit would exceed everything of which at present we have any conception. But all interference with the laws of the Creator is limited. Man is not allowed to extirpate, though he is permitted to reduce and restrain these pests within narrowed limits. If we take only a casual glance at the annual destruction caused by in- sects to our growing turnip, corn, and clover crops, the above assertions will become incontrovertible facts. Again, the waste and injury sustained in granaries and barns is enormous; and with corn, it happens, unfortunately, that the loss is greatest when prices are highest, owing to its having re- mained longer in store or in bond. During the war waged at the beginning of the present century, insects revelled amongst stored corn unmolested for years, till the sacks and their contents became masses of living maggots, moths, beetles, &c. The heaps of grain swarmed with hosts of them, and resembled enormous ant-hills ; they were in reality valueless as wholesome . food, but much of them was ground up and mixed with genuine flour, and became, it is believed, the cause of serious diseases. To augment his produce has ever been the laudable object of the farmer, and my endeavour will be to supply him with such information as may tend to show him how to diminish his losses, by directing his attention to the general economy of such insects as are likely to injure his crops. It cannot be expected that success will at once attend our efforts ; but it may be hoped that, the data once ascertained, and facts correctly recorded, good results wiU soon follow from the dissemination of sound practical knowledge. Valuable information, it is hoped, will at least be afforded to those who thirst after knowledge ; and rational amusement provided for amateur agriculturists and men of leisure who possess any taste for natural history. I rejoice to find these important subjects receiving attention from the governmenst of France and the United States. Why then should the government of our own enlightened country be behind others in this respect? There can be only one reason for such backwardness. Natural history is not yet sufficiently appreciated at our universities and other places of educa- tion. Little or no encouragement is given to those who pursue the study ; and, consequently, they have no inducement to indulge in such a taste, unless they happen to be encouraged by their parents, or by some accidental cir- cumstance which enables them to do so. It would be well to have natural INTRODUCTION. xi history classes in every school ; and it is greatly to be desired that the prin- ciples of natural history should be taught to every one in our universities. The study of economic entomology should also be specially attended to in our agricultural colleges. It is evident from the thousands of copies of Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, which have been recently circu- lated, that there is a great desire in this country to become acquainted with the wonderful economj^ and history of the beautiful and curious little animals of the insect race; and it is my earnest hope that this volume may prove acceptable and instructive to very many who are engaged in agricultural pursuits. Insects which the multitude abhor and despise, and which in the eyes of the unreflecting appear to be "a feeble race," are nevertheless accounted among " the great armies of the living God ; " and must therefore be deserv- ing our serious consideration. The economy of many among them has interested man from the earliest ages. When employed by Providence as means of scourging mankind, they became objects of terror, and were even worshipped by many idolatrous nations. In proportion as the inhabitants of the earth became civilized, and the sciences were cultivated, natural history became a favourite pursuit with some of the most distinguished philosophers of antiquity. About the commencement of the last century, it took its legiti- mate place amongst the sciences, owing to the especial attention paid to it by Ray, Linnseus, and others. The works of Reaumur, published in France in 1734, and of De Geer, in Sweden in 1752, opened fresh fields of interest and inquiry, by the admirable memoirs contained in them on the history and metamorphoses of the difierent orders of insects found in France and Sweden; and it is very gratifying to know, that able and talented men in other countries are at the present day deeply interested in these pursuits. In America, the late Dr, T. W. Harris published a handsome volume on the insects injurious to vegetation; and Dr. Asa Fitch is assiduous in the prosecution of his investigations, which have been detailed in some excel- lent papers. In France, M. Gudrin M^neville and his coadjutors have given admirable proofs of their extensive and careful researches; and M. Bazin has commenced a series of memoirs upon the immediate subject of our inquiries, which promise greatly to advance our knowledge of the farmer's insect enemies in France. Dr. Passeriui of Florence, has from time to xii INTEODUCTION. time published many admirable essays on the insects destructive to the crops of Italy; and the entomological savans of Germany have long been foremost in elucidating insect economy, and in publishing their interesting discoveries. Much still remains to be done by practical men ; but from the long and careful attention which I gave to my original reports in the Agricultural Journal, very little additional matter has been furnished since their publi- cation by those who are most favourably circumstanced for making observa- tions; such additions, however, as have been made since my fifteenth report, will be introduced in their proper places. The Koyal Agricultural Society, at their foundation, were fully aware of the importance of this subject, and finding how impossible it was to obtain correct information on the insects injurious to our crops, owing to the papers which ti-eated on such matters being scattered throughout expensive works, often written in foreign languages, the council invited me to prepare a series of reports upon the insects afiecting the various crops cultivated in Great Britain and Ireland. I had already collected a large amount of information, which had been accumulating during the twenty years I was engaged in writing my British Entomology. My subsequent connection with Dr. Lind- ley's Gardener s Chronicle from its commencement, had also afforded me great advantages, from the information and data I was able to obtain from every part of the kingdom.* I came, therefore, fully prepared to the task which I had undertaken, namely, to give in detail the history and habits of the insects injurious to our turnip, corn, and other crops, explaining the transformations they undergo in their several stages, from the egg to the perfect state, whether beetle, butterfly, moth, or fly. I have drawn up care- ful descriptions of the species, which will be found accompanied by correct figures in illustration of most of them. Nearly all the drawings have been made by myself from nature, and were engraved under my own inspection. Whatever remedies or means of checking the ravages of insects noxious to the farmer, have been proposed and found advisable, have been introduced and discussed; and the natural parasites and other means provided by Providence to keep in check the insect race, have been duly noticed. * I believe it is now generally known tliat the essays published in that journal, under the signa- ture of "lluricola," wei-e written bv the author of this volume. INTRODUCTION. xiii In the following pages, I commence with the turnip crop, investigating the several species which live upon the leaves, those which inhabit the flowers, such as devour the seed, and those which injure and destroy the roots. I then pass on to the cereals, and investigate the history of the insects which cause abortion either by inroads on the flowers, or by reducing the supply of sap to the germen ; of those which attack the foliage, and of such as cause the roots to perish. I next proceed to the barn and granary, and describe the beetles and moths, together with their larvae, which subsist upon stored grain. I then enter the pea and bean fields, where we are sure to find abundance of depredators. Mangel-wurzel and carrots next occupy my attention ; and thence I proceed to examine the potato crops, which afibrd a wide field for inquiry among the beetles, bugs, &c., which live on their haulm, as well as the larvae of various beetles, gnats, flies, &c., which injure the tuber itself. I propose finishing my labours by an examination of the insects injurious to clover crops and pasture lands. In perusing this volume, the reader who wishes to make himself ac- quainted with the economy both of his insect friends and enemies, whose histories are the subject of the following chapters, ought not to pass over as useless the descriptions of the various species. It is a great mistake to suppose, that scientific descriptions and correct nomenclature ought to be employed for the use of those only who are specially engaged in the study of natural history. If insects be not thus accurately and scientifically described, and their names carefully learned, the facts noticed by practical observers are generally worthless, and may tend to mislead, by the confusion of one species with another, and the consequent adoption of improper reme- dies. It is thus that I have found, in my extensive reading on these subjects, that a very large amount of the information given by practical agriculturists and gardeners, has proved valueless in cases where, if the particular species alluded to could only have been identified, it would have been of great value in furthering subsequent investigations. In conclusion, I will mention those works which I regard as the most useful on the subject. Amongst foreign authors, the works of Reaumur and De Geer (when they can be procured) may be safely recommended, as also those of Kollar and Bouchd, and the memoirs of Gudrin M^neville, Herpin, Eazin, and Asa Fitch. In our own country, Kirby and Spence's Introduc- xiv INTRODUCTION. tion to Entomology, combines truth, instruction, and amusement. Mr. Westwood's contributions in the Gardener' s Chronicle, and elsewhere, are the result of long experience. I would also direct attention to the papers upon noxious insects in the early volumes of the Linnean Transactions, by Markwick, Kirby, and others ; although written upwards of half a century ago, they still remain models for the practical agriculturist, from their truth and simplicity, accompanied as they are by data which will always be valuable. It only remains for me to acknowledge my obligations to the numerous correspondents who favoured we with their observations throughout a long period; amongst others, I cannot refrain from specially offering my best thanks to Professor Henslow; A. H. Haliday, Esq., of Dublin; J. F. Graham, Esq., of Cranford; and a Lady in Surrey, who has transmitted to me valuable researches and careful observations from the commencement of my work on British Entomology, to the present time. London, Jamiary, 185i>. FARM INSECTS. CHAPTER I. THE NATURAL HISTOEY AND ECONOMY OF THE DIFFERENT INSECTS AFFECTING THE TURNIP CROP. Unless we collect facts on good authority, and conduct experiments with care and perseverance, our labour will be lost, in studying the economy of the insect tribes; for in the investigation of such living atoms, as they often are, the slightest error may lead us far from the truth. It is not to be expected that a taste for such studies will be universal, though all who can appreciate the value of a good harvest will take, it may be fairly presumed, an interest in our researches. Such a taste, however, where it does exist, is easily improved; and it is a truth admitted by all who have indulged in such pursuits, that they never repented of the time that had been given up to these laudable objects; and, independently of the amusement to be derived from the investigation of nature, any benefits conferred on man by such knowledge ought ever to be a source of real satisfaction, and of honest pride, to every cultivator of natural science, however trifling his contribu- tions may be to the general stock of information. Unimportant as insects may appear to the casual observer, they often prove awful visitations when employed by the Creator as his armies to fulfil his ends. No one suffers more from these hosts than the agriculturist ; it is therefore impossible that he can remain an indifferent spectator whilst it may be in his own power to palliate, if not to avert the evil. I therefore hope that these memoirs, by calling the attention of the farmer to so impor- tant a subject, may lead him to useful and profitable results; and should he derive as much advantage from their perusal as I anticipate of pleasure in theii- detail, it will prove to me a source of unfeigned gratification. I am aware that one of the greatest difficulties the farmer has to contend 16 FARM INSECTS. with is that invariable law of nature which compels him to change his crops, from the exhaustion of certain elementary parts of the soil, which are absorbed or neutralized by the vegetable that is produced; and with all his art in selecting manure and resting the land, it will become tired at last, and by degrees refuse to produce certain crops nearly altogether : it is even asserted of the turnip, that it certainly does not grow so vigorously nor so readily as it did several years ago. It is natural to suppose that as this period approaches the crops will become, from feebleness, more susceptible of disease ; and as insects are intimately connected with this subject — contribut- ing in no small degree to the dissolution of vegetables, and the failure of our crops being frequently very justly attributed to them — this is a matter well deserving of our attention; and in pursuance of this object, we will first consider those insects which attack the turnip, a root of the greatest impor- tance to us all : for without turnips our sheep and cattle would be deprived of one great resource, so that we should be almost unable to procui*e fresh meat in winter, most essential to the health of man; and the land again would lose that fertility which in feeding off the turnip we secure for the succeeding crops. No crop is subject to the attacks of a greater number of noxious insects, &c., than the turnip. First, the ants run off with an incredible quantity of the seeds; then come two sorts of turnip-fl}^, the striped and the brassy, which destroy the tender leaves as soon as they burst from the ground ; at the same time we have the maggot of a fly and the wire-worm, both living upon the young roots ; and also a large caterpillar or grub, when they are more advanced ; then follow armies of black caterpillars, reducing the leaves to skeletons, and the blight of the plant-louse, together with a minute moth ; we may add also two weevils, which cause the lumps or excrescences on the bulbs; with slugs, snails, and mildew bringing up the rear. Before entering upon their history, it will be necessary to make a few observations relative to the economy of insects, which I beg may be borne in mind in the perusal of these memoirs, as they will be of service in the investigations I propose, and in which I hope every practical man will lend me a hand; they will also smooth the road to those who have not a scientific knowledge of insects, and are not skilled in the study of ento- mology. Insects have been divided into large masses, named Orders; these are subdivided into lesser groups, called Families, which comprise smaller com- panies, designated Genera; and each of these consists of more or fewer Species, or different sorts, which occasionally vary in size and colour, and such are termed Varieties. Another still more important fact to be remem- INSECTS AFFECTING TUENIP CROP. 17 bered is, that all insects progress through several stages : * first, the female lays an egg; this egg hatches and produces, secondly, a larva, which is a little animal called a maggot or gentle, a caterpillar or canker, a worm or grub, &c. Thus we have ^maggots in cheese and meat, called gentles by anglers; caterpillars on cabbages, cankers in roses, wire-worms and silk- worms, and all sorts of grubs. When any of these have fed until they are full-grown, having been compelled to cast their skins several times as they increase in size, they change, thirdly, to a pupa, chrysalis, aurelia, or nymph ; they either enter the earth for this purpose, as most naked maggots do, or, like hairy caterpillars, they spin a web, in which they undergo their trans- formation or change ; but the caterpillars of the cabbage-butterfly, and manj'- others, merely suspend themselves to a wall or rail, and there remain unpro- tected during the winter. In this state they all rest without any symptoms of life,t except when touched, until the substance of the inclosed larva has become perfected into the various members of its first parents, when, fourthly, out comes a flesh-fly, a butterfly, a rose-moth, a click-beetle, a turnip-fly, &c. ; and this is called the imago, or perfect state. The turnip-beetle, with whose history we will begin, belongs to the order Coleoptera, from its wings, with which it flies, being folded beneath two horny cases. It is included in the family CHRYSOMELlDiE, or golden beetles, for certain scientific reasons, in conformity with its structure, and is one of about one hundred species forming the genus Altica, sometimes written Haltica. The striped turnip-beetle, or, as it has been called, the turnip-fly, turnip- flea, earth flea-beetle, black-jack, &c., is named in our catalogues Altica NEMORUM. j The former word, derived from the Greek, alludes to the leap- ing powers of the genus, and the latter signifies that this species inhabits woods and groves, which were more especially its haunts before the cultiva- tion of the turnip became general. The economy of this little pest has puzzled the man of science, as well as the practical agriculturist, for many years ; and for want of that rigid care which is indispensable in the investigation of natural history, numerous errors have been adopted, which have led to the promulgation of many false theories. Dr. Pearson believed at first that the white spots or dots observa- ble on more than half the turnip-seeds were the eggs of the turnip-fly; but * Plant-lice often bring forth young, instead of laying eggs, and so do blue-bottle flies, but not always ; and there are a few other exceptions. + This law of nature is applicable to most of the tribes of insects here alluded to, but in some orders, as the Hemiptera or bugs, also cockroaches and grasshoppers, the pupae are not quiescent, as they resemble the perfect state in having the power of locomotion. + See Curtis 's Guide to an Arrangement of British Insects, second edition, column 74. 18 FARM INSECTS. he was compelled to abandon that opinion, " having had no flies where th^ seed was sown in soil contained in pots covered with bell-glasses/' " E,us- ticus," however, a contributor to the Entomological Magazine,"^ so strongly- insisted upon it, that seeds steeped in brine, or otherwise prepared, have been sold in London at the seed shops, to insure the grower against the attacks of the fly. It is exceedingly likely that the white dots are oc- casioned by minute flies alighting upon the seeds while they are drying, and depositing their excrement upon them, which is often white ; or they may be particles of pollen from the flowers. It was, however, from the careful investigatiorts of Mr. H. Le Keuxt that we were first made acquainted with the actual economy of this little beetle. If the spring be warm the sexes pair from April to September, during which period the eggs are deposited by the female on the under side of the rough leaves of the turnips. She lays apparently about one egg daily; and ten pairs laid in a week only forty-three eggs. Tliis indeed was under confinement ; but the correctness of this estimate is supported by the fact, that in leaves taken from the field, containing as many as six larvae, they were all of difi*erent sizes, indicating a variety of ages. The eggs are very minute, oval, smooth, and par- taking of the colour of the leaf (See No. 1, figs. 4 and 5; and Plate A, fig. 1 .) They are hatched in ten days; and the little maggots immediately be- gin to eat through the lower skin of the leaf, and to form winding burrows by feeding on SmJ ', /^/ '^'i^^^c^ " ^^® P^^P (^&* '^)- These burrows ] \ ^n // ^~%£^:^i:^^^ ^^^ visible enough to the naked eye when the larvae leave them, and the cuticles are withered and discoloured (fig. 6) ; but in their early stage they are discovered with difficulty : indeed, it is only by holding the leaf up to the light that they can be well detected. The larvce are pale, or of a golden yellow colour, fleshy, and cylindrical, with six pectoral feet, and a proleg at the apex : the head is furnished with jaws and large dark eyes ; and the first and last segments bear dark patches (fig. 8; 9, magnified; and Plate A, fig. 2) : they are fall fed in about six days, when they desert their burrows and bury themselves not quite 2 inches * Entomological 2Iagazine, vol. i. p. 363. t Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, 1. ii. p. 24. INSECTS AFFECTING TURNIP CROP. 19 below the surface of the earth, selecting a spot near to the bulb, where the turnip-leaves protect them from wet and drought. In the earth they become immoveable chrysalides (fig. 10; 11, magnified; and Plate A, fig. 3), which are brought to maturity, I believe, in about a fort- night, when the beetle or fly, as it is called, emerges from its tomb, again to fulfil the laws of nature. The beetles (fig- 1, magnified; figs. 2 and 8, natural size; and Plate A, figs. 4 and 5) are shining black, minutely punctured; the head is rather small, with two prominent orbicular eyes, finely granulated; the mouth pro- jects a little, the upper lip and feelers being visible : just above the nose are placed two longish horns, each composed of eleven joints, the three next the head ochre- coloured, the first being the longest, the remainder dull black, the terminal one pointed; the thorax, or trunk, is broader than the head, narrowed a little before, with the sides rounded: the two wing-cases are moveable, and form an oval ; they are twice as broad as the trunk, and four times as long ; each has a distinct ochre-coloured stripe, sometimes approach- ing to white, running down the centre, generally winding a little on the outside, near the middle, and curved inward at the extremity: beneath are ample wings, twice as long as the body, and folded up for protection when unemployed: the legs are of a rusty ochre, the thighs pitch-coloured, the hinder* (fig. 8, m) being very thick and formed for leaping; their tibise, or shanks, are also the stoutest and thickly fringed on the outside towards the end (fig. 8, n): the feet are all composed of four joints (fig. 8, o), the tips as well as those of the shanks generally pitch -coloured; in the hinder pair the basal joint is considerably the longest; the third is formed of two slightly dilated lobes, roughened beneath with fine hairs, as well as the two preceding joints, for the sake of adhering to smooth surfaces, and they are thus enabled to ascend glass; the fourth joint is slender and club-shaped, and always furnished with two minute claws. The mouth is composed of six parts (fig. 7) ; the upper lip, or lahrum, is large, broader than long, and a little narrowed before; the anterior margin is slightly concave, and furnished with two short bristles (fig. e). The mandibles, or teeth, form two sets, one placed on each side, so as to meet ; they are strong, bony, and semilunate ; one terminated by three, the other by four sharp strong teeth ; the second being the longest, the lower one smallest (figs. /, /). The inaxillce, or jaws, are two, placed on each side, beneath the teeth : they are small, terminating in two lobes, densely fringed with fine hairs at the apex; the inner lobe the largest, somewhat orbicular; * All the following figures and letters refer to the dissections at the foot of Plate A. 20 FAEM INSECTS. the outer one smaller, being an articulated, somewhat ovate lobe (figs, g, g) : on the outside of each jaw is attached a moderately long and stout feeler or "palpus, composed of four joints: the basal joint is clavate — the second is obovate and truncated — tlie third is much stouter and similar in form — the fourth is the longest, stout and conical, being somewhat pear-shaped (figs, h, k). The mentum, or chin, is somewhat quadrate, the sides are convex, with the anterior angles acuminated (fig. i): the labium, or under lip, is somewhat quadi'ate, horny and truncated at the base, with a leathery oval lobe in front (fig. h)\ the sides are excavated to receive another pair of small feelers, or imlpi (figs. I, I): these are very short, stout, and composed of three joints only; the basal joint is cup-shaped and scarcely visible — the second stout and oval — and the third is very slender, with the apex pointed. The length of the beetles varies from | to 1 ^ of a line ; the line being the twelfth part of an inch: the longer ones are the females, which a)-e con- siderably stouter than the males, and this is especially the case after impreg- nation. When the beetle is feeding, the difierent parts of the mouth are all employed: the upper and under lips open to liberate the other organs; the two sets of teeth, or the toothed mandibles, as they are named, meet when closed, and from their strength and horizontal action, they readily break the cuticle of the leaf. Indeed, some that I put into a quill soon reduced the inside of the cork stopper to powder. The jaws seem to be adapted for keeping in the food during the short process of mastication, and the four feelers hold and steady any portion of the leaf to be eaten, and assist in conducting the detached morsels into the mouth. From the experiments so successfully conducted by Mr. Le Keux, it appears that the female beetle lays but few eggs compared with most other insects, and that it requires a period of about thirty days to carry the animal through its various stages up to the time when it becomes a perfect beetle again — namely, it remains an egg ten days, a maggot six, and a chrysalis fourteen days: the beetles themselves are rather long-lived, for they have been kept in that state from July until the following February. The turnip-beetle, and all the species of Alticce related to it, are readily known by the great thickness of their hinder thighs, which gives them the power of leaping, like fleas, to a prodigious distance, considering their small size. Eighteen inches is about the greatest extent of their leap, which in a straight line would be, averaging their stature, 216 times their own length: and when it is remembered that this leap is performed in a curved line, it must be admitted that a considerably greater distance is achieved. They seldom walk, and when at rest, sit with their hind legs folded under them INSECTS AFFECTING TUBNIP CROP. ^1 (fig. 6, c), ready to skip off in an instant, if disturbed, or when even approached: in warm weather, during sunshine, with the thermometer standing between 70° and 80' in the shade, they fly with facility. This little plague is not confined to our island, for it is abundant in Ger- many, and common everywhere in Sweden, where it is very destructive in its perfect state. Probably in England no portion of the country is perfectly free from these insects, at least every bank and meadow harbours them to a greater or less extent, and they have been found also on grass lands which had not been ploughed for many years, and where there were no turnips within half a mile. It will be necessary to consider this part of their his- tory before we enter upon a discussion of the remedies. The turnip-beetles hybernate, or live through the winter in a torpid state, and may be found under the bark of trees, as well as beneath the fallen leaves, in the chinks of old timber and paling, the stumps of thorns and of other bushes, where the bark does not adhere close to the stem, and the hollow stalks of grass and stubble seem to afl:brd them an asylum during the inclement months of win- ter ; but inactive as they then are, the warmth of the hand is sufficient to revive them in a few minutes, so that an unusually mild day in January or March will partially seduce them from their retreats, and will render them almost as active as would the ardent sun of summer. On the fii-st indication of spring, if the weather prove fine, warmed by the sun and cheered by his rays, they arouse from their slumbers, and per- manently leave their winter-quarters for sunny situations, where they may be seen sitting on walls in considerable numbers, or sunning themselves on dry banks and on clods of earth, protected from the wind ; they have been observed in gardens on turnips and cabbage-plants as early as March, and in April on the crops in the fields ; but May and June appear to be the more usual periods of their first and most fatal attacks. The autumnal crops have been occasionally destroyed by them,* and in one instance I have seen their destructive operations recorded as late as the middle of September. They may be said to be abundant from May to October amongst the grass, and in all fields, whether of wheat, oats, or barley; a friend of mine observed myriads on turnips in Surrey, on the 2d of September, but they all disap- peared in two or three days; and both sexes were common on the white turnips in Dorsetshire in October, 1840. It seems that the taste of the turnip-beetle is far less fastidious than is generally imagined. This might be fairly inferred from its abounding in situations where the turnip does not grow; there can be little doubt, * In 182G a crop was destroyed at Knutsford after the 21st of August. 22 FAEM INSECTS. however, that it prefers those plants which are termed cruciferous, from the shape of their flowers, of which cabbages and turnips are examples ; of these the leaves of the horse-radish, the common turnip, and the radish are its favourite food, but cabbages, cauliflowers, colewort, water-cresses, ladies'- smocks, and hedge -mustard, called jack-by-the-hedge, are often attacked; the charlock or wild mustard is also sometimes covered with them at the end of April, and in May the leaves will be seen pierced with holes, but as soon as the turnips come up they desert other allied plants. Mr. Berry has recorded a remarkable exception, for he says that after consuming the cabbage-plants, the flies * attacked and destroyed the young hops, which belong to a very different tribe of plants. Kollar also states that both sum- mer and winter turnips left for seed suflfer in warm and dry weather, from the attacks of the fly injuring the flowers, so as to spoil the produce of the seed. The next subject to be considered is a remedy against the attacks of the turnip-beetle, which in some years must cause losses amounting to an enormous sum of money, for so long back as 1786 Mr. Young stated that the turnip crop destroyed in Devonshire alone was valued at £100,000. Now with regard, to the eggs, we see that they are laid on the under side of the rough leaf, where they are pretty well secured from rain, and also protected by the strong and projecting ribs that support the leaf from any injury that might occur from the leaves being rufiled by the wind or other casualties ; and the inferior skin being the most delicate, is best adapted for the entry of the infant and tender maggots into the substance of the leaf. It is not, therefore, at this stage that much could be done in destroying them. The maggots, it is evident, live upon the rough leaf, and do little or no mischief to the growth of the plants; they dwell perfectly secure between the two cuticles, unless it be when they leave the burrows they had first commenced — probably not of common occurrence — to form new ones at a remote part of the same or upon another leaf At this period they are most probably afiected by parasitic enemies. The chrysalis is buried only just beneath the surface of the earth, but it is probably protected in a slight web, forming a cradle for it to lie in free from pressure. I think some efibrts might be successfully made for its destruction at this time. It is, however, in its last and perfect state that the mischief is done. It is the beetle which destroys the two first smooth leaves, called the cotyledons, and the heart of the plant between them, by piercing them like a sieve, * Might not these have been the Altica concinna, or some allied species? INSECTS AFFECTING TURNIP CROP. 23 destroying the cellular tissue, and stopping the growth of the plant. They also feed upon the rough leaves, drilling them full of round holes (fig. cZ), which are larger on the upper than the under side of the leaf; and if the appetite of the beetle be not satisfied, he enlarges the aperture, and thus gives it an irregular form, which dilates with the growth of the leaf: hence the large holes we see at a later period. After all, it is at this stage of their existence, I am inclined to believe, that we can attack them with the best prospect of success, if they cannot be kept off by other means. In collecting the turnip-beetles by sweeping and various methods, large numbers of small carnivorous beetles, belonging to the Carahidoe, and Sta- phylinidce,* are found with them; these probably feed upon the larvae; but, from the very recent discovery of the early stages of the turnip-beetle, we are yet ignorant of the yarasites, of which it may be presumed there are more than one species, that prey upon the maggots and chrysalides ; for it is a wise dispensation of Providence to keep every animal in check by some other that is either more powerful or more sagacious than itself; and this counteracting effect is produced in a degree equal, or eventually superior to the noxious animal, so that in a greater or less space of time the destructive power may be rendered no longer formidable, or be absolutely annihilated by the attacks of its parasites. This natural process, though never failing, is often too slow in its operation to secure immediate relief; the farmer must, therefore, devise means, if possible, for the more speedy destruction of the enemy. The beetles are seldom found in shady places, except dui'ing the winter season, and they cannot bear cold and wet, which are great protections against their increase ; it consequently follows that warmth and sunshine are far more favoiu'able to their multiplication, and in such seasons they are most to be dreaded. Showery weather, after a long drought, and cloudy days with gleams of sunshine, also render them abundant,t as such seasons do the greater portion of insects; but in a few instances they have been known to do much mischief even in cold weather. That the turnip-beetle is endowed with an acute and powerful sense of smelling, is proved by his flying against the wind, and deserting all other plants as soon as a turnip crop appears in his neighbourhood. Mr. Le Keux says, that in May, 1836, when the thermometer was at 7o° in the shade, during a south luind, great numbers were on the wing, and all proceeding southward ; and again, that eight acres, forming the summit of a hill in * Curtis's British Entomology, fola. 446, 758, &c. + A field of turnips is stated to have been destroyed by the fly in a few hours before a thunder- storm at Rockingham. 24 FAEM INSECTS. Devonshire, were sown witli turnips, and when the young plants were just rising above the ground, the wind being for more than a week at south-east, wafting the scent to the north-west, they were so destroyed on this side, that nearly an acre was bare, whilst the south-east side was not touched, until the plants had attained a size to render the attacks of the beetle of little consequence. From what has been stated, it appears that no season will secure us en- tirely against the attacks of the turnip-beetle, and that no soil is considered safe from them is evident upon the best testimony; it is very destructive upon strong lands, and not less so on light ones. Neither is the period of their attack limited, for as one pair of insects may produce five or six broods in a season, there is a constant succession, which renders any plan for extir- pating the beetle in any of its three early stages scarcely practicable. As the turnip when in rough leaf is not in any danger from the attacks of the beetle, it is evident that our first care must be to preserve the young plant, and this can only be done by the preparation of the soil, or using such speedy means the instant the beetles appear, as will destroy or drive them away. The primary object will be to discover the best manure for that purpose, and a dressing that Avill render, if possible, the soil obnoxious to the insect. It has been correctly said, "that the manure which most effectually pro- motes the growth of the plant will be the best defence from the insect ; and that when the growth is slowest, the danger from the insect is most serious." This arises in a great measure from the advantage that insects have over vegetation ; a gleam of sunshine is almost svifficient to call them into active life, as we have before observed, and as is evident from the swarms of deli- cate gnats that may often be seen dancing in the air when fi^ost is on the ground even in January ; but it requires the accumulated rays of the sun, and a much longer duration of warmth, to set in action the fluids of plants. It will not be irrelevant to the subject to take a cursory view of the recommendations suggested by various eminent agriculturists; and as the results derived from some of their experiments have been greatly at vari- ance, I may venture occasionally to ofier an opinion ; but as it is not strictly within my province to determine such practical points of difference, I can only hope that they may be encouraged to prosecute their valuable researches until such variations are satisfactorily explained. Whether any direct protection against the beetle can be expected from manure, since it is ascertained that it is not upon the seeds that the eggs are laid, now becomes a question; for when the maggots escape from their bur- rows in the leaves, and enter the earth, in order to become chrysalides, be- fore changing to beetles, the manure, I should think, seldom contains suffi- INSECTS AFFECTING TURNIP CROP. 25 cient ammonia to destroy them, and, if I mistake not, any moderate fermen- tation would rather facilitate than retard their metamorphoses; moreover, the instinct of insects is so perfect, that the maggot would most assuredly avoid obnoxious spots, so that, if any manure were spread that would injure them, unless it formed a very uniform stratum, it would not insure success, although great advantages might be derived from its use. Burning has been found the best preventive against the beetle by some, which is readily accounted for, since it would destroy any chrysalides in the land; and as the beetles may be in abundance in the field when it is pre- paring for turnips, burning would, of course, be destruction to them, and spreading the ashes afterwards over the ground will prove an additional security; but such a system does not suit sandy soils, neither can it be fol- lowed up regularly on any land. Feeding off the turnips is strongly recommended as an antidote to the beetle, as well as from its peculiar advantages of manuring and preparing the land for the barley crop and succeeding seeds. I am disposed to attri- bute the advantages derived from sheepfolding, as regards the beetle, to the perfect stamping down of the soil and herbage, by which all insect life is destroyed, rather than to any peculiar quality in sheep-manure, unless it be contained in their urine. However Mr. Sutton's " plan of preparing the fallows for the seed, and leaving the land for ten days or a fortnight before sowing," may have answered occasionally, as his hypothesis is not correct, we must look to other causes for his success, and this is probably the exposure of the chrysalides to drought and changes of temperature, which would naturally destroy them ; the opportunity the weeds have of growing up and overpowering the crop seems to be a fatal objection to this process. I quite coincide, however, with Mr. Cowdry, that the destruction of the beetle may be greatly facilitated by the mode of ploughing he suggests, for if the chrysalides be deeply buried under the furrow, they will perish for want of sufficient sun and moisture to bring forth the little beetles, or even if they hatched, they would not be able to extricate themselves from the earth heaped upon them ; this is taking it for granted that the chrysalides are in the soil, which would depend upon the character of the preceding crop. And here again we require informa- tion ; for if the maggot of the turnip-beetle will live in the leaves of clover and other artificial grasses, then such a process as deep ploughing becomes an effective remedy; if not, it would only be useful where the first crop had failed, from the land being infested with the turnip-beetles. If the tui-nip-beetle were not common everywhere in Sweden, it might be presumed that northern latitudes were uncongenial to its habits, for it did 3 26 FAEM INSECTS. not appear to be known in Scotland until 1826, and it has done but little mischief, I believe, since ; but this is attributed, by Dr. Fleming and others, to the turnips being drilled in; indeed, broadcast is generally considered inferior to drilling, and the system of ridging for the drill is recommended by most farmers. Cold and wet, we know, do not agree with the perfect insect, and such seasons may be still more pernicious to it in its earher states, which may account for its rarity in Scotland, where I do not remember to have noticed it, and in parts of Forfarshire and in East Lothian the fly is said to be scarcely known. Mr. Bowie, however, of Arbroath, seems to be well acquainted with the effects of the fly, although he only remembered its attacking the plants once in rough leaf, and that was during the hot and dry summer of 1826. I see also that at Cramond, near Edinburgh, it is now (1841) abundant. No notice has been taken of it in Scotland, except on the eastern side, where it may be expected, as in the eastern counties of England, that the fly would be most fatal to the crops, as there is a much less fall of rain on that side than in the western and south-western quarters of the kingdom; we see, however, from the destruction recorded in Devonshire, that in a warm district, although subject to a great deal of wet, its progress is not alw^ays impeded. It is the opinion of a great many agriculturists, that raw and long manure harbours the beetle, and if turnips be sown on a stubble- crop, they are often completely destroyed. I see Mr. Webb Hall states that he has had to sow stubble-crops three times over, and seed sown on stubble late in August has been taken off* by the beetle in more than one instance. Whether this arises from the hollow straws afibrding a retreat for the beetles, or that the weeds had supported them or the maggots, so that the chrysalides were lying undisturbed in the land, is not easily explained. Mr. Linton, and many others, recommend drilling-in, not less than 3 or even 4 lbs. of seed to the acre, and 6 or 7 lbs. broadcast;'^ for he very justly observes, that thick sowing causes the plants to grow much more rapidly when young than thin sowing ; and by drilling-in with the seed a peculiar compost, containing the strongest animal manures, the fly, he says, has never yet disappointed him of obtaining a good crop.t I think it probable that the ammonia in this potent manure may be disagreeable, if not destructive, to the insect ; and the rapid growth of the plant, from its stimulating effect?, defies their attacks. The vegetation of the seed may be accelerated by steeping it in water for twenty-four hours ; and the surest way to obtain a strong crop is to sow seed of the same age, otherwise the plants do not come * I apprehend this thick sowing would produce a very weak plant. + Journal of Royal Agricultural Society, vol. i. p. 452. INSECTS AFFECTING TURNIP CROP. 27 up simultaneously, and the fly will attack and destroy the crop in detail; for it is ascertained that young seed vegetates quicker than old, this year's seed will therefore have the start of two or three years' old by as many weeks. Mr. Linton also adds, that he has found more benefit from the manure he describes in the succeeding crops of clover-seeds, than from 3 or 4 chaldrons of lime to the acre. With regard to the use of lime, a great deal must depend upon the soil on which it is used, which may account for the conflict- ing opinions respecting its effects in protecting the turnips against the fly. From 6 to 8 bushels of quicklime per acre may be sown over the young plants successfully in dry weather ; but it must be repeated after rain or dew ; and this, as well as soot, requires to be regularly and evenly dusted over the plants. Mr. Birk says that he used slaked lime with perfect suc- ceas ; and, although profusely, it did not at all injure the plants. It should be slaked at the time of use, and ought to be spread in the very hot state, when it burns the fly. Some danger to the plant seems to attend this process, arising from the heat generated by the lime— at least so I presume ; but some little explanation is required in these statements to distinguish clearly between slaked and quick or unslaked lime. Very diflferent were the results from Mr. Le Keux's experiments. Forty bushels of lime per acre were spread, he says, immediately before the seeds were sown, and did no good ; and when the plants came up, and the fly was observed attacking them, lime-dust was thrown over them, so that many of the plants were quite white with a coat of it ; after which as many flies were found upon those as upon any that were free, and they were eventually devoured. This is again quite at vari- ance with the opinion, that repeated dustings of ashes and soot, when the plants are wet with dew, will keep oflT the fly, and prevent their feeding.^ In another place he states, that the upper part of a field in a sheltered situation, with a south aspect, which had been sown with barley, was well dressed with lime, and sown early in May with whitestone turnips, which were destroyed as soon as they appeared above ground ; the land was sown again, and harrowed, the surface being thickly strewed over with wood- ashes; the plants were, however, devoured as rapidly as before. The growth of the turnips being stunted by too frequent repetitions, they become fingery on light sandy soils, and are then more likely to fall a sacrifice to the fly. A good coat of clay or chalk has the eflfect in Norfolk and Suffolk of invigorating the land, and giving it the power of again pro- ducing good crops once in four years. The culture of mangel-wurzel is well deserving the attention of the farmer, when the land gets tired of turnips ; * It is contrary, also, to my own experience ; for a plot nearly eaten off by them, recovered on being well dusted with lime. 28 FAEM INSECTS. and it has the additional recommendation of not encouraging the increase of the turnip-beetles. As it is quite certain, I should say, that the beetles are attracted by scent, it appears to me likely that, if a field of tm-nips were planted round with a belt of mangel-wurzel, the turnips might escape their attacks, if not entirely, to a very considerable extent ; especially when the insects are believed to come from a distance ; for at the early stage of the plants a few hours of respite may be of vital importance. The Swedish turnip, or Ruta-baga, whether it be a hybrid produced by the turnip and cabbage, or a distinct species, has not the strong scent at an advanced period which is so perceptible in the English turnip when in rough leaf ; and if there be as marked a difference of smell in the seed-leaves, it would give the former a decided advantage in exposed situations, where the beetles are attracted from distant localities : being sown in May or June, however, is, I conceive, not a recommendation, as I believe that to be a period of the year when the first principal brood is generally at its maximum, as the second is in August or September ; but the temperature of the seasons may in this respect make a variation of a fortnight or three weeks on either side of the average : however this may be, it is admitted on all sides that the beetle is weakest in July. I fear, on the other hand, that no early sowing can insure the turnip-crop ; for as the beetles hj'bernate, the same warmth and sunshine that make the seed vegetate will bring the swarms of beetles from their retreats ; and it is worth considering whether by early sowing we do not entice a hungry horde from their winter-quarters, or from the banks and meadows where they are at first supported; whereas by not sowing until midsummer, the beetles may in the meanwhile be starved and drawn off to more favourable localities, or have fallen a sacrifice to small birds, and the casualties of the wet and cold of our spring. Such seasons we know do not agree with the beetles; and I have observed that when the dew is upon the turnips in the autumn, they keep under the leaves, and appear to be asleep ; and windy weather has a similar effect in rendering them quiescent. The crops being attacked and destroyed in the autumn, does not altogether militate against good success at midsummer, especially in forward seasons. Similar objections to the above may be urged against sowing the white turnips with the Swedes; for if the quantity of beetles be small, the Swedes may be preserved in conse- quence of the English turnip being their favourite food ; but, on the other liand, multitudes may sometimes be thus atti acted from a distance, which would not otherwise, it may be presumed, have detected the Swedes, from their scent being less perceptible. It is twenty years since I intimated that "some benefit might be de- INSECTS AFFECTING TURNIP CROP. 29 rived from destroying those cruciferous plants, Erysimum alliaria and Cardamine pratensis* to which these Alticce are so strongly attached, for they grow in abundance in every hedge and meadow; they appear long before the turnips come up, and attract and give support to the parents of the future swarms that are to sweep away the crops of the farmer." t As these plants often flower at the beginning of April, and produce their leaves at a much earlier period, it is almost certain that they nurse the fly, and are its great resources for food and nourishment in the earliest days of spring ; but how to eradicate the Gardam^ine is for future consideration. I The hedge-mustard, and other cruciferous plants on banks and road-sides, are quite under our control ; and it is a duty which we owe to our neighbour as well as to ourselves, to keep our fields and hedges clear of charlock and every allied weed of that family, all of which harbour the turnip-beetle. Before dismissing this portion of the subject, two or three remarks will be useful. It is certain that manure gives strength to the turnip plant, but it is doubtful if it will destroy the beetles. Hoeing and rolling may harass and kill many of them ; and as this process promotes the more rapid growth of the plants, it must be attended with no slight advantages. I expect also that if it were performed in damp days, or after heavy dews, the benefit would be increased; for if the beetles leap in moist weather, they often fall upon their backs, where they stick, and, after being exhausted, become tor- pid and apparently dead, if the air be cold ; but they reanimate as they are dried by the sun. In cold and wet weather it might not prove less efficient ; for multitudes of the flies are then sheltered under and about the clods, which being broken down, the insects must perish by the pressure ; and if there were any chrysalides in the earth, they would in all probability suffer the same fate. There are many who consider that turnips should be sown immediately after ploughing, and that much of the success attending a crop depends upon the diligence employed in getting in the manure and seed; whilst some maintain that the land should lie undisturbed for a fortnight before sowing. Such conflicting opinions, as far as the fly is concerned, may often be recon- ciled by the difference of the seasons when the observations were made.? We know that turnips must not be sown in too dry nor too wet a state of * Curtis's British Entomologij, Plates 509 and 179, called sauce-alone, or hedge-mustard, and com- mon ladies'-smock. t Ibid., fol. 630. + As this plant luxuriates in moist pastures, draining, probably, would eradicate it. § The perusal of the Report in the Transactions of the Doncaster Agricultural Society is strongly- recommended; and in their "Analysis of the Returns," the date of eveiy year is alone wanting to make it invaluable. 30 FAEM INSECTS. the soil, yet this is precisely the state most fitted for the production of the fly ; for it is well ascertained that a moderate degree of moisture is necessary to bring forth or to hatch almost all insects, and if this be accompanied by a mild air, it is the better suited to them; it is therefore reasonable to expect that after a fine early spring the turnip-beetles will be found most abundant. From the dislike the fly has to repeated wet, I have always thought that watering the turnips would be highly useful ; and this opinion is supported by Mr. Bayldon, who recommends them to be watered every other day, four, five, and six times, if necessary.* Irrigating the land would not have so good an efiect, I think, as watering, because the beetles would only be floated ofi" the leaves, if they were detached at all ; and if they were left thus for two or three days, there would be a great chance of their recovering when the plants were left dry, whereas by the watering they would be forci- bly brushed ofi", and get set fast in the earth and die. The benefit would be most felt, I conceive, on heavy lands, with regard to the annihilation of the beetles; but it would everywhere have the advantage of destroying the chrysalis, by stopping up the pores of the soil, and so preventing the exit of the fly. Nitrate of soda has been tried in two instances on crops of Swedish tur- nips with very beneficial effects; and it probably assists, from its peculiar qualities, in checking the increase of the beetles. The nitrate was sown two or three days after the seed ; and it may be used on all soils excepting on chalk. It should be sown broadcast, mixed with wood-ashes, which enable the sower to spread it more regularly. We now come to what may be termed direct remedies. The Paul-net, as it is called, after its inventor, although it has been con- sidered as a toy, yet I am of ojiinion might be usefully employed; for I have seen a quart bottle filled with the little turnip-beetles that were all caught with this net. If I remember correctly, Mr. Paul's plan was to sow a small spot with white turnips early, as a decoy, and over that space to draw his net.t It always struck me that vast quantities made their escape by skip- ping out of the net, which was its greatest defect; but this might be reme- died by placing some sawdust at the extremity of the bag, mixed with lumps of common ammonia, or sprinkled with spirits of turpentine, which perhaps would be better ; but either of these would kill a great many, and stupify * How is this to be done ? In a garden it might probably have a good effect — but on a score of acres? If, indeed, a water-cart filled with brine could be conveniently once run over a field, it might, as there stated, prove a partial remed}', and it certainly is worth trying; for even should it not be effectual on that point, it would, no doubt, prove beneficial to the growth of the crop. — F. Burke. + A very good representation of this net will be seen in Kiiby and Spence's Introduction to Ento- mology, Plate XXIV. fig. 3. INSECTS AFFECTING TUENIP CROP. 31 the remainder, until tlie contents of the net were subjected to sufficient heat to deprive them of life. This process is no doubt troublesome, and requires to be repeated ; and unless, perhaps, some alterations were made, it would not answer on an extensive scale. This, however, is no fatal objection to the principle. A board newly painted or tarred, and drawn over the turnips, will catch multitudes of the beetles; for on being disturbed they leap against it, and cannot release themselves. I should recommend white paint; and the brighter it is the better, as all insects are attracted by light colours. Nei- ther wet nor windy weather would be suited to these operations, for it is ascertained that the beetles are at such seasons disinclined to move ; neither would mid-day in fine weather do, as they are then active, and fly well ; for it is a well-known fact, corroborated also by the flight of swallows, that in hot days and sunshine insects fly high, whilst in damp weather they keep upon or near the gi-ound. Fumigation by burning stubble, weeds, fee, to windward of the field, so that the smoke drives along the ground, has proved effectual ; but I should prefer burning to leeward as a preventive, for as the beetles are attracted by the scent of the turnips, and fly towards the wind, they would be bafiled by such a manoeuvre. Watering the plants with brine suflSciently strong to aftect the insects, but not strong enough to injure the young plants, would, I expect, prove a most successful remedy ; and when in rough leaf it would also kill the larvse, and even destroy the eggs that were exposed to its influence. In Hanover fields of white turnips have been preserved from the fly by thickly sprinkling the dust of chalky roads on the young plants at night, when a heavy dew is falling, until they appeared covered with the powder. The fly, it is said, will at once disappear, especially if the next day be a bright sunshine, and the dust is dried upon the leaves, which prevents their little teeth from gnawing the leaf, or disgusts them in some other way, and they depart to more agreeable quarters. If the sprinkling be immediately succeeded by heavy rains, so that the dust is washed off", the operation must be repeated. We learn that "Mr. Dickson has perfectly succeeded in saving his crop by a. very simple dressing. He took some road-dust, some soot, and a little guano, and mixing these together, sowed them along the rows in the middle of the day. In a short time he found that the crowds of flies had altogether disappeared. Mr. Fisher Hobbs has long used a mixture of a similar sort, only he employs a little sulphur instead of guano, and thinks it better to apply it in the night season, when dew has fallen, than in the day-time." 32 FAEM INSECTS. Several other means are suggested by M. Wundram, which have proved to be useless in this country; and his reasoning induces a belief that he is not well acquainted with the habits of the turnip-fly. An infusion of worm- wood sprinkled over the young plants and seed-beds will, he says, secure them from the attacks of the flies, as they dislike the bitterness thus con- veyed. Drawing boughs of the elder over the field is supposed to annoy the beetles, and drive them away; and the leaves of the alder, when fresh gathered, being covered with a glutinous liquor, and those of the lime, &c., when the honey-dew is upon them, are recommended to be strewed in gar- dens for the purpose of catching the turnip-beetles. I confess that I have no faith in the plants being rendered obnoxious to the fly from steeping tlie seeds in oil, brine, brimstone, or milk, as practised by many. Such immersions may render the plants stronger, or cause more of the seeds to vegetate, which will at once account for the success that is said to be derived from this process. If, indeed, the eggs of the insect were laid upon the seed, the oil and brine would be most efficacious; but that notion is exploded. Mr. Le Keux says that washing over the plants with sulphate of potash had no effect; and he very justly observes, that if the upper surface of the leaf could be poisoned, the beetles might feed upon the under side with impu- nity. Powdered sulphur, strewed yV^h of an inch thick, did not deter the flies from attacking the plants, but it improved their appearance. Snuff*, asafoetida, a powder called anti-tinea, for preserving furs, proved equally powerless. They did retire from smelling-salts (carbonate of ammonia), and died immediately on being exposed to the effluvia from it ; but a small bit placed an inch from the plant would destroy it also. This, or something that would overpower the scent of the turnips, might perhaps be advan- tageously employed in driving away or deceiving the fly. One oz. of tar, ] oz. of olive oil, and 2 oz. of strong caustic potash, well mixed together, and shaken up with the requisite quantity of water, were next poured, the fourth day after sowing, over a patch on a hill swarming with the fly, at the end of August. Not many of the seeds came up, but the few plants from them were of a healthy colour, and acquired the rough leaf; a few only on the windward side being punctured ; but several days' rain occurred at the most critical time, which might be their best protection. Such are the remedies proposed ; but I fear it is not by the experiments of a few philosophic men that we can hope to discover any positive antidote to so great an evil. We want correct data from every sort of soil under the various influences of climate and effects of cultivation, before we can fairly INSECTS AFFECTING TURNIP CROP. 33 grasp the subject. Until we became acquainted with the economy of the beetle we were groping in the dark. That important discovery has brought us a few steps towards the light; and those who wish to follow in the path of truth should try and examine Mr. Le Keux's experiments, which it is easy to do, by filling a garden-pot with earth, carefully sifted to take out all worms, centipedes, or other living animals, which might destroy the chrysa- lides. When this is done, plant in it a small turnip, in rough leaf, having a fine wire-gauze guard, large enough to inclose the plant, and fitting just in- side the top of the pot. One or more pairs of the beetles must be placed, with a fresh turnip leaf, in a large-mouthed transparent bottle, then tie over the end a piece of muslin, to prevent the escape of the insects ; for if the cork or stopper be put in, the bottle will become wet inside, which will prevent the females from laying any eggs. I imagine they will not adhere to the damp leaf The leaf may be examined daily through a magnifying glass, and as soon as any eggs are discovered they may be placed in the pot where the turnip is growing, that the little maggots may be able to get at the living leaves as soon as they hatch. The progress of the insect may thus be traced through its different stages; and it will only be necessary to place the gar- den-pot in a saucer, into which water should be daily poured, if necessary, to nourish and refresh the plant. Let us not forget that amongst our best friends are the small birds ; a great number of which, such as the gray and yellow wagtails, no doubt des- troy incredible numbers of these insects in their various stages. Their nests ought to be protected, and the birds themselves defended from persecution. There is another species of Altica, whose habits are similar to those of Altica nemoruon, which materially assists in injuring the turnip crops. The habits of the brassy or tooth-legged turnip beetle are not known, but may be expected to resemble >fo. 2. those of the striped turnip-fly. I will now describe this insect, the Altica concinna, which is the same as the Altica dentipes of foreign authors (No. 2, fig. 1, male; fig. 2, magnified; and Plate A, fig. 9). It is more oval, convex, and shining than Altica nemorum, of a greenish-black colour, more or less tinged with a brassy or copper hue. The horns are only half as long as the body, and thickest towards the extremity, of a pitchy colour, with a few rust-coloured joints next the head: the trunk ^-^T^^-^^^ 3-t FARM INSECTS. or thorax is thickly but very finely punctured : the wing-cases are scarcely twice as broad as the trunk, but three times as long, having ten lines of strongly-impressed dots down each. The wings are ample; the legs are black, the shanks or tibiae are bright rust-colour at the base ; the hinder thighs are very stout (No. 2, fig. 3; and Plate A, fig. 10, m); the interme- diate and hinder shanks are armed outside with a short acute tooth, below the middle,"^ and fringed with hairs and toothed with spines (fig. n) ; the feet are dusky, with four joints (fig. o), similar to those of A. nemorum. Length from | to 1 line. It infests hop gardens, and also inhabits hedges, nettles, grass and tur- nip fields ; and is abundant throughout England and the south of Scotland in the spring and summer. There are likewise two other little beetles of the same genus, far from uncommon upon the turnips. The one named Altica consobrina is elliptical, depressed and black, but dark blue and punctured above (No. 2, fig. 4, the male; fig. 5, the same magnified); the horns are tolerably long, with the fourth and fifth joints thickened in the male; it has ample wings beneath the wing cases; the hinder thighs are stout, and formed for leaping. This little beetle assists in the destruction of the turnip, it is believed, by eating the leaves. The other, named Altica ohscurella, is very similar to A. con- sobrina, but it is generally larger, of a brighter blue above, and the second and third joints of the horns are bright ochreous in the female (No. 2, fig. 6 ; 7; magnified) ; the hinder shanks are simple (fig. 8, a hind-leg). This species is sometimes more abundant in gardens than A. nemorum. In the investigation of this subject I have thought it necessary to con- sider every bearing that connects the beetle or fly with the turnip-crop, that neither its habits nor any circumstance afifecting its economy might be over- looked ; but in treating of the other insects I shall not have such a variety of materials to digest, which will allow me to render their history more con- cise. I am now induced to recapitulate the leading features contained in the foregoing account, that they may be brought at one view before the reader. There are at least two species of turnip-flies or beetles, the striked and the brassy. The transformations of the latter are not known. The eggs of the former are laid upon the under side of the rough leaf, from April to September : they hatch in ten, and even in seven days, I believe. The maggots live between the two skins or cuticles of the rough leaf, and arrive at maturity in six days. * From this circumstance it has been recently named Ckcetocnemu concinnu. INSECTS AFFECTING TURNIP CROP. 35 The chrysalu is buried just beneath the surface of the earth, where it remains about a fortnight. The beetles live through the winter in a torpid state, and revive in the spring, when they destroy the two first leaves, called the cotyledons, or seed leaves. There are five or six broods in a season. These insects are most to be feared in fine seasons. Heavy rains, cold springs, and long droughts, destroy them. Their scent is very perfect: the beetles fly against the wind, and are attracted from a distance. To extirpate them during the first three stages is apparently most difficult. The beetles are sheltered in hedges, banks, under bark of trees, &c. Their parasites have not yet been discovered. First appearance of the beetles to be punctually observed, as affording the best chance in applying remedies. Manure to render soil obnoxious to the insects scarcely to be expected. Rapid groivth of the plant the best security. To secure which so2v plenty of seed, and of the same age. Burning beneficial, by destroying the chrysalides. Sheep-folding must destroy the insects in every state. Deep -ploughing excellent when the chrysalides are in the soil. Drilling far superior to broad cast, and believed in Scotland to keep away the beetles. Dangerous to sow on a stubble-crop; and long raw manure harbours the beetles. Lime and soot, the benefit derived from them in this way very doubtful. Mangel-wurzel not favourable to the beetles ; and Sivedes probably less attractive than white turnips. Mixing white turnips with Swedes not desirable, as the beetles may be attracted by the strong scent of the former. Early sowing attended with disadvantages. Destroy charlock, and all cruciferous weeds in fields and hedges, as they afibrd support to the beetles before the turnips come up. Hoeing and rolling harass and destroy the beetles. Watering the crops, especially with weak brine, beneficial. Paul net and ^painted boards useful in destroying the beetles. Fumigation, by burning stubble, &;c., will keep off" the beetles. There are many other remedies proposed, some of which it might be well worth trying ; and if we be defeated in our endeavours to vanquish this in- 36 FAEM INSECTS. sect enemy, we must take the field again with fresh vigour until our efforts are crowned with success, and neither despair from disappointments nor rest in listless secm^ity from the apparent inertness of our foes. If we look back for one instant to experience, we shall find that after violent attacks of dis- ease in the animal, or of blights in the vegetable kingdoms, they are gener- ally succeeded by a respite of many years, which throws us so much off" our guard, that when they return we are not prepared with any proper reme- dies, and not unfrequently they are altogether forgotten; thus, after a lengthened interval of tranquillity, when we think the hordes of hostile insects have departed for ever, they suddenly make their appearance, and take us by surprise and at advantage. The intelligent farmer must there- fore be up and stirring, to detect the first breath of infection, and be instantly prepared with his remedy. Explanation of Plate A. Fig. 1. The egg of the striped turnip-beetle or fly, Altica nemorum. Fig. 2. The larva or caterpillar. Fig. 3. The pupa or chrysalis. Fig. 4. The beetle or fly represented walking. Fig. 5. The same flying. Fig. 6. A turnip-leaf: a, The burrows formed by the caterpillars. b, A male beetle feeding, of its natural size. c, A female beetle at rest. d, Holes recently eaten by the beetles. Fig. 7. Six organs of the mouth : e, The labrum or upper-lip. /, The two-toothed mandibles. . g, The two maxillfe or jaws. h, Their palpi or feelers. i, The men turn or chin. k, The labium or under-lip. I, The labial palpi or feeler.s. Fig. 8. A hind-leg : m, The thigh. 71, The tibia or shank. 0, The tarsus or foot. Fig. 9. Altica concinna, the brassy or tooth-legged turnip-beetle: the smaller figure shows the natural size. Fig. 10. A hind-leg of the same: m, The thigh. n, The tibia or shank, with the tooth and spines. 0, The tarsus or foot. All the figures are highly magnified, exceptmg those upon the leaf, and they are all drawn from nature; but Nos. 1, 2, and 3 were furnished by a friend; their natural sizes are given beneath each object, and marked with an * ; the line and crossed lines also added to figures 4 and 5, give the length and breadth of the living insects. 7Vf. s/H-.rii'.'c of skippiini Ih'rl/r.y rail,', I Turing I'li / o 7 iLACKIE fc SOir. GTiABGOW. EDrNBURGH &10MD0W. THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 37 CHAPTER II. THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF THE TURNIP SAW-FLY, AND ITS BLACK CATERPILLAR, CALLED THE BLACK PALMER, BLACK CANKER, BLACK JACK, BLACK SLUG, AND NIGGER OR NEGRO. In studying the economy of insects, the striking irregularity in their appear- ance is not one of the least curious and remarkable facts that presents itself. We know from observation that what has up to a certain period been an unnoticed or unknown species of insect suddenly becomes abundant, and then disappears as unexpectedly.* This will render it necessary to give the history and details of all such as have at any period proved injurious to the crops of Great Britain. It is deeply to be regretted that so little notice has been taken of these events in standard works ; even the few data which we obtain from such sources are so vague, that it is frequently impossible to identify the insects alluded to ; t and yet such data are probably as essential to the understanding of the eccentric succession of these phenomena, as astronomical observations are to explain the beautiful revolutions of the planetary system. The unaccountable presence of the turnip saw-fly, and especially of its black caterpillar, producing marvellous conjectures in the country, first led me to entertain a hope that the knowledge and services of men of science might do much towards smoothing the way to a correct knowledge of the natural history of insects injurious to the farmer. It is to be hoped that the veil of superstition has long since departed with our ancestors ; but it is still necessary to dissipate the clouds of error which obscure the beauty of truth : this is the pleasing province of the naturalist, especially of the entomologist; and the natural history of the black caterpillar being perfectly understood, " Innumerable instances might be adduced, but one will be suflBcient: — Allantus jlavipes, an insect of the same natural family as the subject of this memoir, which did not exist, I believe, in a single English cabinet previous to 1838, all at once became abundant in Battersea Fields, and the following year at Hampstead, feeding upon the common and white mustards, and it is now quite lost sight of again. — Curtis's British Entomology, Plate and fol. 764. t In various accounts of the wireworm, totally different animals have been confounded under that appellation. 38 FARM INSECTS. its progress can be traced from the egg to the fly so circumstantially, that the most sceptical need no longer remain in doubt respecting its economy. It may be admitted that the sudden and unexpected appearance of such multitudes of caterpillars might lead to the idea that they had fallen from the clouds ; but when it is well ascertained that every caterpillar must have been produced from a minute egg, which egg must have been laid by a parent fly, it is not possible to reconcile such an idea with their habits and economy;'^ especially when we recollect that in most instances the cater- pillars were at least half grown when discovered, which proved they had been living on something more substantial than air. When we take, how- ever, a philosophic and more rational view of the subject, we shall see that it is quite possible that the parent flies may have been transported to our shores by winds setting in from Norway, Holland, or France, and, after attacking the turnip-crops on our coast, spread themselves over the country, if not in the same year, in the following season; and as one female would lay several hundreds of eggs, the rapid increase from myriads would be incalculable. Fortunately for the farmer the visits of this angel of darkness " are few and far between," otherwise, the cultivation of this invaluable crop would become so uncertain as almost to compel him to abandon its culture. We have seen by a former paper t that the attacks of the turnip- fly are suffi- ciently vexatious ; but the effects of the black caterpillar are infinitely worse, because the crop is destroyed after all the labour and expense attending its cultivation have been bestowed upon it, and generally at a period so advanced that it is in vain to attempt to repair the loss by diligence or industry. The only remedy is importation ; and it is stated that, when the black caterpillars last appeared, many ship-loads of turnips were transmitted from the Conti- nent to supply the deficiency along our coasts. As it will be curious and interesting to take a retrospective view of the records of various writers regarding this insect, and useful in futm*e investi- gations to watch the periods of its appearance, I shall now proceed chrono- logically with its history. In 1782, Mr. Marshall, whose observations are recorded with great accuracy, and with a truly philosophic spirit, stated that in July of that year the turnips at Southrepps, in Norfolk, situated about * It seems to be well attested that aquatic animals, as fish and frogs, have fallen from the clouds with rain ; but such occurrences are very rare and extremely partial. It is stated that fishes fell at Moradabad (see Transactions of Linnean Society, vol. xvi. p. 764), and frogs fell at Walham-Green (Fulham), on 1st August, 1846, during a tempest, in such a shower that they were taken up in shovelfuls (see The Times, August 3, 1846) ; but that the negro caterpillar should always fall in tur- nip fields would be very extraordinary. t See chap. i. p. 15. THE TUENir SAW-FLY. 89 three miles from the sea, which looked remarkably well after a moist spring and fine weather, were observed to be covered with the saw-flies in such numbers that they were like flights of bees; and it was found that they had already traversed the coast, as the under sides of the leaves swarmed with young caterpillars, so that in ten days or a fortnight the turnip plants along the shore were entirely stripped of their leaves. Several days previously the flies had been noticed at Cromer, and Mr. Howse of Overstrand (who lived near the beach, and who was a man of good credit) declared, as well as the fishermen at Beckhithe, that they saw them arrive " in clouds so as to darken the air ; " that, fatigued with their flight, they lay upon the cliffs 2 inches deep, and might have been "taken up by shovelfuls."^ From these circumstances Mr, Marshall considers the flies had come over from the Continent; and fairly calculates that they might be transported from the southern cape of Norway to the coast of Norfolk in ten hours ; and as they can live five or six days without food, they could cross from the most eastern confines of Kussia, probably, before they were exhausted. Mr. Marshall subsequently remarked that the flies were very wild the third week in August, which he attributed to their being bred in the field ; for those which he had captured three weeks before were not so alert; and this tends to prove, if it were necessary, that they had visited our shores from foreign countries. If the insects take advantage of a gentle breeze lying ofl" the shore in fine warm weather, they would have everything in their favour to depart; but as it often happens that a certain condition of atmosphere produces the same eflects on the opposite coast, the flies would have the wind opposed to them on their arrival, which would account for their falling into the sea, and alighting in such multitudes on the clififs; but this I am induced to believe is agreeable to their instinct, as flying against the wind when on land leads them to the plants they are in search off Mr. Milburn, how- ever, viewing its flights in the turnip field, says, J " it never flies far ; and thus the theory which would have them come from Norway is exploded, especially in the absence of all evidence of their existence there. "§ Now, we know that the flight of locusts is generally very limited, and rather by leaping, at the same time expanding their wings to support them ; but when * See Mr. Marshall's paper in the Philosox>hical Transactions for 1783, vol. Ixxiii., and an ab- stract from his Rural Economy of Norfolk, with a very excellent preface by T. S. N. Published by J. Fletcher, Norwich, 1836, t See chap. i. p. 23. X Journal of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, p. 50. § Athalia spinarum is found abundantly in France and Germany, It is common in the southern portions of Sweden, is an inhabitant of Holstein, and is met with everywhere in Lapland, 40 FARM INSECTS. impelled by instinct, they can fly to a very great distance; and who would think that the little quail, avoiding to rise on the wing by every art, had crossed the Channel before it could arrive at our shores? It has long been ray opinion that the appearance of rare insects in this country is owing to their being brought over, guided by instinct and favourable circumstances. Indeed, in some instances, there cannot be a doubt of it;"^ and probably the stocks of our innumerable common species are occasionally augmented by the arrival of their cousins-german. The sudden disappearance of certain insects is only a proof that our climate is not suited to their habits and constitution for any long period. But to return. Like the Cicada septeiidecim of America, the appearance of the tui'nip saw-fly has been supposed to occur about every seventeenth year ; but this is not correct, for their visits have been so irregular that nothing can be determined from the data before us. The earliest record of their appearance was in 1756. Then we have notices of their being observed in 1760, and perhaps two years after, and again in 1782, 1806, 1818, 1833, 1835, 1836, 1837, and 1838, leaving intervals of three, twenty-one, twenty- three, eleven, fourteen, and one year. Probably they escaped notice in 183i; and if such were the case, they were ravaging our turnip crops for five or six successive years; and it is far from improbable that the fly may be found every year in small quantities, and that the recorded dates are merely the periods when their ravages called the attention of the country to the subject. I believe its effects were severely felt in 1760; in 1782 many thousands of acres of turnips were entirely destroyed in Norfolk, and Mr. Marshall thought it probable that two-thirds of the turnip grounds had to be ploughed up and re-sown; and, from the farmers not being thoroughly acquainted with the economy of the insects, they allowed those plants to remain in the fields which had escaped by being under the hedges and trees, by which means the second crop was not unft-equentlj^ lost, as the turnips left supported the caterpillars until the fresh crop came up. I do not find any account of the extent of the mischief in 1806, but in 1818, which was a very dry summer, they were in great numbers. In 1833, Mr. Newport says, " The fly appeared in very large flights on the turnips at Meon Stoke, Hants, and nearly throughout that part of the * Numbers of a large and beautiful moth, called Daphnis Nerii, figured in Curtis's British Ento- mology, Plate 626, were several years migrating from Africa to the north of France, and at last reached England, where that insect had probably never been seen alive before. Moths unknown as inhabitants of these islands have been caught at night at the North Lowestoft lighthouse, to which common species ai-e attracted in such multitudes that the attendant, I have been informed by Captain Chawner and Mr. C. J. Paget, is obliged to take a broom in humid summer nights and brush them off, on account of their obscuring the revolving light. THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 41 countiy ; " * possibly they received some check at this time, as no notice seems to have been taken of them in 1834. But 1835, which was an unusually dry summer, might correctly be designated the " Canker-year," for they then seemed to have reached their maximum. Our journals and periodicals teemed with the ravages of the black caterpillar; and in walking through the turnip-fields the most casual observer must have been struck by the mere skeletons which the leaves often exhibited, the fibres only remaining, the membrane being entirely con- sumed. From the middle of August to the 20th of October, at which time they were full grown, I observed them feeding on the leaves of the turnips.f In September, in many districts, the mischief ceased ; and some farmers, who sowed for turnips again, immediately after the first rains, were as successful as the lateness of the period would admit. J In the south of England, the second brood liatched, but in the north the weather set in cold, and no second brood came to maturity ; seven-tenths, therefore, probably perished. § On a farm at Coomb-bottom, near Kingston, in Surrey, the turnip fields suffered considerably; and in July, Mr. Manning || had 24 acres of English turnips quite destroyed at Elton in Bedfordshire, except about 2 acres, which Avere not hoed out. " On Saturday morning," he says, " I first noticed the caterpillar very numerous, about three weeks after the turnips were up, growing luxuriantly and looking well; on Monday that part of the field which had been hoed about four days was entirely destroyed, and so they went on with this work of destruction, which was the most complete I ever saw ... I then stopped the man hoeing the two acres that were left, and which came to a good crop." % The Swedes close by the side of the white turnips were not touched. Early in Jvily the fly was universally abundant, and about the middle of that month they were showered down in clouds at Godalming. ^* I did not notice the fly in any great numbers until August and September, but I have found them as early as the 29th of March, and as late as the middle of October ; I first observed them in abundance in a potato -field at Battersea, and afterwards in a field near Heron Court, * Observations, d-c, on the Saw-Fly of the Turnip, by George Newport, Esq. + Curtib's British Entomology, vol. xiii. fol. 617. + "Observations on the Economy of an Insect destructive to Turnips," by W. Yarrell, Esq., in the Transactions of the Zoological Society, vol. ii. p. 50. § "Report on the Natural History of the Black Caterpillar," by M. M. Milburii, Esq., in the Journal of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, p. 49. II Transactions of the Entomological Society of London, vol. ii. p. Ixiv. TI It is remarkable that in a field of Mr. Goodlake's, at Wadley, near Fariugdon, the unhoed part of a crop of Swedes escaped e.xactly in the same manner. — Ph. Pusey. ** Entomological Magazine. 5 42 FAEM INSECTS. Hants. * Mr. Saunders states that he never witnessed so great a destruc- tion in turnip fields by the black caterpillar, as he did in August, near Dover. Yery few fields had escaped, although some were less damaged than others, and the ravages were not confined to particular spots, but were evident in places far apart; that in many instances scarcely a vestige of green re- mained, and the tendrils and nerves which they at first refused became in the end necessary for their subsistence. He adds, "In a field at the back of the castle, which was half planted with Swedish turnips and the other half with the common kind, the former were untouched, but the latter greatly injured, although separated only by a farrow, the plants toucliing each other." t In Buckinghamshire, the blacks were so abundant and destruc- tive, that a meeting of the farmers was convened to consider the best mode of cure; and it was stated that the Swedes had sufiered equally with the others. At Compton, in Surrey, a turnip field of 8^ acres was completely demolished; and a thunder-storm, accompanied by heavy rain, destroyed myriads of the larvae, so that basketfuls of the blacks might have been swept up the following morning. At Long-Ditton, Ham, and Guildford, their ravages had been equally severe; J indeed it was difficult, perhaps, to find a turnip country that had not been visited by these black armies ; even as far north as the county of Durham they had proved very injurious to this crop; and in Essex, Bucks, Kent, Sussex, Hants, Wilts, Dorset, and Somerset, the turnip crop was altogether a failure, for the produce of a second and even a third sowing was consumed by them. In 1836 less was heard of them, yet in August I saw the flies coming out of the ground in myriads in a ploughed field in the neighbourhood of Bristol, where potatoes had apparently been grown; and a great many hundreds of acres were destroyed in Norfolk. Mr. Manning, also, of Elston, liad about 70 acres of Swedes more or less infested, but not one was to be seen on the English turnips; and he says hoeing increased them a thousand- fold. In 1837, the onl}^ notice seems to be from Mr. Sells, who says that near Arundel, in Sussex, the turnip fields in July were in some places completely laid waste. Thus their attacks became gradually enfeebled, when the intense cold of January, 1838, arrested their increase; the severe frost, unaccompanied by * Curtis's British Entomology, vol. xiii. fol. 617. f "Notice of the Ravages of a Black Caterpillar, &c.," by W. W. Saunders, Esq., in the Trans- actions of the Entomological Society, vol. i. p. Ixxvi. t See a communication by W. Sells, Esq., in Trans. Ent. Soc, vol. ii. p. Ixxviii. THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 43 snow, left the ground exposed, so that the inmates of all those cocoons that were not deeply buried were frozen ; and it is probable that the thaw acted as beneficially, by subsequently destroying the remainder, either by decom- position, or rendering the earth too wet and cold to bring them to maturity. They did not, however, finally take their departure, for, if I be not in error with regard to the date, I find one instance recorded of a brood making its appearance the year following at King's- Weston, near Bristol. But I will transcribe Mr. Miles 's own account, as it is interesting for several reasons: — " The turnip crops went on together very well until the 8th of July, when I perceive by my farming-book that the black caterpillar first appeared. Its ravages were extended to both crops indiscriminately; as usual, how- ever, with me, it attacked the field in patches, making sad havoc with the Swedes, and entirely skipping over four rows of mangel-wurzel, which had been placed between the Swedes and red-rings by way of experiment — to ascertain whether that plant could escape when surrounded by a crop infected by the caterpillar.'' * Before entering upon the history and economy of the turnip saw-fly, a few remarks upon the tribe to which it belongs will not be uninteresting, for amongst the hymenoptera, the order in which it is included, there is no family which does so much mischief to plants as the tenthredinidse; indeed, a very large portion of the innumerable ichneumons and sand- wasps are of essential service, being the parasites which infest and devour noxious insects. Neither trees, bushes, gardens, nor fields are, however, exempted from the attacks of the caterpillars of the saw-flies. The largest species feed upon the birch, willows, and white-thorn, f The coniferse, or fir trees, are stripped of their leaves by Lophyrus rufus, pallidus, and pini-X Fruit- trees, as the peach, plum, cherry, and the pear especially, suffer from a bottle-green shining slug-like larva, with several other species, and amongst them a Lyda.^ Gooseberry and currant bushes are often entirely stripped of their leaves, and the fruit rendered small and unsaleable, by the depreda- tions of Nematus trimaculatus ; \\ and our beautiful roses do not escape the ravages of several species, amongst them Hylotoma Roscv'^a and Athalia Rosce, which are so nearly allied to the turnip saw-fly that a casual observer * Royal AfjricuUural Journal, vol. i. p. 417. "Experiment with Poittevin's Manure," by Wm. Miles, Esq., M.P. I have since learned that a crop of turnips belonging to the Rev. C. Clarke, of Hulver, in Suffolk, was seriously injured in 1838. t See Curtis's British Entomology, Plates 41, 49, 89, 93, and 97, where dissections and descrip- tions of five genera will be found. t Ibid. Plate 54. 5 Ibid. Plate 381, II "Ruricola," in the Gardener's Chronicle, No. xxxiv. p. 548. II Curtis's British Entomology, fols. 65, 43G, and 457. 44 FAEM INSECTS. would consider them to be the same species: they are, however, confined to rose-trees, and the first is distinguished by the shape of the horns and the nervures of the wings. If it were immediately applicable to the subject, many more species could be added to the above ; but enough has been stated to show how necessary it is to be acquainted with this branch of natural history, if we desire to comprehend the causes that are hourly operating to thwart our labours. It will be remembered that the turnip- beetle, commonly spoken of as the turnip-fly, belongs to an order called Coleoptera, but the turnip saw- fly is included in one called Hymenoptera, from the four wings being mem- branous and generally ti^ansparent ; and this order embraces an extensive family called Tenthredinidae, which is composed of many genera, one of which is termed Athalia, comprising six or seven species, natives of Great Britain ; to this genus our turnip saw-fly belongs, and is called Spinarum by Fabricius; it was subsequently named centifolice by Panzer, which is to be regretted; but it was done unwittingly by that author, he not knowing that it had been previously described. Athalia spinarum may be thus characterized: — Both sexes are of a bright orange colour, and shining; the male, however (Plate B, fig. 6), is considerably smaller than the ^^^ 3. female (fig. 7; and No. 8, fig. 7), and more slender in shape. The horns are inserted near the mid- dle of the face — short, black, and club-shaped; they are of a dull yellow colour beneath, ex- cepting the base and apex, but in the male the two basal joints are also yellow beneath, and more or less so above; they are composed of nine joints, the two first are nearly oval, the third is long, the fourth not longer than the first, the following joints decrease in length, but increase in diameter, the ter- minal one being the stoutest, oval, and nearly as long as the third, with a suture across the middle (fig. 11). The head is black, short, and broad; the mouth yellow; the lahrum, or upper lip, is somewhat quadrate, bowed before (fig. 10, m). The teeth, or mandibles, meet in front, their apex being curved and forming a claw, of a chestnut colour, with a small tooth on the in- side (pi). The jaws, or maxillae, are drawn out and terminated by a leathery lobe, with a long lance shaped one on the inside, which is very downy (o). THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 45 The two feelers, or imlpl, are long, angulated, downy, and six-jointed; the basal joint is short, and the remainder nearly of equal length, the sixth being the slenderest, and slightly spindle-shaped (p). The chin, or mentura, is long, horny, and obovate (q); the two feelers, or palpi, are much shorter than the others, and attached to tlie anterior angles of the chin ; they are four- jointed, and bristly towards the apex, the joints being nearly equal, the terminal one having the apex excavated on the inside (s). The under-lip, or labium, is large, leathery, nearly orbicular, formed of three lobes, the centre one being narrow (r). Eyes lateral, oval, and black, with three minute eyes, called ocelli, on the crown of the head, forming a triano-le. Thorax globose, broader than the head, especially in the female, the anterior portion forming three reddish-orange lobes; a spot on each side, the scutel and the tip of the hinder scutel of the same colour. Abdomen or body short, somewhat cylindrical in the male; the apex rounded (12); much broader and more depressed in the female (18), the apex pointed, with an ovipositor partly concealed in a slit beneath (t), and porrected between two rigid spoon- shaped lobes or valves (16), hollow inside, but convex and very hairy out- side; they are ochreous, with a black patch at their apex (it), and inclose four fine lancets, the lower or outside ones (17) being the longest, and the upper and more inner ones being a little shorter (18); they are all thickened at the back, the sides have twelve or fourteen ridges, and the thinner mar- gins are slightly serrated at the points, which seem to be most acute in the inner pair: there are also two united blackish spots at the base of the body, and a black dot on each side. Wings four, ample, all reticulated, iridescent, yellowish at the base, the thickened costal margin and the callous stigma pitchy; the superior wings are the longest, with two marginal, four sub- marginal, and various other cells, formed by reticulated nervures. Legs six, rather short (19); thighs stoutish (v); shanks or tibice clavate, all hairy, with a pair of acute unequal spurs at the apex, and tipped with black (^t/); tarsi or feet rather long, whitish, and five-jointed {x), the four first joints having little appendages or suckers beneath (y); tips of all the joints black, the apical one entirely black, as well as the two acute claws with which this joint is furnished; there are also attached to them two little suckers, called pulvilli (z). The males are hatched first, and appear a few days previously to the females, which sex is not only larger, but, the size of her body being greater, she looks of a brighter orange colour, and may be thus detected even when upon the wing. It generally happens that the female saw-flies are much less abundant than the other sex, and this is believed to be the case witli the kind of saw-fly we are now describing, the males being as six to one 46 FARM INSECTS. when they have been bred ; but it has been exactly the reverse in those I have caught in the fields, for out of fifteen specimens there were only three males. Both sexes can be equally active, but on being touched they feign death ; closing their wings and contracting their legs and horns, they look like shrouded bodies; they are also torpid in moist and cloudy weather, but very alert when the sun shines, the males playing with each other or sport- ing with their mates. They use their wings much more than their legs; and when a female is observed walking about a leaf, it is for the purpose of depositing her eggs. They are frequently found on cruciferous and umbelli- ferous flowers, upon the pollen of which the flies subsist; and Mr. Marshall says they are partial to honey, and will sip the sap which oozes from the broken end of a turnip-leaf"^ The foeces are cream-coloured, and of a simi- lar consistence, but become a white powder when dry. Like many other animals, they repose after the heat and fatigues of the day, and generally rest beneath the leaves or in the flowers, with their heads and bodies bent down, and their antennae lying close, until the rays of the morning sun awaken them to their toils. The saw-flies generally appear in May, sometimes earlier, when the males fecundate the eggs in a few seconds, but this only takes place in the hottest sunshine, whilst the female rests upon a leaf, as is the case with the white cabbage-butterfly ; after which she immediately begins to deposit her eggs : she first examines a leaf with the point of her ovipositor, and then, fixing herself upon the edge, with her legs equally placed on both sides, holding particularly fast with the hinder, for which purpose the suckers are admir- ably adapted, she thrusts her saws into the margin, makes a shallow slit, and insinuates the instruments (figs. 17 and 18) obliquely, sometimes nearly parallel, into the edge of the leaf backward: having forced them in nearly to the base, she brings them round, forming the segment of a circle, and thus separating the cuticles she forms a cavity with her saws or lancets, which may be readily seen with the aid of a lens, by holding the leaf up to the light. The cutting this cavity often occupies half a minute, when the oval, whitish, and semi-transparent egg passes through the united lancets, which form a tube to conduct it to its nidus; the fly, at the same time, injecting a small portion of fluid,t which keeps the eggs moist, and prevents the cuticles from withering and collapsing upon, or exposing it to sudden changes of temperature and other casualties. The four lancets are then leisurely with- * Other species, as Tenihredo scrophularice, T. viridis, &c., are not satisfied with this light food, hut live upon soft-hodied insects, and will even attack the Telephori (Ciu-tis's Guide Gen. 317, and Brit. Ent., Plate 215), so that the larrce are phytivorous, whilst the imagos are insectivorous. t See Mr. Newport's valuable Essay. THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 47 drawn and returned to the abdomen until the operation is repeated, and five or six eggs (figs. 1, ]; and No. 8, figs. 1, 1) are thus laid in distinct cells, in about twenty minutes."^ Such are the care and instinct manifested by the female, that, if she commence to penetrate a leaf where there is not room, or if there be any danger from the leaf being curled, or too near an egg already deposited, she relinquishes her object until she finds a more suitable spot; and she has never but once been detected laying her eggs in the seed-leaves, so provident is she of the future wants of her progeny, well knowing such leaves would possibly be withered before the eggs hatched. Mr. Marshall placed a female upon a succulent leaf of the rape (Brassica JSfapus), but she refused to deposit any eggs, although she did so immediately on being put upon a young turnip leaf; this she effected twice, and afterwards laid an egg on the margin of a large hole eaten in the leaf, which is attended with greater difiiculty than in her more usual way on the outside edge : the outer rough leaves are undoubtedly those which best suit her purpose, but she often selects the leaflets near the base, where the eggs rest more secure, and scarcely ever places them near the uf)per end. It is supposed that the flies live twelve or fourteen days from their birth, but the females die as soon as they have finished laying their eggs; yet such is the vitality of that sex, that she will not only survive the separation of the head from the trunk, but has been able to walk, run, and attempt to fly, three hours after decapitation. Mr. Marshall had one, standing and dressing its wings for many hours after losing its head, and it actually lived in this state upwards of three days. A single female is capable of laying from 250 to 300 eggs, and sometimes she deposits 20 in a single leaf; in five days, or perhaps less, in fine warm weather, the eggs are hatched ; but if the atmosphere be chilly or wet, it is six, seven, and even ten or eleven days before the young caterpillars eat their way through the shell with their little jaws (fig. /), and crawl through the shining and dilated cuticle • and their heads at that period being larger in diameter than their bodies, they soon extricate themselves with their fore- feet; this takes them, with intervals of rest, from fifteen to twenty minutes. When they first emerge from the shell they are scarcely visible, being only about the tenth part of an inch long ; at that time they are nearly white, excepting two dots on the head, but soon become of a dull semi-transparent greenish-white colour, the head jet black and shining. In less than two minutes they begin to feed upon the tender under side of the leaves so voraciously, that in a few hours these are often drilled through. At this '" We were first indebted to Mr. Marshall for these careful details, which have been verified by ■Mr. Milburn and Mr. Newport. 48 FAEM INSECTS. I)eriod it is difficult to shake them off, so closely do they cling to a leaf; but when they are about six or seven days old they cast their first skin, and then they are easily dislodged : they have now doubled their length, being one-fifth of an inch long; some of them, probably the female caterpillars, are much longer, and almost jet black, a stripe on the side of the belly being considerably paler ; and at first the head is whitish, with two black dots. They are at this time very voracious, and may be traced by then- large green pellets of dung ; having fed for some time, their skins will no longer expand to the extent required, when each caterpillar again fixes its membranous legs, especially the hinder pair, to a leaf or the denuded fibre, and, bursting the seam behind the head, the caterpillar crawls out, leaving its skin attached to the object it stood upon (No. 3, fig. 4) : it has now greatly increased in size, and, consequently, its ravages are much more evident, and it soon has to cast its skin again ; the larvae now have a more transparent but wrinkled skin, and are of a slate or gray colour, with a pale line along the sides, the under side being pale also; but the head is black, as well as a varying line along the back, being the alimentary canal : thus they change their skins three times, at intervals of from six to seven days. When full grown they are often three-quarters of an inch, rarely an inch long, and about as thick as a crow-quill, but frequently do not attain to more than half an inch in length ; and after changing their last skin they decrease in size : this takes place in about three weeks from their birth, but when well fed in confine- ment, they have arrived at maturity in nineteen days. The full-grown caterpillars are nearly cylindrical, not in the least hairy, and composed of twelve segments besides the head ; each segment is covered with minute warts, and formed of six or seven rings of muscles, which give them a wrinkled appearance, and there are plaits of muscles on the sides (figs. 2 ; and No. 3, figs. 2) ; the head is much smaller than the body, especially the thoracic segments, which are a little inflated, the remainder taper slightly to the apex; the face is orbicular and pubescent (fig. 8), with a short conical six- jointed antenna seated on each side near to the base of the lip (c), and above each is a minute black hemispherical eye (b); the upper lip is horny, semi- circular, and notched in front (fig. 9. e); the jaws are very strong, horny, and subtrigonate, one with two, the other with four unequal teeth at the apex (/); maxillae (g) with a leathery lobe, and a smaller one on the inside, pecti- nated at the apex (*); the feelers are short, conical, and five-jointed (/i); chin abbreviated (i), producing two very short conical feelers composed of three joints, the second notched, with a curved spine on the inside (l); the under lip is fleshy, rather large, notched in the centre, where there is a small lobe (Jc). The larva is furnished with twenty-two legs, the six pectoral are short THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 49 and horny, formed of five joints, and terminated by a minute claw (2, a) ; the fourth segment lias no legs, hut the seven following are each provided with a pair of short cylindric ones, and the apical segment has a fleshy pair at the extremity, with which the animal can hold very fast. The larva? delight in the sun, and lie curled up upon the leaf (2*) enjoying its piercing rays, and from this capability of enduring heat, as well as from their colour, they may well be designated "the negi'o caterpillar." When they feed they either fix themselves by their six pectoral feet to the edge of the leaf (2t), or begin to eat oft" the surface for a small space, when they perforate the other cuticle, making a hole, which they enlarge until it is one or two tenths of an inch in diameter, and as the leaf grows this increases, provided the whole leaf is not consumed, so that, when the succeeding brood is hatched, abundance of secure niduses are thus provided for their eggs. Mr. Newport discovered that whilst they were in their first skins they had the power of emitting a silken thread, to let themselves down when shaken from a leaf, like the caterpillars of the geometrse and smaller moths, which enables them to regain their position after the alarm is over ; but when farther advanced in life they lose this power, and are consequently obliged to crawl up the stem until they reach a leaf; after this period they fall on the slightest touch, and lie curled up as if dead until their apprehensions of danger have subsided. They are not long, after assuming the slate colour, before they descend from the leaves and enter the earth, and are sometimes two hours and a half engaged in burying themselves 1 or 2 inches below the surface, where they form an oval silvery cocoon of silken threads and gluten,"^ more or less brown outside (fig. 8; and No. 3, fig. 3), but of a beautiful smooth silvery texture within : it is impervious to wet, and its glutinous nature when first spun causes it to adhere to the particles of earth and sand in which it may be imbedded, so that it appears like a small lump of earth, and is not easily detected ; but when formed in a box it partakes of its colour on the outside, and requires a knife to detach it, and then it cannot be well separated without making a hole in the case. Some of the early broods pass very rapidly into the perfect insects, three weeks being sufiicient, and the females were found already to be full of eggs; but later in the season it is three months before they change to pup£e, and, in order to secure a succession the following season, probably one- third remain in the cocoons in the caterpillar state through the winter (fig, 4): eventually, however, the caterpillar casts its skin in the cocoon, and becomes a whitish-yellow nympha or pupa, the * Thi.s substance is said by some to be an exudation from its body, but I believe it to be spun, like thi' cocoon of the silkworm, from its mouth. 50 FAEM INSECTS. limbs and figure of the adult fly being distinctly visible through the thin skin (fig. 5; and No. 3, fig. 5). Having traced their progress and economy from their first appearance as flies to the pupa or chrysalis, the next object for consideration will be the remedies; but before we enter upon this subject, there are some facts that we have collected in our investigations which deserve especial notice; one of which is, that light soils seem to be most attractive ; for instance, the coast of Norfolk, where the saw-flies were first observed in such multitudes, is exceedingly sandy; Mr. Yarrell says they affect light and chalky soils: in another district the sharpest gravel was infested the most; and where it was a sandy loam upon mountain limestone they proved very destructive, and attacked the crops in patches;* but the most inexplicable trait in their economy is, that, whilst in some places and in some seasons the caterpillars refused to eat the Swedish turnips,! in other instances they shared the same fate as the English varieties, or were even exclusively attacked. At first this led to a belief that the leaves of this variety of Brassica campestris, containing a greater portion of oily matter, and being more pungent to the taste, than B. Rapa, they were altogether secure from the black caterpillar ; this, however, in the sequel, proved unfortunately a decided fallacy: yet how interesting, and perhaps beneficial, would it be to reconcile these anomalies, if we had sufficient recorded facts to assist in such an under- taking. There seem to be fair grounds for believing that the saw-fly does give a preference to the English turnip, but rather than be disappointed, she will deposit her eggs in the leaves of the Swedes, and it is possible that they afford the larvae more wholesome food in wet weather : it would be easy to enlarge upon like inquiries, but, as we have no means of answering them, it seems idle to do so. The caterpillars appear to be naturally fastidious, for when feeding on an old leaf they do not relish a younger one, being clearly partial to that which gave them birth, the juices I conceive being more congenial to their constitutions, especially in their early stages, which may account for the silken thread with which they are then provided to guide them back to their native spot; when half grown they spare none of the older leaves of full-grown turnips; indeed, their instinct shows that the outer rough leaves are best suited to their wants, for. the eggs being laid in them they first fall a sacrifice, whilst the central ones nourish the plant. * Royal Agricultural Journal, vol. i. p. 417. + I myself so invariably witnessed this preference, that I unhesitatingly stated, in 1836, "they would not touch the Swedes" (Curtis's British Entomologij, vol. xiii. p. C17); and in the Entomological Magazine, vol. iii. p. 340, Mr. Newman says, "It was remarkable that at Godalming the Swedes were untouched." THE TURNIP SAW-FL7. 51 daily becoming more developed, and, consequently, better adapted to their increasing and inordinate appetites. The charlock (Sinapis arvensis) is decidedly their favourite food, for they always attack that first, and will feed upon the flowers as well as the leaves. The period of the caterpillar and eating state is about three weeks, during which an individual will consume a very great quantity of food, but how many times its own weight, when fully grown, has not been calculated; at this time they are exceedingly voracious, and, of course, most to be dreaded. The caterpillars are generally discoA'^ered under the leaves when the plants are about three weeks old, and they daily increase in numbers from the successive hatching of the eggs, so that they vary greatly in size and colour in a short space of time, and, as the swarms of flies pass in a body from one spot to another, the larvse do not appear simultaneously ; indeed, they may be seen full grown in one field, whilst in a distant locality the saw-fly may be depositing its egg. But this arises from another cause — the numerous broods that hatch in one year; for the larvse arrive so soon at maturity, that a second brood of flies is produced in July and August, whose eggs are deposited forthwith, and thus a third brood is feeding in congenial seasons until the middle or end of October, which is frequently a warm and dry month; but, should hoar-frosts set in at this declining period, multitudes will be seen perishing on the leaves and ground. A low temperature generally arrests their progress, but as soon as it becomes again mild, all flattering hopes vanish with the suspended growth of the bulb ; it pines away from the loss of the leaves, which are the lungs of the plant, and, even should it survive their attacks, it never can arrive at its full size. Mr, Marshall states that in about ten days after the arrival of the saw- flies the young caterpillars were visible beneath the leaves, and in about ten days more the plants were entirely eaten up, excepting a small patch or two towards the centre of the field, and a space round it by the side of the hedge, proportioned to its height, and varying in this respect where trees occurred : tliis was accurately ascertained, and is a very curious fact, for in small pieces called pightles, set round with high trees, the plants had almost entirely escaped ; and, as might be expected from this evidence, large open fields and smaller inclosures lying exposed to the sea suflfered most, and lands dipping from the sea were less aff'ected. It seems probable that the shade produced by the trees and hedges, or the moisture under them, would not prove favourable to the hatching of the eggs, for, as soon as the other parts of the field were consumed by the caterpillars, they proceeded to devour the space on one side, and then " travelled with wonderful instinct in bodies towards the other.'' The whole field being finished, the gateway and the adjoin- 52 FARM INSECTS. ino- roads had, it was said with great confidence, been seen black with them. In Mr. Newport's Prize Essay we find that, when he inspected a field in Hants, of healthy white turnips, of 15 or 20 acres, which had been sown about a month, the saw-flies swarmed over about an acre at one end. They seemed to have amved very recently in a swarm or cloud, for they had not been observed there before, and were hourly increasing. But the remark- able fact was, that the great mass of the flies was confined almost entirely to the eastern end of the field at first, while there was scarcely a fly to be met with in the middle or at the western end ; now it appears there was a light westerly wind at the time, and the saw-flies had come in an opposite direc- tion, confirming the opinion, given in the Report of the Turnip-fiy, that insects, being directed by scent, frequently fiy against the wind. In four days they had passed over in a body to the western end, depositing eggs in their progress, from whence they would proceed to other fields hitherto free, if the ovaries of the females were not exhausted : Mr. Newport had observed in another instance that they came from the east. It is well known to all practical entomologists that caterpillars are attacked with purging when fed upon wet leaves, and this disease makes sad ravages amongst the " silkworms," if proper precautions be not taken in rearing them. Rains are consequently singularly destructive to the black caterpillars, by rendering the turnip-leaves very watery, which speedily kills them: the caterpillars can undoubtedly resist a shower, yet, if they be brushed off" in wet, cold weather, after casting their first skins, I doubt if they would recover ; and on the contrary, if the earth be very dry, I expect they would not regain their position without difiiculty. especially on sandy soils, over which they travel very indifferently, and for this reason probably, they migrate in troops at night when the earth is moistened with dew ; but these are merely hints thrown out for the more mature consideration of those most interested in the subject. There are, however, many other causes in operation to decrease this formidable enemy, which probably might be taken advantage of; for instance, if a caterpillar be removed after it has fixed its fleshy feet to any substance in order to cast its skin, it has not the power to attach itself a second time, consequently it cannot disengage itself from the old skin, and it dies : this operation takes place every six or seven days, as already shown, and such would be the best periods for disturbing them : when the caterpillars are preparing for this moult they become un- settled and will not eat, but as soon as they have cast off their skins all their vigour returns with redoubled force, and they are more ravenous than before. When they have overcome the exertions of their final moult, if the earth be THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 53 very dry it is greatly against them, for the larva3 do not like to enter it, I have repeatedly observed, as they do when it is moist. Probably they are obliged to bury themselves deeper under such a condition of the soil, until they arrive at damp earth, which will allow them to form their cells ; they are also longer burying themselves when the earth is dry, and I believe descend close to the bulb of the turnip, as the most protected from drought; and this operation requires several hours when they are in any way en- feebled, but is otherwise speedily accomplished. Rooks, as usual, are eminently serviceable in diminishing the caterpillars; and Mr. Marshall observed that " a large piece of turnips lying in an open field had escaped in a remarkable manner ; it lay near a rookery, which was a general rendezvous for these birds; and I recollect," he adds, ''to have seen this piece more than once covered with them." The swallows also soon become attracted by the flies, and are constantly skimming over the fields in pursuit of them ; and, when it is remembered that the capture of one female may prove the destruction of a very extensive brood of the caterpillars, the benefit conferred by a single bird, from the prodigious number it would destroy in a few days, is scarcely to be calculated. It is remarkable that so few parasitic insects seem to be attached to the turnip saw-fly, which may be one cause of its rapid increase ; but I believe that the currant saw-fly is equally free from such enemies.* I have bred a considerable number of both species, yet I never detected a caterpillar that had been stung, or in any way inoculated by parasites ; I am therefore led to conclude that it is of rare occurrence. A friend, however, sent me an ichneumon which appeared to be bred from a cocoon the beginning of May; it is, I believe, a Bassus of Gravenhorst,t and is black, minutely punctured and finely pubescent; the horns are as long as the body; the mouth and lower part of the face are white, with a black stripe down the middle, and two points on each side of the clypeus of the same colour; the labrura and tips of the mandibles are ferruginous brown; the wings are iri- descent, the costa and stigma fulvous, the nervures brown, and there is no areolet; the legs are rather stout and rufous, the coxcB ochreous, the tarsi and hinder tibise are tawny, the latter with the terminal half and the tarsi black. It is 2| lines long, and the wings expand nearly 5^ lines — not quite half an inch. As it does not appear to be described by any author, I propose calling it Bassus athaliwperda, the " Athalia-destroyer." Mr. Yarrell has also figured " a dipterous parasite (one of the muscidse), which, having completely devoured the interior of the larva, has undergone its * Gardener's Chronicle, vol. i. p. 548. f Curtis's Guide to an Arrangement of British Insects, Genus 520. 54 FARM INSECTS. change to a coarctate pupa witliia the skin of the larva of the Athalia, portions of which (greatly stretched) are seen remaining on the outside of the dipterous pupa, as well as the head of the larva, which remains entire/'^ From our present knowledge, therefore, we have no just grounds to expect assistance from insectivorous parasites, which are often so admiral3ly employed to keep in check the insects that are injurious to man; it is, consequently, to his own resources that the agriculturist must look for either a preventive or cure ; and, with this view, we will now proceed to the remedies proposed : many of them, however, are mere palliatives, being limited, imperfect, and uncertain in their operations, whilst others have been attended with universal and complete success. Mr. Saunders says, that " lime-dust, or powdered chalk, had been spread over the attacked half of a field, and apparently with beneficial results, but few caterpillars remaining;" in another instance, strewing quicklime, and renewing it as often as the wet or wind rendered it necessary, was most beneficial; but other parties found sowing with lime in the middle of the night, when the plants were moist with dew, had no effect; quicklime and soot were tried with no better success, and scattering slaked lime or coal-ashes over the plants is said to be useless; as it is admitted that in consequence of this application the larvae rolled off the leaves, I do not concur in its inutility, and I think that it might be attended even with good success, if it were done after rain or in damp weather, for, on being touched, the larvae curl themselves up and fall to the ground; if, therefore, they were brushed off in the evening, and the dusting of lime with wood or other ashes were immediately to follow that operation, I doubt not but myriads would perish, especially if the succeeding night proved cold and frosty, as is not unfrequently the case in September, and I believe even in August; indeed, such is reported to have been the result. As, however, it is stated that when shaken off, the active cater- pillars will regain the leaves by day in five minutes, except under circum- stances already alluded to, it is evident that such applications must not be delayed, if any advantage is expected to be derived from dusting or watering them upon the ground. A heavy roller passed over the field in the evening and at night, is said to have destroyed the caterpillars whilst feeding, and to have checked them, especially when repeated two or three times, but it did not save the crop. It is only at an early stage of the turnip's growth that rolling can be of service, for when the plants have arrived at any size, as they generally have * Transactions of the Zoological Society, vol. ii. Plate 14, fig. 12. THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 55 when I have seen them thus attacked, they must be injured by such a process, and the roller itself cannot come in close contact with the soil. Whilst any attempts are making to diminish or to extirpate the cater- pillars, the turnips should not be touched with the hoe; few of the larvae are killed by the operation, and, as their food is thereby reduced possibly one-half, the remainder more speedily, and with greater certainty, falls a sacrifice to their ravages ; moreover, hoeing, by loosening and refreshing the earth, renders it more agreeable and better suited to receive the full-grown larvae, when they are led by instinct to bury themselves. But as soon as the caterpillars have disappeared, the hoes may be set to work with great advan- tage where the crop is only partially injured, for then it will disturb and destroy multitudes of those that have entered the earth ; and if this could be immediately followed by throwing salt and water from a water-cart over the crop, it would have a most beneficial influence, and this could be efifected without much difiiculty or detriment where the turnips are drilled in ; and the same liquid, or even common water, if thus applied the instant the saw- flies make their appearance, would drive them away also, as such a state of the plants is not adapted to the deposition of the eggs; and the saw-flies themselves, although, from their polished surface, the pubescence which clothes some of their members, and probably from an oily exudation, can easily recover when they fall into pure water and escape from its surface; yet, when they are forcibly washed off" the plants, and get entangled with the soil, as lime, clay, or any other earthy matter, especially in cold weather, the greater portion of them would be rendered incapable of doing further mischief On the sea- coast, where they have generally first appeared, salt water from the sea might often be advantageously employed; and the dusting of finely-pounded salt over the field would do great service, if it were scattered whilst the turnips were wet from rain or heavy dews. Mr. Newport justly observes, that sea- water, or salt and water, is likely to prove useful, for two reasons — " First, from the known pernicious eflect of saline matters in solution upon most young insects; and next, the circumstance of a greater amount of cold being produced during its evaporation, whilst the means applied as a remedy for the insect, would, on most lands, prove beneficial to the soil, and hasten the growth of the crops.'' Drawing a cart-rope over the turnips, to shake oflf the caterpillars, is sometimes very eflfective, but not always to be depended upon. Mr, Sells says, that two men were employed in the middle of September to sweep 6 acres of turnips at Kingston, with an inch-rope about 80 feet long ; it took them one hour each time, and was daily repeated for four days with great success, vast numbers of the larvse being found dead under the turnips. 5G FARM INSECTS. This operation ought to be performed in the evening, taking advantage, it possible, of a wet day; and should the larvae not have arrived at maturity, so much the better, as all those that are moulting must perish. A better plan, perhaps, is to take an axle-tree connecting two wheels, and lash some branches of the green furze '^ to it at such a height, that they would brush the turnips without pulling them up by the roots; this not only has the same advantages as the rope, but great numbers of the caterpillars are wounded and destroyed by the thorns ; if furze cannot be readily procured, branches of the fir ti'ee or hawthorn may be substituted. A hurdle bushed with smooth boughs, and drawn down the rows, has also had a good effect, but it must be repeated two or three times. The elder has long been celebrated for its virtues in repelling the attacks of insects, and in the canker years it has been tried in various ways, some- times with success; but possibly many other trees, employed in the same manner, would have proved just as serviceable: for Mr. Marshall's experi- ments clearly showed that the elder is neither noxio'os nor disagreeable to the black caterpillar ; even a turnip leaf, which had been tvJiijjped with the elder, was eaten by them when they were confined with it in a box. The benefit alluded to was derived from the use of a brush made of the young straight luxuriant shoots of the elder, about 2 or 3 feet long, and as thick as one's finger; these were tied to a cart-rope 20 feet long, with rope-yarn 4 to 6 inches apart. Two men then took hold near the twigs, the loose ends of the rope being tied together, and dragged the elder at a distance behind ; of course the rope may be prepared of any convenient length for the men to walk along the furrows, but 20 feet will take in a rod at once. Mr. Marshall also reports another successful case. In a field that was partly sown early, the saw-flies t appeared when they were in rough leaf; this portion was entirely cut off by the black caterpillars, so that it was necessary to plough and sow a second time ; but the ploughing and harrowing did not kill all the larvae, for thousands were seen on the surface travelling towards the portion of the field which had been late sown, the plants of which were of a considerable size; a trench was immediately cut to divide the two portions, and two men drew the elder bushes over the turnips thrice a- day, at morning, noon, and night, which employed them an hour and a half each time to go over about 8 acres. This was continued for ten days, and the elder was re- newed three times. Whatever might be the cause, " after looking attentively The Ulex Europwus, called in .some counties gorze, or gorse, and whin, t It is most essential for agriculturists to call these flies saw-flies, aud not merely ' ' the -flies," in consequence of the turnip-beetle being also called the "fly," otherwise great uncertainty and confu- sion may be the consequence in future investigations. THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 57 for some time among the plants, I saw only two caterpillars, and so healthy a piece of turnips I do not recollect to have seen ; they have been sown only three weeks, yet they are now fit for the hoe."'^ Mr. Marshall attributes this success to the complete and continued vibration of the leaves given by the straight elder twigs lying flat and even upon them as they passed over. When turnips are sown in ridges, a number of women have been advan- tageously employed with live twigs to brush the larvae off", crushing them with their feet as they passed on, being " closely followed by a man with a scuffler, set so as to cover the whole space between the plants ; and by once or twice going over the field was cleared."! It was a universal practice in Norfolk, which had generally a good effect, when one portion of a field was swept oif by the larvae, and they were marching to a less infested portion, to draw a furrow between them, deepening it into a trench. The side next the part to be protected should be made, of course, perpendicular, or even overhanging at the top, if possible: thus a trap is laid, and the bottom of the trench will soon be entirely covered with them. It is likewise a very sensible precaution, when there are signs of the caterpillar in one field, to cut such a trench across a gateway connecting it with another inclosure where there are no symptoms of its presence. If water rise in the trench, so much the better; if not, the bottom may be filled with straw, and set on fire when the caterpillars have accumulated in sufficient numbers, which is a very speedy and excellent mode of destroying them. Hand-picking and ducks are, however, most to be relied on; it is true that the former is tedious, if not expensive, where the caterpillars are so numerous that as many as sixteen score have been counted on one large plant; but in such cases they should be brushed or whipped off" into fruit- baskets or sieves ; otherwise pint or smaller pots are well adapted for collect- ing them, which can be emptied into lai'ge covered vessels at the head of the field, containing some salt and water, or lime-water, to prevent the cater- pillars from crawling out. Mr. Sells states that a boy ten years old gathered the caterpillars in a field suffering in a slight degree, at the rate of 180 in an hour; eight hours per diem would give nearly 1500, or 9000 a-week; so that ten or twelve children, from six to ten years old, would collect 90,000 or 100,000 in a week, where they are not abundant; in such a case, Gd. a pint, and 2s. a-day to the superintendent, would probably answer the purpose. I * Abstract from Marshall's Rural Economy, p. 18. + Transactions of the Yorkshire Ayricultural Society, p. 54. ij: Transactions of the Entomological Society, vol. ii. p. Ixxviii. 58 FAEM INSECTS. Mr. Manning says, '-Pigs will destroy the larvae to a very great extent, and without injuring the crop in the slightest degree;" but that 160 young ducks soon put a stop to the black caterpillars. Ducks, having been tried with universal success, are decidedly the favourites : they are also useful to eat slugs and other small animals destructive to field-crops and vegetables. Poultry are said to be equally beneficial, with the exception of turkeys, which will not touch the negro caterpillars. Fowls are naturally fond of worms and caterpillars, so much so that hens' eggs, when they feed much on meadows and mountains, without corn-food, are not well flavoured. It is therefore not difficult to induce them to make the most of their time, when they are invited to such a luxurious banquet. Indeed it is supposed to be most judicious to tui-n in iDoultry where the caterpillars do not abound, as they will search them out, and leave the turnips uninjured; whereas the ducks, under such circumstances, would attack the turnip-tops, and thus the remedy might prove as bad as the malady. Hundreds of ducks were turned into a field in Kent, which saved the crop; and by this method Mr. Osborne, of Birdham, in Sussex, preserved his turnips. Eighty ducks from Leadenhall market did not work well the first day, but on the following iliej quickly accomplished their allotted task, thriving uj)on their new food. At Long-Ditton the ducks and fowls proved equally useful. At Chertsey, a farmer put 150 half-grown fowls into a waggon, which was drawn into the middle of a cankered field, and tui-ned them loose, when they soon annihilated the caterpillars ; and they rendered the same services on the adjoining farm immediately after. Even when a part of the field has been all but destroyed, the introduction of ducks has speedily changed its appearance; the sooner, however, this useful operation commences the better; the farmer should therefore be on the watch for the young caterpillar, and immediately set his ducks and poultry to do their duty. Nearly 400 ducks were at work at one time on two farms in Nor- folk, and saved all the crops intrusted to their care. When such large numbers are employed, they ought to be formed into detachments of not more than 100, and each must be attended by a boy or a girl, to precede them with a long light pole or willow rod, to brush the caterpillars off" the leaves, as well as to drive the birds to water and to rest three or four times a-day ; after drinking, the ducks will often disgorge the caterpillars in great quantities, and soon go to work again with whetted appetites: they must also be driven home at night, and put in a barn, where they ought to be fed Avith a little barley or other grain, to keep them in health and vigour, otherwise so much living animal food disagrees with them, and causes purg- ing. Old ducks do not work well; select, therefore, those that are fi'oni THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 59 three to five weeks old. Mr. Sells recommends that, after ducks and fowls have been made to fast a few hours, they should be tried with the larvae, either alone or mixed with barley, by which means they would become acquainted with the insect to be sought for, and probably take a predilection for it. I must not omit to state that Mr. Porter, of Covehithe, in Suffolk, derived great benefit from driving a flock of sheep over those turnip fields which were infested with the black caterpillar. Having now discussed the various methods that have been adopted to arrest the ravages of the black caterpillar, we wish to impress upon the agriculturist that to be successful in any plan of extirpation, whether it regards the black caterpillar, when he again visits our turnip fields, or any other insect which ravages them every year, it must be resolutely persevered in, and above all things applied in good time. If we be dilatory or procras- tinating, what chance have we in coping with an active enemy, which on the coast of Norfolk appeared in such myriads that the plants were stripped in a few days, so that it was too late when the blacks made their appearance to apply a remedy? And this proves how essential it is to be able to recog- nize the saw-fly, in order to be on our guard, and prepare at once for the worst. With this object in view, I have endeavoured to render the engrav- ings as intelligible and complete as possible; and as a summary of the foregoing details will be useful for reference, I shall proceed to lay it before the reader. It has been shown in the first chapter that the turnip-fly (Altica nemo- rum) is only to be dreaded in its perfect or beetle state; but it is quite otherwise with the turnip saw-fly, the caterpillar or larva of which is the only state in which it is capable of doing any mischief. The turnip saw-fly is called by scientific men Atkalia spinarum., and also Tenthredo centifoUcG. These flies come over from the north of Europe, but are probably bred in small numbers annually in England. In 1756 their first appearance was recorded. Their ^mischievous visits are at extremely irregular intervals. In 1782, many thousands of acres were entirely destroyed in the county of Norfolk by the black caterpillar. Subsequently to 1782, the year 1835 lias proved the most fatal to the turnip crops from their attacks, the produce of a second and third sowing being destroyed by the black caterpillars. In July, August, and September, the saw-flies are most abundant; but they have been found as early as the 29th of March, and as late as the middle of October. 60 FAEM INSECTS. The male saw-flies are the smallest, and hatch first; they are supposed to be most abundant, but my experience leads to an opposite conclusion. On being touched they feign death; and are torpid in moist and cloudy "weather, but very active in the sunshine. They rest by night on plants and flowers, and feed upon the pollen. They seem to fly against the wind, like the turnip-beetles. Watering the plants as soon as the saw-flies appear would in all proba- bility preserve the crop. Scattering finely-powdered salt over the turnips when they are wet would keep the females from depositing their eggs. The eggs are laid immediately after paring, between the cuticles of the leaf, close to the margin, or in the edge of a large hole, and are deposited singly in cells. Outside rough leaves are selected for this purpose ; and the leaflets at the base are often preferred. The turnip saw-flies live twelve or fourteen days, and the females are exceedingly tenacious of life. A female will lay from 250 to 800 eggs ; and they hatch in from five to eleven days. The black caterpillars are about one-tenth of an inch long at fii-st, but three-quarters, and sometimes nearly an inch in length when arrived at maturity. They change their skins thrice during their lives, which extend to nine- teen days, or three weeks. Previous to changing their first skin, they have the power of emitting a thread from their mouths, and are diflBcult to shake off": after the first moult they fall down on the slightest touch, and lie curled up. If the caterpillars be disturbed whilst moulting they die. They descend into the earth and there form a cocoon, in which they change to pupae, often lying in the ground the whole winter; but in summer the saw-flies hatch in three weeks. When they descend into the eaHh, if it be fres?c and moist, it is better suited to their economy than when it is very dry. Light soils seem to suit them best. Swedes by the side of white turnips often not touched : in other instances they have sufiered equally. Sivedes more or less infested, but not a caterpillar to be seen on the English turnips. The young larvce oxe fastidious ; and when feeding on an old leaf do not relish a young one. THE TURNIP SAW-FLY. 01 They are most voracious immediately after changing their skins; and when nearly full-grown do the most mischief. They do not appear simultaneously; and there are often three broods in a year, A thunder-storm destroyed myriads of the black caterpillars. Cold checks their progress, and often kills them ; and tvet causes diarrhoea, which carries off great numbers. Checked and destroyed in the ground by the frost of January, 1838. Sometimes attack fields in patches; at others commence on one side, going regularly forward ; and again leaving, perhaps, a space in the middle and all the borders untouched. Large and open fields more liable to be attacked than small and inclosed ones. Rooks and sivallows are very serviceable in thinning their ranks; the former feeding on the caterpillars, the latter upon the saw-flies. The caterpillars seem to be nearly free from parasitic enemies. The streiving of quick-lime, coal-ashes, and soot, has been attended with various success, and generally with beneficial results. Repeated rolling has killed and checked the caterpillars ; but its effects are partial. Hoeing an attacked crop the most fatal experiment, until all the cater- pillars have disappeared. Drawing a cart-rope over the turnips to shake off" the caterpillars has proved more or less effective, most so when a brush made of elder-boughs has been fastened to it. An axle-tree with wheels, the former armed with green furze, drawn along the rows, wounds and destroys the larvae, as will also a hushed hurdle. Brushing the larvae off with live twigs and stamping upon them, a man following with a scuffier, has cleared a field of the larvae. A trench judiciously cut will often preserve a portion of a field, or an adjoining one. Hayid-picking, when the larvae are not excessively abundant, may be depended upon as a certain remedy ; and when in great numbers they may be brushed into sieves. Pigs will destroy the black caterpillars. Ducks and poultry will devour them with avidity ; and this seems to be the most easy and effectual method of extirpating the black caterpillars : the birds may either be carried or driven into the field, according to the distance. Sheep driven over fields infested with the caterpillar have done essential service. 62 FAEM INSECTS. Explanation of Plate B. Fig. 1. The eggs of the turnip saw-fly deposited in the leaf. Fig. 2. The larvae or caterpillars feeding and at rest. Fig. 2 a. One of the fore-legs magnified. Fig. 3. The cocoon, open at one end, after the fly has emerged from it. Fig. 4. The larva, as seen in the winter, when a cocoon is opened longitudinally. Fig. 5. The pupa or nympha in a cocoon, opened longitudinally in the spring. Fig. 6. The male turnip saw-fly, considerably magnified ; the cross lines showing the exact natural dimensions of a living fly. Fig. 7. The female fly, the size of nature ; some specimens, however, are a little smaller. Fig. 8. The head of a caterpillar, showing a front view of the face, which is highly magnified, as well as all the following figures : — 6, The minute eyes. c, The short antennae. d, The mouth. Fig. 9. The various organs of the mouth of the caterpillar separated: — e, The labrum or upper-lip. /, One of the mandibles or teeth. ff, One of the maxillae or jaws. *, The pectinated or comb-like lobe. h, The maxillary palpus or feeler. »', The mentum or chin. Jc, The labium or under-lip. 1, The two labial palpi or feelers. Fig. 10. The various organs of the mouth of the fly separated: — ni, The labrum or upper-lip. n, The two mandibles or teeth. 0, The maxillae or jaws, uniting at their base. p, The maxillary palpi or feelers. q, The mentum or chin. r, The labium or under-lip. s, The labial palpi or feelers. Fig. 11. One of the antennae. Fig. 12. Abdomen of the male, viewed beneath. Fig. 13. Abdomen of the female, viewed beneath. t, The valves and ovipositor. Fig. 14. The same forcibly separated. Fig. 15. Lateral view of the abdomen of a female. u, The valves and ovipositor in profile. Fig. 16. One of the valves detached Fig. 17. One of the outer lancets Fig. 18. One of the inner lancets. Fig. 19. One of the fore-legs: — V, The thigh attached to the trochanters and coxa. w, The tibia or shank. X, The five-jointed foot or tarsus. y, One of the four suckers. 2, The two claws and pulvillus. Fig. 20. The under side of a turnip-leaf. All the figures are drawn from nature. Ill, Tin I,,,, .w I, '//.-.i- ivilh linir 1. 1.,, -I, r„l .-ri, ilhl ,:.■ ,;,ll,;l .\,„,,< BI^>.CICE & ■■^OS. &LA3GOW:EDIHBTJIU^.iI,0HD01T. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. CHAPTER III. THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF VARIOUS INSECTS AFFECTING THE TURNIP CROPS; INCLUDING THE PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, CATER- PILLARS OF MOTHS, ETC. Having detailed the economy and natural history of two of the most for- midable enemies to the turnip crops, I shall proceed to the investigation of some others which attack the foliage, and leave for a future chapter those which assail the roots. Some of them may at first appear to be of little con- sequence, as affecting the property of the farmer; but as we know that it is only from the excess of insects that serious mischief arises, and as it is far from improbable that they may all have their destined periods of appearance, to ravage our crops with fearful force, none of them ought to be neglected: for these reasons it will be advisable to make all the insects connected with farming known to the agriculturist ; and I hope that the thirst for knowledge which is so natural to man, will tend to render my investigations acceptable. Let it likewise ever be borne in mind that whatever God has created is de- serving of our attention, and the more we study His works the more con- vinced shall we be of the wisdom they manifest. HISTORY OF THE APHIDES, OR PLANT-LICE. There is no tribe of insects so universally distributed, or exceeding in multitudes the plant-lice ; and, of all the animals that are destined to torment the gardener, none are more successful than the aphides, and the agricul- turist not unfrequently sufiers from the effects of their blighting powers, for probably there is not a plant, from the smallest grass to the most stately tree, that is altogether exempt from the visits of this pigmy — " Feeble race ! yet oft The sacred sons of vengeance, on whose course Corrosive famine waits, and kills the year " The immortal Linnaeus, considering that every plant supported a distinct species of Aphis, named these insects after the vegetables they fed upon ; and 64 FARM INSECTS. similar as they may appear to a careless observer, I am induced, from an extensive and careful examination of this subject, to subscribe generally to the opinion of the Swedish naturalist; indeed, as far as the turnip is con- cerned, there are three, if not four species of plant-lice that are attached to the different varieties of this invaluable crop — two or three living upon the leaves, the other infesting the flower-stalks of those left for seed : one is ex- ceedingly like those which attack the cabbages,* and I believe they are iden- tical ; if such be the case, it may be admitted as an exception to a general rule, but it must be remembered that it is the Swedes which this species infests. We have in a former chapter alluded to the remarkable economy of the aphides, which dm-ing the summer bring forth young without sexual inter- course, and in the autumn lay eggs ; the fecundation of the first female being sufficient to render twenty successive generations fertile.f No writer that I am aware of has paid particular attention to the turnip aphides, although the leaves are often infested to a great extent towards the end of summer, as well as in the autumn, and by their piercing the nerves the leaves become curled and distorted, at the same time affording the insects a habitation, pro- tected both from heat, wet, and cold : the green tops thus become less ser- viceable as food for cattle, and the growth of the roots is unquestionably retarded by the exhaustion of the leaves, and the outer ones, turning yellow, fall of They are sometimes attacked at a much earlier period ; for Mr. Mar- shall observed the aphides extremely numerous on seedling leaves, from whence he concludes that they may be the cause of the very slow progress which is sometimes made by the young turnip plants to push into rough- leaf. ' I wished to watch the economy of these insects, and having sown some turnip -seed in a garden in the spring, I found the leaves infested with the aphides in the middle of July, when the wingless females (N"o. 4, fig 7; 8, magnified), J were surrounded by their young broods, unmolested by the heavy rains which had incessantly flillen during the previous fortnight; and two winged ones were sheltered in the same situation (fig. 5 ; 6, magnified). On the under side of one small leaf I counted 168 aphides ; they comprised about a dozen large green ones, like figs. 7 and 8, one of which was just * Mr. F. Walker says, "Two distinct species infest the turnip; the one is bright pale red in colour, the other green, covered with white down, which is also abundant on the cabbage."— See The Entomologist, p. ] 73. t M. Bonnet, who first tried the experiment, thinks that aphides would produce in this way to the thirtieth generation. + All the lines and cross-lines denote the natural dimensions of the magnified figures throughout this volume. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 65 giving birth to a young aphis; apparently, to me, it was inclosed in a thin membrane, and came forth backwards, which would render its inclusion in a sac the more necessary ; it was exactly like a pupa, with two little black eyes shining through, and the antennae were folded backward, as well as the legs, so that the limbs were not free, but the instant it was perfectly excluded it began to move its horns, and immediately after- wards used its legs.^ The fe- males are green, and finely sha- greened ; most of them were surrounded by eight or ten young ones of a yellower colour, and there was a considerable number of larger young ones, of a somewhat rosy tint. I likewise observed eight dark specimens, each of which was accompanied by five or six young ones, of a similar colour, with two dark oval spots upon the head ; and these, I am inclined to believe, belonged to a different species. It may readily be conceived that, under favourable conditions of the at- mosphere, the multiplication of the aphides must be beyond calculation : in 1827 and 1836 they are stated to have committed very extensive ravages on the tm-nip crops.f In the absence, however, of any positive data imme- diately connected with the natural history of the turnip aphides, I shall avail myself of information relating to kindred species,, which will equally well illustrate the habits and economy of this family, and supply us with the means of studying any of its members. J Most of the plant-lice, I believe, come forth in the spring, as soon as the foliage is apparent, but some are seen even before the leaves are expanded: at this time they are all wingless fe- males, which have hatched from eggs that had been laid the foregoing au- tumn : these soon disperse, and forcing their rostrums up to the base in the tender stalks and leaves of plants, begin to produce young in ten or twelve * Mr. W. Curtis says that the young of A. salicis were able to use their legs before they were perfectly disengaged from their mother, and thus assisted in liberating themselves. — Linnean Trans- actions, vol. vi. p. 79. t In 1793 the aphides were the chief, and in 1798 the sole cause of the failure of the crops of hops. — W. Curtis, Linnean Transactions, vol. vi. p. 79. t Schmidberger, in Kollar's Naturgeschichte der schaedlichen Insecten: see Aphis pijri, mali, pruni, and pe7'sic(e, p. 291. 66 FARM INSECTS. days, which likewise seem to be wingless females ; and as no males make their appearance until the autumn, when pairing takes place, it is evident that the females must be pregnant at their birth, without sexual intercourse; and this occurs for several successive generations. The females produce about two young ones daily during fifteen or twenty days;^ and KoUar says that, in ten days, the third generation from the eggs is able to bring forth young, comprising winged as well as wingless females, the former flying away aa soon as they have arrived at maturity, and the latter remaining on the plant where they were produced. Both the winged and wingless females of the third generation are able to produce young in eight, and even in four days, which are capable of the same power as their parent at the expiration of a similar space of time ; and proceeding thus until the middle of September, the generations often amount to sixteen or twenty — thus, from one egg only, 729,000,000 aphides would be produced in seven generations, taking thirty as the average of each brood — twenty being the minimum, and forty the maximum ; f so that if they all lived, everything on the face of the earth would be covered with them. About the middle of September, the last gene- ration, consisting of males and females, is produced; the former generally becoming winged. When they have attained maturity, the sexes pair, and the females no longer bring forth young, but lay eggs, which are able to re- sist the severity of winter, and these, hatching in the succeeding spring, again produce viviparous mothers. The autumnal stock, having provided for the continuation of its race in the following year, generally dies off before the approach of winter. Towards the end of March, or the beginning of April, we often have a succession of cold drying winds, from the north and north-east, at which time the aphides occasionally make their appearance so suddenly as to be termed a blight: these must be the offspring of the autumnal eggs, or broods which had lived through the winter. Their increase in damp and sultry weather, at a more advanced period, is equally surprising; and the universal diffusion of such myriads, soon after a thunder-storm, has led, as with the black caterpillars, to the vulgar error of their having fallen from the clouds. Electricity probably causes the simultaneous appearance of insects in many instances, for the irritability of the nervous system is excited by the increased action of oxygen, so that insects, both in the egg On opening the body of a willow aphis, Mr. W. Curtis counted sixty-one young ones, large and small, and in another forty-six. t Reaumur (vol. vi. p. 566) has proved that, in five generations, one aphis may be the progenitor of 5,904,900,000 descendants ; and it is supposed that, in one year, there may be twenty generations. — See Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, vol. i. p. 174. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. C7 and pupa states, may be more speedily developed, the dormant eggs may thus be called instantly into life, and the viviparous aphides bring forth their young simultaneously; which may, in some measure, account for the vast swarms of plant-lice that so frequently cover, .in a few hours, the flowers in our gardens and the crops in our fields. I have already stated, that there are three, if not four species of aphides which live upon the turnips: the first (figs. 6 and 8) I have found under the rough leaves of the English varieties, as well as one which I believed to be distinct; another (No. 5, figs. 2 and 4) appears to be attached to the Swedes; and the last (No. 4, figs. 2 and 4) is secreted amongst the flower-stalks. During the first few generations they are all wingless, but as the summer advances they appear to arrive at greater perfection, and assume a more complete state of development ; so that, eventually, individuals of both sexes are furnished with wings, when they are capable of doing incredible mis- chief by the extended field of their operations ; for, flying about, they form colonies in every direction, and they are thus enabled to select a proper nidus for the eggs, which are laid by the last generation in the autumn, after the pairing of the sexes. The aphides generally deposit their eggs, which are hard, and like parchment, in the most secure places, under the buds, in the forks of branches of trees, &c., and sometimes, it appears, upon the leaves.^ The young are furnished with horns and legs, like their parents, but they are generally narrower in proportion, and often of a different colour. Like most insects in their growing state, they change their skins several times, which are left sticking to the plants on which they live; and they are never deprived, from their birth to their adult state, of the power of locomotion, as the turnip-beetles and turnip saw-flies are, which lie quiescent in their pupa state. The aphides belong also to an order which we have not before noticed, called Homoptera, but it formed a section only of Linnaeus's order Hemiptera: the family is named Aphidid^, containing, amongst other groups, an extensive genus called Aphis. This genus t has two horns, considerably longer than the body, often as long as the wings, naked and tapering like bristles, inserted in front of the face, composed of seven joints, of which the two first are short and oblong, the following long, especially the third. Rostrum bent under the breast, short, and four-jointed; longest in the females. Eyes globose and lateral; ocelli, or simple eyes, three, very remote. Collar of thorax very long in the * Mr. W. Curtis saw several small irregular groups of eggs of an aphis, which were depuslteil ou both sides of the leaves of some auricula plants, in November. t Curtib's British Eatomohrjy, fol. and Plate 577. 68 FAEM INSECTS. males. Abdomen ovate-conical in the males, with two tubes on the fifth segment. Wings four, transparent, deflexed in repose; superior twice as long as the body, ample, with several nervures, the furcate apical cells short : inferior wings much smaller, with a nervure forming three rays. Females generally apterous ; the bodies stouter. Legs six, long and slender, especially the hinder pair: thighs long; shanks longer; feet short, composed of two joints, the first scarcely visible, terminated by two curved acute claws. The different species already alluded to I will now proceed to de- scribe : — 1. Aphis rajpoe, Curtis^ — the turnip-leaf plant-louse. ifa^e— ochraceous; horns moderately long, setaceous, fuscous, two first joints black, third ochreous at the base: head blackish, collar ochreous and brown, disk of thorax shining black; abdomen greenish, the spiracles or breathing pores brown : tubes long, slender, ochreous at the tip ; the apical process of the body ochreous also: wings iridescent, the nervures light brown : stigmatic spot long and yellowish ; apical cell somewhat oval ; fur- cate cells elongate-trigonate ; terminal one short : tips of thighs, shanks, feet, and claws, black (No. 4, fig. 5; 6, magnified). Female — bright green, shagreened : horns fuscous, except at the base : eyes, tips of shanks, and feet, black (fig. 7; 8, magnified). Abundant beneath the leaves of the English turnip the whole of July, &c. It is at once distinguished from the other species by its long tubes and small apical cells of the wings. During the summer and autumn of 1842, between 500 and 600 acres of turnips were totally destroyed by the aphides, in the neighbourhood of Alnwick and Wooler. — (See Zoologist, vol. i. p. 123.) And in 1854, Aphis rumicis was exceedingly abundant everywhere, and destroyed the turnip crops to a great extent in Yorkshire, as stated in a communication from Mr. Lister. 2. Aphis duhia, Cui'tis— the black- spotted turnip-leaf plant-louse. Female ? — dull darkish gi-een, shagreened : antennae shortish, third joint ochreous, the following fuscous : rostrum short and stout : eyes, ocelK, and two large patches on the collar, black: each segment of the abdomen has a more or less complete transverse black stripe, interrupted down the middle; the tubes are slender and longish ; the tail is banded with black, and the conical apex is of the same colour : legs ochreous ; tips of thighs, tibiae, and the tarsi, fuscous. .Found, the end of July, beneath the turnip-leaves, with the former species. * Curtis's Guide to an Arrangement of British Insects, Genus 1047, 18 b. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 69 3. Aphis brassicce, Linngeus — the cabbage and Swedish turnip-leaf plant- louse. Male — generally pea-green: horns setaceous, longish, and black; as well as the head, collar, and disk of thorax: several blackish bands, more or less perfect, across the body: tubes short and stoutish, black at the base: wings iridescent, stigma pale-green, nervures strong, piceous, apical cell large, and the first furcate one wider than in A. rapce: legs black, base of thighs (fx:;^^^' green (No. 5, fig. 1 ; 2, magnified). ' ^^ Female — slightly mealy, generally of a yellower green than the males : third joint of antennaa ochreous, following black: eyes, two large spots on the crown, and one on each side of the collar, black: abdomen very large and heavy: spiracles, several dots upon the back, and a few transverse streaks beyond the middle, black : tubes short and black, as well as the legs ; base of thighs, greenish (fig. 3 ; 4, magnified). As far as my own observation goes, the Swedes have suffered most from the aphides; the under sides of the curled leaves being sometimes densely covered with them, of all sizes. The old wingless females are seen resting in August, September, and October, surrounded by their young broods, with here and there a winged male walking lazily over his kindred. The leaves are frequently at the same time gray with mildew; but that is a distinct disease.^ I may observe that I have seen myriads of Aphis hrassicm under cabbage leaves in July, and secreted in the leaves of the crumpled broccoli as late as the end of November, when they were of all ages and sizes, both winged and apterous. 4. Aphis floris-rapoi, Curtis — the turnip-flower plant-louse. Male — dull pale-green, dusted with white: antennae moderately long, blackish, excepting the base of the third joint: eyes, head, disk of the thorax, and abdomen, varied with black; tubes short and barrel-shaped: wings similar to those of A. brassicm: legs ochraceous; apex of thighs, shanks, and feet, black (No. 4, fig. 1 ; 2, magnified), i^cma^e— dull pale pea-green, powdered with white: rostrum short and stout: eyes black; antennae rather short, slightly hairy, terminal half brownish : abdomen, with * It i.s said that, in a very dry autumn, early sown turnips seldom escape the mildew, which is a species of fungus, forming a whitish powder over the leaves, and readily brushing off; the leaves thus affected soon become yellow, dry, and brittle : and at an early stage this disease seems to encourage the aphides, owing to the plants not being healthy and able to resist such attacks. 70 FAEM INSECTS. the spiracles, and several dots forming two rows towards the apex, black; tubes short, oval, and black: legs clothed with short hairs; the feet black (fig. 3; 4, magnified). I regret having to draw my description and figure of the male from dead specimens ; for the colours, as well as the form of the body, have changed considei-ably. Towai'ds the end of July I found a multitude of these aphides secreted amongst the short flower-stalks of the early white turnip, when a few only of the flowers were open. They were of various sizes, but all apterous at that period ; by the middle of August, however, they had increased to very large companies, with a few winged specimens. This species is readily dis- tinguished by its white dusty appearance, with which both sexes are thinly coated, as well as by their short, conical, and black tubes, or ducts: the black spots on the backs of some females were larger, and the horns longer, than in the individual represented in the woodcut. Whether any of the above aphides deposit the sweet liquor called honey- dew upon the turnip-leaves has not yet been observed ; but I have never seen the ants occupied in visiting the infested leaves for the purpose of collecting the saccharine matter which exudes from the two abdominal tubes or ducts, and which is also discharged from the extremity of the bodies of some species."^ Protected as the aphides are in the wrinkles of the leaves, which they themselves have caused by the pumping up and extravasation of the sap, it is, I think, impossible in the open field to apply any effectual remedy for the extirpation of this prolific tribe: when it is in our power, the best plan would be to cut ofl" the diseased leaves as soon as the presence of the insects is detected, and crush them completely under foot, or put them into a sack and carry them away to be destroyed with boiling water. Watering the plants with equal parts of tobacco-water and lime-water is said to be the best mode of destroying the aphides in gardens; and if plants be washed with tobacco-water alone — about half a pound of tobacco to a gallon of hot water — it will kill the aphides ; and if applied warm it will kill them the sooner. Strewing tobacco on hot cinders will soon rid a green-house of this pest; and sprinkling tobacco-dust upon trees, when the dew is upon the leaves, is an infallible remedy: but these applications would avail but little in the field even if it were practicable to employ' them. Sprinkling of lime- dust is likewise considered a very effective cure, but not in wet weather, * The exudation of this honey, which passes off through the tubes, and crystallizes in cold weather, may be a necessary means of disposing of any surplus secretions arising from the constant supply of sap which is passing through the stomachs of these little leeches, and which they may not have the power of discharging fast enough by the usual organs. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 71 when the lime not only loses its caustic quality, but the aphides so perfectly secrete themselves, that it is impossible to annoy them: I have been aston- ished to see plants swarming with them on the first dry day after long-con- tinued and very heavy rains. Fortunately, no tribe of insects has a greater number of natural enemies to keep it in check than the plant-lice; for besides swallows, robins, and numerous insectivorous birds, various bugs, spiders, beetles, and wasps destroy vast quantities; but the larv£e of the lady-birds, of the bee-like syrphus, of the golden-eyed flies, and several minute ichneumons, are pre- eminently useful, and particularly deserving of our attention : so much so, that on the Continent gardeners collect the larvse of the lady-birds and syrphidse, and put them upon their rose-trees, &c. ; for as they subsist entirely upon aphides, they soon clear a plant of these troublesome and offensive little pests.* I shall now endeavour to make the agriculturist better acquainted with the instruments provided by Providence to subdue a tribe of insects, which, without such parasites, would, like the plagues of Egypt, cover the land. One of the most conspicuous and eflScient enemies are the Goccinellce, of which about thirty different species have been noticed in England,! varying amongst themselves in colour and markings, to as great an extent as any of our domestic animals. These pretty beetles, called lady-birds and lady-cows, seem to be under the especial care of the Creator ; for they have secured the affections and good feeling of our children, and are amongst the few insects which in this country we are taught in our infancy not to re- gard with disgust or horror. The same kindly feeling is extended to them in France, where they are almost held sacred, being called vache a Dieu, and hetes de la Vierge, or " God's cows," and " the Virgin's insects." The lady- birds hybernate and pass the winter in the crevices of paling and trunks of trees, under loose bark, in dry leaves, on the ground, &c., and are therefore ready, on the shortest notice, to come from their hiding-places, from v/hich they are allured even by the sunny days of December ; and on the approach of spring are amongst our first vernal visitors, when the female lays her little eggs beneath leaves, close together, in clusters of about fifty (No. 6, fig. I ; 2, magnified) : they are cylindrical, bufi'-coloured, and set on one end ; from these, little sprawling larvse soon issue, of a lead colour, gaily ornamented with orange or scarlet spots, and are soon spread over the leaves of trees, palings, grass in fields, indeed, everywhere in the vicinity of the plant-lice, to which they are much more formidable than their parents. * Two lady-birds cleared two geranium plants of aphides in twenty-four hours. — J. C. t Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 20S, and Guide, Gen. 438. 72 FAEM INSECTS. Their method of attacking the aphides is curious. I have seen one of these struggling whilst this little insect alligator threw his fore-legs about it, and was greatly amused at the skill it exhibited ; for, fearing that the aphis might escape, it gradually slid along to the wings, which were closed, and immediately began to bite them, so that in a very short time they were rendered useless, being matted together: it theu returned in triumph to the side of its helpless victim, and seizing the thorax firmly in its grasp, it ate into the side, coolly putting its hind-leg over those of the aphis, whose convulsive throbs annoyed its relentless enemy. These larvae are full grown in about a fortnight or three weeks, when they are from a quarter to a third of an inch long and up- wards; they are then slate-co- loured and yellow, with nume- rous black spots and hairy tuber- cles down the back, intermixed with a few scarlet spots (fig. 8, magnified). They soon retire to a leaf, or some secure- locality, and, attaching themselves by the tail, change to pupse (figs. 5 and 6) of a shining black colour, with a row of orange spots down the back : thus they remain during another fortnight or three weeks, when the inmate bursts through her cell, and appears again a perfect lady-bird. Attracted by the swarms of aphides in the hop gardens, they sometimes congregate in myriads ; and having regaled themselves and deposited their eggs upon the plants, they wing their way in large companies, often to perish on our shores in the autumn,* or to disperse themselves over our turnip and corn fields, where we often see their scarlet jackets sparkling upon the bright green, leaves. These beetles belong to the order Coleop- TEEA, and to the family Coccinellid.^, and form the genus Coccinella of Linnseus. There are two species which seem from their numbers to be most beneficial to man. 5. Coccinella hipunctata, Linn. — The two-spotted lady-bird is convex and black, excepting the scarlet wing-cases, and on the centre of each of them is a black dot ; at the inside of the eyes there is a cream-coloured spot, and a larger one on each side of the thorax, with two minute dots uniting at the base, of the same colour (fig. 7). This insect is so variable in colour, and the individuals are so very dissimilar, that it is called Coccinella dispar * In 1807, the shore at Brigliton, and all the watering places on the south coast, was literally covered with them. — Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, vol. i. p. 258. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 73 by many authors, some specimens being black, with a large red patcli on each shoulder, and a round spot of the same colour on each wing-case, with the margin only of the eyes and of the thorax whitish ; and between these extreme varieties will be found every gradation from red to black ; they are all about 2^ lines long (fig. 8). 6. G. septem.punctata, Linn. — The seven-spotted lady-bird is larger, very convex, being hemispherical, black, with bright brick-red wing-cases, having a large black spot in the centre of the base, with three smaller dots on each, forming a triangle : there are two cream-coloured dots at the base of the head, and a large one at each of the anterior angles of the thorax (fig. 9). It is more than 3| lines long, and nearly 3 broad, and varies but little, the spots sometimes being smaller than in our figure, and rarely vanishing. The next, perhaps, in importance amongst the parasites is a diminutive fly, which hovers about plants infested by the aphides ; and the female soon settling amongst them, begins to examine the herd with her vibrating horns, and having fixed on a female aphis, which is not already punctured, she bends down the apex of her body, and pierces the insect with her ovipositor, which is invisible to the naked eye: she then proceeds to another, deposit- ing a single egg in each, and thus daily inoculates a considerable number. As the aphis imbibes the juice of the plant, the little maggot which has hatched in her body hourly increases in size, growing with her growth, until the exhausted aphis dies, leaving its horny, shining, and inflated skin sticking by its rostrum and legs to the plant, looking like a little tawny pearl : the parasite then changes to a pupa, and, having completed its various transformations, it becomes a perfect fly in about eight days, and eats through the side of its cell, often leaving a round lid attached and open like a door. These insects belong to the order Hymenoptera, of the family Ichneu- MONIDES ADSCITI, and were described by Linnaeus under the name of Ich- neumon aphidum. The species I have bred from the turnip aphides is now described as — 7. Aphidius {Trionyx) rajjce, Curtis."^ — Antennae shorter than the body, composed of fourteen joints, basal joint beneath, as well as the mouth, ochreous ; head and thorax shining black ; abdomen spindle-shaped and pitchy in colour, attached to the trunk b}-- a narrow ochreous petiole ; wings four, iridescent ; superior, with a narrow fuscous stigma, from whicli is.sues beneath a short curved nervure, and there is a large elongate-trigonate * Curtis's British Entomology, Plate 383, and the Guide, Gen. 562 6 and 547, where fifty-four British species oi Aphidii are recorded, forming the subgenera Praon, Ephedras Toxares, Monoctonvs, Trionyx, and Aphidius of Haliday. 9 74 FAKM INSECTS. cell at the base ; legs, six, slender and bright ochreous, variegated with dark brown; length, 1;^ line; expanse of wings, 2^. As there are many generations of these flies in a summer, it follows that they are most formidable enemies to the plant-lice ; and Providence, watch- ful of all his works, and regarding in the smallest as well as the greatest that balance which preserves the order of the universe, to avert the total annihilation of the feeble aphides, has provided numerous other parasitic flies to destroy the destroyers, and again keep them in check. The aphidii are such constant attendants upon infested plants, that I scarcely ever notice any unaccompanied by the horny shells of the defunct plant-lice ; and even in a green-house I have seen nearly as many of these parasites as there were of the aphides.* It is impossible to advance a step in the natural history of insects with- out finding so much to interest and admire, that it is difiicult to refrain from entering fully into the subject : fearing, however, that I may become tire- some to the general reader, I will allude as briefly as possible to the little flies which destroy the maggots of the full-fed aphidii, glutted with the vitals of the plant-lice ; they are all hymenoptera ; and whilst they fly about to reconnoitre the aphides, no sooner have they met with one that contains a maggot than they pierce the already indurated shell, and deposit an egg within : as soon as it hatches, it commences feeding upon the parasitic maggot, or more probably on the quiescent pupa ; and instead of an aphi- dius, one of the following insects bursts from its dark tomb, namely, Cera- phron Garpenteri, Asaphes vulgaris, and Coruna clavata.f 8. Ceraphron (Megaspilus) Garpenteri, Curtis. J — Black, head and thorax pubescent ; body shining ; horns long in the male, and eleven-jointed, the joints hairy, and more or less serrated, excepting the two first and the last ; simply clavate in the female ; wings, four, with a large brown semi-orbicular stigma on the superior, from which issues a short curved nervure, being the only one ; legs pitch-colour, apex of thighs, the shanks and feet ochreous ; length, two-thirds of a line ; expanse, 1 1. I have frequently bred this insect from aphides, containing, no doubt, the parasitic aphidii. 9. Asaphes vulgaris, Walker. § — Female with clavate black horns, com- * During the end of July and beginning of August, 1848, scarcely a female Aphis hrassicm escaped out of the swarms under my cabbage-leaves. They produced the Tiionyx rapm and Cynips fulviceps, and the same, or a closely allied species, infests the carrot aphides at an earlier period. — J. C. + Entomological Magazine, vol. i. p. 380. t Ourtis's Britigh Entomology, fol, 249, and Guide, Gen. 581, 7. § Entomological Magazine, vol. ii. p. 151; Curtis's Guide, Gen. 625, 1. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 75 posed of thirteen joints ; head and thorax bright green, shagreened ; abdo- men short, ovate, pointed, very glossy bottle-green; wings nerveless, except- ing a single nervure near the anterior margin of the superior, which forms a little clavate branch beyond the middle ; legs pitch-colour, nearly 1 line long and 2 broad. 10. Coruna clavata, Curtis.^ — Horns pale brown, hairy, thirteen-jointed in the male, twelve jointed in the female, basal joint ochreous, apical joint lance-shaped; head and thorax shining bluish-green; abdomen sometimes more yellow-green, very glossy, depressed, clavate ; wings similar to the last, but the button of the nervure is larger; legs ochreous; liinder thighs brownish at the middle; length, | line; expanse, If. Both the above insects belong to the family Chalcidid^.. I have bred the last from the indurated skins of the aphides which had been infested by the aphidii. When touched, this fly skips about. It is not a little remarkable that some of the Gynipidoi or gall-flies, which form the " oak-apples," " Robin's pincushions," &c., prey in the same way upon the plant-lice, leaving their horny skins sticking to the leaves on which they fed. Amongst them I shall describe two only from my own collection. 11. Cynips quercus-inferus ? Linnaeus. t — Pitch-colour, shining; head and thorax rugose ; horns and mouth bright rust-colour ; the former com- posed of fourteen joints; wings iridescent, with the nervures pale reddish- brown, having an elongate-trigonate cell on the margin, with an indistinct minute areolet at its inner angle; legs ochreous; length. 1^ line; expanse, 3 lines. This was bred from aphides by the late Mr. T. Carpenter. 12. Cynips fulviceps, Curtis.J — Glossy black; horns longish; thirteen- jointed; fuscous, ochreous at the base; head and legs bright ochreous; wings iridescent ; nervures bright brown ; areolet none ; length, h line ; expanse, nearly 2 lines. I have bred several of this pretty species from calpbage aphides, in the end of July and beginning of August ; and Jurine has figured another in his Hymenoptt'Tes, of the same habits, called by him C. crythroceplialus, Plate xii. Gen. 40. We will now return to the insects which destroy the aphides, amongst which are some larger species of hymenopterous flies, belonging to the family of CrabronidyE, which it is necessary to notice and describe here.§ * Quide, Gen. 632 a. t Ibid. Gen. 564, 14. t British Entomology, Plate and fol. 688; Guide, Gen. 564, 27. § Those who wish to identify these insects with greater certainty, mnst consult the plates and descriptions referred to. t^ FAEM INSECTS. 18, Trypoxylon figulus, Linn."^— is shining black, clothed with silky whitish pubescence ; the horns are short and thirteen-jointed in the males, twelve-jointed in the females; the body is rather long, forming a club, being slender at the base, and the edges of four of the segments are hoary ; the four wings are dusky at their extremities ; and the brown nervures form six distinct cells in the superior : it varies in size from a quarter to half an inch in length, and the wings expand from 5 to 8 lines, or nearly three-fourths of an inch. These insects are abundant upon old posts, palings, or out-houses, gates, barns, stable- doors, &c., in which they form burrows to deposit their eggs, from the middle of May to the end of summer : it appears that they collect masses of aphides, probably to feed their young, which also subsist upon dead spiders, carried into the nests by the parent flies. 14. PeTYiphredon or Gemonus unicolor, Lat.t — Black, shining, clothed with grayish hairs ; head large, nose silvery ; horns short, curved, thirteen- jointed in the males, twelve-jointed in the females ; head and thorax punc- tured; body oval, pointed, and attached to the trunk by a narrow neck; wings, four ; iridescent but smoky, superior with eleven cells, formed by blackish nervures ; length, ^ inch ; expanse, 5 lines. This, as well as a larger species, called Pemphredon lugubris of Fabri- cius, may be seen during the summer months, carrying immense quantities of aphides into straws in thatch, and holes in wood, posts, &c., to feed their young maggots upon. The following species, and likewise an allied one, have similar habits. J 5. Diodontus gracilis, Curtis. § — Smaller and more slender than Pem- j>liredon, to which it is nearly related, but is distinguished by its notched upper lip : it is black and shining ; the head and thorax are punctured ; lower part of face clothed with silvery hairs in the males ; the four feelers and a stripe outside of the jaws yellowish- white ; the body is elliptical and pointed, attached to the thorax by a short neck ; wings transparent ; ner- vures and stigma pitchy; tips of thighs, base and tips of shanks and the feet ochreous, excepting the hinder pair ; length, \ inch ; expanse, 4 lines. 16. Psen atratus, Panz. || — Black, shining; antennae thirteen-jointed, curved in the female, rusty beneath, especially in the males; face silvery * Curtis's Biitisli Entomology, fol. and Plate 652; and Guide, Gen. 682, 1. t Curtis's British Entomology, Plate and fol. 632 ; and Kennedy, in London and Edinburgh Phi- losophical Magazine, January, 1837, p. 18. X Diodontus corniger. Shuck., and Philosophical Magazine, January, 1837, p. 17. § Curtis's British Entomology, Plate and fol. 496 ; Guide, Gen. 687 b, 5. IJ Curtis's British Entomology, second edition, fol. and Plate 25; Guide, Gen. 691, 2. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 77 with hairs ; head and thorax finely punctured ; body ovate, conical at the ajjex, attached by a short slender neck at the base; wings four, transparent, beautifully iridescent, the nervures and stigma blackish; fore shanks and feet sometimes ochreous; length, 2^ lines; expanse, 4|. Mr. A. Kennedy observed the males of this species flying about the thatch of a summer-house and the neighbouring shrubs, at Clapton, in thousands, at the beginning of July, and the females became numerous about the 10th; they employed the open straws of the thatch to deposit their prey in, which amounted to 100 aphides in a single straw, containing cells with partitions made apparently of the scrapings of the inside of the straw cemented together. The eggs deposited in them by the Psen are white and semi-transparent, and are attached to the abdomen of an aphis near the bottom of a cell."^ I bred these flies likewise from straws out of the roof of a summer-house at Bristol, in the end of June. We now come to a set of insects, which, like the lady-birds, begin to feed upon the aphides as soon as they escape from the egg, and from that time are constantly hunting after them, until they change to beautiful flies, one of which is called the golden- no. t. eye. These larvae are ferocious little animals (No. 7, fig. 4), named by the French '' lions des pucerons," or plant-lice lions. Some clothe themselves, like Her- cules, with the skins of their vic- tims (fig. 3), and others with the green and delicate lichens which cover old paling, and the trunks and arms of trees, so that unless the larvae move, it is impossible to detect them ; and thus, concealed from the prying search of the smaller birds, tliey lie in ambush for their prey; but when they are encamped upon a leaf, amongst the sluggish aphides, they seize them with their long and powerful jaws, and will devour the largest of them in half a minute. The food of this voracious larva, however, is not confined to the aphides; for two which I found at the end of August, on being placed in a box, immediately attacked each other, the conqueror making a meal of his companion, and soon after sucking the contents out of a caterpillar three- fourths of an inch long, leaving only their skins. These larvae vary consi- derably in colour, being whitish or fuscous, with brown or orange spots, some having the sides of their bodies furnished with sixteen fleshy tubercle?, * Philosophical Magazine, January, 1837, p. 18. 78 FAKM INSECTS. producing a spreading bunch of hairs ; they have a pair of slender horns, two long stout curved jaws, and a pair of long slender-jointed feelers; besides their six feet, the apex of the abdomen is prehensile, forming, as it were, a seventh foot, which has the power of adhering to very smooth substances. After feeding for fifteen or sixteen days, they spin a fine silken whitish cocoon (fig. 5; 6, magnified), which is often clothed with the bits of lichen which formed a shield to the larvse ; they vary from the size of pearl barley to a small pea, and are attached to leaves of plants, &c.; in these they change to a pupa, and in about three wrecks the flies come forth in summer ; but the autumnal ones remain through the winter in that torpid state. The case, it may be observed, is not spun from the mouth, as the silk- worm forms its cocoon, but from the apex of the body, similar to spiders; and it is astonish- ing, considering the very ample wings of some of the flies, how they can possibly be arranged in so small a space as they occupy in their little cells. The flies are not long-lived, and the female deposits her eggs in a very remarkable way, in order to protect them from the attacks of parasitic and other insects. They are placed in groups of ten or twelve, on various parts of the leaves, stalks, &c., and so much resemble vegetable productions, that they have been mistaken for the capsules or seed-vessels of some moss. It appears that the female being supplied with a glutinous fluid in the ovary, she places the apex of her body to the edge of a leaf, and lifting it up, draws out a transparent thread, not thicker than a hair, sometimes to the length of an inch, the egg forming a little oval club at the tip (fig. 2). I think it extremely probable that they are deposited while the female is on the wing by an undulating flight, which brings her at intervals in contact with the leaf or object beneath her ; but I believe no one has detected this insect in the act of depositing the eggs. The flies which we are alluding to are included in an order called Neu- ROPTERA, of the family Hemerobid.e, and constitute the Linnean genus Hemerobius, which is now divided into four genera, ^ two of which, Chry- soPAf of Leach, and Hemerobius, J are the gi-oups which produce the larvfe whose history we have just given. The former genus contains ten or twelve British species of beautiful flies, generally green, and well known by their prominent, splendid eyes, whence they are called with us golden eyes. They fly principally at night, and are heavy on the wing by day, so that they are easily caught; and on being touched they emit a most offensive odour. I will now describe the commonest species, which is named by Linnaeus, 1 7. C. perla. — It is a palish green ; the horns are slender, as long as the * Curtis's Guide, Gen. 739, 740, 740 1, and 741. t Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 520. J Ibid. 202. TLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 79 body, and composed of numerous small joints; the eyes very prominent, golden-green; body moderately long; wings four, deflexed in repose, twice as long as tlie body, transparent but greenish, reflecting the most beautiful rose-colour and rich yellow, reticulated with innumerable hairy nervures, the transverse ones blackish near the base ; legs six, very short and slender. Male, 4 lines long ; wings expanding 1 ^ inch : female, ^ inch long, expanding nearly If inch (fig. 1). Tliis species is common about hedges, fields, gardens, and orchards in June, July, and August. In May, 1841, I found one of the larvae: its back was clad with lichen, the skins of caterpillars in fragments, and apparently its excrement: it spun a white silken cocoon, of exceedingly fine texture, the beofinning of June, to the outside of which adhered the materials already mentioned; and in a week or ten days after, I found in the box a fine specimen of the golden-eyed fly, of such dimensions that it appeared incredi- ble it should have been produced from so small a pupa. A white transparent case or shroud, like those of the May -flies, was lying by it, showing tliat it had emerged as a pseud-imago."^ The other genus still retains the appellation of Hemerobius, and is more extensive, comprising, it is supposed, upwards of thirty species. Their economy appears to be precisely the same as that of Chrysopa; for a larva which I found the end of September, 1841, was feeding upon aphides in company with the maggots of the Syrphidse. It was of a bright yellow, with markings of a clear rust colour : it was very active, continually moving its head from side to side, and eventually produced a species named by the late Dr. Leach. 18. H. ohscurus. — It is ochreous; th's horns are rather longer than the body, slender, hairy, composed of numerous globose joints; eyes very promi- nent ; head and trunk with a brown stripe on each side ; abdomen of the same colour : wings nearly twice as long as the body, very much deflexed when at rest, slightly tinged with fuscous, but with a beautiful blue and rose-colour ; superior, with numerous pilose nervures dotted with dark brown, having two irregular waved transverse lines of a pale brown colour beyond the middle ; inferior wings of a lovely rose-colour, the margin alone irides- cent and brownish: legs six, and rather short: about 8 lines long, and expanding 8. These insects frequent every hedgerow and plantation, and from thence they fly by night into fields, meadows, gardens, &c., and they are sometimes plentiful in tui-nip fields. They are always very brisk and lively on the *■ A state between the Nympha and the perfect insect or Imago. 80 FAEM INSECTS. approach of a thunder-storm; but when caught, they lie with their wings closed and compressed, and their horns and legs drawn up, as if they were dead, some of them looking, in that inanimate state, like dead leaves. We shall close this account of the insects which feed upon aphides, by giving the history of the larvse of several flies called Si/rphi, which appear to be more numerous than the lady -birds or the aphis-lions, and, being very expert, they cause greater havoc amongst the plant-lice than probably any of those already recorded. The parent flies are so numerous, as to be, in a great measure, the cause, I believe, of the incessant vibration of the air or buzzing which we hear in the countr}^ in fine, still, sunny days in the summer and autumn months: they belong to an order called DiPTEEA, and to the family Syrphid^, which is divided into several genera, and amongst them ai-e Sc^VA* and Cheilosia, containing upwards of fifty species :t the larvae of these are found during the spring, summer, and autumn, in company with those of the lady-birds : they are fat, fleshy maggots, sometimes green, at others yellow, variegated with oi'ange ; and their skins are so delicate, that the circulation of the fluids and the colour of the intestines are distinctly visible even to the naked eye. When the maggots first emerge from the egg, they are little inoffensive-looking creatures, scarcely visible, surrounded as they are by the indolent, helpless aphides, with their bleached, cast-oft' skins scattered over the leaves ; but as soon as their appetites call them into No. 8. action, they thrust out their heads and necks like leeches, fasten upon the nearest aphis, and holding it up in the air (No. 8, fig. 2), they suck out the contents of their victim with evident satisfaction. In this way aphides in an hour : when satiated, he draws himself up, and lying close to the leaf, he enjoys his repose. Hav- ing grown to his full size, he attaches his tail to a leaf, tree, wall, or other object, and becomes a horny pupa in his own indurated skin, which assumes the shape of a pear, of a dull colour (fig. 3). Amongst the parent flies, the most conspicuous are — Scceva Pyrastri, iS. Ribesii, S. halteata, and Cheilosia scripta, which I will characterize. 19. S. Pyrastri, Linn. (fig. 4)— is a large fly with two little black horns in front of its ochreous face, and two large copper-coloured eyes, nearly covering * Curtis's British Entomology , fol. and Plate 509. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 1240 and 1241. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 81 the whole head in the males, but not meeting on the crown in the females; the trunk and a lobe behind called the scutel are bottle-green, densely clothed with short, pale, velvety hairs ; the body is similarly clothed, flat, of a good size and oval, deep black, with three long, yellowish spots on each side, curved, and nearly meeting on the back; the two last segments are edged with the same colour : it has only two wings, which are as clear as glass, but iridescent, with several fine brown nervures, forming long cells; just below their base, on each side, is a little clubbed process, of an ochre- ous colour, called a poiser; the six legs are pale rust-colour, the thighs black at the base, the hinder entirely black, excepting the tips; the feet,, which are brown, have five joints each, they are terminated by two little claws and two lobes, called pulvilli ; the fly is from i inch to 9 lines long, and expands from 1 inch to 1 3 lines. This is a fly which is seen from June to the end of October hovering over wild and garden flowers in fine weather, and resting in cloudy days on trunks of trees and paling, with their wings closed and lying upon their backs. Some idea may be formed of the numbers of the larvse, and the consequent benefit derived from their operations, when we state that on the 80th July, 1818, which was a very hot day, these flies were in such swarms that they quite covered the fishermen's boats at sea ofi* Broadstairs, and they were equally abundant at Ramsgate and the Nore. When thus congregated, in- sects fly in one direction, not even avoiding objects that lie in their course; and in the above instance, it appears that they were bound to the hop gar- dens in Kent, where the crops often fail through the effects of the aphides, as we have already observed. The maggots of this species are green (fig. 5 ; fig. 6, the pupa), and I found them in July, 1829, in some abundance on the sea-cabbages, Brassica oleracea, which grow under the cliffs near Dover. Many of them had been stung by a little parasitic fly called Microgastev lineola,^ the maggots of which came out of the Scscva larvae, and formed little elliptical silken cocoons almost white. 20. 8. Rihesii, Linn. — ^is a similar fly in form, but smaller; the head is yellowish, the nose horny and shining; eyes coppery; horns rust-colour, black above ; trunk bottle-green, scutel yellow ; body black, with a large yellow or orange spot on each side of the base, then follow two broad and two narrow bands; the legs are bright ochreous, the base of the thighs fuscous; wings the same as in 8. Pyrasiri; length, 5| lines; expanse, 11 lines (fig. 7). This fly is abundant everywhere in England in the summer, especially in July: it is equally common in Scotland and Ireland, where I have taken many specimens. * Curtia's Guide, Gen. 554, 57, and British Entomology, fol. and Plate 321. 10 82 FARM INSECTS. 21. *S'. balteata, Linn. — is more slender in its form ; the head and thorax are brassy-green, the latter with two grayish lines down the back ; the face is ochreous and hoary; horns bright rust- colour, black above; eyes as usual; scutel ochreous, more or less brassy at the base; body elliptical, shining black, with two bright ochreous spots on each side of the base, and uniting outside : there are also six bands of the same colour, the first and third being narrow; wings as usual; legs and under side of body entirely ochreous; length, 44 lines; 10 in expanse (fig. 1) During July, August, and September, these flies are abundant in every garden, field, and hedge, and I have bred them even in October. The mag- gots are yellowish-white (fig. 2), with broken scarlet lines down the back, and black spots and marks between them, which are caused by the food in the intestines shining through; the head is fm-nished beneath with two minute hooks or teeth, and there is a tubercle at the rump composed of two lobes, with which the animal adheres to any object; and there are minute bristles on the sides. Out of one of the pupse (fig. 8) came three or four little para- sitic maggots, which lived through the winter; and the first week of April they produced some small flies, very similar to No. 8, p. 74, which I take to be the Ceraphron Syrphii of Bouch^,'^ who bred them likewise from the pupae of S. Ribesii. One of the Ichneumonidse, called by Gravenhorst Bassus albosignatuSji also lays its eggs in the larvae of S. balteata. 22. S. scripta, Linn. — is much smaller than the foregoing insects, and the males have a much narrower body: the face is yellow; the horns orange; thorax dull green, the sides and scutel yellow; body long and narrow in the males, with two bright ochreous spots towards the base, two bands of the same colour farther down ; the penultimate segment has a V-shaped ochre- ous mark on the centre, with a dot on each side, and the apex is also ochreous, with a few black dots; the legs are entirely ochreous; length, 4| lines; expanse, 7 lines. This and many allied species are abundant everywhere, especially in meadows and ditches, from midsummer to October. I may mention also that the Baron De Geer J describes and figures a blood-red acarus or mite which seizes the aphides by the back, belly, or neck, as a ferret would a rat, and sucks out all the juices; and I find that earwigs assist in diminishing the plant-lice, by feeding upon them in the curled leaves, where those troublesome insects shelter themselves after their nocturnal excursions. Severe frosts are exceedingly beneficial in the destruction of noxious * Bouch^'s Naturg. der Insecten, p. 175, Plate 7. fig. 33 and 36 to 39, and fig. 41. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 520, 20. t Memoires, vol. vii. p. 122, Plate 7, fig. 13, H. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 88 insects; and altliougli the aphides can resist cold to a considerable amount, having survived the weather when the thermometer was as low as 29° Fah., not only are immense quantities destroyed by intense cold, but a check is given in another way to their increase, for in mild winters little doubt can be entertained that they not only survive, but are actually propagating ; and Mr. W. Curtis very sensibly remarks, that as their enemies, on the contrary, exist, but do not multiply, during such periods, the aphides get the start of them, and thus obtain an ascendency, which once acquired is not easily over- come.* I have been surprised to see how slightly aphides are affected by wet; and I find that the same careful observer of nature tried a few experi- ments to ascertain how far they could resist the action of water. Mr, W. Curtis first immersed some aphides attached to a willow-twig in water for sixteen hours, which did not appear to incommode them in the least, for on being taken out and placed in the sun, they increased and multiplied shortly afterwai'ds ; but when they were brushed ofT, they could not so long sustain the effect of water. He afterwards immersed two other sorts of aphides, which at the expiration of twelve hours were all dead: this difference of power in the vital principle is very remarkable, and not easily explained. Their capability of i-esisting some gases or effluvia is likewise very astonish- ing : for instance, I took some aphides from the southernwood, both winged and apterous, and corked them up in a quill containing a piece of camphor, which produced an atmosphere that killed most insects in an hour, but tlie aphides were walking about unaffected, after being confined there twenty- four hours ! DROSOPHiLAt and Phytomyza.J — Turnip-leaf Miners. Turnip-leaves are often more or less covered with whitish blisters, which are caused by the maggots of two different kinds of flies, both of which belong to the order Diptera and the family MusciD^E. It does not appear that they do much mischief to the crops, but it may be questionable whether the maggots do not occasionally generate disease in cattle feeding upon the turnip tops, when their numbers are in excess. The first species, which is called Drosophila, belongs to a group, the larv?B of some living in vinegar and acid beer, many breeding in Boleti; and others, like the one before us, live upon the parenchyma or pulp of the leaves of various plants : some of the flies are frequently found in cellars, and are also seen running over the windows in our houses. * Transactions of the Linnean Societrj, vol. vi. p. 84. t Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 473; Guide, Gen. 1334. :!: Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 393; Guide, Gen. 1348. 84 FAEM INSECTS. It is not a little singular that, as far as my observations go, the maggots of the turnip Drosophila form their dwellings so carefully under the upper cuticle of the leaves that not a trace of them can be seen on the under side, whilst the habits of the larvae of the Phytomyzce are just the reverse : the economy of the former I will now investigate. On the 22d of July, 1841, I saw many leaves of some English turnips disfigured by large pale blisters on various parts of the upper side (Plate C, fig. 1) : upon examination I found that many of them were empty, but in two or three I de- tected maggots by holding the leaf up to the light (Plate C, fig. 2; and No. 9, fig. 2; and 2*, magnified); they were of a pale green colour, the mouth being armed with two little horny hooks; one changed to a pupa (figs. 8) inside of the blister the same day, and another I found dead shortly after at the bottom of the tin box in which they were placed, and in a day or two I saw another pale greenish maggot in a box with a blistered leaf, which soon buried itself under the cuticle, and changed to a pupa of a chestnut colour, with two divaricating horns on the head (figs. 4), and on the 4th of August I bred from it a fly (figs. 5), which agrees pretty well with Fallen's description of — 23. DrosopMla flava. — It is ochreous, sparingly covered with black bristles; the face is silkj^ white; eyes black; and the lobes at the apex of the abdomen are black ; the seta or bristle of the horns is likewise black and only feathered above, and there is a slate-coloured spot on the crown where the three little eyes are placed : down the centre of the thorax is a light rusty line, with the indication of one on each side ; the legs are very pale ochreous; the wings are yellowish but iridescent, and the nervures are pale brown: length, 1 line; expanse, 2|. In October numbers of the leaves amongst the Swedish turnips likewise exhibited pale patches, which were almost white, or the colour of parchment above; but, as usual, no indications of their being infested were visible beneath. In these blisters I found sometimes as many as three maggots, which I presume were the ofifspring of a second brood : they shortly became brown pupse at the bottom of the box, from which I am induced to infer that they often come out of the blisters when arrived at maturity, and enter the earth to undergo their transformation to the chrysalis state. From some of the earlier pupse I obtained two little parasitic hymenopterous flies ; one PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 85 appears to be the Ceraphron niger* of my cabinet ; and the other is, \ believe, Miscogaster cinctipes of Walker. t The other fly, called Phytomyza, is bred from the under sides of the turnip-leaves, where the maggots form long irregular galleries (Plate C, and No. 10, figs. 6) in- side of the lower cuticle, and „ these miners are not visible on ^'-^"^ the upper side of the leaf. One of the maggots changed in the third week in July | to a dark-brown pupa (figs. 7) beneath the epi- (,___ dermis, and it was furnished with two small horns at the head, and also at the tail; on the 28th a fiy came forth, which was the — 24. Phytomyza nigricornis of Macquart (figs. 8). — It was slate-black, the head and thorax were sprinkled with a few black bristles; the horns are brown, with a naked bristle; the head is pale ochreous, excepting a spot on the crown ; the tips of the thighs and the poisers are yellowish- white ; the wings are pale slate-colour, with three strong and three faint nervures; length, 1 line; expanse, 2i Cerostoma xylostella. — The Tiir^dp Diamond-bach Moth.^ We now arrive at the history of a small moth, which is very abundant in turnip fields; and, according to one of my correspondents, occasionally does considerable mischief The caterpillar (Plate C; and No. 11, figs. 9) is spindle-shaped, of a deli- cate green, sometimes inclining to yellow, with a gray head ; it has six pectoral, eight abdominal, and two anal feet; all of which are green. On the Continent it lives principally upon the upright honeysuckle, Lonicera xylosteum,, and attacks a great number of culinary * Curtis's Guide, Gen. 581 6, 41. + Ibid. Gen. 638, 28. t Mr. Hardy found the larvae as early as the 18th July, mining the turnip-leaves, and the flies hatched the 3d September, having been in pupse about twenty-one days. The larvae are also found in the leaves of the pea and various vpild plants. — See Proceedings of BerwicJcshire Club, pp. 339-362. ^ Curtis'a British Entomology, fol. and Plate 420 ; Guide, Gen. 1031, 4. 86 FARM INSECTS. plants; but seems to prefer the cabbage and the turnip. Godart says that it lives in a slight web generally attached to the under surface of the leaves ; and when it is about to become a chrysalis, it spins within the web a cocoon- like network, in which it changes to a yellow testaceous pupa (figs. 10) ; the moth comes forth in about eighteen days : Linnaeus gave it the name of Tinea xylostella, from its feeding upon a honeysuckle which bears that name. It still belongs to the family TlNEiD^, but by modern naturalists it has been separated from that immense group of Lepidoptera, and is now described by Latreille and others as — 25. Cerostoma xylostella. — When at rest the wings are closed and de- flexed, and the horns are projected forward in a straight line (figs. 11 ; and 11^, magnified). It is more or less brown, the slender horns are white, a tuft of scales on the crown of the head, and the disk of the thorax are whitish ochre ; the superior wings, which are long and narrow, have three or four pale spots upon the anterior margin towards the apex, and all along the inner margin is an indented white or ochreous stripe, which forms, when the wings are closed, two or three diamonds upon the back ; the fringe is purplish, va- riegated with black scales ; the inferior wings are lance-shaped, and of an ash- colour, with a very long fringe ; the body is slender, and of the same colour, the apex ochreous: length, 2^ lines; expanse, 7 lines; (figs. 12, magnified). This species, says M. Duponchel,"^ is spread over all Europe, and has two generations in a year; the one appears in June, and the other at the end of summer. In this country there seems to be a succession of broods from mid- summer until the approach of winter, for I have taken specimens in the gar- dens near London in the end of June, at Dover in July, Scotland in August, and frequently amongst turnips in September and October in Suffolk and Essex. Monsieur Desjardins sayst that it exists also in the Mauritius, where it makes very great ravages in the kitchen gardens; but whether it is indi- genous to that island, or has been transported from Europe with the cabbage- l^lants that the people cultivate there, is unknown. I have little doubt that this was the caterpillar which Mr. Dalgavings, of Forfarshire, mentioned as having seriously injured his crop of turnips in 1826. I am, however, parti- cularly desirous of calling the attention of agriculturists to this enemy of the turnip crop, in consequence of having received the following communication from Mr. J. Weaver, who lives in the neighbourhood of Petersfield, Hants : — " The little moth which I have sent is one from a host of small green cater- pillars which have been exciting some surprise here this summer. About the beginning of August I was directed to a field of turnips said to be infested * Godart's Lepidopteres de France, vol. viii. p. 214. t Annales de la Soc. Ent. de France, vol. ri. p. 229. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 87 by the 'niggers;' they proved, however, to be myriads of tiny larvge, averag- ing perhaps half an inch in length each, slender, and somewhat tapering at both ends, and of a green colour when full fed. They were exceedingly active, and on the slightest touch would wriggle themselves off from the leaf on which they were feeding, let themselves down by a silken thread, and remain suspended till the cause of alarm had subsided, when they would re- gain their former position. So incredible were their numbers, that on a single plant of moderate size, and taken at random, I counted upwards of 240 ! — and before the end of the first week in August every leaf, for the space of more than an acre, was completely reduced to a parched-up skele- ton ; not a turnip escaped them, and by the middle of the month you might liave looked in vain for the smallest vestige of a green leaf on the field of their depredations; and to this day (October 29, 1837) it is as bare as if nothing had been sown there. Similar patches, from a like cause, may be seen in two or three other fields in this neighbourhood, where a most ex- cellent crop is yielded in every other part. On the 9th they began spin- ning their cocoons, which are of the most beautiful net-like texture, some on the dried fibres of the turnip-leaves and others upon the ground. The per- fect insects emerged about the 20th ; but out of seventeen cocoons five moths only hatched, while the remaining twelve produced the accompanying para- site."" This was one of the Ichneumonid^e, and is called by Gravenhorst — 26. Gampoplex paniscusr — It is black; the antennae are slender and shorter than the body; lower part of face silvery; mouth straw-colour; body attached by a narrow neck; tlie apex of the female armed with a slender shortish tripartite ovipositor, like a tail: wings very transparent and iri- descent; the nervures and stigma yellowish-brown; superior with nine cells and a minute areolet; thighs bright rust-colour; shanks paler, hinder often whitish, with the apex and a ring near the base pitchy ; feet brown at the apex, hinder fuscous, excepting the base, which is white: length, 2^ lines; ovipositor, 1 line ; expanse from 4^ to 5 lines. This insect is abundant in July and August, upon almost every umbelli- ferous plant in fields and hedges, feeding in the flowers, and searching for caterpillars for the purpose of depositing eggs in them. Plusia gamma. — The Y-moth.f Although I am not aware of any instance being recorded where serious mischief has been occasioned by the caterpillars of the Y-moth in this * Curtis'a Guide, Gen. 529, 29. f Curtis "s British Entomology, fol. and Plate 731. 88 FAEM INSECTS. country, it lias caused such ravages abroad that it is well deserving of our attention, especially when we consider the multitudes of this species of moth that often appear in our fields and gardens. The eo-o-s laid by the female Y-moth are very beautiful, resembling an echinus in shape, as well as in their curiously sculptured surface (Plate C, ^^_ j2. %• 13, magnified; and No. 12, fig. V 13, natural size): they are gener- X^^X ^^ .i^^F ^^^y attached to the under side of '-—ttiH^^^^L^ V/^t^^ ^ •'^^^ "-^ considerable clusters,^ — ^'^R^l^^ /'^/^^f^lj^ and I believe that the young ca- X. ^^^mP ^j^^^^^^M terpillars are very unlike the full- fed ones. After changing their skins several times they become of a green colour, and are co- vered with very short hairs; the head is greenish-brown ; there are six white or bluish lines down the back, and a yellow streak along each side; the spiracles or breathing pores are black; they have six pectoral or horny feet, only four abdominal, and two anal, which are all green and fleshy (figs. 14): these larvse, which form an imperfect loop in walking, I have frequently found feeding upon turnip leaves, but they will live upon a variety of vegetables, upon stinging and dead nettles, and even on grasses, if pressed by hunger. When they have arrived at their full growth, they spin a woolly white cocoon, either be- tween the folds of a leaf or against the stalk of a plant, within which they change to a pitch-coloured chrysalis (figs. 15), distinguished by a consider- able protuberance at the base of the abdomen, owing to the long proboscis being bent back at that point. The beautiful moth produced from these chrysalides belongs to the order Lepidoptera, of the family NocTUiD^, and is now characterized as the — 27. Pliisia {Noctua) gamma, Linn. — The tongue is very long and spiral; the horns are like fine bristles ; the head and thorax are of a purplish brown, the latter is crested ; the wings when at rest are closed and a little deflexed ; the superior are somewhat lance-shaped, shining like satin, of a dull blossom colour with a slight coppery tinge, and beautifully variegated with brown and gray, and at the centre is a pale golden letter like the Greek y ; the body and inferior wings are smoky; the former has a few tufts of scales on the back near the base, and the latter are often of a whitish blossom colour across the centre, leaving a broad brown margin ; the fringe is whitish, with * Sepp represents them laid singly. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 89 a line of blackish spots: it is | incli long, and more than 1| inch in expanse (No. 12, fig. 16, the moth at rest; and Plate C, fig. 16, the same flying). From the green colour of the caterpillars they are difficult to detect : yet they must be very abundant, from the immense quantities of the moths we see flying about fields, hedges, heaths, and gardens, from the early spring until the end of autumn, but they are most abundant in July and October. It has been remarked in France that rainy seasons seem to be more favour- able to their increase than dry years; and in October, 1816, they rose in swarms in the northern departments, as persons walked over the fields.'^ In 1735 the caterpillars did incredible mischief to the market gardens around Paris, eating up the pease and beans, so that only the stalks and fragments of the leaves were left, and refusing nothing but the lentils : their ravages extended to Tours, and in Auvergne and Burgundy they destroyed the crops of hemp; and not only did the gardens suffer, but whole fields of culinary plants were consumed, and so great were their numbers that at any one time several scores and more could be seen in the highways going from one field to another in search of food,t where they would not refuse either clover or grasses, but they did not touch either wheat, rye, or barley, although later in the season they attacked the oats. These extraordinary swarms of insects, and their irregular returns, may be sometimes owing to the mildness of the foregoing winter : in the instance just related, there had been no severe frosts either in the winter or spring, so that the previous autumnal broods of caterpillars lived through the cold season, and it necessarily followed that an immense number of the moths were produced, and the spring and summer which succeeded proving favour- able to their increase, they became more abundant than they had ever been known before. It is only surprising that such events do not oftener occur, when we consider the rapidity with which insects increase. Let us, for instance, .suppose that no accident interfered with the progress of the differ- ent broods of this moth, of which there are two every year : it is believed that one female moth will lay about 400 eggs, which would be transformed in a few weeks to 400 moths: if we allow half of these to be females, they would lay at the same rate 80,000 eggs, which would in the following autumn (admitting tliat the first was a vernal moth) become perfect insects, whose eggs, taking again half of them as females, would amount to the prodigious number of 16,000,000, which would hatch the following spring, and be ready to devastate the spot on which they were bred : there must be, consequently, innumerable agents in operation to stop their increase, * Godart's Lepidop. de France, vol. vii. part ii. p. 43. t Eeauniur, Hist, des Ins., vol. ii. p. 326. 90 FAEM INSECTS. although I do not happen to have met with the species of ichneumons, &;c., which are destined to preserve our green crops from being annihilated by the caterpillars of the Y-moth. Plusia gamma is a widely-dispersed insect, being found all over Europe, and it is said to extend even to the frontiers of China and Siberia : it like- wise inhabits North America. Unlike most other species of Noctuidce, this moth flies about by day, not only in the sunshine, but regardless of the weather; it will be seen on dull and even damp days hovering over flowers, and, like a sphinx-moth, thrusting in its long spiral proboscis or tongue to extract honey from the nectaries ; at other times, fluttering and running over the flowers, or resting upon them with its wings closed. There is no moth more shy and difiicult to catch by day, for it will seldom allow any one to come near it ; but whether it detects the approach of man by its eyes, which sparkle like living rubies, or by its hearing, is not known : it darts ofi", how- ever, in an instant when disturbed, and stops again a few yards off", or entirely vanishes. Should the Y-moth caterpillars ever become fearfully abundant in our turnip fields, it is not improbable that ducks, poultry, and sheep might be very serviceable in diminishing their numbers, if employed as recommended in the last chapter upon the black caterpillar. Having now given an account of several kinds of insects connected with the turnip crops, I shall leave for a future chapter the history of some others which are equally interesting, and not less destructive. The following sum- mary will be useful, by placing before the reader, in a concise form, the re- sults of my investigations: — HISTORY OF THE APHIDES, OR PLANT-LICE. Every crop, both in the fields and gardens, is subject to the attacks of various species. Three different sorts infest the leaves of the English turnips ; one haunts the leaves of the Swedes, and another the flower-stalks. The green tops are rendered less fit for cattle when infested with aphides, and the growth of the plants and the roots is retarded. One hundred and sixty-eight aphides were seen upon one small turnip -leaf in July. It is by thrusting their heahs, called the rostrum, into the plants, and imbibing the sap, that they injure our crops. The females are both oviparous and viviparous : they are ivinged and apterous. PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES. ETC. 91 In autumn they lay eggs, which hatch the following spring. The eggs are laid upon the leaves, under the buds, and other secure places. The females bring forth young, without sexual intercourse, for many generations. Their increase is prodigious: it is calculated that one female might be the progenitor of upwards of 5900 millions of descendants in one year. The eggs hatch about the period of north and north-east winds, in March and April. Their increase is accelerated by damp sultry weather as the season advances. Electricity probably often causes their simultaneous appearance. The aphides can walk about as soon as they are born, and are able to do so until their lives are terminated. Abundant in August, September, and October, and even at the end of November, secreted beneath the diseased leaves. It is doubtful if these species deposit the saccharine matter called honey- dew. Cutting off the infested leaves and destroying them on the spot, or carrying them away in sacks to be burned, is the best remedy. Tobacco and lime-water will kill the aphides. Lime-dust, if strewed in dry weather, is an effective cure. They often do not suffer from heavy rains. Insectivorous birds, and various insects, our best friends in checking their increase. The lady-birds and their larvce are particularly useful in destroying the aphides. Immense sivarms of the lady-birds sometimes appear on our shores. A little fly called Aphidius lays its eggs in the aphides, and when they hatch the maggot destroys the aphis. These again become the victims of other small flies, called Gerap)hron Garpenteri, Asaphes vulgaris, and Goruna clavata. Some of the Gynipsidce, or gall-flies, are also parasites, which live in the aphides as maggots. Four other wasp-like flies collect the aphides as food for their young. The aphis-lion, or larva of the golden-eye fly, destroys the aphides; and the maggots of some two-winged flies called Syrphi are still more service- able in their destruction. 92 FARM INSECTS. These are, however, in their turn infested with a pa^'asi^e called Gera- l^hron syrphi. Severe frosts destroy the aphides, but they are able to propagate in mild winters. When immersed in tvater for sixteen hours, it has not killed them. An atmosphere strongly impregnated with camjyhor did not aflfect them in twenty-four hours. The TURNIP-LEAF MINERS may generate diseases in cattle, when they greatly abound. One called Drosophila flava causes large blisters on the upper sides of the leaves, which contain the maggots. The other, named Phytomyza nigricornis, is the parent of a maggot which eats galleries in the under sides of the leaves. The TURNIP DIAMOND-BACK MOTH : the larvse feed upon the turnip-leaves, and sometimes nothing but the fibres are left. The chrysalis is inclosed in a net-work cocoon, attached to the dried fibres, or formed upon the ground. It is found all over Europe from midsummer to November, and does great mischief in the kitchen gardens in the Mauritius. Upiuards of 240 of the caterpillars have been found upon one plant. A parasitio ichneumon lays its eggs in the caterpillars. The Y-MOTH lays its eggs on the under side of turnip -leaves and other plants. The green caterpnllar feeds upon the turnip -leaves and a variety of plants. The chrysalis is inclosed in a white web, often spun in the folds of the leaves. The moths are abundant from April till October, especially in the latter month, and in July. Rainy seasons seem to be congenial to their increase. In October, 1816, the moths swarmed in the north of France. In 1735, the caterpillars ate up all the vegetables around Paris, except- ing lentils. Their ravages extended to the centre and south of France, where they consumed the her)ip crops, and did not refuse grasses and clover. They spared the cor^i crops, but attacked the oats later in the season. The previous lulnter and spring had been very mild. One female Y-moth in the spring might become the progenitor of 16,000,000 caterpillars, in the space of twelve months, viz. : — from the spring of one year to the following spring. TirriKi^iiiP niRiQiPK^,, x ....M 11 / PLANT-LICE, MAGGOTS OF FLIES, ETC. 93 It is dispersed over all Europe, to the confines of Siberia and China, and is also an inhabitant of North America. It flies by day as well as at night. Ducks, poultry, and sheep recommended to destroy the caterpillars. Explanation of Plate C. Fig. 1 . A turnip-leaf, upper side. Fig. 2. The maggot of Drosophila flava, feeding under the cuticle. Fig. 3. The pupa of ditto. Fig. 4.* The same greatly magnified. Fig. 5.* Drosophila fiava represented flying. a, The natural dimensions. Fig. 6. The gallery formed on the under side of a tmuiip-leaf by the maggot of Phytomyza nigvicornis. Fig. 7. The pupa of ditto secured under the cuticle. Fig. 8.* Phytomyza nifjricornis represented flying. b, The natural dimensions. Fig. 9. The caterpillar of the turnip diamond-back moth. Fig. 10. The pupa of the same inclosed in the cocoon. Fig. 11. The moth from the same represented at rest. Fig. 12.* The same flying and magnified. Fig. 13.* The egg of the Y-moth. c, The natural size. Fig. 14. The full-grown caterpillar walking. Fig. 15. The chrysalis in its web. Fig. 16. The Y-moth flying. All the figures are drawn from nature, excepting fig. 9 ; and the numbers with a * attached, indi- cate that the objects referred to are represented much larger than life. 94 FARM INSECTS. CHAPTER IV. THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF VARIOUS INSECTS AFFECTING THE TURNIP CROPS; INCLUDING THE WHITE CABBAGE- BUTTERFLIES, THE TURNIP- SEED WEEVIL, ETC. CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. Although some caterpillars will feed upon a great variety of plants, for the most part they are confined to a few, and those are generally of the same natural order; that is to say, they are kindred species. This is the case with the cabbage-butterflies,"^ whose caterpillars not only frequently com- pletely destroy that useful vegetable in the cottager's garden, but they live to a great, and often to a mischievous extent upon turnips, rape, &c., as will be shown in the sequel. There are three species of these butterflies, belong- ing to the order Lepidoptera, and to a family called Papilionid^, which embraces all butterflies, amounting in Britain to about eighty species, t form- ing the Linnsean genus Papilio ; but the white cabbage-butterflies, and two or three others, have been separated by modern naturalists, and are now dis- tinguished as the genus Pontia.J The largest of these is abundant in gardens, turnip fields, and road-sides, where it is seen on the wing from the middle of May to October : common as it is, and familiar as every child is with the white cabbage-butterfly, how few persons comparatively are acquainted with its origin and transformations ! its history will, therefore, prove interesting and instructive ; but before we proceed to its economy, it will be necessary to describe it, in order to distinguish it from the two others alluded to. From the mischief the caterpillars occasion to the cab- bages, it is called — 1. P. hvassicce, Linn., or the White Cabbage- butterfly. — The onale is white above, the head and thorax are clothed with soft yellowish hairs ; the two horns are spotted with black, and the club is black above and * P. rapie departs from this rule, for it has been found feeding i;pon the weeping-willow and some flowers which are not cruciferous. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 763-780. J Curtis 's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 48. CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 9o oclireous beneath; the upper wings have black tips in the form of a cre- scent ; the inferior wings have a blackish spot on the upper edge ; the body is black ; the wings expand 2^ - .- inches: the female (No. 13, fig. 1) is larger, being about 3 inches across, and is distinguished by two large black spots on the upper wings, and a freckled splash upon the inferior mar- gin ; the under sides are alike in both sexes, the upper wings being white, with the tips yel- low, and two large black spots near the centre ; the under wings are likewise palish yellow, freckled with black ; the head is furnished with two hairy feelers in front, called palpi, the tips being pointed, and between them is concealed a long spiral tongue or proboscis. The female deposits her eggs on various cruciferous plants, especially cab- bages, turnips, mustard, rape, radishes, horse-radish, and water-cresses : they are laid on the under side of the leaves, in clusters of twenty or thirty (fig. 2), and are somewhat of the shape of a sugar-loaf, bright yellow, curi- ously furrowed and reticulated. There is a constant succession of broods during the summer and autumn ; one which attracted my notice hatched the 27th of August, and the little caterpillars immediately consumed all the egg-shells : on the following day they were of a green colour before, and yellow behind ; a little hairy, with the head, two spots on the first thoracic segment, another on the tail, and numerous little dots, black : they kept together, feeding upon the turnip-leaf in groups, and in one night a single family ate a large hole completely through; they had six pectoral, eight abdominal, and two anal feet, and possessed the power of spinning a fine slight web over the surface, probably to enable them to hold more securely to their food : in six days they changed their skins, after which they disper- sed over the leaves ; in about the same space of time they cast their skins a second time, when they were at least ^ inch long, leaving their exuviae sticking to the stalks. When full grown they attain to the length of about 1^ inch, and are as thick as a small goose-quill ; they are then pale blue or green above, yellow beneath, with a line of the same colour down the back, edged with black dots ; there is likewise a row of large black 06 FAEM INSECTS. spots down each side, and numerous minute dots, as well as fine liairs, scat- tered over the body (fig. 3). Having arrived at this stage, they generally wander to some secure place, under ledges of paling, coping of walls, branches of trees, hedges, &c., and there attach their tails to some object, by very tough silken threads, and afterwards spin a similar cord from their mouths, which is fastened round the animal to support its head in an elevated posi- tion, and, gradually contracting its body, the skin is slipped off", and it is instantly changed to a shining pale green chrysalis, spotted and dotted with black (fig. 4) ; and in this tranquil state the latter broods rest suspended, uninjured by the storms and frosts of winter, until the genial warmth of spring calls the sleeping inmate into active life; and, as this proceeds, the black spots of the wings, although in miniature, gradually become more dis- tinct through the horny transparent shell, and eventually the butterfly bursts the back of the chrysalis, crawls out, and, holding by some object so that the little wings hang down, the fluids descend into them, they rapidly expand, and in the course of half an hour have attained their full size ; they are, however, still flaccid, and require some time to dry and become adapted to flight. The caterpillars of the white cabbage-butterfly greatly injured some Swedish turnips in the end of September, 1841, and no doubt frequently assist in reducing the foliage very considerably; but it is when the turnips, &c., are in seed that they are most to be feared. In July of the same year I received some of the caterpillars from Mr. C. Parsons, of Southchurch, Essex, who informed me that they were then committing extensive ravages on the w^iite -mustard crops in parts of that neighbourhood, by eating ofi" all the pods, and leaving the stalks bare. They commenced at the point of the pod, and continued eating until it was demolished, even to the base of the foot-stalk. " Had they attacked the crop," says Mr. Parsons, "at an earlier period of the season, the consequences would have been very serious indeed. Mustard-seed, both white and brown (Sincqns alba and nigra), is subject to the attacks of a small black larva, which I have not seen this year; but the damage done by the caterpillars I have sent has never been noticed in this neighbourhood." I placed some of these larvee upon radishes and turnips in seed, the green pods of which they were equally fond of, and ate, as above stated. They grew most rapidly during the few hot dry days we liad near the middle of September, 1841, resting lengthways upon the naked stalks, after having cleared off all the seed-vessels : on the 20th they appeared healthy, but in- clining rather to a yellow colour ; it rained during the night, and, on looking at them in the afternoon of the following day, I saw they had removed CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 97 to a leaf, to wliicli they stuck by four of their hinder legs, and, to my sur- prise, they were of a dirty colour, and rotten, the skins being lax, and lying just as the wind blew them about. I found they only contained some cream- coloured fluid, a portion of which was scattered upon the leaves. From this fact it may be inferred that wet is sometimes very destructive to these cater- pillars,* probably during hot weather only ; for after the heavy rains which fell in the end of September and in October, I was astonished to see the cab- bages in the cottage gardens in Suffolk with multitudes of these caterpillars half and full grown, which had injured the crops so extensively, that not a leaf had escaped. It is scarcely credible that the labouring classes should thus suffer their crops to be spoiled, and their labour to be lost, when a little hand picking every evening would soon relieve their gardens from these unwelcome visitors; but so it is. If it were not for numerous parasitical insects, which deposit their eggs in those of the Pontia, and especially in the caterpillars and pupce, all chance of keeping them under in the field would be fruitless : the most serviceable of these agents is a little fly, which must be produced in myriads, for I have sometimes found that every caterpillar had been stung by this insect, which belongs to the order Hymenoptera, of the family Ichneumonides adsciti, and is named 2. Microgaster glomeratus, Linn.f — It is black and thickly punctured ; the horns are thread-like, longer than the body in the male, shorter in the female, and composed of eighteen joints or upwards ; the eyes are lateral, with three little eyes or ocelli upon the crown ; the abdomen is shorter than the thorax, depressed, linear, smooth and shining ; the basal segment is a little narrowed, with the edges on the sides dirty white ; ovipositor concealed beneath the abdomen ; the four wings are very transparent, iridescent, with a distinct pitchy-coloured stigma on the superior; the nervures lighter, the areolet open externally ; legs bright ochreous, hinder thighs black on the upper edge, darkest at the apex, tips of their shanks and tarsi brownish, the apex only of the four anterior brown : length, a little more than one line ; expanse, 2| lines. This minute ichneumon-fly lays numerous eggs in the caterpillars of the white cabbage-butterfly, which hatch and feed within their skins in almost incredible numbers, the victim feeding and growing until it has attained its full size ; when, instead of changing into a chrysalis, like fig. 4, a number of fleshy maggots come through its skin, and form beautiful little oval silken * Most cateipilhirs are purged by wet, as we have stated in a former chapter, but these do not .-ij'pear to suffer invariably.— J. C. + Curtis's British Entomolorjy, fol. and Plate 321 ; and Guide, Gen. 554, No. 54. 13 98 FAEM INSECTS. cocoons in masses beneath and around it, like the balls of the silkworm in miniature ; they are bright yellow, and I counted sixty-seven which issued from one unfortunate larva. On opening a caterpillar thus infested, it will be found full of little fat maggots, which eventually consume all the muscles and fat, leaving only the alimentary canal untouched ; those in my posses- sion, which spun up in September, hatched the beginning of the following May, when they were ready to commence their invaluable operations upon the early broods of the white cabbage-butterflies. Reaumur says the Micro- gaster pierces the skin of the caterpillar with its short oviduct, and deposits an egg; it then withdraws it, and repeats the operation, until thirty eggs or more are introduced into the living caterpillar, and they are inserted sufficiently deep not to be cast off" with the skin : the maggots avoid feeding on the vital parts, so that the caterpillar does not die until two or three days after the parasites have eaten their way out to spin their cocoons,* but the caterpillar, being exhausted, generally dies close to his murderers. Even these parasites are subject to the attacks of a beautiful little fly, called DijJ- lolepis (Pteromalus ?) Microgastri of Bouch^,t the maggots of which live in the pupse of Microgaster glomeratus, three or four together, and the silken cases which are inhabited by these parasites are paler than the healthy ones : thus one little animal lives upon another; so that the laughable lines of the facetious poet are partly verified : — " That fleas have little fleas to bite 'em, And so go on ad infinitum." Persons who are ignorant of the wonderful operations of nature, often mistake these yellow cocoons formed by the maggots for the eggs of the caterpillars, and accordingly destroy them, although they ought rather to be preserved ; and others, on opening a caterpillar of the white cabbage- butterfly, and finding it full of little maggots, have supposed they were the young of it. Such errors are the offspring of ignorance, and contrary to the laws which regulate the generation of these animals ; and I trust that these careful investigations will meet with the attention of agriculturists, that they may take a correct view of these subjects, which are at once interest- ing and of absolute importance to mankind. There is also a large ichneumon-fly, the larva of which lives singly in the chrj'-salis of P. hrassicai, and changes into a white pupa inside, without '"' I have since seen a maggot protruded through the apex of one of the abdominal feet ; it was of a dirty green colour. t NaturgescUchte der Insecten, p. 168. CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 99 forming any case: the fly hatches in two or three weeks ; it is likewise hymenopterous, and of the family Iciineumonid^ : it has been named 3. Pimpla instigator, Fab."^ — It is black and thickly punctured ; the two slender horns are not so long as the body, and composed of numerous oblong joints : the elliptical abdomen is only slightly narrowed at the base ; the thighs, shanks, and feet are bright fulvous, excepting the hinder feet, which are brown or black; the four wings are dull-yellowish, but iridescent; the stigma and nervures brown, the areolet is rhomboidal ; the female has a stout ovipositor projecting beyond the apex, and is nearly half as long as the abdomen : the male is often half an inch long, the wings expanding more than three quarters of an inch, and the female is considerably larger. This powerful insect likewise infests the caterpillars of many moths, and emits a most offensive scent when touched : I have frequently seen the females running over fruit-trees, investigating every leaf and crevice to find a proper object to receive their eggs : they are met with from midsummer to Michaelmas. There are other parasites which destroy the chrysalides ; and one of the most essential of these is a minute brilliant fly, which deposits its eggs upon the outside of the chrysalis of the butterfly as soon as the caterpillar has cast off its skin, when it is both soft, tender, and exhausted, so that it has not the power to exert itself and frighten away the little parasites; the eggs soon hatch and eat into the pupa, which at that early stage is almost liquid inside, the members of the future butterfly not being organized. Sometimes 200 or 300 of these little maggots live in one chrysalis ; they undergo their metamorphoses securely within the shell, and the flies hatch and eat their way out in about fourteen days in summer, but some remain through the winter, and when they come forth they do not fly away, but hover in swarms about the perforated pupa, the males probably hatching first and waiting until the females emerge to be impregnated ; but after their bridal dance, each female departs in search of recently formed clnysalides to deposit fresh broods in. If we take 250 as the average number of eggs which a female lays, and admit that one-half of them are of that sex, the second generation would _amount to upwards of 30,000, an enormous increase, which is in all probability multiplied several times in the course of one season. Some species of this extensive genus swarm even in our houses, especially in the country, where in October and November I have seen immense numbers inside of the windows, and I believe they hybernate behind the shutters, in the curtains, &c. The species above alluded to is likewise * Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 214; and Guide, Gen. 515, No. 103. TOO FAEM INSECTS. hymenopterous, and of the family Cynipid^ or Chalcidid^; it may be the Ichneumon puparuon of Linnaeus, but as that is very doubtful, I have named it 4. Pteromalus hrassicce* — Female dull blackish-green, thickly punc- tured ; head large, antennae clavate, black, basal joint ochreous ; abdomen oval, depressed and pointed, black, shining, bright green at the base, with a violet tint beyond it ; wings transparent, iridescent, with an ochreous nervure along the upper or costal margin of the superior, forming a short branch beyond the middle ; legs bright ochre, coxae black, thighs, excepting the base and tips, pitchy; middle of foiir hinder shanks brown ; apex of feet black ; length, 1 line ; expanse, nearly 3 lines (fig. 5 ; 6, magnified). The first broods of this little parasite hatch in April, and I have bred multitudes of them from a chrysalis oi Pontia hrassicce. I suspect the fol- lowing insect will prove to be the male of it, different as it is in appearance, having bred several from the pupa of one of the white cabbage-butterflies many years since, when I gave it the name of 5. Pteromalus Pontice.i — Male brilliant green, thickly punctured, head broad, horns tawny, ochreous at the base, filiform ; abdomen linear, concave, apex ovate, very shining, often with a golden tinge; four wings, as in P. brassicce; legs, excepting the coxae, bright ochreous, tips of feet pitchy; length, rather more than 1 line; expanse, 2^ lines. J 5*. Polynema gracilis, Nees. — is a pigmy fly, only 1^ line in expanse, which lays its tiny eggs in those of the white cabbage-butterfly (Pontia brassicce), and, consequently, checks the multiplication of that troublesome visitor to the kitchen garden. It is shining black; the horns are long, slender, flail-shaped, clubbed, and ochreous at the base; abdomen conical and acute, with a short projecting ovipositor ; the base narrowed, with an ochreous petiole ; wings transparent, pubescent, without nervures ; legs slender and ochreous, with long feet. We now come to the second species of white butterfly injurious to tur- nips; it likewise feeds upon cabbages, mignonette, nasturtiums, &c.; it makes its appearance with the white cabbage-butterfly, which it very much resem- bles, but is smaller ; the eggs vary, and the caterpillar and pupa are quite diflferent: from its feeding on the turnip it is called in England the "Small White" or "Turnip Butterfly," and for the same reason Linnaeus named it * Curtis's Guide, Gen. 627 and 641 ; and see British Entomologij, fol. and Plate 166, Colax dispar. + I have since ascertained that these are the sexes of Pteroinalas i-mparuni. Linn. — Guide, Gen, C27, No. 100. + Sec Morton's Cyclopedia of Agriculture, vol. ii. p. 660. CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 101 6. Pontia rai)a'. — The male is white, the superior wings have black, tips dusted with white, and the inferior wings have a black spot on the upper edge: the female (No. 14, fig. 1) is similar, but has two large black spots likewise beyond the centre of the superior wings; under side of the same white, the apex yellow, and two black spots beyond the middle, the lower one sometimes nearly obliterated ; inferior wings yellow, freckled with black: length of male, 8 lines ; expanse, about 2 inches ; the female is larger, and sometimes of a duller colour ; but I pos- sess a male, taken near Oldham, in Lancashire, which has all the wings of a bright yellow colour. The female lays her eggs singly on the under sides of the leaves, and they are not very unlike those of P. brassicce in form and sculpture, but the caterpillars are totally different, being green and so densely clothed with minute hairs as to be velvety ; they have a yellowish stripe down the back, and another along each side, the belly being of a paler brighter green ; they are often more than an inch long, and about as thick as a large crow-quill (fig. 2) ; they change to a chrysalis, suspended, as shown at fig. 3, but it is of a pale flesh-brown, freckled with black. The third species is the "Kape-seed," or " Green-veined White Butterfly," to which Linnseus, from its feeding upon the coleseed, gave the appellation of — 7. Pontia napi (Plate D, fig. 1). — The male is white, head, thorax, and body black, clothed with yellow- ^o. i^ ish down; superior wings with the 2^ tips powdery black and the ner- -''.'^^'' vures grayish; inferior wings with a black spot on the upper margin, and the dark nervures shining- through. Female (No. 15, fig. 1) with the nervures in the superior wings darker, the apex blacker, and two large black spots beyond the middle ; under side of superior wrings with the same two black spots ; the apex is yellow and the nervures are dark, forming gray stripes ; the Inferior wings are pale-yellow, with the nervures still more distinct, from the broad gray margin which surrounds them. In some examples the ner- 102 FAEM INSECTS. vures are much less strongly marked, which may be a difference between the spring and autumnal broods, or it may arise from their crossing with P. rapce, for hybrids undoubtedly exist amongst insects. The males are nearly fths of an inch long, and scarcely expand 2 inches ; the females are a little larger. The eggs of this species are also laid singly on the under side of the leaves of cabbages, turnips, and other cruciferse (No. 15, fig. 2) ; they are long, cylindric, of the form of a sugar-loaf, channelled, striated transversely, and whitish (Plate D, fig. 2, magnified) : the caterpillars are about the size of the foregoing ; they are of a delicate green colour, densely clothed with velvety hairs, the spiracles or breathing pores down the sides being reddish- yellow (figs. 3) ; and when lying stretched out on the leaves, as they do by day, they are scarcely visible to the eye. The chrysalis is suspended like the others ; it is of a pale greenish -white, or yellow and freckled, with the beak and points brown (figs. 4). There are two broods of this butterfly in a year, one in April or May, and another in July or August ; the caterpillars are most injurious in gar- dens, where in 1841 they not only fed upon the turnip-leaves, but did great mischief to the cabbages, especially in September, eating the central leaves, like the caterpillar of the cabbage-moth, Noctua brassicce, and I killed seve- ral as late as the 22d of September : I have found the pupge of this species with a largish hole on one side, from which had issued a parasitic ichneu- mon ; and I bred an incredible number, considering their size, of males and females of this fly in July or August from one pupa ; it is called by Gra- venhorst'^ — 8. Hemiteles melanarius.-f — The male is entirely black and punctured ; the abdomen is roughly punctured, the margins of the segments and the apex are smooth and shining, the two slender horns are scarcely so long as the animal : the wings are beautifully iridescent, the nervures and stigma pitchy, the areolet is open outside ; legs black ; the apex of four anterior thighs and their tibise are tawny, the feet are brownish, but the basal half of the hinder tibiae alone is tawny : length, 2 lines ; expanse, near 4 lines : the female differs so materially that no one would suppose it was the legiti- mate partner of the foregoing male ; it is black, but the abdomen is red, excepting the basal segment and the apex ; the ovipositor is exserted, and is half the length of the abdomen ; the thighs and shanks are red, the apex of the hinder tibiae and all the tarsi are brown : length, including the oviposi- tor, nearly 85 lines ; expanse, almost 5 lines (No. 15, fig. 5 ; 6, magnified). * Ichneumonologia Europcea, vol. ii. p. 790, No. 233. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 503, No. 233. CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 103 Where any of the white butterfly caterpiUars abound, there are several methods of reducing their numbers and checking their increase ; tlie best is to look in the winter for the chrysalides, which are concealed under ledges of walls, paling, doors, window-sills, on bushes in hedges, on the trunks of trees, &c., and crush them, but on no account to destroy the dark-brown coloured ones, which are full of the parasitic Fteromali; as the spring ad- vances, examine the leaves and bruise the clusters of eggs of the largest species, which are as conspicuous as a mass of fly-blows ; at the same time a ring or bag net may be used to catch the butterflies ; and when the cater- pillars are large enough to be seen, hand-picking is neither difficult nor laborious : when they attack the seed-crops, shaking the stems might prove useful, provided troops of ducks were to follow and pick up the caterpillars ; or dusting the plants with hellebore powder, fresh and genuine, would be worth a trial, as it is very effective in some instances.* After what has been stated, it is almost needless to say that the little yellow cocoons ob- served upon the plants and leaves, and often surrounding the caterpillars, ought never to be destroyed, as they contain a parasite which proves the cultivator s greatest friend, and the most active scourge of the turnip and cabbage caterpillars. Even the obnoxious and persecuted wasp assists in the destruction of other insects, upon which it preys, making some amends for robbing our orchards. When at the end of summer the sweet thistle-flowers attract a variety of butterflies and swarms of insects, the wasps are busily employed in capturing them, which they do very skilfully. I have many times seen them carry off" large flies from the ivy-flowers, and even the white butter- flies are not too large to deter the wasps from attacking them : the species called P. rupee, it seems, is most subject to their assaults, and their mode of securing this butterfly is very curious, as related by Mr. Newport, in the Entomologica I Transactions.^ On breaking off some of the turnip-leaves close to the crown in Novem- ber, 1841, I found inclosed in the mid-rib (Plate D, fig. 5), three caterpillars nearly half an inch long, of a whitish colour, with a nut-brown head (fig. 6) ; ihey were evidently the larvte of some small moth, but they both died.- ChRYSOMELA BETUL.E? I also discovered in July, on the backs of some turnip-leaves, many * Mr. Lymburn cleared a few hundreds of gooseberiy bushes from caterpillars, at the expense of Is. 3d. for hellebore powder, and a morning's work of two men.— Gardeners: Chronicle, January 1, 1842, p. 7. i Vol. i. p. 228. 104 FAEM INSECTS. small oval eggs (Plate D; and No. 16, figs. 7), so deeply imbedded in the pulpy substance, that in many instances the cuticle had burst on the upper side, so that the eggs, which Avere of a bright ochreous colour, were perfectly visible ; the surrounding margins of the leaf were dried, and of a dark brown colour. There were multitudes of larvae with them, which had emerged from the eggs, and were eating holes in the ^ leaves (figs. 8.) These larvte can crawl about, having six pectoral feet, and a proleg at the tail, the interme- diate segments being very much produced, like nipples on the sides ; they are of a smoky yellow colour, spotted with black ; the head is black, with short antennae and four small feelers ; the first thoracic segment is dull, the second and third have four small black spots on the disk, and the following only two but larger (figs. 9, magnified) ; they are slightly hairy, and there is a line of brown tubercles on each side close to the spiracles, from which the animal can protrude yellow shining glands, when it is excited or put to pain: these larvae are of course very small at first, and never attain to a large size, yet they eat innumerable holes in the leaves. I placed several upon a turnip-leaf, and believe they entered the earth to become pupae, for they soon disappeai-ed. There is no doubt that they change to a beetle of the genus Chrysomela, which belongs to the same family as the '•' Turnip- fly Beetle" {Altica nemorum);^ but it cannot leap, and it is far from impro- bable that these larvae are the offspring of — 9. Chrysomela (Phcedon) betulce, Linn.t (No. 16, fig. 6; 6«, magnified^. — A brilliant shining blue or green oval beetle, with the under side, horns, and legs black, and about 1^ line long, which I have often found upon tur- nip-leaves; and it has since been stated by Mr. West wood, in the Gardeners' Chronicle of September 2, 1854, that "the little beetles which are attacking the white mustard crops in the fens near Ely, are the Chrysomela hetulm." CuRCULio ASSiMiLis.— T/ie Turnip-seed Weevil. In connection with this portion of my subject, I shall only notice two other insects, both of which are injurious to the turnips when in flower and seed. The economy and habits of one were only discovered in the summer of 1841, by a friend who sent me some turnip-seed in a pill-box the end of * Chap. i. p. 17. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 433, No. 5. CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 105 June, contaiuing also twenty or thirty maggots. On scattering the contents of the box upon a sheet of paper, the maggots stretched tliemselves straiglit out and walked very well. I was at the same time informed that a small bag of fresh rubbed-out "nimble-nine- weeks" turnip-seed was strewed in a paper tray and placed before the fire for the purpose of being well dried, when numbers of these little maggots were seen crawling amongst the seeds. On examining the seeds, however, I could not find any holes in them; I therefore placed the maggots in a pot of earth, and they soon buried them- selves. About a week after this my correspondent examined some of the remaining pods of the turnip, and found one with a small hole in it (Plate D, and No. 17, figs. 12); on splitting it open it was evident that the seeds had been eaten, and it ap- peared that the hole had been made by a maggot in order to efiect its exit. Three pods were also forwarded to me, each being punctured, and on opening them I found only one seed untouched, and two that were but slightly eroded; others were half consumed, and many entirely eaten up — a hard gummy substance of a dark colour inclosing the spot occupied by the maggots, which might be the dung compressed by the animal; but to connect these circumstances satisfactorily with the maggots, it is necessary to state that one of them was found in a pod. The maggots are fat and yellowish white ; the body is formed of numerous convex muscles ; the head is pale brown (figs. 10; 11, magnified); they buried themselves 2 or 3 inches beneath the surface, and inclosed themselves in brown oval cocoons (figs. 13), which were very brittle, and formed of the agglutinated grains of earth, and in one I found the pupa (figs. 14); it was of a dull ochreous tint, the eyes black, and on being magnified, the rostrum, legs, and wing-cases were very distinct (figs. 15). After remaining three weeks in this inanimate state the beetles began to hatch, and by the 21st of July nearly twenty specimens were liberated. They proved to be a small weevil which is abundant during the summer in the flowers of the turnip, cabbage, and other cruciferous plants, the wild mignonette {Reseda luteaf), &c., and no doubt deposits its eggs at that time in the embryo pods. It belongs to the order Coleoptera, of the fiimily CuRCULTONiDiE, or Weevils, and is called by entomologists of the present day — 10. Ceidorhynchus assimilis, Payk.* — The Turnip-seed Weevil; it is * Curtis's Guide, Gen. 345, No. 43. ]0G FARM INSECTS. also known as the Carcidio obstrietus of Marsham. It is black, clothed with short white depressed hairs above and scales beneath, which give the insect a gray tinge ; rostrum long, slender, and arched, smooth and naked towards the apex, furnished with two geniculated or knee'd horns, placed on each side a little beyond the middle, composed of twelve joints, the basal joint long, the seven following short and nearly globose, excepting the second and third, the terminal ones forming an ovate-conic club, hoary at the apex; eyes placed on each side at the base of the rostrum; thorax triangular, the anterior part being the narrowest and truncated, the margin reflexed, thickly and coarsely punctured, with a tubercle on each side some- what towards the base ; there is an impression down the middle terminating in a fovea behind, with a short channel in the breast to receive the rostrum in repose ; elytra short and ovate, with about eight fine channels on each, the interstices punctured; wings ample; legs rather short; thighs thickish, narrowed suddenly towards the apex, the hinder have a single short tooth beneath; shanks straightish, the apex rounded and pectinated; feet four- jointed, two basal joints somewhat triangular, third bilobed, fourth slender and clavate, furnished with two claws, If line long, including the rostrum (figs. 16). In the Introduction to Entomology, it is stated by one of the learned authors of that interesting and invaluable work, that a small weevil has been bred by him from the knobs or galls on the roots of the kedlock (Sinapis arvensis).'^ This little beetle is similar in form and nearly related to the foregoing insect, but it is infinitely smaller, and has been named by Marsham — 10"^. Gurcidio {Ceidorhynchus) contractus. — It is black, with a coppery tinge; the head and thorax are coarsely punctured; the elytra are generally green, sometimes inclining to blue, rarely blackish; they have punctured striae down each, with lines of minute hairs between them, and the apex is tuberculated ; length, from | to 1 line. This little weevil, in the perfect or beetle state, destroys the young turnips by puncturing the leaves, as I am informed by Dr. J. W. Calvert, who thus confirms the statement in the Introduction to Entomolofjy,\ where it is said that almost as much damage is sometimes occasioned by this weevil, as by the turnip-fly (Altica nemorum); and Dr. Fleming, of Flisk, also bears testimony to the injury this curculio does to the turnip crops. As all these weevils are so sensitive that they fall down if only ap- proached suddenly fi'om the flowers or leaves on which they are feeding, * See Kirhy and Spence, 1st edition, vol. i. p. 448, and 7th edition, p. 25G. t Ibid. 1st edition, vol. i. p. 185, and 7th edition, p. 104. CABBAGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 107 tliey may be easily collected, when they abound in the turnip-flowers left foi- seed, by shaking the stalks over a bag-net or cloth ; but as they immediately unfold their legs and begin to run away after the shock is over, the contents thus collected must be swept into a pail of lime and water or urine until they can be removed and destroyed by pouring boiling water over them, for, as their horny jackets are very hard, they are not easily killed by stamping upon them. Cetonia aurata. — The Green Rose-chafer. Another large and beautiful beetle, whose larvre are exceedingly inju- rious in gardens and nurseries,* sometimes does great mischief the beginning of May to the turnips then in flower, and intended for seed, by destroying the anthers, by which means the flowers prove abortive; and as these beetles often breed amongst strawberry beds, and first attack their flowers, it is not safe to have turnips, to be reserved for seed, cultivated in a garden or in the vicinity of one where that fruit is grown, for the beetles fly well, especially in the sunshine, and after consuming the flowers in one spot they can readily fly to another for the same purpose. This handsome beetle natu- rally belongs to the order Coleoptera, and the family Melolonthid^ or CETONiDiE, and is called Scarabseus by Linnaeus, but it now bears the desig- nation of — 11. Cetonia aurata, or the Green Rose-chafer — It is of a brilliant metallic green, often having a golden or copper hue; the head is oblong, notched in front, and thickly punctured; the eyes are prominent; the horns short and ten -jointed, terminated by an oval club formed of three plates ; the thorax is large, punctured, somewhat triangular or semi-ovate, the sides rounded, the base indented; the sides of the trunk have a spine on each side, which is very visible even when viewed from above; the scutellum is large and elongate- trigonate; the elytra are oblong, the shoulders project, with a scale on each side of their base, and hollowed out where the spines are ; they are punctured ; the suture is keeled, especially towards the apex, which is truncated, and leaves the extremity of the abdomen exposed ; there are various spots upon the elytra more or less of a pure white or ochreous colour, forming transverse but irregular streaks towards the hinder part, as if the surface was cracked : the wings are very long, rusty yellow, with horny ferruginous nervures, and are folded beneath the elytra, excepting in flight; the under side is coppery, inclining to rose-colour; the face, thorax, and breast are clothed with soft ochreous down, the latter with a metallic knob projecting between the base * Gardeners' Chronicle for 18il, p. 452. 108 FAEM INSECTS. of the two intermediate thighs; the legs are strong, anterior the shortest; the shanks are ciliated with ochreous hairs on the inside, the anterior are notched externally, forming three teeth, the others have a tooth outside, about the middle; they are all furnished with a pair of spines at the apex called spurs, excepting the anterior, which have only one ; the feet are rather long, slendei', and slightly compressed, composed of five joints, the terminal one being the longest, and producing a pair of strong claws:* length from 8 lines to more than | inch (Plate D, and No. 18, figs. 17). These beetles not only attack the flowers of the strawberries and turnips, but they may be found nestling among the petals and stamina of the white No IS thorns, mountain ash, elder, roses, lilac, candytuft, peony, &;c. The female, like the cock-chafer (ife- lolontha vulgaris),^ deposits her eggs in the ground, where they hatch and produce little maggots, which live two or three years under ground, feeding upon the roots of grass and various plants until they are full grown, when they are as thick as a swan's quill, and U inch long (No. 18, fig. c); fat and whitish, with an ochreous head; short, horny, and strong jaws ; six short pectoral feet, all of a rusty ochreous colour: the body is composed of numerous rings of muscles, clothed with transverse series of ferruginous hairs, which enable the ani- mal to progress more readily upon its back; the hinder portion is the thickest, curved, and of a lead colour, and is sparingly covered with rusty hairs; on each side of the first thoracic segment is a horny rusty spot, which readily distinguishes it from the grub of the '■' Great Cock-chafer," which is also hairless, with feet of a difierent shape. When they have arrived at their full growth, they form an oval case of earth at a con- siderable depth as large as a walnut, which is covered outside with the excrement of the animal, formed of oval pellets of the soil, and resembling the dung of mice (fig. d), and in this cell it changes to an ochreous pupa (fig. e). It is very remarkable that the larvae of the green rose-chafer often live in ant-hills, without being annoj^ed or attacked by those hostile little animals, whence in some countries they are called " King of the Ants;" and it is also said, but it is scarcely credible, that many German cattle-dealers Curtis's British Entomolor/y, Plate and fol. 374 t Ibid. fol. 403 CABBAGE AND TUENIP BUTTERFLIES. 109 attribute to these grubs supernatural powers, that they feed them in boxes, believing that as they thrive, so will their cattle increase and their fortunes prosper ! * It is to be hoped this was the superstition of bygone days, and that the light which has dawned upon Europe during the happy years of peace, when the arts and sciences have been cherished and cultivated, has enlightened men's minds and exposed the follies of the darker ages, when war and rapine engrossed the energies and debased the understandings of all classes. When the sun shines and the green rose-chafers are flying about, they may easily be caught with a bag-net ; but early in the morning, before they are revived by the rays of the sun, or in the evening, when they repose in the flowers, it is easy to pick off these large and conspicuous beetles ; they may be collected into cans or bottles of water, and afterwards taken away and thrown into boiling water to deprive them of life. Having often alluded to a ring or bag-net for catching insects, it may be useful to give instructions for making this instrument, which may be easily done by getting 3 or 4 feet of wdre, not less than ^ inch thick ; bend the wire into a ring at least 1 foot across ; the ends must then be soldered into a ferule, or made to screw or slip into one with a catch to hold it fast, at the pleasure of the maker. The ferrule must be firmly fixed at the end of a staff or stout walking-stick, 2 or 3 feet long; and a bag from 1^ to 2 feet long, made of canvas, such as ladies use for worsted- working, or that employed in cheese-presses, or any coarse gauze that will allow the air to pass through, must be sewed or fastened round the iron ring ; or if a sheath of leather be first fixed round the ring, the bag may be attached to it, which will make it last longer, and it can be more readily replaced when it is worn out by sweeping herbage or other rough work. With such a net any insects may be readily caught with a little practice. The net described is adapted to brush bushes and sweep along the ground, &c. ; but if one be required for catching butterflies by day, or moths in the evening, the ring must be lighter, the stick may be made of a cane or bamboo, and the bag should be of silk- gauze or bobbinet. SUIVEVIARY OF CHAPTER IV. There are three species of white butterflies which injure the turnip and cabbage crops. The first is called the '^ White Cabbage buttcrjly,'' which deposits its eggs in clusters on the under side of cabbage, turnip, mustard, rape, radish, horse radish, and water- cress leaves. * Curtis'a British Eniomoloyij, fol. 374. no FARM INSECTS. When first hatched the caterpillars live in society ; but when a week old they disperse. They remain through the winter in the chrysalis state, suspended in secure retreats in walls, paling, &c. The caterpillars greatly injured some Swedish turnips in 1841. They do still greater mischief by eating off all the pods, in crops of turnips and mustard left for seed. The full-grown caterpillars died suddenly of some disease after a wet night, during very hot weather. Cabbages in gardens might be freed from this pest by hand-piclcing. A parasitic fly, called Microgaster glomeratiis, lives in and destroys great numbers of the caterpillars. The little yellow silken cases found round the dead caterpillars should never be destroyed, as they contain these useful parasites, whose operations are certain and invaluable. Ignorant joersons destroy them, believing them to be the eggs of the caterpillars ; but caterpillars never lay eggs. The Microgaster has also a smaller parasite which lives upon it, called Diplolepis Microgastri. A large ichneumon, called Pimpla instigator, also lives in the caterpillars of the white cabbage-butterfly. Pteromalus brassiccv, and P. Pontioi, two other minute flies, lay their eggs upon the chrysalis, and materially assist in keeping these butterflies in check; and Polynema gracilis punctures the eggs. The second species, the "Small White," or "Turnip Buiterjiy," lays her eggs not in clusters, but singly, on the under side of the leaves of cabbages, turnips, mignonette, nasturtiums, &c. The third species is the "Rape-seed," or "Green-veined, White Butterfly," which also lays its eggs singly on cabbages, turnips, &c. These caterpillars eat into the central leaves of the cabbages, and did great mischief in 1841. Of all these butterflies, there are two broods annually, one in spring, the other in summer. An ichneumon {Hemiteles melanarius) infests and destroys the pupae. To get rid of the cabbage-caterpillars, look for and destroy the chrysalides in winter; in the spring crush the clusters of eggs, hand-pick the caterpillars, and catch the butterflies in the garden. In seed crops shake the stems, and let in troops of ducks to pick up the caterpillars as they fall down. Hellebore poivder recommended to destroy them. Till Jill ^N■;lr AKIIJ) IK AIM'; I' i; I ..; Ulat.- JInll.rllv. Ih. ,„l.r,„ll.u:-, r..;Ii„„.;, Il„f,r. ,n,,l Ihrll, BlaACKIB 4.- SON. eLASGOWEDINBaRGa & LOHDOlir. CABBxlGE AND TURNIP BUTTERFLIES. 1 1 I TFasjJS destroy many insects, and amongst others tlie luhite cabbage- butterfiies. The larva of a small moth lives in the foot-stalks of the turnip-leaves. The leaves are often eaten by the larva of a beetle, Chrysomela betulce? A small maggot lives in the 2^<^(^s of the turnip, eating the seeds ; when full fed it eats its way out of the pod, and changes in the earth to a pupa, from which comes the weevil called GwrcuUo assimllls, whicli inliabits the flowers of the turnip, cabbage, &c. Another weevil, the Cuvculio contractus, punctures the turnip-leaves to a great extent. These small beetles may be collected by shaking the flowers over a cloth. The green rose-chafer seriously injures turnip flowers, by devouring the anthers, and rendering the germen abortive. The eggs are laid in the ground, w^here they become maggots, and live three years in that state. The conspicuous green rose-chafer should be collected by Itand-inchlng, and killed with boiling water. Instructions for making a bag -net to catch insects. Explanation op Plate D. Fig. 1. The "Rape-seed" or " Green- veined White Butterfly," represented standing. Fig. 2*. The egg magnified. + Two of the eggs of the natura,! size, laid singly on the under side of a leaf. Fig. 3. The caterpillar of the same. Fig. 4. The chrysalis suspended like the others. Fig. 5. A turnip-leaf broken off to show a cavity in which a caterpillar was living. Fig. 6. The caterpillar alluded to. Fig. 7. The eggs of a beetle laid on the under side of a turnip-leaf. Fig. 8. One of the larviB feeding, which hatched from the eggs. Fig. 9.* The same larva magnified. a, The natural size when full grown. Fig. 10. A maggot which lives in the pods of the turnip, and consumes the perfect seeds, Fig. 11.* The same magnified. Fig. 12. The aperture eaten by the maggot to get out when it has arrived at maturity. Fig. 13. The little case whicli it forms in the earth. Fig. 14. The chrysalis taken out of the case or cocoon. Fig. 15.* The same magnified, showing the limbs, &c., of the future beetle. Fig. 16. The turnip-seed weevil, called Curcidio assimilis, which is the pirent of the above maggot. b, The natural size. Fig. 17. The "Green Eose-chafer," Ceton'ia aurata. Fig. 18. The crown of a small turnip, with all the leaves cut off excepting one. Fig. 19. A small portion of the stem of a turnip, with two of the seed-pods remaining. All the figures are drawn from nature, excepting 3 and 4 ; and the numlteis with a * attached, indicate that the objects referred to are represented much larger than life. 112 FARM INSECTS. CHAPTER y. THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF VARIOUS INSECTS AFFECTING THE TURNIP CROPS, INCLUDING THE SURFACE - CATERPILLARS, THE TURNIP- GALL WEEVIL, AND THE DIPTEROUS FLIES AND ROVE-BEETLES INFESTING ANBURY. Having fully discussed the various insects which destroy the foliage, flowers, and seeds of the turnips, I shall now treat of those which principally affect the roots. Some of these may seem to do little more than disfigure the bulb, yet it is far from improbable that the most harmless of them, by first injuring the rind, may thus lead to the decomposition of the bulb, which once begun is speedily accelerated by more active agents. Among this portion of noxious insects are many large caterpillars, called by farmers and gardeners surface- grubs, tliat commit very extensive depredations upon the turnips, and like- wise the wire worm, which is the most troublesome, I believe, of all insects to the agriculturist, and will shortly form the subject of a separate chapter. THE SURFACE-GRUBS, OR SURFACE CATERPILLARS. Of these there are several different sorts, some less injurious than others, owing perhaps more to the paucity of their numbers than to the want of in- dividual power to do mischief One of our greatest philosophers was well aware of this when he said, " Insects act upon a smaller scale, but by their united energies sometimes produce great effect; the ant, by establishing her colonj^, and forming her magazines, often saps the foundations of the strongest buildings, and the most insignificant creatures triumph, as it were, over the grandest works of man." "^ It is a fact which I particularly wish to impress upon the mind of the agriculturist, that any insect feeding upon his crops may prove a great loss to him when it multiplies to excess, and this renders it most essential that he should be able to detect the first appearance of his enemies, and watch their progress ; which he cannot do with certainty, unless he will make himself master of their habits, and become so well acquainted * Sir H. Davy's Last Days of a Philosopher, p. 256. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 113 "with the insects affecting his crops, as to be almost able at the first glance to detect them. When this is accomplished, he may hope to learn how to deal with the enemy opposed to him, and instead of suffering a small number of destructive insects to pass unheeded, which, as we have already shown, may multiply by millions in a few weeks, he may employ his best energies to crush immediately the worm in the bud. The surface-grubs have been noticed by authors more than a century ago ; and in 1818, 1826, 1827, and 1836, but few vegetables escaped their ravages; and they occasioned so serious a loss to the farmer, that the Agricultural So- ciety of Saffron-Waklen and the Entomological Society of London, considered the subject fit for a prize essay: in 1818, which was dry, scarcely a good tur- nip was left by them.* The most conspicuous of these caterpillars are the offspring of the four following moths, called " the Cabbage," " the Great Yellow Underwing," "the Heart -and -Dart," and "the Common Dart:" they all belong to the order Lepidoptera, and to the family N0CTUID.E, or night-flying moths ; but when disturbed, some of them do not refuse to fly short distances by day. The caterpillar of the first of these moths, although often secreting itself at the roots of plants, seems to live upon the leaves entirely : it ought not therefore strictly to be included in this division ; but it has so often been sent to me as a surface-grub, and is so intimately con- nected with the following species, which it appears will likewise feed upon the leaves as well as upon the roots, that I could not notice it in a better place than the present. It is included by modern naturalists in the genus MAMESTRA,t under the name of — 1. Noctua {Maraestra) hrassicce, Linn., or the Cabbage-moth (Plate E, fig. 1). — It is of a rich brown colour; the horns are like fine threads, the feelers are very short, and inclose a longish spiral tongue ; the eyes are large and hemispherical; the wings when at rest are deflexed, namely, sloping both ways, like the roof of a house; the superior are more or less variegated with dark and light brown, having many blackish streaks upon the costal or pinion edge ; there are two waved strigte formed of two black lines near the base, and another very much crenated beyond the middle; between this and the second striga are two large black circles placed transversely, and some- times very distinct; there is also a large spot, the shape of a human ear, margined with white, and surrounded by a black line ; near to the extremity or fringed edge, which is festooned with black, runs a very sinuous line, forming a W in the middle : the inferior wings are brown, dirty white at the base, the fringe whitish, with a brown line along the centre; the body is obtuse at the apex, especially in the males, and the same colour as the * Major's Treatise on Insects, p. 169. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 847, No. 7. 14 114 FARM INSECTS. under wings, the extremity being sometimes ochreous, and down the back is a row of black tufts ; the six legs are brown, the thighs are very woolly, the fore-shanks are short, with an internal spine ; the intermediate have a pair of spurs at the apex; the hinder are long and stout, spurred at the apex, with another pair of spurs also a little removed from them; the feet are five- jointed, spotted with ochre, terminated by minute claws, having a tooth on the inside, and little lobes called pulvilli: length, | inch; wings expanding ] f inch and upwards. This moth is abundant in May and June ; it is seen flying in the evening, and sitting in the day-time, with its wings closed (No. 19, fig. 1), on the trunks of trees, in hedges, and on the sides of clods in fields and gardens. In 1841, I bred many specimens towards the end of May, during the whole of June, and in the two first weeks of July. After having paired, the female lays her eggs upon the leaves of cabbages and other vegetables ; these shortly hatch, and immediately begin feeding ; they are, I believe, always green in their early stages ; but when they are full- grown, being as large as a goose-quill and 1^ inch long or upwards, they vary exceedingly in colour, some being blackish above, and variegated with flesh-colour (figs. 2), whilst others are gTeen, slightly tinged with black above, and the spiracles white (Plate E, fig. 3) ; possibly these differences may be indications of the sexes ; both have oblique lines on every seg- ment down the back ; the head is more or less ochreous and horny, fur- nished with short antennse and jaws; the first thoracic segment is black above, and they have six pectoral, eight abdominal, and two anal feet. I know of no larva which is a more general feeder than this; some cater- pillars will eat only of one plant, others of those which belong to the same natural family alone; but this can accommodate its taste as local circum- stances may require to an extent which is surprising, making a meal indif- ferently of the saccharine maize or the acrid tobacco; the cabbage, how- ever, is the favourite, or rather the most usual food of these animals, and I saw them very abundant upon that vegetable in company with the caterpillars of Pontia napi* in July, August, and September of ISl;!, At the same period they were devouring the turnip-leaves, and were great enemies to lettuces and rape; they were likewise particularly fond of the * Chapter iv. p. 101. SUEFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 115 Indian corn, living amongst tlie male flowers, and also in the brush of filaments which crowns the female spikes, fi-equently eating it smooth off! I was surprised to find great numbers feeding upon the leaves of the scarlet geraniums in a large garden-bed, the beauty of the fine foliage being impaired by the multitude of large holes they had eaten in the leaves ; and in October they attacked the leaves of some red currant bushes; at the same time I found them feeding freely in my breeding-cage upon the poplar, notwith- standing a cabbage-leaf was there also. Although they seem to refuse none of the productions of the field or garden, it is those of the latter which suffer most from their assaults. In the summer and early autumn months, when the cauliflowers and cabbages have a well-formed heart, these ravenous cater- pillars not only consume a great portion of the plant, but render it altogether unfit for culinary purposes by the disgusting deposit which falls from them, tainting every leaf; and it is scarcely possible to detect them, unless the vegetable be cut through and even into quarters, as they eat their way into the most solid parts. This insect is abundant in all the countries of Europe where cabbages, lettuces, &c. are cultivated; and M. Godart^ says, "It is extremely common in France, where it is the greatest scourge of the kitchen-gardens. It devours all the plants we cultivate, but principally the different sorts of cabbages, giving the preference to the Brassica capitata alba (the cauliflower). From quitting the egg until its last moult, it not only attacks the exterior leaves of that plant, but it penetrates afterwards into the heart ; and as there are generally many together, they hollow it out entirely without any external indications. In countries where the tobacco is cultivated, they equally attack that plant, in spite of its acrimony." When full-grown, some bury themselves in the earth and others rest upon the sur- face, and change to chrysalides (No. 19, fig, 8), similar to Plate E, fig. 14, but smaller, of a chestnut colour with a pitchy shade ; they are often inclosed in cases formed of the surrounding mould, and thus pass the winter securely; but many of them do not change to pupse until April. The moths, as before stated, issue from these cells in May, June, or July. The most certain means of getting rid of these troublesome caterpillars is to look over the plants carefully and destroy them ; and as they frequently hide themselves by day under the earth, when they are in their last skins, the search might be more successfully pursued at night when they come forth to feed. The second species now forms a portion of the genus TRiPH^NA,t and is called — * Hist. Nat. dcs Lep. de France, vol. vii. p. 38. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 843, aud British Entoinology, fol. and Plate 348. lie FAEM INSECTS. 2. Noctua {Triphoena) pronuba, lAnn., the Great Yellow Underwing (Plate E, and No. 20, figs. 4). — This moth varies greatly in the colour of the thorax and the upper wings, which are sometimes of a dull ochreous *^ -'^^r^^^^ t * J^SSi °^ ^^^^ colour, at others of a deep chestnut brown, and there is an intermediate variety more fulvous and variegated with bright brown ; the feelers are pointed, forming a beak to the head, and between them is a longish spiral tongue; the horns are slender and setaceous, like bristles; the eyes large and semiglobose; the thorax is large; the wings when at rest cover each other horizontally, being depressed ; the superior are long, and have two double- waved strigse towards the base, and another beyond the middle; on the disk are two spots, one oval, the other ear-shaped, with the centre more or less black, and towards the apex and close to the costa are two black spots ; with the exception of these spots and the dark ear, the markings often vanish, as in the specimen figured; the inferior wings are ample, and of an orange colour with a blackish border, not reaching the margin, the edges being waved, broadest above, and narrowed towards the anal angle; body de- pressed, fulvous orange, deepest at the apex, which is broadest in the males : legs six, long and dark rusty brown ; first pair of shanks short, with an internal spine; intermediate, with a longish pair of unequal spurs at the apex ; hinder, long with similar spurs at the apex, and another pair near the middle, all spotted with ochre; feet long, five-jointed, and rough beneath, with rows of short bristles; claws minute, with a tooth on the inside: length upwards of an inch; wings expanding nearly 2^ inches. There is also a variety with the fore part of the thoi'ax, the upper side of the feelers, and the costa of the superior wings, as far as the middle, of a paler colour than the other portions of those parts ; this variety has been named by the Ger- man naturalists, Triphcena innuha. This large and beautiful moth is very abundant in most seasons during hay-making, namely, from the beginning of June to the middle of July, in fields, gardens, and hedges. On turning over the cut hay in the morning, I have seen multitudes which had sheltered there, spring up and fly a few yards, when they generally dropped down and again secreted themselves amongst the grass. I believe they are found throughout Europe, and Sir Charles Lyell observed one on Mont Blanc, the 7th of July, 1818, above the height SURFACE-CATEEPILLARS, ETC. 117 of perpetual snow, which proves how well even the moth can resist a low temperature. I have frequently received the caterpillars of this moth with other surface- grubs, and in November, ISJ^l, the Rev. C. Clarke, of Henstead, in Suffolk, sent me several, which he found with others of A. exclamat'ionis (Plate E, and No. 21, figs. 7) at the roots of the turnips; from which it is evident that they either feed upon the bulbs or the leaves, perhaps upon both, which is rather remarkable, because some authors state that they live upon the roots of grass, and this opinion seems to be confirmed by the moths inhabit- ing hay fields in such abundance ; on the Continent, however, they eat many of the cruciferous plants, especially the shepherd's - purse {Thlaspl bursa pasto7'is), and they are said to be equally fond of the groundsel (Senecio vul- garis). These larvse conceal themselves during the day, and come out to feed at night ; they are either of a dirty-green with a coppery tinge, or of a yellowish-green, variegated on the back and sides with rosy-brown and minutely freckled; the under side is pale green; the head is ochreous, with two black stripes in front and a fuscous spot between them ; the first thora- cic segment has a brownish or black lunule above, but not glossy ; there are three pale lines down the back, the central one being the narrowest, the other segments having a blackish streak on the inside, excepting the first four, forming seven long spots, the twelfth segment is green with four fuscous spots, and the apex is brown; the spiracles are black, the head and tail slightly hairy, and there are a few short hairs scattered over the body; they are very fat, but not in the least shining : they can walk and cling pretty well; the six pectoral feet are ochreous, the other ten have the coronets black; they are 1| inch long, sometimes as thick as a swan's quill (Plate E, and No. 20, figs. 5). These caterpillars live through the winter, and can bear very severe cold ; for I took one home that was imbedded in ice in December on an inundated meadow, and it not only recovered, but ate a hole in a plantain-leaf in the spring: they frequently hibernate just beneath the turf or surface of the soil, and come out again to feed in the spring; they finally bury themselves in the ground about April, when they form cases of the earth, and change to large chrysalides (No. 20, fig. a), of a bright reddish brown, like Plate E, fig. 14, fi'om which the moths emerge early in the summer. These larvae are often alluded to by gardeners as a very troublesome species, and there seems to be good evidence of their being so, for we have shown that this variety is undoubtedly one of those surface-grubs which infest the turnips ; but unscientific men are very vague in their descriptions, and often confound a number of things under the name of grubs ; this is not 118 FAEM INSECTS. surprising, when we are aware that nothing is more difficult than to trace these animals through their different skins and transformations, since they vary greatly in colour, live a long time, and notwithstanding the greatest care and attention they often die in the chrysalis state. If the writer be correct as to the identity of the insects, the following statements by J. D. will at once show how mischievous this caterpillar is: — "Early in May, 1833, I sowed a small bed of onions ; a plentiful crop arose, but from then till Sep- tember 12th the plants have kept withering until half are gone. As the herbage was in some cases wholly, in others partially eaten through at the earth's surface, it seemed clearly the work of insects ; but I could find none. The bulb was partly decayed as well as eaten. Since the soaking rains which fell on September 1st, 2d, and 3d, the onions disappeared altogether at one end of the bed, and this sight prompted me, on the l-lth of September, to dig the whole up. The bed was 7 feet long by 3h wide ; and in this area 1 found forty-seven grubs, most of them full-grown, some of them quite so, I suppose oi Noctua proiaiba."* In another place he says, ''The grub of this moth is that yellowish brown, tough-skinned grub,t which every gardener has seen repeatedly on and just under the very surface of the soil, where it eats through the collar or stem of the young cabbage plants, &c., and from numerous observations I have concluded that it prefers the cruciferous plants of any or every genus to the plants of other natural orders, as the Cruciferce have all, in a greater or less degree, a mustard flavour. Seven or eight years ago it destroyed, on the farm of C. Harrison, Esq., at Bury-St. -Edmund's, numerous young plants of turnips, when possessed of seven or eight leaves, by eating through their incipient root-stalks or bulbs ; hereupon the plants No. 21. would fall aside and die : they pro- duced the iV". pronuba." X The two following very de- structive species are included by our present system in the genus Agrotis;^ their larvse appear to f ■ ' 'i^^^^^^^ f^V^^. be very similar, and their econo- 1^ ^^nnlivv/ Jj y ^m^m^ my precisely the same : — 3. Nodua (Agrotis) exclama- tionis, Linn , the Heart- and-Dart Moth (Plate E, and No. 21, figs. 6), has received these names from the mark- * Gardener's Magazine, vol. ix. p. 573. t This sentence rather alludes to the larva of a Tipula, I should say. t Gardener's Magazine, vol. ix. p. 504. § Curtis's British Entomology, Plate and fol. 165, and Guide, Gen. 834, Nos. 11 and 16. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 119 ings of the wings resembling a note of exclamation and a heart and a dart. It is of a clay colour ; the horns are like fine bristles, but in the male they appear slightly toothed like a comb, most distinctly near the base, in conse- quence of each joint producing a fringe of short hairs: the feelers are short and almost black beneath, with a little joint protruding at the apex, and be- tween them is a strong spiral tongue ; on the front of the thorax is a trans- verse black spot; the wings repose in a horizontal position, being then flat, with one of the superior lying over the other, as in the great yellow under- wing ; the superior wings are rather long and narrow, darkest at the costal edge, which is spotted with darker and paler marks ; there are two waved double lines near the base, and to the second is attached an elliptical piceous streak; above it is a ring with a pupil, and beyond this a dark ear-shaped mark ; then follows a transverse denticulated line, and nearer the fringed margin a pale and very irregular line: the inferior wings are white, excepting the upper margin and the nervures, which are brownish : the body is a little depressed, dark-brown, lighter at the base; the apex obtuse in the male, conical in the female : the six legs are long and piceous, the fore-shanks are short, and have an internal spine ; the intermediate have a pair of unequal spurs at the apex, as well as the hinder, which have likewise another pair at the middle, and are ciliated outside at the base:^ all the feet are five-jointed, and spiny beneath, terminating in minute claws with a tooth on the inside, and furnished with little pulvilli : the tips of the shanks and of all the tarsi are whitish. The female difiers from the male in having simple and not pec- tinated horns, and the under wings are dark brown, instead of white: length, I inch ; expanse not quite If inch. This moth is exceedingly abundant all over Europe, and it is even a common insect at the Cape of Good Hope. There are two broods of it annually in France, and it is found plentifully in England in June, mostly towards the end of the month, in fields and gardens, on weedy banks, &c., about which it flies at the close of day. The eggs laid by the female produce larvae, which are said to live upon the groundsel ; but that is doubtful, for a friend and myself have bred this moth from the caterpillars which were found at the roots of turnips ; it is possible they feed upon both. However this may be, it is a most destructive animal to crops of this valuable plant, and sometimes, in company with the following species, destroys immense numbers at every stage of their growth. Towards the end of August, 1842, in Surrey, the}^ attacked the margins of a field of Swedes under a hedge full of elm trees; some of the plants were observed to be dying, and on being * Curtis 's British Entomolorjy , Plate 165, fig. 8t. 120 FAEM INSECTS. pulled up, the crown was found separated from the root, as "exhibited at Plate E, fig. 8, and on searching there, one of the caterpillars was discovered ; but in a neighbouring inclosure as many as four were detected at one root, and they had spread themselves into the middle of the field. This, like the other species, no doubt lives through the winter; for a fi-iend in Suffolk supplied me with a considerable number of the caterpillars on the 20th of November, which were taken from the roots of potatoes in one of his fields. This caterpillar (figs. 7) is of a dull lilac colour, with a broad space down the back more ochreous and lighter, the margins being bounded by an indis- tinct but darker line, and there is a double fuscous line down the centre; the underside is pale dull whitish-green ; the head is brown ; the jaws, eyes, two oblique lines at the base, and a dot between them, black, as are the nine spiracles also; the first thoracic segment is rather horny, and brown above, variegated with darker spots; the other segments have four little tubercles on the back of each, and several on the sides, all of them produc- ing a short hair: the six pectoral legs aj'e ochreous, the claws black, the eight abdominal and two anal feet are brown at their extremities ; they are full 1 i inch long, and as thick as a small goose quill. This is not so cylin- drical as the other species are, being somewhat depressed above and flattish beneath, which is probably a better form for burrowing under the roots; they walk rapidly, but cannot stick fast by their feet, and consequently soon fall off anything they are placed upon: the chrysalis, like the others, is furmed in the earth (No. 21, fig. 8). Another species belonging to tlie same genus, and equally if not more destructive, is the offspring of a moth, w^hich has been named by Ochsen- lieimer — 4. Noctua {Agrotis) segetum, the Common Dart-moth (Plate E, fig. 9, at rest; and No. 22, the same fly- ing). — It is generally of a reddish- brown, but varies so greatly in the tint of the upper wings, which are sometimes of a clay colour, as well as in the strength and shape of the markings upon them, that Mr. Haworth has described it under nine different names in his Le- tongue, and horns are like those of A. exclamationis, but the latter are more decidedly pectinated in the males;* the wings are also placed in the same way in repose as in that indoptera Britannica. The feelers. Curtis's British Enlomologij, Plate 165, figs. 1 and 16. surface-caterpilla.es, etc. 121 species ; the superior are freckled with brown, there are two double-waved Hues across the base, to the second of which is attached a black oval or ellip- tical spot, margined with black; on the disk is a ring circled with black and dark in the centre, with a large ear-shaped spot by its side of the same tint; beyond these is a double indented and waved line, and near the margin a still more irregular one; at the base of the fringe is a row of black lunate spots : the inferior wings are pure white with an opalescent shade, the ner- vures and a line along the margin are fuscous; the body is brown, palest at the base; the six legs are grislj'-, but formed like those of J., exckvniationis. The female is much darker, and the horns are simple; the head, thorax, and upper wings are deep chocolate or brown, the markings, so visible in the males, being almost obliterated in this sex : the under wings are dirty- white, softening into fuscous at the margin, the nervures being of the same colour : length from 8 lines to | inch; expanse from If to 2 inches. This moth is sometimes seen flying in multitudes about the tops of hedges soon after sunset, in June and July, and I have taken it on the sand hills near Sandwich in the middle of October; from this it may be inferred that there are either two broods in a year, or that there is a constant succession of them during the summer and autumn months. It seems to be universally distributed, being found in almost every part of Europe, and, like the fore- going species, is equally common at the Cape of Good Hope. The females lay their eggs in the earth in the month of August, or earlier, and the young caterpillars emerge from the shells in about ten days or a fortnight, and after living through the winter they attain to the length of 1 5 or nearly 2 inches, when they are as thick as a small goose quill. They are smooth and shin- ing, and of a pale lurid ochreous colour, faintly freckled, with a broad space down the back often rosy, and a few short hairs scattered over the body; down the centre is a double dark line, with another less distinct on each side; between these are two black dots placed obliquely on each seg- ment, and likewise three black dots on each at the base of the thighs : like the foregoing species they have six pectoral, eight abdominal, and two anal feet: the head is horny, the mouth and little horns are rusty, the minute jaws black: the eyes are ochreous dotted with black, the internal margin being edged with the same colour, forming nearlj?- a x on the face : the first thoracic segment is brown, divided by three pale lines ; it is very horny and shining, which is much less the case in A. exclamationis, and not at all so in another species (Plate E, fig. 1 2) : when disturbed they roll themselves up, but do not remain long before the}^ are again in motion (figs. 10). On the 7th of June, 1841, Mr. C. Parsons sent me some of these cater- pillars from Essex, which were nearly full-grown ; they were doing great 15 122 FARM INSECTS. mischief to the young mangel-wurzel plants, the roots of which they ate through just below the crown, as shown at Plate E, fig. 11; they also attacked the potatoes when just pushing out of the ground. They were exceedingly voracious, and fed fi-eely upon lettuce-leaves which I gave them: they lived some time in a garden-pot containing a turnip-root and a potato, but eventually died, I believe, for want of more moistm-e. The second week of August, 1842, I received a considerable number of the same sort from a crop of Swedes in Surrey : the field had been wheat, was ploughed in the autumn, got ready for turnips, and sown all at once at the usual time. In September, 1839, a field of Swedes at Farnhara, in the same county, was entirely destroyed by these caterpillars, many of which I endeavoured to rear, but they all died in the winter; they lived under ground, and ate large holes in the roots, and came out at night to feed, apparently upon the leaves. In August' and September, 1835, they were exceedingly numerous in Suffolk, and did considerable injury to the bulbs of the tui-nips. In November, 1841, I received a considerable stock from the Rev. C. Clarke; they were then actively engaged in eating large holes in the bulbs, which, being soon filled with earth, were thereby rendei'ed very difiicult to clean, and not so bene- ficial to stock. At an earlier period of their lives, and about the second hoeing in July, their economy was a little varied, for they then ate ofi" the whole crown of the plant a little below the surface, and separated it from the bulb in a similar way to Plate E, fig. 8. These caterpillars will attack the roots of a great variet}^ of plants, espe- cially those of corn; from whence they are called in Germany "the Winter Corn- moth." In that country they are sometimes very destructive to the autumn-sown corn, and likewise in Russia, from whence they have spread over Poland into Northern Germany and Prussia;"^ and so great were their numbers at intervals, that many districts have been threatened with famine from their ravages. This caterpillar is likewise a troublesome visitor to the gardener as well as the farmer, for it not only destroys the corn and turnip crops by eating up the roots and leaves, but it attacks lettuces, spinach, beet, and also a variety of flower-roots, as auriculas, &c., doing the greatest mis- chief in seedling beds. Upon the Continent, as the harvest is early, these larvae ai'e at that period generally compelled to subsist upon the roots of grasses, but as soon as the corn shoots up in September and October they resort to the tender roots for food ; and this shows how essential it is to keep the land clean, by collecting and burning the bent-grass and similar weeds, for in the absence of these it is far from improbable that the eggs would not * KoUar's Nat. der Schiid. Insecten, p. 106. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 123 be laid, or, if they were, that the caterpillars when hatched would speedily be starved to death. They pass the winter in a ball of earth the shape of an egg, formed 2 or 3 inches below the surface, in the cavity of which they are completely protected both from frost and wet. In the early spring the cater- pillars leave their winter-cells and again feed, without doing much injury, until the end of May or beginning of June, when they finall}'^ enter the earth to undergo their transformation to a brown chrysalis, in which state they generally remain a month, when the moth is produced. The seasons and climate, as well as the causes already alluded to, may occasion a considerable difference in the periods when the perfect insect comes forth, for it is said that in France the moth does not appear until the end of July or the begin- ning of August, whereas in Austria it is recorded as hatching at the end of June or beginning of July, as it does in England. The economy of this caterpillar has been faithfully related by a very careful observer of nature;^ and as his account embodies some facts which have not come under my own observation, I cannot do better than conclude its history by transcribing his remarks : — " The grub is also a very formidable assailant in the more advanced state of the (turnip) plant, near to which it forms a round hole in a vertical direction (in appearance like that of an earth-worm, but open at the top), about 2 or 3 inches deep in the earth. At the bottom of this it remains during the day (unless it be dark and moist), and at night emerges from its burrow and commences an attack upon the plant by eating round the neck of it, and eventually detaching the upper part from the root ; or a single leaf is eaten through at the stem, and when fallen on the ground, the nearest edge is dragged to the burrow, where it is drawn in and devoured during the day. Last year (1836), the turnips sown on the south side of a hill having entirely failed, it was ploughed in furrows, and each filled with yard- dung, and the earth turned over it by the plough ; and on the first rainy day a number of young plants of the Swedish turnip (thinned out from a patch in a moist situation on the north side) were planted on the ridges 18 inches asunder, and very soon grew remarkably strong and healthy ; but after the few straggling plants in the part left unplonghed had been destroyed by the grub, then those at the extreme ends of the ridges began to disappear, and plant after plant followed from the same cause, until very few were left. Having noticed one fine plant at a distance of 6 or 7 yards from any other, and that a grub had just formed his burrow and begun to attack it, I dissolved | oz. of common salt in a quart of water, and poured it over the plant, taking care not to let any run into the hole, or to * Mr. H. Le Keux, in Transactions of the Entomological Society, 1837-1840, vol. ii. p. 32. 124 FARM INSECTS. disturb the grub. When I examined the plant the following day, no further injury had been done to it, and on digging up the burrow I found it had been deserted by the grub, which I have no doubt had travelled to the next plant, although at least 6 yards distant, for there I found a burrow and a i-ecent attack upon the plant which the day before was uninjured. I now washed this also and several others with the solution of salt, and for ten days (during which the weather was hot and dry) no one of them received further injury until a heavy shower of rain fell, after which (as I did not wash them again) they shared the fate of all the others. In such cases it might be worth while to employ children to dig them out, for they are easily found, as may appear from my having collected upwards of thirty in less than half an hour ; ^ but the most keen searcher for, and destroyer of these is the rook, and I attribute their increase in this instance to the mistaken vigilance of the farmer in shooting any one of them which ventured to set foot upon the land, and hanging him up as a warning to his brethren of the reward they would meet with for any friendly endeavours to relieve him from the ravages of so destructive an enemy as the grub." One cause of the great mischief arising from the attacks of the caterpillars of this and the preceding species is, their capability of travelling at a very rapid rate from one spot to another; for in this way, as soon as a caterpil- lar has eaten through the root of a young plant, it marches off in quest of another, and thus the evil is greatly multiplied; and on removing a little of the earth surrounding the bulb of a well-grown turnip in the autumn, ten or twelve will often be found congregated in fields that are much infested. 5. There is still another kind of these surface-grubs which I have fre- quently received with the others; but I cannot ascertain the species of moth it would change to, never having been able to rear one; indeed, persons living in a city, and constantly engaged in literary or scientific pursuits, have neither time nor opportunities to carry on these useful and interesting inves- tigations with much chance of success; but those who reside in the country would be doing great service, even to science, if they would devote a little attention to the breeding of insects injurious to man; and the better to enable them to accomplish this, I will give some instructions at the end of this chapter for the rearing of the surface -grubs. But to resume the subject. These caterpillars (Plate E, fig. 12) are full-grown the beginning of Septem- ber, and feed upon the roots of turnips in fields : they ate off the ci'own close to the top, as shown at fig. 8, and in the garden they injured the roots of the * It appears that Lord Suffolk " cleared a field of eight acres of Swedes by hand-picking: a boj followed each hoer and collected upwards of 1000 daily. Above 16,000 were picked up at an expense of less than two shillings per acre." SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 125 cabbages, it was said, by gnawing all round the stem just below the surface. One was found in earthing up celery : this was left upon the ground a few seconds, when it disappeared, and on digging it was ascertained to have buried itself in that short space of time about 1 foot deep. 'Jliis surface-grub is very ravenous, for two that were confined in a pill-box, where one changed its skin, were eating the soft part of the exuvia when I chanced to look at them; they even appeared to be disputing for it, and in a short time the whole was entirely devoured: I afterwards gave them a cabbage-leaf, which they ate very readily. They were of a pale-green colour, somewhat flesh- coloured on the back and lightly freckled, with a double line down the centre, the space between the lines whitish, a similar line extending along each side near the base of the thighs; the spiracles are black, and on the back of each segment are four black dots, the first pair approaching ; the head is horny and ochreous, with a black spot on each eye, near the base of the jaws, which are rusty, and a black furcate mark on the crown ; there is no horny covering to the first thoracic segment, which distinguishes it at once from the foregoing species; the feet are sixteen, as usual in this family: these caterpillars are as thick -as a goose quill, and about 2 inches long; they can walk backward with perfect ease, a power which enables them to sally from their burrows more readily, and when touched they coil themselves up. In the month of March following I examined the mould and found they had formed thick oval cases of earth, with a cavity inside (fig. 1 3), in which they had changed to bright-brown pupae; the tail terminated by two slender spines, with heads like pins, and a row of spiracles or breathing pores down each side (fig. 14). There seem to be very few, if any, intervals of the year, when some of these surface-grubs are not at work ; they consequently become very formid- able enemies to the turnip crops where they abound : in the summer it is evident that they destroy the young plants by separating the crown from the root, and in the autumn and in mild winters they eat large cavities in the bulbs, which, besides making them less wholesome food for stock, reduce their weight, and render them more subject to decay, from the alternate effects of wet and frost: those caterpillars, likewise, which live through the winter and come out to feed in the spring, are ready to attack any young crop that may be conveniently reached by them. I shall now lay before the agriculturist the various methods that have been suggested for the destruction of these caterpillars, for whilst in the egg state, which appears to be seldom earlier than midsummer, the fields are producing their crops; it is therefore at least inconvenient to attempt, if not impracticable, to do any good, except perhaps on fallows, by ploughing, har- 120 FARM INSECTS. rowiug, and working the soil, which must be one of the most effectual means of rendering the attacks of most, if not of all, insects abortive, at least after the fii'st assault, for nowhere do they increase and luxuriate more than on neglected and slovenly cultivated lands. Like many other wild animals they will multiply greatly in a favourite spot if unmolested ; but when harassed and disturbed, they will depart for a more eligible locality. Neatness, there- fore, and constant attention to the crops, are as essential in the field as in the garden, and they will be attended with the same beneficial results as care and cleanliness insure in the fold and stable when bestowed upon our stock and teams. There is likewise little doubt, from the astonishing saga- city which insects exhibit, that the females would only lay their eggs in fields where there was a fair prospect of the young caterpillars finding at once the food necessary for their sustenance ; for so perfect is their instinct, that a buttei-fly will traverse a wood in every direction to find a leaf of the tree on which alone her caterpillars will feed. This is very astonishing, for what impulse can lead the butterfly, which for her own nourishment only extracts nectar from flowers, to a certain kind of tree, there to deposit her eggs upon the most sheltered part of the foliage ? ■^ It is undoubtedly the Divine law of the Creator which directs the insect in its ways as well as the planet in its course • As it appears to be impracticable to destroy the eggs, we must attack these creatures when they are in the caterpillar or feeding state, and even at that period of their existence we know nothing at present, until they are more than half-grown, and their presence is only detected by the mischief they are doing. Even then it is difiicult, as it is in most cases, to apply a certain remedy; but as they come out only in the evening, to feed during the night, lying concealed by day in the- earth or under clods, stones, and rubbish, it is evident that the proper time to apply any destructive liquids and powders must be after sunset. Tobacco-water will, for instance, kill the surface- caterpillars, if it come fairly in contact with their skins ; but if the turnips were profusely watered with that liquor in the daytime, I suspect it would not destroy a decimal part, since those in the earth would descend to a gi-eater depth as soon as they detected the hateful shower. Bouchd says that in a garden the only remedy, which is a very trouble- some one, is to search for and kill these caterpillars. Kollar also believes * I was in an extensive wood in April, 1841, where I saw only one tree of the alder-buckthorn, Rhamnus Frangula ; hovering about it I observed a female brimstone-butterfly, Gonepteryx rhamni, the larva of which feeds only upon that and the common buckthorn. She seemed to have some diffi- culty in selecting a proper leaf, but having done so, she bent her body and deposited an egg on the under side; and although I went within a few inches of her to witness the operation, nothing could divert her from her purpose, but immediately after she flew away. SUEF ACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 127 the best method is to collect them into pots and kill them with hot water, when the tub, which may be placed where most convenient in the field, is suflficiently full, or the labour is ended ; of course the vessel must be closely covered to prevent their escape. The value of being acquainted with the habits of insects is very manifest with regard to these caterpillars, for any one ignorant of their economy might search for them in vain. The best plan to be adopted will be to turn over the stones and clods by day, and to pick them off the plants after sunset with a lantern ; and occasionally they may be found in the day, when they leave their hiding-places to change their skins or to fix on a suitable spot to undergo their transformation to a chrysalis. Kollar remarks that the operation of collecting, like all others of a similar nature, should be simultaneous on a farm or in a parish, and requires the united force of the neighbourhood, without which, anything like extirpation cannot be effected. When turnips or cabbage plants have been bitten off in the night, the soil should be removed as soon as possible from the stem or root, to the depth of an inch or two, where the enemy will generally be found secreted and enjoying his repose. Mr. Denyers recommends laying dry soot 1 inch thick over the ground and digging it in : — " In the grub's attacks on plants of the cabbage family, its habit is to eat some nearly and others quite asunder, a little below the heart: it often greatly annoys the farmers in their turnip-fields. I have made use of the above remedy and have never found it fail." "^ Mr. Ma- thers also says — "In May, 1829, my plants of cauliflowers and cabbages were all going off by the grub, which had totally destroyed the lower part of the root ; but by applying a small handful of soot to the stem of each and earthing them up immediately, they threw out fresh fibres, which very much astonished me, and the plants grew more rapidly and made verj^ fine heads." t From these reports it seems that soot is very offensive to the surface-grubs, and most probably would be very beneficial at the early stages of the turnips, but we fear it is too difficult to procure in sufficient quantities, as well as too expensive, for field culture. Another correspondent in the same journal says — " The brown grub is a mortal enemy to lettuce, celery, and all the cabbage tribe; wherever their depredations are observed, dig below the eaten plant, find the insect, and destroy it, otherwise another plant will be devoured on the morrow. A little fresh slaked lime laid round each plant will defend it, unless the grub rises directly from below.":}: At a meeting of the Entomological Society in December, 1836, specimens of the caterpillar of Agrotis serjetum were * Gardena-'s Magazine, vol. ix. p. 573. t Ibid. vol. vii. p. 87- + Ibid. vol. iv. p. 137. 128 FARM INSECTS. exhibited by Mr. Yarrell,. " which had been forwarded to him from Satfron- Walden, where they had been very destructive to the turnips, five or six attacking the roots of that and other kinds of plants. Mr. Scales also ex- hibited larvae of apparently the same insect, which had been equally destruc- tive in his garden at Stoke-Newington, the caterpillars coming abroad at night and eating round the roots and vegetables just at the sm-face of the ground."^ In November, 1835, Mr. Hope stated, at a meeting of the same society, that the larvae of an Agrotis had proved very injurious to the turnips in Shropshire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire, hiding themselves in the ground in the day-time and coming forth at night to feed upon the leaves. •' He suggested that the application of quicklime over the turnips after rain at dusk would have the effect of destroying the larvae when they came forth to feed, and likewise that it would be serviceable to turn poultry and ducks into the fields when ploughed." t Mr. Major J says that, on a small scale or in the garden, their ravages may be mitigated by clearing the ground well of all weeds or other vegeta- tion a week or fortnight previous to sowing the seed or pricking out a bed, which will cause the caterpillars to leave it in search of food. He proposes also planting a decoy for them by surrounding the seed plot with a row of cauliflowers, cole, broccoli, or any similar vegetables which can be spared; of course if any of the larvae be there they will be attracted to the plants, and by searching daily a few inches below the surface they may be readily detected and destroyed. As soon as a leaf of the young plant dies or the top droops, immediately turn up the earth with a trowel, and the enemy will be found at the root ; but if this be neglected only for a few hours, he will have departed to another plant. He also recommends mixing 1 lb. of soap with 16 gallons of water, and applying it in a warm state to the roots, until it sinks into their burrows. " This will cause them to dart out of their cells with their heads upwards, where they stand perpendicularly as if they were completely killed ; they must however be quickly collected, as they will recover in ten or fifteen minutes and retire again." He adds, " that the only remedy favourable to extensive crops will be, instead of shooting and fright- ening the rooks, to use every encouragement to induce them to resort there, that they may gather the grub for sustenance." If this favours the small birds also, which he thinks gather the seed and eat the heads of the plants, the mischief may be averted by dusting them over with quicklime while the dew is upon the leaves; this should be done as soon as the plants appear above ground, and ought to be repeated in two or three days. The rooks are often * Transactions of the Entomological Society, vol. ii. p. xxx. + Ibid. vol. i. p. Ixxvii. + Treatise on Insects, p. 169. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 120 accused of doing great mischief to crops attacked by the grub, for they not only search at the roots of the infested plants, it is said, but they pull uj) all as they go. The rook is so sagacious that I would fain release him from this accusation: when he thus pulls the plants about I suspect that slugs, wire- worms, and grubs are at the roots ; if he did not kill them, the plants must die, and without his aid the insects would remain; it is therefore clear that the farmer is a gainer by his services, inasmuch as he gets rid of the vermin which iufest the soil, so that at all events his succeeding crops will be free from their attacks. To ascertain the real value of the services of birds in keeping under noxious insects, let any one kill them all off if possible, and the reward of his folly will be a dearth on his land. If the rook does live sometimes at the farmer's expense, let him not forget " that the labourer is worthy of his hire." Pigs are also very fond of the grubs, and these, as well as ground-nuts and other roots, afford them a fine feast on waste lands, and cause them to root up the ground : whether they could be safely employed to search for the surface-grubs is questionable ; if they might, I think they would prove most serviceable agents in their destruction when fields are swarming with them late in the year. The chrysalides are so securely enveloped in a ball of earth, the cavity being smoothed perhaps by some fluid from the mouth or body of the cater- pillar, that it is probably unaftected by the sharpest frosts and impervious to the heaviest rains; it is therefore useless to attempt to destroy them in that tranquil state by watering or dusting; and catching and destroying the moths, if practicable, would not be an effectual remedy, for the females would escape the strictest search, their colours being so grave and similar to the earth, that no one could discover them when at rest in the day-time; and fires or other means employed at night to attract and destroy the moths would only reduce the number of males, leaving the females, which seldom fly, and a sufiicient number of their mates, to supply the succeeding generations. Although the following remedies apply to corn crops when attacked by the surface-caterpillars, I shall introduce them here, as they may bear in some measure upon the turnips, and guide the farmer when they visit his lands. Late sowing, as it regards corn, would prove the best security in autumn, because the larvae would in all probability be starved to death before the roots of the corn were ready for them, and it is believed that the female moth takes advantage of a fresh ploughed field to deposit her eggs in the soft and moist earth ; if this be the case, June and July are the most improper months for sowing turnips, so far as regards these caterpillars. The richer the soil, 16 130 FARM INSECTS. the warmer the situation, and the earlier corn is sown, the more are the attacks of the surface-caterpillars to be dreaded, as they immediately destroy the immature roots of spring corn. Soils rendered strong and warm by horse-dung manure are most infested by all sorts of larvae and worms, which is supposed to arise from the heat that is generated by the fermentation accelerating the hatching of the eggs. Steeping the seeds in liquor extracted from bitter herbs,^ mixed with salt or nitrates, can be of no use, unless, by forcing the germinating power, the plants are enabled to outgrow the injuries they have sustained. If any salts, especially nitrate of ammonia, were mixed in sufficient quantities with the soil, there can be no doubt of their securing the crops, and, thus applied, liquid manure might prove most beneficial. Kollar expresses a fear that, if the seeds were rendered bitter and disagreeable to the insects, the same pro- perties would be communicated to the grain, thereby making it unfit for use, but this opinion is not supported either by physiology or experience. The Royal Academy of Sciences in Sweden t recommended |th of a ton of slaked lime to be sifted over 1 ton of wheat when spread out, and to be well mixed with it; the whole is then to be tied up tightly in sacks and laid under the straw in the barn for three days, until the wheat becomes thor- oughly heated, after which the corn and lime may be sown together in calm weather. Scattering ashes immediately before and after sowing the seed, oi- when the plants begin to shoot up, might prevent these caterpillars fi'om attacking a crop, or drive them away. The same society states, on the autho- rity of many farmers, that corn has been eflfectually protected from seed-eat- ing caterpillars by sticking inverted young fir trees, having the tops first cut off, into various parts of the field ! If this be correct, we are at a loss for an explanation of the phenomenon ; yet it is maintained, so certain is the effect, that if the caterpillars had already infested a field it would cause them to vanish. Kollar is of opinion that the advantages derived from sowing hemp round the borders of a field do not arise from any disagreeable scent being imparted, but fi-om its attracting small birds, which resort to it for its seed and for shelter, and, by feeding upon the hurtful insects around them, they greatly diminish their numbers. It is difficult to account for the absence of the sur- face-caterpillars from our field crops for many years together, unless, as is generally the case, they are occasionally overpowered by parasitic insects; it is therefore not a little remarkable that I have never met with any of the * j\Ir. Main states, that " watering April-sown cauliflower seedlings with an infusion of the leaves of artichokes, a liquor bitter enough, will not preserve them." — See the Gardener's Maoazine. t Kollar 's Naturg. der Schdd. Insect., p. 111. SUEFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 131 parasites which we may presume are attached to these caterpillars ; it ia truti that, as far as regards the Noctua brassicce, I find in gardens in June and July great numbers of an ichneumon, called Exetastes osculatorius of Fabri- cius,* which appears to accompany that species, but, never having bred it, I have no direct evidence of their being connected in their economy. There are, however, a vast number of beetles called ground-beetles, of the ftimily Caeabid.'E, which abound in fields and pasture lands, and no doubt contri- bute largely in the reduction of less powerful insects, for they are almost all carnivorous, feeding on caterpillars and other larvse, as well as on worms ; one of these is named — 5"^. 07)iaseus onelanarhis, of lUiger.— It is a large beetle, which attacks and devours the surfoce-caterpillars in turnip fields ; it resides under clods and stones, coming out at night to prey, and one of them has devoured six or seven small caterpillars in a night. It varies in size from 7 to 12 lines; is shining black; the head is furnished with a pair of sharp strong jaws, and two eleven-jointed, thread-like horns: the eyes are small, but prominent; the thorax is heart-shaped, cut off before and behind, with a channel down the back, and two rough pits at the hinder angles : the elytra are broad, elliptical, with sixteen longitudinal furrows; wings none; six strong legs, the fore-feet broadest in the males. The larvae of this beetle are by no means uncommon in fields and gardens in the spring; they are about 1 inch long, brown and ochreous, and are fre- quently infested by a parasite called Prodotrupes viator,^ these larvse form an oval cell of earth, deep below the surface, in which they change to pupse, and from one of these I bred the beetle (0. melanarius) in June. I shall conclude the history of the surface caterpillars by giving direc- tions for the rearing them, trusting that it may lead us to a better know- ledge of some parts of their history. When we take any caterpillar or other larva of an insect from the field or garden, the nearer we can approach to keeping it in its natural state, the better chance we shall have of rearing the perfect insect, whether moth, fly, or otherwise : the first object is therefore to plant the food it requires in the right soil ; but if the larva feed upon the leaves or flowers of a tree or plant, a twig may be cut off and placed in a vial or small bottle of water in the cage ; the next thing is to keep the earth inclosed sufficiently damp but not too wet, and this is most difficult. The best mode undoubtedly is to take a butter-firkin or small useless box, and bore the head or bottom full of holes, which are necessary to drain it, but not large enough to allow the animals to get through ; then sink the barrel * Curtis 's Guide, Gen. 524, No. 15. t See Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. vi. p. 36. 132 FARM INSECTS. in a shady yet airy spot in the garden, within 6 or 8 inches of the surface: this being done, fill it with the proper soil to the same level, so as to leave enough space for the growth of the turnip, potato, corn, or whatever is required for the sustenance of the lai-vse; if the sun shine upon it, it will be necessary to shade the plant a day or two from the heat and light by invert- ing a garden-pot over it, the larvie may then be put in, and the top must be closed, either by a cover made of wire-gauze, strained over a frame and fitting close into the top, or coarse canvas may be substituted : and it will give more room for the food to grow up, if two pieces of cane or willow-twigs be tied together forming a cross, and the four ends bent down inside of the barrel, over which the canvas may be tied; the great objection to this mate- rial is, that it soon rots when exposed to the weather. Some twigs or dead bushes should be stuck round to keep off" cats, &c., and the lid or covering must be opened from time to time to see what is going on. Of course such objects as the larvge live amongst in a natural state ought to be introduced, otherwise they will frequently die for want of the proper materials to form tlieir cocoons ; moss, dead leaves, old bark, rotten wood, green turf, &c., are often required. By the method here recommended the magnificent death's- head moth,* which feeds upon potato-leaves whilst a caterpillar, has been bred with tolerable certainty, but these insects have almost always died after passing into the chrysalis state when fed in any other way, and I doubt not that the economy of the wire- worm might be completely developed by pursuing the same treatment. CuRCULio PLEUROSTiGMA — The Tumip-gall Weevil The excrescences (No. 23, fig. 1) which frequently disfigure the turnip- bulbs, and are not confined to any particular variety, on being opened will Ko. 23. be found to contain a small raag- ^ got (figs. 2; magnified at fig. 3), something like that which we re- presented in Plate D, fig. 10, but it is thicker : these galls, or knobs, as tliey are generally called, t vary greatly in bulk, from the size of a pea to that of a large acorn; the smaller ones contain a single maggot, the larger excrescences several, as shown by the cavities laid open * Curtis's British EntomologT/ , fol. and Plate 147. t Anbury is sometimes improperly applied to this malformation. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 133 at fig. 5.* My friend Mr. Spencet having bred the weevil from these galls, we may conclude that, soon after the turnip-bulb is formed, the impregnateil female pierces a hole through the }-ind with her proboscis and deposits an egg in it, which shortly hatches, and the young maggot feeds upon the inter- nal substance of the bulb; the excrescences are produced most probably, as in other similar cases, by the injection of some fluid into the wound when the egg is deposited, to form a proper nidus for the embryo young, or it may be the effect of an acid secretion of the maggot. Naturalists are yet ignorant of many particulars relating to tlie history of this beetle, for, although the galls are visible upon the turnips from the close of summer until the opening of spring, the maggots in all probability are not many weeks in arriving at maturity. I have found them of all sizes in winter, but never met with one in the pupa state; 1 therefore conclude that, like the turnip-seed weevil, J they eat their way out (fig. 4), and enter the earth to undergo their final transformation. The maggots are fat and whitish (figs. 2 ; magnified at fig. 3), often of a bright flesh colour, when they live on the Swedes, wrinkled, especially on the sides: head ochreous: jaws bright nut-brown, the extremities black, as well as a minute eye on each side; when at rest and in their cells they generally lie curled up, and are not able to extend themselves and walk like the maggots of the turnip-seed beetle, but when forcibly stretched out they are about I inch long. After their metamorphoses in the earth, a beetle is eventually produced which naturally belongs to the order Coleoptera, and the family CuRCULiONiD^. It is designated in modern works as the — 6. Curculio (Ceutorhynchus) pleurostigma ; it is also the Rhynchcenus suloicollis of Gyllenhal ; § the Turnip-gall Weevil. — It is black and shining ; antennse inserted at the middle of the rostrum, which is long, slender, curved, and punctured at the base; the former are geniculated and twelve-jointed, the basal joint is long and clubbed; second and third elongated, fourth and fifth oblong, three following globose ; the remainder forming an ovate-conic club ; head with an impression between the eyes, and, as well as the thorax, is coarsely punctured, with short whitish depressed hairs; the latter is tri- angular, truncated, and narrowed before, the sides being hollowed, forming a small tubercle on each ; the anterior margin reflexed, the lobes ochreous beneath ; there is a broadish channel down the back, and a short groove in the breast; scutel nunute and depressed; elytra semi-ovate, with ten clean * I found four larvae in one excrescence on the 9th of November. t Kirby and Spence's Introd. to Eniom., 1st edition, vol. i. p. 450, and 7th edition, p. 256. The roots of the charlock and cabbages are similarly affected, but by other species of the s.ime genus. t Chapter iv. p. 104. § Curtis's Guide, Gen. 345, No. 37 ; and British Entomology, fol. and Plate 670. 134 FARM INSECTS. cut strife on each ; the interstices scabrose, and sparingly clothed with short whitish hairs; the apex roiighish; wings two, and ample, folded and con- cealed beneath the cases; under side speckled with whitish ochreous scales; the pleur?e ochreous white: six legs equal, with whitish depressed hairs; thicrhs stout, with a small pilose tooth on the under side of each (fig. 8) ; shanks stoutish; feet four-jointed, two basal joints trigonate, third broad, bilobed, fourth slender, longer, and clavate, terminated by two simple claws; length, including the rostrum, 1^ line (fig. 6; 7, magnified). This beetle is very similar to the turnip-seed weevil (Plate D, fig. 1 6) ; but it is black instead of gray ; the wing cases are not so rough or strongly tuberculated at their extremities, and all the thighs have a small tooth beneath. It is not uncommon in hedges and waste grounds, from the com- mencement of May to the end of August ; and closely contracts all its mem- bers when alarmed, at which time it looks like a black seed. It no doubt lives in flowers, like its congeners ; but no means could be devised for the destruction of this insect, which fortunately is not of much consequence, for, excepting the beauty and symmetry of the bulbs being afifected, the turnips are, I apprehend, in no way injured by their presence. We may, however, mention, that partridges are very fond of the maggots, and that is undoubt- edly one reason for the turnips being so attractive to those birds; they are there under cover, and run about in search of the galls, to pick out the hidden maggots, and probably others whose history I shall now proceed to relate. Anbury, or Fingers-and-Toes. That these malformations are occasioned by insects I very much doubt; yet it is unquestionably true that the bulbs of the turnips, when thus afiected, are inhabited by multitudes of maggots, beetles, fcc, but then they are either such as obtain their sustenance from putrid substances, or those beetles which are carnivorous, and are attracted to such spots by the abun- dant supply of food which the helpless inhabitants of the diseased roots afford them. I therefore consider insects to be not the cause but the effect of anbury, although their united eff'orts contribute in no small degree to the more speedy dissolution of the bulbs. The above are, I believe, two distinct diseases: but as it is very difficult to distinguish them by the published accounts of authors, I am not able to characterize them separately. The "fingers-and-toes" I had always sup- posed to be the division of the root into a number of thick appendages at the expense of the bulb; but "anbury," instead of producing radish-like appen- dages, is characterized by a knotted and irregular growth of the fibres. SURFACE-CATERPILLAES, ETC. 135 Mr. Dicksou says of lingers-and-toes: — " It occasionally happens that turnip- plants, instead of swelling and forming bulbs, send off numerous stringy roots, which soon decay, and come to no account. It occurs most generally when the crop is sown on fresh laud, and no remedy is said yet to have been discovered to prevent it. More perfect tillage, and the use of such manures as have a tendency to render such lands more mellow and friable, may perhaps be beneficial."* Mr. Marshall, in allusion to the anbury, says that it is a large excrescence produced below the apple or bulb ; and when this Avas just forming, and not larger than a green walnut, the anburies were as large as a goose's egg, awkward, and irregular in form, with excrescences below, not unlike races of ginger, depending from them. After arriving at maturity, they exhibit a putrid fermentation, and emit a most offensive scent. When the anburies are divided they are hard ; but, with the assistance of a lens, veins or string-like vessels may be seen dispersed through the tumour. When turnips are affected with this disease, the tops become yellow and flag in the heat of the sun, and they are thus readily distinguished. He says it has been attributed to the land being too long continued under this green crop; but it is certain the anbury appears on land where turnips had never been grown before: he, however, considers that it proceeds fi:'om the puncture of an insect in the vessels of the tap-root, by which the course of the sap is diverted, and instead of the natural bulb an excrescence is produced. He recommends that the diseased plants should be removed as soon as possible, and the earth stirred about those that remain; and he adds that it may be wholly avoided by well preparing and richly manuring lands subject to pro- duce anbury. t I have heard that a naked fallow is a remedy for it; but it is well known that marl is the great cure, and Norfolk marl is said to be the best. On a sandy loam in Suffolk, where anbury constantly made its appear- ance after the second hoeing, the application of chalk proved a certain cure, and the gentleman J to whom I am indebted for this information found that if, instead of growing turnips the fourth year, the crop be changed for four years more, the diseaaa was completely eradicated. Teathing the barley- stubble which is intended for turnips will cause the anbury: if this be avoided, the good effects of marl and chalk will be felt for many years. Whether wet or dry seasons be most favourable to anbury I cannot de- termine. Farmers are of opinion that the latter are the worst ; and Mr. Sin- clair says that when the disease has taken place, if plentiful rains ensue, the bulbs put out other roots, or rather small fibres enlarge, to supply the places of those which are wounded. § The autumn of 1841 was wet enough, yet in ■" Practical Agvic, vol. ii. p. C66. + Rural Economy of Norfolk, vol. ii. p. .33. + Mr. J. Eo})insoii, of Henstead, Suffolk. § Memoirs of Caledonian Horticultural Socicii/. 130 FARM INSECTS. Suffolk I fouud the turnips ou a part of the coast suffering severely from anbury in the beginning of November, There were in one field four different sorts of turnips growing: the long-pudding, which seemed to be the worst affected, as the tap-root was generally completely rotten in the earth ; the odom- was most offensive; and on opening the wet and carious parts there were numbers of maggots in groups of five or six together, completely im- bedded in the putrescent substance. I sometimes found as many as twenty in one root. I observed with them some minute Acari, both red and whitish, with quantities of small rove-beetles with their larvae, and a few large car- nivorous beetles. The branching roots were covered with simple or granu- lated excrescences, but they were not decaying. The Scotch yellow turnips had grown to a good size; but the tap-root frequently produced a tumour as large as a pullet's egg. On cutting them open I found them solid, and, with the exception of a few small holes eaten here and there, which were like the erosions of the wire- worm, of which I detected one, they did not exhibit the slightest signs of any insects inhabiting them, even in an embryo state: the centre of the tumours was discoloured, and the texture perfectly fibrous or woody. The Swedes, as well as the round white turnips, were but slightly affected. I likewise remember examining, in August, 184<1, at least a dozen young cabbage-plants with clubbed roots as large as a child's fist, but could not find a single maggot anywhere, and the tumours were sound and solid. I think from the above evidence it is pretty clear that certain conditions of the soil, induced probably by the repetition of certain crops, and not insects, are the cause of anbury:"^ the enlargement of the lateral roots, which become woody, stops the flow of sap to the bulb; it consequently ceases to draw nourishment from the soil, when it dies and rots in the earth, and becomes a fit nidus for a variety of insects. With regard to fingers-and-toes, if that disease be the malformation I take it for, it arises possibly from the land not having been sufficiently prepared for the turnip crop ; but this is an opinion which I venture with great deference to offer for the consideration of the practical cultivator. It will now be necessary to give the histories of the insects alluded to which inhabit the anbury. The most important of them is the maggot of a delicate gnat, which, as I have already stated, lives in small families in the putrid and moist portions of the bulb (No. 24, fig. ] ). These larvse are slen- der, cylindrical, shining, and pale yellow (fig. 2, magnified) : they taper gra- * If cabbages be planted, or the seed sown, for several years following, upon the same land, the roots get knotty and the heads become smaller; but if cultivators would procure strong and healthy plants from a market-garden, instead of sowing their own seed, it would do much towards obviating this mischievous disease. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 137 dually to the head, Avhieh is very pointed, with two black lines on the crown, and two horny spines or jaws at the mouth: the body is composed of about twelve segments, thickening towards tlie tail, which is blunt and rounded, Avith two brown spots, being the tips of two tubercles: they are about 5 lines, or not quite ^ inch long. When full-grown in November, I placed them, with the diseased root they in- liabited, in a garden-pot with mould, and in the following April a great number of female gnats had hatched, but were all dead; they therefore must have come forth at an earlier period: the empty pupaj-cases were lying about, but I could not find one unhatched, which I am led to regret, because even De Geer was unacquainted with the economy of this insect.^ The empty cases were pale dirty ochreous, exhibiting the forms of the different members of the imago; the}^ were a little arched, the tail was pointed, with two parallel spines at the tip, and two short-pointed teeth above them. The gnats are often seen resting upon the inside of our win- dows in the winter, especially after the breaking up of frosts, and in calm days they fly in troops in fields and gardens, dancing together in the air without separating, and during the severest frosts these fragile flies, v/hich are so delicate that one would imagine a breath, much more a northern blast, would annihilate them, may be found standing upon the sides of walls in damp gardens as unafiected apparently by cold as in the finest days of spring. Six species have been found in England;! and one of them has been bred from putrid fungi by Mr. Haliday. These gnats belong to the order DiP- TERA, and to the family TipuliDjE ; they form a genus called by Meigen Tri- CHOCERA : the species infesting the turnips is named by the Baron de Geer — 7. T. hiemalis, the Winter Turnip-gnat. — The males are smaller than the females, and are distinguished by the structure of the tail : they are of an ash colour, the head is small and globular, with two lateral black eyes ; the neck is slender; the mouth forms a little beak; the feelers are distinct, in- curved, and five-jointed; the horns are longlsh, pubescent, setaceous, being very slender at the tips, composed of many joints, the two basal globose, third the longest, the remainder elongated ; thorax oval, cinereous, with four fuscous stripes; body cylindric, pubescent, the apex obtuse in the male, with two incurved appendages, forming a pair of forceps; more conical in the * I have since obtained the pupae, see fig. 3 ; i, magnified, t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 1165. 138 FARM INSECTS. female; with two parallel black hooks bent down like a claw at the apex, and forming the ovipositor; wings incumbent in repose (fig. 5), ample, much longer than the body, glassy, iridescent, slightly stained with yellow, having numerous longitudinal nervures, forming one discoidal and seven posterior cells; balancers pale, the club fuscous; six legs long, very slender, and pubes- cent; thighs long, shanks longer, especially the hinder; feet long, five-jointed, basal joint very long, fourth and fifth elliptical, the latter famished with two minute claws and suckers: length, 3| lines; expanse of wings, 6 J lines; (fig. 6, flying; 7, natural dimensions.) The Acari, or mites found with the maggots, were the size of a grain of sand; most of them were reddish brown, but some, which were smaller and younger, were whitish : the two feelers and eight legs were hairy and pale ochreous. They probably had been introduced by the large rove-beetles, which are often infested by these parasites; and they may attack the various larvse inhabiting the turnips, and perhaps destroj'^ the eggs from which they are produced; but these are only conjectures.* On another occasion I ex- amined some diseased and enlarged cabbage stalks at the end of May, and on oj)ening one of the galls, which was soft, I found it filled with a white acarus; the four hinder legs were much smaller than the others, and the tips were furnished with a single claw. There is frequently a variet}'' of rove-beetles in rotten turnips, principally of the genera Aleochara\ and Oxytelus;X their habits are similar, being constantly found in decomposing animal and vegetable substances: when turnips have what is termed a " grubbed " appearance, it has been attributed to the larvae of these little beetles ; and Sir Joseph Banks stated that forty or fifty of the larvae of a Staphylinus had been discovered in October just below the leaves in a single bulb. § I also received specimens of the above genera from the Rev. T. H. Scott, of Whitfield rectory, near Heydon -Bridge, Northumberland. They made their appearance about the beginning of July; and on hoeing the turnips they were observed about the roots, and were gnawing them. This is remarkable; for two of these beetles lived three months upon maggots found in some turnips. || It is not the turnips alone that are infested by this tribe of insects ; for this, or a similar larva to the above, sometimes does great mischief to wheat crops, as w^e shall show in a future chapter. On digging up some old turnips in the garden in the * In the Transactions of the Enlomological Society, it is stated that the Aleochara themselves feed upon the Acari. See vol. iii p. 111. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 221; and British Eat.. Homalota and Phytosus, Plate and fol. 514 and 713. t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 216. ^ Kirby and Spence's Introd. to Ent., 1st edition, vol. i. p. 186, and 7th edition, p. 104. II Gardener's Magazine, vol. viii. p. 323. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC 139 end of March, 1842, I found several of the larvae (No. 25, fig. 3; -i, magnified) in the rotten bulbs, with eight or ten specimens of a small rove-beetle, which I doubt not had been bred from them. The horns of the larvte appear fur- cated at the second joint, from the bristle being incrassated, and, I be- lieve, jointed : the jaws are strong, curved, and acute; there are five minute eyes on each side of the head, which is reddish brown, with a semi-circular line of the same colour on the first thoracic segment. The body is white, shaded with ochre, the intestines shining through the back behind: at the tail is a thickish foot, and above it two-jointed tapering tails, all ochreous: the six pectoral legs are of the same colour: length, 2 lines. The beetles of which these are the larvae are Coleopterous, of the family Staphylinid^, and this group forms the genus Oxytelus of Gravenhorst ; the species is named by the same author — 8. 0. sculptuTcdiLS, the Sculptured Rove-beetle, from the deep channels upon the thorax. — It is depressed, pitchy black, and shining excessively, thickly, and minutely punctured, and striated, with large points scattered over the surface: horns remote, short, hairy, thickened considerably at the extremity, eleven-jointed, basal joint long, forming an angle with the second, which is small and pear-shaped; third and fourth minute globose, the re- mainder broader than long, being somewhat cup-shaped, excepting the ter- minal joint, which is the largest and ovate-conic; mouth brown ; jaws strong, arcuated, pointed, with a tooth on the inside, chestnut coloured; feelers visible, maxillary four-jointed, labial three-jointed, the terminal joint slender and often ferruginous: head frequently as broad as the thorax, transverse- ovate, flattened between the eyes, with an elevated ridge near each, and two short channels on the nose, with an obscure one at the base : thorax trans- verse, the lateral margins smooth, three broad channels down the back, the central one deepest ; scutel invisible ; elytra nearly quadrate, often pitchy or brown, and rarely testaceous; wings very ample, transparent, and folded under the wing-cases in repose: body very glossy, rather short, linear, the sides margined, apex pointed; six legs, short and ochreous; the thighs stoutish; shanks spiny outside: the first pair notched externally at the apex; feet rather long, slender, and tri-articulate ; basal joints minute, third long and ciavate; claws long, slender, and acute: length from 1^ to If line; expanse of wings from \ inch to 4 lines (fig. 5; 6, flying and magnified). This beetle is similar to 0. rugosus (fig. 1 ; 2, magnified): but it is smaller. 140 FARM INSECTS. It is impossible to turn over any dung which lias been dropped only a few hours without finding it taken possession of by insects, and amongst them the 0. sculpturatus and 0. rugosus"^ will generally be recognized: when such deposits are a few days old they often swarm with these and other Coleoptera. They are able to fly well ; and towards sunset multitudes are roving about, and apparently enjoying, on the wing, the decline of day. Indeed they may be said to be found everywhere, and at all seasons. They are able to emit an acid, or some acrid liquor, from the mouth when irritated, which causes great pain when they fly into our eyes; and it lasts until the poison becomes diluted by tears from the lachrymal ducts. Lastly, we come to several two-winged flies, which, by depositing their eggs either in the crown of the turnip or close to the young bulb, cause the destruction of that plant. My attention was first called to this enemy of the farmer, several years since, by Edward Bennet, Esq., of Kougham Old Hall, in Suffolk. We found man 3' of the turnip plants in that parish wdiich had a maggot either in the j^oung crown or just inside, at the base of the tap-root, A\'hich was indicated by a j^ellow tint on the leaves, the flagging of the plants in the heat of the day, and their dropping off": this w\as during the first week of August; in a few days after the maggots changed to pupge, and in about three w^eeks two male flies and one female hatched from them. The Rev. C. Clarke also show^ed me some white maggots at the roots of the cabbages about the same period, which destroyed his plants earlier in the year, by eating oflT the fibrous roots and excoriating the stem below the sur- face. When I saw them they were living under the rind of the stem ; and he informed me that the same or a similar maggot sometimes does great mis- chief to the Swedish turnips. These maggots were identical with broods reared from cabbages by another friend in Surrey ; but in that instance the maggots were feeding in the beginning of June, and the flies emerged in the end of the same month. These maggots are somewhat like those of the flesh-fl}^, but smaller: they are j^ello wish- white and shining, composed of eleven visible rings, tapering very much to the head, which is pointed, and terminated bj^ two black horny claws, and there is a dark spot on the first segment : the rump is the thickest, and cut off" abruptly, with two brown tubercles in the centre, and several short teeth on the lower margin : when full-grown they are about 4 lines long (No. 26, fig. l);t they then change below the surface of the earth to ]-eddish brown pupae (fig. 2; 3, magnified): these are cylindrical and ellipti- * Numbers of this species were discovered in the clubbed roots of broccoli, in the middle of Sep- tember, in a garden in Surrey. + Figures 6 to 9 represent the larva and fly of Anthomyia tuherosa. See Chap. xv. SURFACE CATERPILLARS, ETC. 141 cal, with a few black tubercles on tlie head, and short spines on the rump, similar to those on the maggots; for these brown cases are, in fact, their indurated skins, which are not cast off in the penultimate transformation, as they are in the caterpillars of butterflies and many other larvie; neither do maggots change their skins as they grow, which is unnecessary, as they are extremel}^ thin, and stretch so readily, that as the animal increases in bulk so does its skin expand. In three weeks at the utmost the flies hatch and crawl out of the earth, with their little wings crumpled up, and climbing up the side of a clod or any perpendicular surface before they get dry, they expand and become the proper organs of flight. These, as well as the follow- ing species of flies, are comprehended in the order DiPTERA, and form the family MusciD^: the genus comprising them is called Anthomyia by Meigen,"'^ and the species, from its attacking the cabbages, is named by Bouch^ t — 9. A. hrassicoi, the Cabbage-fly. — The sexes of this fly differ materially in aspect: the male is ashy gra}^ ver}^ bristly; the large compound eyes nearl}^ meet on the crown of the head, which is hemispherical: there are three minute eyes at the base of the crown; the face is silvery gray, almost white in some lights, with a long black streak on the forehead, pointed behind, below which are the black and tri-articulate horns, the basal joint of which is small, the second large, the third the largest and oval, with a bi- articulate pubescent bristle on the back, the basal joint being very minute: thorax oblong, the sides whitish, with three faint interrupted stripes down the back; body shining gray, rather small and elliptical, tapering to the apex, with a black stripe down the back; the edges of the segments and the region of the scutel black also : two wings incumbent in repose, ample, trans- parent, iridescent, the longitudinal nervm*es reaching the posterior margin, with two transverse ones towards the disk; balancers ochreous; six legs black and spiny; thighs and shanks simple; feet five-jointed, terminated by two little claws, and two largish pale leathery lobes. The female is of a uniform ashy gray, excepting the silvery white face and pale sides of the thorax : the eyes are remote, with a broad black stripe between them, shad- ing into chestnut colour in front: the abdomen is stouter, and conical at the apex, and the wings have an ochreous tinge at the base;:[: length nearly \ inch; expanse of wings almost ^ inch. These flies are on the wing the whole of summer, and there are con- sequently several generations of the maggots which are for many mouths * Curtis's Guide, Gen. 1287. t Naturg. der Garten- Insecten, p. 13L + For the structure of the mouth, dissections,. &c., consult Curtis's British Entomology , Plate and fol. 7G8, IlydrotcEn, an allied genus. 142 FARM INSECTS. eating passages in tlie stalks and roots of the cabbage and turnip tribes, tlius causing tliem to become rotten as soon as they are subjected to wet and frost. Many of the flies no doubt live through the winter, secreted in holes and crevices, and some of the pupse do not hatch until the spring: in one instance the maggots and pupse were taken from the roots at the same time, the 19th of June, and the flies began to hatch on the 27th. On pulling up the stalks of some cabbages recently cut, I found the roots enlarged, lumpy, and carious ; and on opening them they M^ere hollow, with the maggots of the cabbage-fly full-grown in cavities, several of which hatched in May, 1841, together with another fly.^ Two other species of similar flies are noticed by Bouche as attacking these crops: one he calls after Meigen — 10. Anthomyia gnava — Horns pubescent; eyes not hairy; legs black. 3Iale with a black thorax; bod}^ linear, cinereous, fasciated with testaceous and black dorsal spots. Female cinereous ; body with a blackish dorsal line, dilated at the base; length, 3 lines.f Tlie larvae of this fly are found on the Continent during the autumn in turnips, eating cavities in the bulbs; but they have not yet been observed in England. The other species described in Bouche's work is likewise unknown to me ; but as it will, in all probability, soon be detected in this country, I will give a short description of the insect, which bears the name of— 11. Anthomyia irimaculata. — It is like A. carnaria of Meigen, but smaller. The male is light gray, varying with the light to white; thorax with four black interrupted dorsal stripes; scutel with three brown spots; legs black ; abdomen checkered with brown, and a broad black dorsal stripe. The female is altogether j^aler, with the apex of the thighs and tibiae reddish brown: length, Sh lines. The maggots of this are similar to the others, and they are 5 lines long ; the pupa also is scarcely to be distinguished from them : it is 3 lines long. The maggots are found in summer and autumn in company with A. bras- slcce, in cabbage-roots, which they desti-oy. They remain pupae three or four weeks, and the latter generations winter in the earth under that form, and produce flies in the spring : the female flies are tolerably abundant in fields and gardens. The last species I have to record was sent to me from Northumberland by Mr. T. H. Scott, the 21st July, 1841. He says, "My servant, who has * Eumerus ceneus. See Oardenera' Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 25"2 ; and Curtis's British Enlomolorpj, Date and fol. 749. t Meigen's Syst. Bcschr., vol. v. p. 164, No. 142. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC 143 been hoeing the turnips, tells me these larvje are always found in the roots, and not in the surrounding soil. Since the late rains they have decreased, and it was with some difficulty the few I transmit could be found in two acres." They were taken out of the rootSj several of which were sent to show the mischief done by the maggots and the little rove-beetles: precisely at the same period of the year, on cutting a turnip in halves from the garden, I found a maggot inside quite as large as Mr. Scott's. The above maggots were similar in form to those of ui. brassiece, but of a yellowish ochre colour. The head was armed with two black hooks ; and at the extremity of the back was a green stripe, from the intestines shining through; the rump was truncated, and furnished with two brown projecting spiracles, and the margin surrounded with small teeth, largest below. I put them, with a turnip-root, into a flower-pot, and the following April I found four of them in the pupa state, and buried deep in the earth; these pupse were also like those of A. brassiece, but of a paler colour, being lurid ochreous. On the 25th April I bred a male fly, and soon after two females ; they proved to be a Linnsean species of Musca, the larv?e of which will devour a great variety of roots, and inhabit dung by thousands in the summer, according to Bouche ; the fly is called — 12. Anthomyia radicum, the Root-eating Fly. form to A. brassiece; but the male It is similar in size and No. 26. (fig. 4; 5, natural dimensions) has an ochreous face, reflecting satiny white; the stripe on the forehead is rusty ; the thorax is black, with three darker stripes ; the sides are gray; scutel blackish; abdomen slender, linear, shining gray, with a broad black dorsal stripe; the incisures are black also; wings, balancers, and legs as in A. bras- siece. Female still more like that species ; but there are three fuscous stripes on the thorax, and in certain lights a slender dark line down the back of the abdomen: length, 2^ lines. It is remarked by Bouch^ that the larva of a four-winged fly called Alysia manducator lives in the pupre of several flies allied to those above described ; it makes a thin yellow case inside of the pupa, and comes forth in spring and summer, when it is not unfrequently seen in and about decayed turnip-roots and dead animals, in a state of decomposition. From these observations it may be inferred that it is a general j)arasite of such flies, and 144 FARM INSECTS. that those maggots which infest the turnips and cabbages do not escape its vigihince. I will therefore add a short description of this useful insect. It is Hymenopterous, of the family Ichneumonides adsciti; and is called by Panzer — 13. Alysia manducator, from its gaping teeth or jaws. — It is black, and very shining; the tridentate jaws are chestnut; antennse rather long, slender, pubescent, composed of numerous joints; postscutel and broad flat base of abdomen rugose, the latter oval, with a projecting ovipositor in the female; four wings with the stigma and nervures pitchy; legs bright rust colour; feet dusky: length, j inch; expanse, 5 inch."^ With this exception I know of no parasitic insects to keep these turnip - destroying maggots in check ; I shall therefore now conclude this investiga- tion of their habits and economy by appending such remedies as have fallen in my way. It often happens that very good specifics which may be success- fully employed in the garden cannot conveniently be extended to the field; such, I fear, is the following remedy proposed by Bouche. He says that where whole fields of cabbages have fallen a sacrifice to the destructive maggots, that the crops are now^ completely preserved by dipping the roots, as they are transplanted, into oil or ley of ashes. One of the best modes of diminishing their numbers, I doubt not, is to pull up and remove infected plants on the first symptoms of the presence of insects at their roots, which is instantly detected by the drooping of the leaves in the sunshine, those of the cabbages turning of a faint lead colour, and the turnip-tops becoming yellow\ When this is the case, they should be immediately carried away and burned, and brine or ley of ashes may be at once poured into the holes from whence the plants have been drawn, to destro)'- any insects left behind. In other instances, where the maggots have made great havoc with the cabbages, cauliflowers, and broccoli, gardeners have collected large quantities of the brown pupse from the roots with the hope of checking their increase; and as the transformations of the insects are in rapid succession, it must have a good effect, by giving the succeeding crops a better chance of escaping the fate of those which preceded them. Mr. Sinclair, in allusion to the turnip -galls, says, " Combinations of salt and lime were evidently the most eflectual, as no instance occurred of the bulb being aflfected below the surface of the soil. That portion, however, of it which was above the surface was affected with galls, the same as in the bulbs grown on soils of the same nature, to which no application of manure had been applied. On a space of the same soil, to which salt simpl}' had * Curtis's BritUIi Entomology, fol. and Plate 141; and Guide, Gen. 558, No. 5. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 145 been applied the preceding spring, and from which time the soil remained fallow, the crop was good. One plant in ten, however, was affected with the disease below the surface, as well as above it. The salt in this instance had been applied at the rate of 86 bushels per acre, and mixed with the surface 4 inches deep; it was applied the first week of May, 1818. On one portion of it barley and turnips were sown, but they did not vegetate, the dose being too great. The season following, however, the crop was good." It was observed that the same dressing on a clayey loam did not prevent the galls from forming. I apprehend, however, that the lime and salt would certainly destroy the different maggots that we have described, but not the weevils; for it must be remembered that the author of the galls is a hard beetle, and its embryo young live under the rind, secure at that period from any outward applications. Mr. Sinclair goes on to say that ''mixing the lime and salt with the soil previously to sowing the seed, or applying it to the surface after sowing, proved best; for when lime and salt are mixed and deposited with the seed, vegetation is retarded from two to twelve days, and more, beyond the natural period. This fact was proved on the seed of eight different species of plants, sown in four different kinds of soil. They modify, but are not a specific remedy for this disease. Seeds from roots perfectly free, sown on land that never was sown with turnip-seed before, produced in both instances bulbs more or less affected.""^ Another contributor to the Gardener's Magazine says, the attacks of insects causing the malformations in turnips can only be averted by making the plants offensive to the parent fly; and this, it has been lately discovered, can be done by incorporating with the soil soap-boilers' waste, or any other substance of similar alkaline quality. Mr. Major recommends the plants to be watered with a mixture of 1 gallon of soap-suds to 4 quarts of gas- water, or, in lieu of the latter, 2 quarts of gas- tar; either will do, as the only use of the mixture is to create an offensive smell. Mr. T. Smith says he is satisfied, from six years' experience, that the refuse of a charcoal jnt, spread \ inch thick before sowing the seed, and merely scuffled in with the point of a spade, so as to mix the top soil and charcoal dust together, is a remedy for the grub and mouldiness in onions ;t and it effectually prevents the clubbing in the roots of cabbages and cauliflowers. Few of these remedies will, I fear, be of much sei'vice on a large scale; the farmer must therefore encourage the natural enemies of these pests, and * Memoirs of Caledonian Ilorf.icultural Society. t Anthomyia ceparum {Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. i. p. 396): the maggots of this fly are so ffimilar in appearance and economy to those of the turnip, that many gardeners take them to be the same species. — See Major's Treatise on Insects, p. 165. 18 146 FAEM INSECTS. remember that rooks, sea-gulls, magpies, and partridges, as well as many species of small birds, are eminently useful in cleansing the soil from such troublesome insects. If poultry be turned into the field they require atten- tion, otherwise they are apt to scratch up the soil. My own opinion is, that nothing can be more likely to encourage the maggots of the cabbage and turnip-flies'^ than fresh dung, in which it seems they luxuriate; and, such being the case, by spreading it in a raw state, an entire field may at once be inoculated with the disease. SUMMARY OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER. Surface-grubs, in 1818, 1826, 1827, and 1836, were very numerous and destructive to turnip crops ; so much so, that prizes were offered for the his- tory of these caterpillars, and the remedies for their destruction. The cabbage-moth flies by night in May, June, and July: the female lays her eggs upon the leaves of cabbages, turnips, &c. The caterpillars are universal feeders, living upon an astonishing variety of plants, during July, August, September, and October : the garden suffers most from their attacks, and cabbages have their hearts quite riddled and defiled by them. They sometimes live throuylc mild winters, concealed either amongst rubbish on the surface or buried in the earth, where they change to chry- salides. The most effectual remedy is to search for them at nigld, when they come out to feed, and to look carefully- beneath the leaves by day. The great yelloiv under-iving moth is abundant in hay fields, hedges, and gardens, in June and July : it is the parent of a large surface-grub, which feeds upon the roots and leaves of turnips in the autumn: it lives througli the winter, sometimes under the turf in meadows, &c., and can resist frost. In April it changes to a large brown chrysalis, in the soil, inclosed in an earthen case. In a bed of onions, which this caterpillar had destroyed, forty -seven were found in an area of less than 25 feet. The heart-and-dart moth is found plentifully in June, in fields, gardens, &c. : it is the parent of a most pernicious surface-grub, which destroys im- mense quantities of turnips, at every stage, either by separating the crown from the root, or b}^ eating into the more matured bulb. * We have on a former occasion animadverted upon the improprietj' of calling the Allica nemo- rum by the name of "turnip-/^/;" which is here exemplified, for the above insect is truly the turnip- fiy : and the A. nemorum, the turnip tiea or black jack, is as undoubtedly a beetle. SURFACE-CATERPILLARS, ETC. 147 The surface- caierjnllar attacked the Swedes in August: it was abundant in November, and no doubt lived through the winter. The common dart-moth tiies in multitudes in June and July, and is suj)- posed to lay its eggs in the earth, which produce suiface-caterpillars more destructive, if possible, than any of the others. The eggs hatch in autumn, and the surface-grubs live through the winter: they are either feeding a long period, or there are two broods annually. Mangel-wurzel had the young roots eaten through •*l)y them in June: they also attacked the potato-shoots. Abundant in August, 184)1, at the roots of Swedes, in Surrey; and in mul- titudes at Farnham, in September, 1839. During the same months they abounded in Suffolk, in 1835, and were numerous there in November, 1841. The western countries of Europe have been threatened with famine from their destroying the corn, by devouring the lOots, especially of that sown iu autumn. The gardener suifers from their attacks, for they will feed upon the roots of various vegetables and flowers. As they are forced to feed upon the roots of grass and weeds, in the summer, in fields lying fallow or recently sown, it is most essential to keep the land clean whilst at rest. They pass the winter under-ground, in earthen cells, and come forth to feed again in the early spring. In May or June they enter the earth to change to chrysalides, in which they remain about a month. Mr. Le Keux found these surface-grubs concealed, by day, in barrows 2 or 3 inches deep, into which they draw detached leaves. Salt and water poured over a turnip plant, at the rate of j oz. of salt to 1 quart of water, drove the surface-grub away, but it proceeded to another G 3^ards oft': they can travel well and expeditiously, especially at night, when the ground is damp. During ten days other plants were washed with that solution, and were thus preserved ; but, when discontinued, they shared the fate of the others. Children might readily [jick them from the routs with a sharpened llat- tish stick, or an oyster-knife. Serious attacks of these surface-caterpillars are often to be attributed to the destruction of the rooks. Another, and larger surface -caterpillar feeds upon turnip roots, and eats oft" the crowns: these larvae also injure the roots of cabbages, and will devour the leaves. They bury themselves very deep; and are 2 inches long in the autumn : they were in the chrysalis state in March. 148 FARM INSECTS. The surface-grubs are at work almost all the year : in the summer they destroy the young plants by eating off the roots near the crown; in the autumn and mild winters they eat large cavities in the bulb, which get filled with dirt, and are not good for stock ; the weight is also reduced, and they more readily decay from wet and frost. Harrowing, ploughing, and working the soil, aftbrd the only chance of destroying the eggs,_ and probably the chrysalides. Insects thrive Sest on neglected and slovenly cultivated lands. Night-time is the best for applying liquids and jjowders to destroy the surface-caterpillars. Tobacco-water will kill them, if it come in contact with their skins. Hand-piddng by night is universally recommended on the Continent. Dry soot, spread 1 inch thick, and dug in, is said never to fail. Cabbage plants may be preserved by laying some round the stems. Lime also, employed in the same way, is a protection; and U quicklime were dusted over the turnips, after rain in the evening, it would destroy the surface-grubs. Poultry and ducks would be serviceable, if turned into the field when jjloughing. In gardens, planting cabbages, &c., round a seed-bed is a good decoy: the roots may be daily searched, and the larvae destroyed. When a plant dies, dig it up immediately, and the larvse will be found. Soap and water poured round the plants will compel the surface-grubs to come out of their burrows, when they must be directly picked up. Pigs, perhaps, may be employed late in the year, where the surface-grubs are swarming, and ten or twelve round one bulb. No outward applications will affect the chrysalides, which lie entombed in the earth. Fires at night, to attract the moths, of little service, as the females are not caught by such means. As regards corn-crops, late sowing would prove the best; and June and July the most improper for turnips, where the surface -cater pillars are numerous. Spring-corn most likely to sufier from their attacks. Soils made strong and warm, by horse-dung manure most infested, from the eggs hatching more rapidly. Steeping the seeds in bitter extracts mixed with salt or nitrates useless ; but ammonia would annoy the surface-grubs, if applied in sufficient quantity to the soil ; and liquid manure would therefore be beneficial. SURFACE-CATERPILLAHS, ETC. 149 Slaked lime mixed with seed-wheatj and then heated and sown together, has been recommended. Scattering ashes before and after sowing might secure tlie crops. Stiching inverted young fir trees in the fields protects crops, it is said, in Sweden, from seed-eating caterpillars. Hemp, sown round a field, will attract small birds, which will also feed upon the insects. No iKirasitic insects hitherto detected to check the increase of the sur- face caterpillars. Directions for rearing surface-caterpillars, and breeding the moths from them. The turnip-gall weevil is produced from the excrescences on turnip- bulbs. These galls contain from one to four maggots, which feed upon the htilh; the galls are proliably caused by some fluid from the parent beetle. These galls are formed in summ^er, Sii\. 285. t See Mr. R. J. Ashton's paper in Transactions of the Entomological Society, vol. iii. p. 157. ^ Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 331 . WIREWOEMS, ETC. 155 and some\\'bat obtrigonate, the base truncated, the margin undulating, and furnished with two small bi-artieulate 'palpi or feelers (e), sometimes with an indistinct third joint; on either side is the inaxilla, having a minute and densely pubescent lobe on the inner angle, with a larger bi-articulate one behind it"^ (/), and a four-jointed 'palpus or feeler on the outside, the ter- minal joint the smallest (er of formidable insect enemies to encounter, as we have already shown in the five preceding chapters. I believe there is no period of the year, if the winter be not verj'- frosty, when they may not be found at their roots. It is, however, to the young plants that the}^ do the most serious injury. On visiting the turnip fields at Rougham, in Suffolk, with IMr. E. Bennet, we found the plants * Tlie numbers of wii-eworms which infested the land after this operation, in all probability came from surrounding spots and boundary lines, which were still covered with turf, and had not been sub- jected to this process. t See Transac. Entom. Scciety, vol. iii. p. ]54, X Gardener's Magazine, vol. v. p. 610. 166 FARM INSECTS. looking sickly and the outer leaves yellow ; on drawing them up a wireworm was invariably detected round the root of each, which had been gnawed by it (fig. 30) ; Mr. Bennet also observed them engaged in the same way in the beginning of Augast, 1840. The worms varied in size from 1| line (being the smallest I ever saw) to 4 lines, and latterly to | inch, and in some instances two or three were attacking the same root. On the 9th of November in that year I found a wireworm, as large as the one represented at fig. 2, at the root of a turnip, in a garden, and others of the same size have frequently occurred since. In September of the same year the wireworms were very abundant in Surrey, from six to eleven being found at a single turnip-root; the fact is, that as the plants are destroyed and deserted by them, they march off to the nearest, and thus meeting at one spot they daily become more formidable to the remaining crop. They ate off the root from ^ to 1 inch below the base of the leaves, and it was often gnawed higher up (fig. 30, e). With these wireworms was a snail (Helix), then alive, but being left together in a box, the former attacked and ate up a portion of the latter, and six of them were found within the shell at one time : from this it seems that they are some- times carnivorous. In the western counties the wireworms a]ipear to have been still more formidable, for Mr. Hope says:* — "In the counties of Salop, Worcester, and Hereford, the failure of the crops of 1838 was very consider- able, the real cause of it being little suspected or understood: I feel no hesi- tation in ascribing it almost entirely to the wonderful increase of wireworm.s. In some instances I have, during the years 1836 and 1838, taken twenty and even thirty wireworms feeding upon a single turnip-root." Mr. Le Keux has not neglected to attend to the economy of the wireworm, in his investigations of the insects affecting the turnips;! and from his obser- vation it appears that the foliage as well as the root is equally acceptable to them. He says, " The wireworm begins on the edge of the leaf, and eats it away like a caterpillar, and often cuts the leaf off at the top of the stalk; and it may sometimes be found on the ground half devoured. One wireworm will consume about as much as five or six beetles or flies (Altlca nemorum) could do in the same time." The following remarks, by the same accurate observer, throw so much new light upon the economy of this destructive animal, that I need not make any apology for laying them before the reader ::|: — "The wireworm," he states, "seldom feeds above ground in the day-time, unless it be cloudy and dark; at such times I have observed them devouring the young turnip plants before the rough leaf has been formed ; but their most destructive operations are carried on beneath the surface of • Trans. Entom. Soc, vol. iii. p. 155. t IbiJ. vol. ii. p. 32. t Ibid. vol. ii. p. 30. WIRE WORMS, ETC. 167 the earth, wliere tlie^^ attack the root; in the very early state of the pUmt, after eating this through, the upper part of the plant is gradually drawn down into the earth and devoured, so that the plants disappear without any perceptible cause, and without any trace of them being left. In the more advanced state of the plant their devastation appears to be confined to eating through the root; and having thus killed one plant, they proceed to another. If a turnip plant appears drooping (as if from the want of water), whilst those in its neighbourhood are fresh and erect, a wireworm (sometimes half- .a-dozen) will be sure to be found at the root, if the earth around it be care- fully removed." If noxious insects be dreaded by the farmer, the gardener has no less cause to apprehend their mischievous assaults; and from the great variety of these animals to which his culinary vegetables, as well as the fruits of the orchard, fall a sacrifice, they become, in truth, domestic plagues, which are brought to his own door. Amongst them are the wireworms, especially those produced by the beetles called Elater ohscurus (fig. 25), and E. sputator — this last is abundant everywhere ; and in the spring and summer the gardener often has the misfortune to see his newlj^-planted lettuces suddenly commence wither- ing and dying: on pulling or digging up such plants, a wireworm is found at the roots, considerably like a mealworm, but more flattened, of a pale yellow, from 6 to 7 lines long, and about the size of a pigeon's quill. We learn fiom Kollar* that the larva of E. sjmtator, Fab.,t undergoes its transformations in the ground, and remains only fourteen days in the pupa state, when the beetle is produced. This dangerous enemy has been known to destroy one-fourth part of the crop by gradually eating the roots up to the crown of the plant where the leaves arise. Not only ought the earth to bo immediately removed from the roots of the affected plants, the worms taken away, and the earth returned to its place, but, if necessary, the lettuces had better be dug uj), and the worms which are concealed in the roots or in the surrounding mould can be destroyed : thus the rest of the crop may be saved ; otherwise the worms will travel from dying to living plants until all the lettuces have fallen a prej^ to this annoying enemy. The beetle is particu- larly attached to the flowers of the Uinbellatcr, and to nettles; it is, there- fore, most important for the gardener not to neglect destroying the fool's- parsley, hemlock, and all similar wild flowers, which harbour them and cou- .stantly spring up on the banks and hedges round his grounds. As it is in the field so it is in the garden; "the wireworm is particu- *■ N'atiirg. dcr schaed. Insect., p. 149. t It is impossible to say if he intends the Linnffian species ; 1 think not, and am rather disposed to consider it the E. rnficaudia, but it is very doubtful. 168 FARM INSECTS. larly destructive for a few years in gardens recently converted from pastm-e ground. In the Botanic Garden at Hull thus circumstanced a great propor- tion of the annuals sown in 1813 were destroyed by it."* At Bordeau House, Hants, Captain Chawner's flower borders have been frequently in- fested by the wire worms, which ate into the base of the stems of the pansies and carnations, ascending them sometimes 2 inches above the ground. They revel also on the roots of the dahlias and lobelias. On the 5tli of May I received two wireworms of different sizes from a flower garden in Surrey, and precisely the same as those from Hampshire; towards the end of the month four examples of the E. rvjicaudis (fig. 12), and one of E. fulvijjes (fig. 33, Plate G) were found on the side of the house there, most likely bred from the borders. About the same time three very small wireworms were found in the flower garden, and in the beginning of August I received a pupa, I believe, of^". rujicaudis, with the exuviae of others and their earthen cases, from the same localit}^ Mr. Smith, in the Florist's Magazine, says — "The wireworms invariably attack the pink and the carnation at the bottom of the stem near the root, and make holes through it in every direction, while the only indication of their presence is the entire destruction of the plant. The larva is in general found in the loam, therefore great care should be taken, in sweetening that soil, not to allow one to escape when it is turned over; and their colour being a light brown, makes the finding of them more diflicult." Wishing to render the history of the wireworms as complete as my ma- terials will allow, and being greatly attached to the garden, which may be considered a farm in miniature, I have made this slight digression, and will now return to our legitimate object. Having, in 184'2, obtained some facts from practical men highly esteemed in the county of Suffolk for their agri- cultural knowledge, I shall now give the results of their experience. Mr. Porter, of Covehithe, where the lands are for the most part light, says that the wii-eworms do most mischief in March, April, May, and June; that wheat suffers the most among the corn crop.s, and white turnips amongst the green crops, but that rye is sometimes swept off" b}'- acres ; and with re- gard to barley, he has observed that when it is drilled in 3 inches deep, the plant droops and turns yellow, as if attacked by the wire worm, whereas, at 1^ inch deej), it makes a vigorous plant. I may observe with respect to this diflTerence of result from the depth of sowing, that it is possible the wire-" worm may not be able to exist near the surface in a light sandy soil, and consequent!}' the barley escapes when drilled in at the lesser depth. Turnips * Kirby and Sf.ence's Introd. to Ent,, 6th edition, vol. i. p. 147, and 7th edition, p. 9y, WIREWORMS, ETC. 1G9 and beet-root he finds most affected in the end of June and the beginning of August, vet 12 acres of the hitter, wliieli produced a fine plant, were com- pletely taken off by the wireworm in the last week in May; Swedes were after vv^ards sown in the second week in June, and to his surprise produced a fine crop. The success of the Swedes must be attributed, I think, to the greater part of the wireworms having arrived at maturity when they had destroyed the beet, in which case they would change to pupie, and after- wards to beetles, in both which states they are harndess. Turnips do best at Covehithe if sown about the 21st June on the light lands, and a week earlier on heavy lands. On the lower part of fields bordering on marshes, where the land is spring}' and friable, barley, turnips, and beet have gener- ally fallen a sacrifice to wireworms, and such land is most subject to their attacks. When white clover or suckling and rye-grass layers have been left for seed, it is scarcely possible to get a wheat crop on account of the wire- worm ; the only chance is to break up the land and work it well about for a couple of months in the autumn. Potatoes never suffer on Mr. Porter's farm from the wireworm. Mr, Robinson, of Henstead, informs me that in his neighbourhood the gravelly and sandy soils are most infested, and the strong loam and clay most free from the wireworms. That they inhabit every aspect was proved by their ravages over all parts of a field which was lowest in the centre. A dry season is most conducive to their increase, yet if the following year be wet it does not kill the wireworms, but it probably destroys the elaters, and prevents the deposition of the eggs. Early in March, 1841, when his wheat was well out of the ground, and about 1^ inch high, it began to die off, and on pulling some up he found the wireworm had eaten into the stalk and consumed the inside. This was upon dry gravelly hills which had been a clover layer, and the valleys and better parts of the field did not suffer, but barley on strong land in the same parish drilled in the spring did not produce above one-third of a crop owing to the attacks of the wireworms. Some low wet common land was broken up, pared and burned (which with the draining cost £10 per acre); it first produced a good crop of turnips, and afterwards a prodigious crop of oats; but another portion under a different owner was pared but not burned, and the crop was lost. Mr. Bate says that the following is the order in which the crops pro- bably are affected in degree in his part of Suffolk, viz. — wheat, turnips, barley, oats, and beet, and that they are generally least injured on good soils. If wheat be sown in dry weather it has proved favourable to the inroads of the wireworm. Oat stubble ploughed sev^eral weeks previously, and sown with wheat the third week in November, suffered from their 21 170 FAEM INSECTS. attacks. Barley and oats were injured in May, in a cold wet season. Tur- nips have been swept off after being up a fortnight, but generally they fall a sacrifice when three or four weeks old, having at that time four or six leaves ; yet he finds the eating through of the tap-root after the second hoe- ing does little mischief to the turnip-plant. That all lands exposed to the sun by being fed off short, as clover layers, are greatly infested with the wireworms, but that no potato crop is destroyed by them. From these statements it is evident that in some parts of Suffolk the potato crops escape the attacks of the wireworm, although that animal is abundant in the soil. It seems to be the same in Yorkshire, for Mr. Mil- burn* was so convinced of the potato being exempted from the ravages of the wireworms, that he even recommended it as a good crop to plant in order to starve them out and clear the land of that pest: he says, "Nobody ever heard of a potato crop being injured by them;" and, alluding to Sir Joseph Bankes' mode of ridding gardens of wireworms by sticking slices of potato in the ground, he adds, "It is really surprising how a person so truly above all visionary theory should be led to recommend such useless plans." t We must, however, be very careful in drawing positive conclu- sions, for there is unquestionable evidence of the potato crops suffering severely from the depredations of the wireworm in Dorsetshire, Wiltshire, and the western counties. The valuable memoranda I have just given from the experience of practical men will, it is to be hoped, induce others cultivating land of a different nature to attend to this subject; for it is for want of correct and an extensive variety of data that we are at a loss to account for many anomalies in the economy of insects ; indeed, it is impos- sible to draw correct conclusions from isolated facts. Difiicult as the wireworm is to deal with, so much attention has been paid to the subject by the suffering farmer and gardener, that numerous methods of ariesting its ravages have been tried, some of them with great success; and let not any one be discouraged because he cannot clear his land entirely, or at one blow sweep away a nuisance, for extermination amongst these minor works of the creation is not permitted ; it is against the laws of the Creator ; for although such intervals of absence may occur as to lead us to think that a noxious animal is annihilated; it will in due time return, and again require all our efforts and vigilance to contend against it. We are sometimes deceived by appearances, and it is true that by persecuting the higher order of animals, they may be driven from a favourite spot or locality, and take shelter so far from the haunts of man as to relieve him * Of Thorpfield, near Thirsk. t Journal of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society, p. 65. WIREWORMS, ETC. 171 from their inroads, and dispose liiui to ijnagine that the species is lost; and in some instances we know tiiat a country lias been freed from races of ani- mals, as the wolf and eagle, but they are not exterminated ; and the latter, under favourable circumstances, would return ; I think it therefore probable that by perseverance insects may be driven from a locality, for persecution is not agreeable to any animated being; and this knowledge ought to encou- rage the cultivator not to relax in his efforts to free his land from destruc- tive insects, but to be certain that those efforts are well directed. Great benefits may be derived by selection of crops, by modes of cultiva- tion, by manures and dressings, but, above all, by manual labour. Animals also whose economy tends to diminish destructive insects ought to be encour- aged, and no doubt we are benefited, to an extent which it is impossible to conceive, by the parasitic insects whose instincts lead them to prey upon the eggs and caterpillars of our enemies : they are, as we have shown in former chapters, multiplied to an almost incredible extent, and labour incessantly in their vocation. Tliese are discoveries which have been gradually developed by the industry, perseverance, and research of the naturalist, for the improve- ment, amusement, and benefit of his fellow-creatures; and I concur entirely with Mr. Hope, that " agriculture may derive valuable assistance from the science of entomology ; and I feel fully convinced that we can scarcely do a greater act of kindness, or be of more service to the farmer, than by pointfhg out the nature and habits of those insects which destroy his crops."* We will now return to the opinions of practical men regarding the best modes of culture for keeping in check the wireworm ; a great deal, however, must depend upon the soil and situation, which will often explain the reason of an experiment succeeding in one place and fliiling in another. Mr. Salis- bury gives some good advice concerning the wireworm. t " It is an insect," he says, " much complained of by farmers whenever they turn up land that has been cultivated with clover or grass, and it in general does great injury to the corn crop which succeeds. It should be noticed that clover, or other plants of such description, give protection to this insect; it is bred in the roots of these plants, and the land is so well stocked with it that it attacks the corn and other succeeding crops very much to their injury. Land of this description is therefore unfit for corn immediately on breaking up. Turnips or potatoes are not so liable to injury from this insect; but the best preven- tive is probably a summer fallow, and burning the rubbish on the land before cropping, by which means the eggs which are laid in the stalks are destroyed, J and the live worms die for want of nourishment ; soot and lime will also kill * Transactions of the Entomological Society, vol. iii. p. 156. + Hints to Proprietors of Orchards, p. 109. + No authority is given for this statement. 172 FARM INSECTS. this destructive worm. Before breaking up old lays it should always be a point with the fiirmer to examine the then existing crop, and observe if any of these insects are in the roots and stalks, and if so, to apply the above as a preventive previous to sowing a crop of grain in the land. Nothing but the preventing such a pest as this insect will justify the fallowing of land according to our improved system of agriculture; in this case, however, it is indispensable. May not this insect, which is now (1816) more prevalent among our crops of grain than ever, owe its prevalence to the system of fjxllowing and burning the refuse of such crops being nearly exploded?" Fallows mast, however, be kept very clean, for if couch and other grasses be allowed to exist in the land, the wireworms will find the roots very accept- able, and sufficient to maintain them until the corn-crop appears; nothing can therefore be worse than to leave strips or spaces of grass or stubble in a ploughed field. All waste and wood lands are harbours for the wireworms, and therefore when they are brought into cultivation the change is so congenial to their habits that they seem to increase at a prodigious rate, and consequently the second crop is frequently carried off" by them. If land be planted or sown two years in succession with the same crop, it is sure to be well stocked with them, at least so it is with the potato. When old pastures are broken up for a Crop of corn, I have heard that a breast-plough should be used to take ofi" not more than 2 inches of the turf in the first instance, which will secure the crop from the attacks of the wireworm, whereas even the addition of only 2 inches more in the depth has so encouraged that pest that it has been known to destroy an entire field of wheat. This difference probably arises from the effects on the roots of the grass; if the top of the turf only be pared off", the roots will die, whereas by going 4 inches deep they lie and vegetate, so that when it is afterwards all ploughed in, the worms find the requisite pabulum, until the corn is forward enough to afford the wireworms a more agreeable substitute. Dickson says that the destructive attacks of insects on lays newly broken up, " may, in some measure, be obviated by eating such lands very closely with sheep, previous to their being broken up, as by such a method the ova of such insects may be much destroyed and their propaga- tion prevented ; and the treading the crop by sheep, as well as the roller, may likewise be beneficial; horses have also been turned in for the same purpose by some cultivators."'^ It is supposed by many that folding oxen and sheep upon infested fields will check the wireworm by stopping their burrowing; but it seems more likely to arise from the beetles not being able * Practical Agriculture, vol. i. p. 582. WIREWORMS, ETC. 173 to get out of the earth from their pupo3 cases, and those which do etfect theu- escape, finding no appropriate place for the deposition of their eggs, depart for a more suitable locality; this operation might therefore be most advan- tageously adopted early in the spring before the beetles hatch. Mr. Bate assured me that he always preserved his turnips by harrowing and hard-rolling in March and April, and that it was of no use later in the season. In another place, alluding to barley, Mr. Dickson also says,* that if the plants suddenly change from a healthy green to a yellow cast, " the use of the roller should be had recourse to, in order that the superficial parts of the soil, which are probably become too loose and porous, may be efiectually pressed, and thereby rendered too close and compact to admit the worm to prey upon the tender roots of the young plants. That this effect maybe produced in the most effectual manner, the roller should be of such a size, or so loaded as to afford a pressure equal to the draught of three or four horses, which should be yoked double, in order to increase the effect by their treading. It has been suggested that if by this method the injury can be counteracted until such time as rain falls, there need not be any apprehen- sion of the crop, as the plants will soon push forward in such a manner as to become too strong to be in danger from this insect, "t Top-dressings of lime before using the roller would be useful. All this is very reasonable, for by excessive pressure the wireworms are compelled, at least for a time, to descend into the earth ; and it must be beneficial in its subse([uent effects, for numbers of eggs may thus be destroyed, and if rain fall it wall so cement the earth together that the beetles when hatched will die in their tombs. There are some crops which appear to be extremely useful in keeping the wireworms under, and amongst them is ivoad. I learn from Dr. Roy, that, on breaking up damp meadow and pasture land in Lincolnshire, if it be sown with woad instead of corn, the wireworm will be got rid of; and about Boston it is found to be a very profitable crop. It may be repeated for two 3^ears, after which splendid crops of oats and potatoes may be obtained from the land. It may not be irrelevant to remark here that it is a prevailing opinion respecting the Bedford Level, that over-draining has caused great mischief to the wheat crops by increasing the wireworms. White mustard-seed sown on land will secure the succeeding crop of wheat or other corn against this insect; and Mr. Tallent'st account of his success being satisfactory, I shall transcribe it: — "White mustard-seed will protect the grain from the wireworm, and this fact I have demonstrated perfectly to my own conviction. I first tried the experiment on half an acre, • Practical Af/riculture, vol. i. p. 576. + Dickson's Synopsis of Husbandry, p. 91. I Of Little Houghton. 174" FARM INSECTS. in the centre of a fifty-acre field of fallow, which was much subject to the wireworm. The mustard-seed being carried, the whole field was fallowed for wheat, and the half acre that had been previously cropped with mustard-seed was wholly exempt from the wireworm : the remainder of the field was much injured. Not only was the half acre thus preserved, but in the spring it was decidedly the most advanced part of the crop; and the prosperous appearance which it presented caused me to repeat the experiment, by sowing three acres more of mustard -seed in the worst part of a field of forty- five acres, also much infested with the wireworm. The remainder of the field was sown with early frame pease, which, with the mustard-seed, was cleared in the same week. The land was then ploughed for wheat ; and I had the pleasure of noticing these three acres to be quite free fi'om the worm, and much superior in other respects to the other part of the field, w^hich suffered gi-eatly. Thus encouraged by these results, I sowed the next year a whole field of forty-two acres, which had never repaid me for nineteen years, in consequence of nearly every crop being destroj'^ed by the wireworm ; and I am warranted in stating that not a single wireworm could be found the following year, and the crop of wheat throughout, which was reaped last harvest, was superior to any I had grown for twenty- one years. I am therefore under a stong persuasion that the wireworm may be successfully repelled and eradicated by carefully destroying all weeds and roots, and drilling white mustard-seed, and keeping the ground clean by hoeing." '^' Mr. Loudon is of opinion " that the wireworm cannot eat the roots of the mustard, most probably from their acridity, and there being no other roots in the soil for them to live on, and no weeds or other plants than mustard being permitted to grow during the season, the insects necessarily die of famine." t Moxuing oats, and of course other corn, is considered the best method of getting rid of the wireworm by Kollar, and other continental writers ; but they assign no reason, and it is difficult to explain the cause. It may be, that when corn is reaped, the stubble being left long, rooks and many other birds will not resort to such fields, and consequently, the wireworms revel without molestation. This is worth the consideration of the farmer; and whatever may be the cause, if the statement be true, it ought not to be neo-lected. Long stubble certainly harbours many injurious insects, and amongst them, it is believed, the turnip-beetle, which resorts to the long hollow straws for shelter during the winter. J * Read before a meeting of the Northamptonshire Farming Society, and inserted in the Country Times, September, 1831. t Gardener's Magazine, vol. vii. p. 675. + Chapter i. p. 26 amongst which they ditto lived, Days. 9 . Hours. 14 ditto 10 ditto 9 ditto 2 ditto 4 WIREWORMS, ETC. 175 I will now give the experiments made by Bierkanuer; and although their application to the crops may not be so beneficial as one could desire, yet they may be uaeful in directing the cultivator in the pursuit of this subject. " I have," says this learned Swede, "made many experiments to discover by what means the wireworms may be destroyed. Many were put at one time into tea-cups filled with the following vegetables, viz. : — Garlic, The leaves of the spruce fir, The leaves of the fir, .... Ledum, paluslre (an Irish plant), . Myrica gale, sweet gale, or Dutcli myrtle, In water they lived, .... " In consequence of this it ought to be tried how useful it might be, in winter and summer, to mix in the heaps of manure fir leaves, Ledum imlustre, and Myrica gale, of which vegetables the dung would smell, which might probably be disagreeable to the vermin ; and if they did not die in consequence of it, they might perhaps quit the fields.""^ It thus appears evident that any endeavour to destroy the wireworms by drowning them is almost impracticable ; for they not only exhibited signs of life in water for four days, but I think it probable that if a field were laid under water for a much longer period, it would not destroy them. This, however, might be easily tried in some situations; and to ascertain the trutli is worth the trouble. Lord Albemarle recommends that when fields intended for wheat are attacked by the wireworms, rape- cake should be used as a manure, to be powdered, and sown across the field. If it do not destroy the insects, it at least saves the crop fi'om their attacks. Many other applications have been recommended, and amongst them spirits of tar and chloride of lime. One correspondent in the Gardeners Chronicle'^ says, "Spirits of tar is the most effectual remedy with which we are acquainted for destroying the wireworm. We should therefore recom- mend any one to saturate some sand with that compound, and mix it with the soil in the beds of ranunculus and anemone when they are turned up in autumn." J. W. C, :;; having lost his crops from wireworms, also says, "Thinking that spirits of tar might do good, when I sowed dwarf French beans again, before covering in the rows, I watered them with a strong solution of it ; and the result was that they came up very strong and healthy, * Trans. Acad. Scien. in Sweden, vol. for 1779, p. 286, and Comniun. to Board of Agric, vol. iv. p. 414. t Vol. iii. p. 233. J Ibid. p. 737. 176 FAEM INSECTS. and the produce was enormous; whilst the first crop gradually dwindled away, and died a premature death." " The refuse lime of gas-works is stated to be efficacious in banishing these pests from the garden. Previously to the crop being planted, a thin covering of the lime should be spread over the ground, and it must be well mixed up with the soil in digging."* F. H. B. "had been using some chloride of lime water, and poured it over some grass, when it immediately killed the worms. From this success he was induced to try it on some very sickly carnations infested with wire- worms, and had the satisfaction to find them recover rapidly. The propor- tion used was about a table-spoonful to a pint of water, but that of course must depend on the quality of the soil."t It seems necessary to employ it with caution, in the flower garden at least; for in the same journal it is asserted, " We have great doubts whether chloride of lime, although con- siderably diluted, would not be injurious to picotees, and commit as much havoc amongst them as the wireworm. We recommend you to spread some of the refuse lime from the gas-works over the surface of the bed, the effluvia of which will probably drive them away." + In the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, Mr. Burgess § says, "This year I applied the nitrate of soda to my wheat, when, from the wet season and the wireworm, the plant was nearly destroyed, and I found it particularly beneficial, the wireworm either being killed by the application or forsaking the roots; and consequently I think I have above an average crop of wheat." The ammonia which invigorated the plants at the same time destroyed the insects ; and it is added that the turnips grew so fast that they soon got out of the way of the beetle or fly {Altica nemorum). It is also positively affirmed that if lime and soot be applied to the soil before sowing any grain, it will kill the wireworms. Salt, likewise, on light sandy soils, is highly efficacious in destroying them; and of its effects upon these animals it is in the power of every one to convince himself, and also of the strength required for their destruction, by dissolving a tea-spoonful or more of salt in a tea-cupful of water, with some wireworms in another, half full of pure water, when, by adding the salt water by degrees, the exact effect produced upon the life of the animals will be ascertained; and the same of course may be done with spirits of tar, &c. In alcohol the wireworms expire in five minutes, but spirits of turpentine destroys the vital principle almost instantaneously. It is, however, difficult to kill them by a change of temperature, and yet in an artificial state it is extremely difficult to rear them. • Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. ii. p. 777. t Ibid. vol. ill. p. 318. + Ibid. vol. ii. p. 777. § Elmhurst, Bucks. See Royal Agric. Journ., vol. ii. p. 132. WIREWORMS, ETC. 177 As the wireworms will live upon potatoes — as I can testify by having fed them on nothing else for many weeks together — there cannot be a better bait to catch them in the flower borders than slices of that tuber, as recom- mended by Sir Joseph Banks, which has been fairly tried by a friend in Hants, who tells me it is the only method by which he can save his carna- tions and other flowers. I have now before me communications from several contributors to the Gardeners' Chronicle, all concurring in recommending slices of potato, &c., as the best mode of freeing the garden at least from this troublesome visitor. One of these I will transcribe: — "1 send you an account of destroying the wireworm, which I have adopted for some years, my ground being full of them, so that I could neither grow sweet-williams, picotees, bulbs, lettuces, nor indeed any succulent plant, without their boring, running up, and eating the hearts out. Near these plants I now place half a potato, with the eyes cut out to prevent its growing, and run a pointed stick through the middle of it, and peg it into the ground, covering it over with about 1 inch of mould; and in a day or two I have pulled out by the tail from fifteen to twenty of them from one piece of potato.""^ Slices of turnip, broc- coli, cabbage, beet-root, parsnip, carrot, apples, and young lettuce-plants, will answer the purpose where potatoes are scarce or not to be obtained; and it is very probable, if such vegetables were scattered over infested corn fields, that considerable numbers of the wireworm w^ould be decoyed to them, and might be collected and destroyed ; for it is even recommended by some persons to lay the slices of potato on the surface, although there are others who consider that they may be buried 2 or 3 inches deep: but these varia- tions in the mode of application arise, in all probability, from differences in the soil. Excellent as many of the foregoing remedies may be, I must confess I think highly of liand-jnching ; its effects are certain, it is comparatively not expensive, especially when it is borne in mind that it gives employment to the children of the labourer; and where the wireworms swarm it must be successful, as will soon be demonstrated. What must have been their amount in a field shown to Mr. Spence, " in which," he says, " they had destroyed one-fourth of the crop; and the gentleman who showed them to me calcu- lated that his loss by them w^ould be £100. One 3'ear he sowed a field thrice with turnips, which were twice wholly, and the third time in great part, cut ofFby this insect." t Bierkander, after all his experiments, appears to have depended most upon hand-picking; for, he says, "in a field where rye was intended to be sown, I last autumn (177s. Wheat sown in dry weather most likely to sufier. Turnips ivhen three or four iveeJcs old attacked the most in some places; but eating through the tap-root does not kill the plant. Crops after clover-lays exposed to the sun, if fed off short, suffer greatly. By constantly disturbing insects, it is probable they may be driven from a locality. Difference of soil or season may cause the fixilure of a remedy which has succeeded elsewhere. A summer falloiu and burning the rubbish recommended after clover and grasses; it kills the eggs and starves the wireworms. Soot and lime will kill them. 186 FAEM INSECTS. Fallows must be kept very clean from couch and other grasses and weeds. Nothing more dangerous than to leave strijos and ixttclies of grass or lays in ploughed fields. Waste and tvood lands harbour wireworms. Two crops in succession stock the land with them, especially potatoes. Tivo inches of the turf taken off pasture-land by a hreast-plough an excellent process to secure the succeeding crop: shallow ploughing is sup- posed to kill the roots. Feeding land close with sheep will prevent the eggs being laid. Folding oxen and sheep in the spring may also keep the beetles from coming out of the earth. Harroiving and hard rolling in March and April strongly recommended. Top-dressings of lime useful before rolling. Woad will expel the wireworms. WJtite mustard-seed equally efficacious; it is supposed they cannot eat the acrid roots. Moivlng corn considered good for getting rid of the wireworms in Ger- many. Amongst the leaves of siveet gale the wireworms died in two hours; it is serviceable, therefore, if mixed with manure. They lived four days in ivater, and drowning them by flooding very difficult. Rape-cahe powdered and sown on a field will preserve the wheat crop. JSpirits of tar and sand mixed with the soil will protect a crop. Refuse lime of gas-ivorks will banish the wireworra. Chloride of lime-iuater kills them. Nitrate of soda will destroy them. Salt on light sandy soils highly efficacious. Alcohol will deprive them of life in five minutes, and turpentine in- stantly. The best hait in a flower garden is sliced potato stuck down. Pieces of turnip, cabbage, beet-root, parsnip, carrot, and apple, will also attract them. Hand-picking a most certain remedy. . Rooks invaluable in catching wireworms, consuming immense quantities. Wagtails, robins, blackbirds, thrushes, and many small birds, will feed upon them. Pheasants and paHridges very useful in clearing turnips of them, La'pwinc/s attack them in low grounds. WIRE WORMS, ETC. 187 Bucks, turkeys, and fowls will pick them up in ploughed fields. Moles feed, almost entirely on insects, and are incessantly labouring to find the wireworms and other subterranean larvae. Froys, toads, and, lizards feed on insects. Wireworms are infested by the parasitic larva) of an ichneumon. A species of worm also lives in their bodies. Explanation of Plate F. Fig. 1. Eggs ot Elatcr ohscurus. a*, The same magnified. Fig. 2. Tlie true wirewomi or larva of Slater lincatus or E. ruficaudis ? Fig. 2*. The under side greatly magnified. j*, The first thoracic segment. Z*, The proleg or false foot. m*, The three pairs of pectoral legs. n*, One of the legs greatly magnified to show the spines and claw. Fig. 3*. The labrura or upper lip of the wireworm. Fig. 4*. The clypeus or nose of the wireworm. Fig. 5*. A large space under the head, formed by the union of the bases of the maxillre and labium. b*, Base of maxilljB. c*, The mentum or chin. d*, The labium or under lip. e*, The labial palpi or feelers. /*, The large maxillary lobe, the smaller one below it. 9*, The maxillary palpus or feeler. Fig. 6*. One of the mandibles or jaws. Fig. 7*. One of the minute antennae or horns. /i*, A horn greatly magnified. i*, Another horn, with an extra lobe. Fig. 8*. Upper side of the head, showing the position of the jaws, mouth, and two minute dots like eyes. Fig. 9*. Terminal segments of abdomen. I-*, One of the large spiracles. I*, The proleg or false foot, and vent? Fig. 10. The earthen case formed by the wireworm to contain and protect the chrysalis. Fig. 11. The upper side of the pupa or chrysalis removed from the case. Fig. 11*. Under side of the same. Fig. 12. Elate}' (Athous) ruficaudis. Fig. 12*. The same magnified. Fig. 13*. The antenna or horn of Elater ohscurus. Fig. 14*. Hind-leg of ditto. Fig. 15*. Male organs of generation oi Elater pectuiicornis. 2i*, Apical segment of abdomen. q*, Central instrument. Fig. 16*. Female organs of generation or ovipositor in the same species. »•*, The external lobes inclosing the oviduct. Fig. 17*. Apical abdominal segment and female organs of generation of Elater olsciirus. s*. The two horny lobes uniting and inclosing the oviduct. Fig. IS*. Male organs of generation in the same species. t*. The central instrument. 188 FARM INSECTS. Fig. 19*. The under side of thorax of Elater ohscurus. 0*, One of the grooves for receiving the antennae in repose. ?«*, Cavities receiving the first pair of legs. r*, Spine employed in leaping. Fig. 20*. Postpectus, with one of the hinder legs attached, w*, Cavities receiving the second pair of legs. a;*, Coxse or hips, to which the third pair of legs is attached. y*, The cavity into which the spine v fits. Fig. 21*. Labrum or upper lip of the beetle called Elater obscuras. Fig. 22*. Mandibles or jaws ot Elater ohscurus. Fig. 23*. Mentum or chin of Elater obscurvs. 2*, Labium or under lip. a*, Palpi or feelers. Fig. 24*. Maxillsp, with their hairy lobes. b*, Palpi or feelers. Fig. 25. Elata- {Agriotes) obscurus, in outline. Fig. 25*. The same magnified and shaded. Fig. 26*. Elater Uneatus represented flying. c, The natural dimensions. Fig. 27*. Hind-leg of Elater ruficaudis. d*, The tarsus or foot, showing the fourth minute joint. Fig. 28. A young wheat plant; the dotted line denoting the surface of the soil. Fig. 29. A small wireworm feeding in the base of the stem in the earth. Fig. 30. A young turnip plant, with its roots bitten ofi'by the wireworms. e, A portion near the base gnawed by them. All the figures are drawn from nature ; and the foregoing numbers and letters with a * attach uidicate that the objects referred to are represented much larger than life. hcooKO'i =! HOHasNiaa mjo svae nog ^ sixovia WIEEWORMS, ETC. 189 CHAPTER VII. THE NATUliAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF THE ANIMALS CALLED WIREWORMS, SOME OF WHICH AFFECT THE TURNIPS, CORN CROPS, ETC. The history of the true wu-eworms was concluded in the last chapter, but I am inclined to believe that some of the following insects, belonging to the same ftimily, may contribute, in their larva state, to the injury of the field and garden ; and, as they are constantly fomid in corn-fields in the beetle state, figm-es and descriptions of them cannot be miacceptable to the farmer ; these I shall therefore now lay before him, hoping that they may lead to a more perfect knowledge of their economy. I shall afterwards proceed to give an account of the other animals which appear to assist, with the larvce of the elaters, in the destruction of the crops, by attacking the roots of the turnips, &c. ; all of which have been incorrectl}^ denominated wire worms by the cultivator. Order Coleoptera, Family Elaterid^. No. 5 is an elater which I fi-equently observe in corn fields; I find it also under stones : I have taken it ofi" birch trees' in woods, &c. Its appearanc?e lasts firom the end of April until August, but nothing is known of its economy, or of the wireworm which it produces. It is called — Elater (Lepldotus) holosericeus, Fab.* — the Satin-coated Click-beetle. — It is elliptical or boat-shaped, deep brown, thickly and minutely punctm-ed, and clouded with silky, oclu-eous pubescence : antennse scarcely so long as the head and thorax, slightly pubescent, eleven-jointed; basal joint the stoutest, some- what chopper-shaped, and chestnut-coloured ; second, minute ; third, long and slender, clavate; fourth and six following produced internally, obtrigonate, apical joint elongate-ovate, apex narrowed (Plate G, fig. a; and No. 28, fig. 8); head small (No. 28, fig. 4) ; palpi and eyes black ; thorax convex, semi-ovate, concave before, broadest at the base, which is bi-sinuated, the angles produced, each forming a strong trigonal lobe, not very acute; pectoral lobe rather * See Curtia's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 694, for di.ssections, &c., of the Elateridw; and the Quide, Genus 309, for an arrangement of the species. 190 FARM INSECTS. small and tapering (No. 28, fig. 7"^) ; sciitel large and orbicular; elytra more than twice as long as the thorax, and scarcely broader at the middle, the ochreous pubescence often forming two ocelli on the disk; nine pimctured striae on each elytron, most dis- No. -2$. ,f^, , ^ijict at the base ; costa emar- ginate towards the base ; wings ample; legs short, slender^ and pale fenmginous; length, 5 lines; breadth, 2 lines (Plate G, fig. 31, and No. 2S, fig. 1 ; 2, the natm-al size). OQ Y^ 2 v^r^ 6. This elater is fomid in corn fields, and in sandy places, at the same periods as the foregoing species; but whether its larva, or wire- worm, is injm-ious to the crops, I am unable to state ; it is named — Mater (Agrypnus) murinus, Limi. — the Mouse-coloiu-ed Click-beetle. — It is rather broad and boat-shaped, entirely clothed with very short ash-colom^ed depressed hairs, marbled wdth brown, more or less ochreous, and is thickly and minutely punctured: antemise shorter than the thorax, rather stout, and eleven-jointed, bright ferruginous; basal joint stout, oblong, and piceous, second, small, semi-ovate; tliird, smaller, pear-shaped; fom-th and six following compressed, produced internally, obtrigonate, apical joint longer, ovate, the apex suddenly narrowed (fig. b); head semi-orbicular, depressed; eyes scarcely visible; thorax twice as broad, orbicular, convex on the back, with two tubercles on the disk ; beneath are two deep fissm-es to receive the antennae, and the pectoral spine is long and attenuated, the apex subulate; scutel ovate-conic; eljrtra a little broader than the thorax, and more than twice as long, hinder portion attenuated, the apex rounded, sloped suddenly towards the thorax at the base ; there are nine indistinctly punctm-ed strife on each, and the costal margin is deeply emarginate to receive the hinder thighs ; wings ample ; legs short and shining pitchy ; the tips of the thighs and the tarsi fulvous — the latter are five-jointed and tapering, ba-sal joint the stoutest and the longest m the hinder jxiir ; claws moderate and acute ; tibiae rough, with series of minute bristles; length, 6 lines; breadth, 2^ lines; some- times much larger (fig. 32). 7. This species of click-beetle is sometimes abundant in com fields, also in hedges and grassy places, in May and two succeeding months ; but as the * Fig. 6 e.Yhibits the b.ase of the body, or postpectus, with four cavities, in which the legs were inserted: this, as well as figs. 4, 5, and 7, are given to show the structure of the leaping apparatus, &c.. of the under side. WIREWOEMS, ETC. 191 wireworm lives iu decaying trees, it is not likely to do any miscliief to the crops. It is named — Mater (Melanotics) fulvipes, Herbst — the Tawny-legged Click-beetle. — It is alao called by Marshani, E. castanipes — a more appropriate name, as its legs aa-e of a chestnut colom\ It is very long, naiTOW, and shining black, thickly pimctm-ed, and clothed with very short, line, ochi-eoas pubescence; antennae as long as the thorax, compressed, pubescent, fulvous, and eleven-jointed; basal joint stout and subpyiiform ; second, minute, nearly globose ; third, small obo- vate ; fom-tli and six following produced internally, obtrigonate, but slightly decreasing in diameter to the apical joint, wliich is spindle-shaped (fig. c) ; mouth pale ferruginous, the labrum and tips of mandibles piceous ; head rather broad, semi-orbicular; the eyes hemispherical; clypeus forming a sharp projecting shelf over the mouth; thorax convex, somewhat semi- ovate, almost straight before, the base nearly straight also, the angles forming rather narrow lobes, appearing pointed above, but trimcated laterally ; there is a dorsal impression, broadest at the base, and a short longitudinal channel on each side, close to the lobes ; the pectoral spine is rather long and narrow ; scutel tongue-shaped; elytra thrice as long as the thorax, but not broader, linear, the apex subovate, they are more finely pimctm-ed than the thorax, and there are nine punctured striae on each ; costal margin gently hollowed towards the base ; wings ample ; legs moderately long, chestnut- coloured ; tarsi tapering, basal joint the stoutest, and a little elongated; fom^th small; claws mmute; length from 6 to 9 lines; breadth from If to 2| hues (fig. 33). 8 Is nearly alKed to the Mater ohscurus, Plate F, fig, 25, but it is smaller. The wii'eworm of this species is said to aboimd in gi*ass fields, where it feeds with those of U. ohscurus and E. lineatus; the perfect insects are occasionally found in miiltitudes in marshy districts in the rejectamenta left by floods in Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, fcc, and in the spiing and summer months they are abundant everywhere. This has been called, I know not why — Elater (Agriotes) sputator,'^ Linn. — the Spitting Click-beetle. — It is red- dish brown, clothed with short, depressed, oclu-eous pubescence; antennae scarcely so long as the thorax, compressed, pubescent; basal joint stout; second rather longer than the third, wdiich is oval, the remainder short and obovate, terminal joint elongated; apex conical; head and thorax black, shining, and thickly punctm-ed ; the anterior margin of the latter, and the hinder lobes, reddish brown ; the head is somewhat orbicular ; the clypeus nan-owed ; thorax longer than broad, naiTOw, oblong, very convex, with a dorsal impression behind, the posterior angles forming trimcated lobes ; scutel oval, trimcated at the base ; elytra not broader than the thorax, and twice as long, nearly linear, * See Chapter vi. p. 158. 192 FAEM INSECTS. the apex ovate ; they are somewhat scabrose, with nine stria? on each, not neatly punctm-ed, and deepest at the base, costal margin very concave towards the base; wings ample; under side castaneous brown, the angles of the thorax and the pectoral spine, which is rather long and slender, feiTuginous; legs moderate, slender; feet tapering, basal joint a httle elongated; claws slender; length, 3 lines; breadth, 1 line (fig. 34). The colour of this insect varies con- siderably, some specimens being entu-ely bright ochreous, whilst others have the head and thorax partially variegated with black. 9 Is a click-beetle, very abundant in corn fields, hedges, and meadows, in May and June. I have copied the tail of the wire worm from Bouche (fig. 41), who asserts that it lives two years in rotten horse-dung in a high state of decomposition, when it is almost become earthy, and with it the wireworms are of course conveyed into the fields and gardens. The beetle is called — Elater (Athous) niger, Linn. — the Black Click-beetle. — It is boat-shaped, shining black, finely punctured, and clothed ^yith yellowish pubescence, which is not depressed ; antennee longer than the thorax, compressed, tapering, and hairy; basal joint stout; second, minute, ovate; third, obtrigonate; the following similar but larger, produced on the inside, but decreasing towards the apical joint, which is fusiform (fig. d) ; head suborbicular, the clypeus forming a projection over the trophi ; thorax twice as broad, oval, very convex, the pos- terior angles not acute, a little divaricating ; pectoral lobe not long and taper- ing ; scutel ovate-trigonate ; elytra broader than the thorax, elliptical, the apex ovate or subcorneal, with nine punctured striae on each, most distinct at the base ; wings ample ; legs not long ; thighs stoutish, three basal joints of tarsi cushioned beneath ; second and third, dilated ; fourth, minute ; fifth, slen- der; claws small; length, 5| to 6 lines; breadth. If to 2 lines (fig. 35). 10. Abundant in Jmie, July, and August, upon oaks and alders in woods, and not unfrequent in com fields, but nothing is known of its economy. It has received the name of — Elater (Dolopius) marginatus, Linn. — the Margined Click-beetle, and is the E. suturalis of Marsham. — It is narrow and elliptical, shining, testaceous, and clothed with short, 'ochreous pubescence; antennae longer than the head and thorax, slender, compressed, fulvous, and pubescent ; basal joint the stout- est, clavate; second and third the slenderest, elongated — the latter a little the shortest; fourth and foUowing stouter and clavate; terminal joint subfusiform (fig, e) ; head and thorax thickly and strongly punctured — ^the former obtuse, convex, and pitchy, the latter longer than broad, very convex, piceous, anterior and posterior margins bright ochreous, including the angles, which are very acute and slightly divaricating ; scutel subovate ; elytra linear, thrice as long as the thorax, sometimes rather broader, attenuated or ovate behind, WIREWORMS, ETC. 193 oclireous or reddish brt)wn, with a space down the suture, and sometimes the costal margin brown ; they are somewhat scabrose, with nine distinctly punc- tiu*ed striae on each, the outer margin slightly concave towards the base ; wings ample ; imder side more or less fuscous or castaneoiLS ; the pectoral spine long and narrow, but thick ; apex of abdomen testaceous ; legs moderately long, slender, and pale ferruginous ; tarsi, with the terminal joint, the slen- derest, basal joint elongated; claws minute; length, 3| lines; breadth, f hue (fig. 36). An exceedingly variable species in outline and colour, some speci- mens being broader than others, and the antennae are apparently stouter in the males; some examples are entirely bright ochreous or chestnut, and others are imiformly of a pitchy colom-. 11. This species also frequents corn fields, meadows, hedges, &rc., but whether its larva is injurious to the crops has not been ascertained ; it is so like the former one (U. marginatus) in miniature, that it will be unnecessary to figiu-e it. It is about the size of E. limhatus of Linnfeus, but the thorax is narrower and less convex, and there is generally a distinct sort of shallow groove down the cro^vn of the head. It is distinguished by tlie name of — Elater (Adrastus) acuminatus, Step. — the Pointed Click-beetle. — It is elliptical, narrow, shining testaceous, and clothed mth short ochreous pubes- cence; head and thorax black, pimctiu-ed- — the former with an impression down the centre, the latter longer than broad ; the anterior margin and pos- terior angles, which are acuminated, are testaceous ; antennce longer than the head and thorax, compressed, castaneous; basal joint elongated, stout; second and tliird obovate, the latter a little the shortest ; fom-th and following some- what obovate, truncate, terminal joint fusiform; scutel dark, oval; elytra nearly thrice as long as the thorax, pimctured, testaceous, the suture often dusky, espe- cially near the apex, with nine punctured stripe on each; imder side piceous; pec- toral spine long and slender; legs ochreous; length, 2 lines; breadth, about | Hne. 12 Also frequents com fields, hedges, gi-assy and woody places, from April to August, but its economy is unknown. It is the Elater (Athous) longicollis of Fabricius, the Long-necked Click-beetle. The male is long and narrow, ochreous, and clothed with very short pubescence of the same colour; head and thorax thickly and coarsely pmictured, dull Ijlack ; the anterior margin of the latter, the sides and base, including the angles as well as the clypeus, more or less feiTuginous in many examples ; this portion of the head is very concave, the margin thickened and slightly reflexed ; the antennae are more than half the length of the body, slender, and compressed ; the basal joint is clavate, and not stouter than the following, which are elongate-clavate and truncated, excepting the second, which is minute, and the terminal joint, which is subfusiform (fig. /); the head is subquadi'ate ; the eyes very promiaent; 24 194 FARM INSECTS. thorax long and narrow, not much broader than the head before, gradually and shghtly increasing in diameter to the base ; the angles short and trmi- cated laterally ; the sides are nearly straight, but slightly convex near the middle ; down the back is a faint channel, with a slight fovea on each side near the base ; pectoral spine long and slender ; scutel smaD, black, and punc- tm-ed ; elytra more than twice as long as the thorax, and a little broader, linear, the apex ovate, the costal margin fuscous and very gently concave near the base ; they are slightly glossy, a little rugose, with nine distinctly punctured striae on each; wings ample; under side more or less piceous, except- ing the body, which is ochreous and very glossy, sometimes pitchy down the centre, or having two fuscous spots on each segment ; legs longish, slender, and deep ochreous; tarsi tapering, basal joint elongated; fourth, minute; length, 4^ lines; breadth rather more than 1 line (fig. 38). The female differs so considerably from the male in form, that the name of longicollis is not appro- priate ; it is much broader and larger, the antennae are not so long, the third and following joints being obtrigonate ; this sex varies also greatly in colom-, some specimens being entu^ely brown, others of an ochreous chestnut, &c. As the wii-eworms seem to be easily distinguished from each other by the apical segment of the abdomen, I have copied from Bouchd* those which he has described, hoping it may tend to their being accurately identified with their respective click-beetles by some one who may be fortimate enough to rear them hereafter. Fig. 41 he calls the wireworm of Elater niger (see fig. 35); 42 is Elater Uneatus; 43, Elater fulvipes (see fig. 33); and 44, Elater fulvipennis. I must, however, observe, that I have some doubt of his figure of E. niger belonging to that species; but the wireworm of E. Uneatus he has certainly mistaken, as will be seen by referring to our Plate F, fig. 9,t which represents the same portion of the wii-eworm as fig. 42, Plate O. Bouch^'s figure of E. fulvipes approaches that which I believe to be the wireworm of that insect ; and as his cba wings are not accm*ate, I fear, it is most probable they are identical. His Elater fulvipennis is most probably correctly named, as it lives in decayed timber, in which it changes to a beetle with yellowish or reddish elytra : his figure represents the under side with the anal foot contracted. I have found, at different times, the wireworms of two allied species, namely,- E. sanguineus, Linn., and E. rufipennis, Hofi!, wh or of Elater niger (fig. 35). It does not, however, agi-ee with Bouch^'s figure of E. niger (fig. 41), but whether he be correct I cannot determine. I have thought it necessary to give a di'awing of it, having received specimens with other wireworms from Sun-ey in August ; and I have met with the same species under stones, occasionally, on grassy downs. It is very shining, ochre- ous, and clothed with longer hairs than usual, with a taint channel down the back ; the head, fii'st thoracic segment, and tail are ferruginous ; it is not so eylindiical as the common wireworm ; the head is broad and flattened ; the jaws are longish, arched, acute, and black (fig. i); the first thoracic segment is naiTOwed behind ; the apical segment is somewhat semi-ovate, with a large oval excavation, fijrming a hollow above ; it is rugose, with two longitudinal channels ; the sides are denticulated, and at the apex are two large teeth, generally notched, and separated by a triangular fissure ; the under side is tuberculated, and the anal foot is large and broad, with a shoi-t homy spine on each side (fig. h) ; the six pectoral feet are small, but serrated beneath with spines, and terminated by simple claws. We have seen, in the foregoing chapters, that many insects prey upon one another, and that probably no species injmious to agriculture is free from the attacks of parasitic and predaceous insects, which, by subsistmg upon the mischievous multitudes, subdue their numbers and render a most essential service to man. I have already alluded to those which live upon the wire- worms in the previous chapter; but as I have now obtained additional materials, and am enabled to add figures of the insects which destroy them, as well as others which infest the click-beetles, I shall describe these valuable little fiiends of the cultivator. Thousands of insects, called Carabidce, varying greatly in size, from halt a line to an inch in leng-th, may be found under stones and clods, in fields. 196 FAEM INSECTS. meadows, and gardens, where they secrete themselves by day, and sally forth at night to feed upon other insects, worms, larvye, &c., which come to the sur- face at that period, either to feed or to migrate; they are consequently eminently serviceable in reducing the ranks of noxious animals. During a drought they retire into cracks in the earth, and to the most humid spots, and evidently enjoy the refreshing rains which succeed. I have seen the large Carabus glahratus * in mountainous districts running about immediately after a thunder-storm, each having a tolerably large earth-worm in its mouth; others, as the splendid Calosoma sycoi:)lianta,\ Hve entirely upon caterpillars in trees ; and there is one which well deserves notice from its feeding upon the wireworms — a fact for which I am indebted to a most zealous naturalist, Mr. Marshall Fisher of Ely. The insect alluded to belongs to the order CoLEOPTERA, the family Carabid^e, and the genus Carabus of Linnaeus, but it has been designated by a new generic name by Megerle, and is now called — 13. Steropus madidus, Fab. (fig. 45), from its inhabiting wet and damp localities. It is shining black ; the legs are often red ; head oval, forming a neck behind ; the eyes are not large, but prominent and hemispherical ; the mouth is complete, and furnished with two pairs of longish jointed palpi of a chestnut colom-, and two large cm-ved and acute jaws;:j: antennae not longer than the thorax, tapering, the apex sometimes of an orange colour ; thorax broader than the head, somewhat obovate, concave before, trmicated at the base, the angles rounded, with a large fovea on each, marked with two short longitudinal channels, and a sharp indented dorsal fuiTOW ; the entire sm-face is delicately striated with transverse wavy lines, which are only visible under a magnifier; the scutel is short and broad; the elytra are convex and soldered together, and consequently both sexes are destitute of wings ; their form is oval, narrowed at the base, each having nine deep striae, the first furcate next the scutel, the eighth impressed with strong punctures, the costal edge a little emarginated on each side towards the tip ; legs strong, thighs stout ; anterior tibife the thickest, with a notch on the inside producing a spine, and another at the apex ; the others are spiny, with bristles, and terminated by a pair of moveable spurs; the tarsi are five-jointed, and fm-nished with two sharp claws; in the male the first pair of feet are dilated and cushioned beneath, the three basal joints being broad and heart-shaped, the fom'th similar but minute; length, 7 lines ; breadth, 2^ fines. S. madidus is a very active insect; it prowls about at night, and is admir- ably adapted to its predaceous mode of life. The free motion of its neck and * Donovan's British Insects, v. 15, Plate 505. f Curtis's Bnt. Ent., fol. ard Plate 330. X See Curtis's Brit. But., Plate 171, for dissections, &c. WIREWORMS, ETC. 197 thorax gives it an advantage over most insects of its own size, and its strong legs are furnished with spurs and spines, which enable it to stand firaily, and resist the efforts of any individual endeavoiu-ing to escape from its gi'asp. The sensitive homs are in constant motion ; with its long palpi it embraces its victim, whilst it tears it in pieces with its sharp and powerful jaws. Wlien touched, these beetles eject a tenibly fetid and dirty fluid from the mouth, which is probably a defence against the more powerful and kindred species. To show the usefidness of this insect, I cannot do better than give Mr. Fisher s own statement of the facts which came under his observation. He says, "My brother Henry, seeing a field which had been sown with oats much injured, pulled up several plants, and found numerous wireworms at the roots of each. He put them into a box with several black beetles of the family Carabidce, which he detected in the same field, and on opening it a short time after, he saw one of the beetles with a wireworm in its mouth. Profiting by this accidental discovery, I placed two of the beetles under a glass with a wireworm ; the beetles appeared to whet their mandibles, ready for the attack, and in an instant each had seized the wireworm, the writhings of which threw the beetles upon their backs ; they quickly recovered their legs, and the worm was soon divided, each taking his share, and entirely sucking out the milky contents, leaving only small fragments of the horny skin. I then introduced several more worms under the glass, and they as speedily disappeared. I repeated the experiment several times with the same results ; I therefore think I may fairly conclude that this beetle is a natmul enemy of the wireworm." I can also add the interesting history and economy of another ground beetle, which were communicated to me by Mr. F. J. Graham. It inhabits turnip fields, and is named — 13*. Nebria (Helobia*) brevicolUs, Fab. This beetle, which is abundant under stones, is depressed and black; the palpi eleven-jointed; antennae, shanks, and feet pitchy red, the head being furnished with strong mandibles; the thorax is short, broader than long, and somewhat heart-shaped; the wing- cases are ovate, long, and broad, with several pimctured strise on each; in the third stria from the sutm-e there are three or fom- larger impressed punctures, and beneath the elytra are the wings folded for flight; length, -i^ to 6 lines. Mr. Graham informed me that on the 9th March, 1850, he observed in tiu-nip and corn fields at Cranford, little heaps of earth thrown up from timnels, and at the depth of an inch and a half he found cells of an oval form, and within them the larva of H. brevicolUs, which no doubt is carni- * Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 103. 198 FARM INSECTS. vorous. On the lltli April, Mr. Graham sent me the pupa which had lately changed to that state; and on the 21st of the same month he bred the beetle. It began to feed on some small caterpillars on the 23d ; and on the night of the 24th, ate the whole of a wire worm, excepting the skin of the back; but flies (at least in confinement) seem to be the favourite food of these beetles. I may add, that on opening the cells of the specimens Mr. Graham had kindly foi-warded to me, I found one was partly consumed, and the other had produced six specimens of Prodotrupes viator (t) ; thus showing that this parasite keeps in check the wireworms, and also the larvae of ground beetles. It is not a little remarkable, that, about the same time, the economy of H. brevicollis was discovered and published in the Annates de la Soc. Ent. de France* by M. Blisson, accompanied by an excellent plate exhibiting its economy. These larvae are pale brownish, very active, with formidable jaws, having six thoracic legs, and a foot at the apex between two long bristles. Nothing has been recorded regarding the food of these larvae, but in all probability they are more serviceable in the destruction of other insects than the beetle itself Fig. 46 represents a dead shrivelled wireworm, of Mater lineatus, I believe, which was infested with parasitic larvae, one of which had become a pupa (fig. p), so greatly advanced that in a few days the perfect fly would have been hatched. By some accident this pupa was forced through the skin, and it is evident that it was some species of ichnemnon,t for the head (fig. 47, I) is distinct enough, and shows the two eyes ; the antennae (fig. m) are inclosed, as the whole animal is, in a transparent shroud. Fig. n exhibits the thorax, and fig. o the legs and jointed feet. I had hoped to breed this insect, but it died, and it must therefore be left for futui'e inquirers to deter- mine the species of this usefid little being, which was not unknown to Bierk- ander, and is very probably far from imcommon. The specimen was sent to me the 1st August, 1841, having been just discovered with other wireworms in Surrey. The click-beetles tliemselves are not free from the assaults of minor enemies, which may not actually destroy them, but I imagine they must exhaust and weaken tire individuals they attack, so as to render them inca- ]iable of fulfiUing their functions with energy. Of these animals two very different species have come imder my observation, which I wiU now describe; 1 )ut it will not be irrelevant to observe that the class Insecta, as it stood in the last century, included crabs, lobsters, spiders, centipedes, &c. LatreiUe, however, and modem philosophers have very properly divided them into * See Second Series, vol. vi. p. 73. t This, there can be little doubt, was a Prodotrupes, as was shown in tbe previous chapter. WIREVVORMS, ETC. 199 tliree classes ; * the first is called Crustacea, the second Arachnides, the third Insecta. With the first we shall have nothing to do in this voliune ; the third is distmguished by its pair of genuine antemise, six thoracic legs, fee, comprismg all the insects whose histories we have recorded; and the second will include most of the few remaming animals, wliicli will complete this chapter. The class Arachnides embraces the millipedes, spiders, lice, mites, ticks, .Sec. Amongst the last are included the little parasites before us, the first of wliich belongs to the order Acera, family RiciN^ or ticks, genus Uropoda of Latreille. The Baron de Geer describes a tick nearly allied to om^s under the name of Acarus vegetans; t but as that species is attached by the apex of the body and this by the back, I am induced to tliink it a distinct species, which I shall call — 14). Uropoda vmbiUca. — It is oval, rusty-brown and shining; the upper side horny, shield-shaped, convex and pimctm-ed, wdtli longish scattered hairs. From the back, but a Httle on one side, arises a peduncle (fig. 49, s), which is wliite, transparent, as long as the animal, sometimes gradually increasing to the extremity, which is attached to the elytra of the elater (fig. 48, r). It has eight short-jointed legs, more or less clothed with hairs, which in repose are pressed close to the imder side ; the first pair seem to be somewhat palpi- form, and a little the longest, especially in the terminal joint, which is densely hairy at the apex ; the second pair are the shortest, similar to the preceding, but tapering, and less hairy; the others are terminated by a slender transparent clavate joint, destitute of hairs (fig. 48, q; the natural size). This cm-ious tick infests the Elater obscurus (fig. 48), attaching itself in considerable numbers to the wing-cases, by a singular contrivance in the shape of a thread, which is fixed by one end to the tick, and by the other to the click-beetle. This is probably a provision to prevent the tormented animal ft'om rubbing off" his parasites ; they are able, according to the remarks of De Geer, to remove when they please, by crawling in a certain direction until the cord is sufficiently stramed to cause the end to be detaclied from the beetle. It has been supposed that these animals obtain their nutriment through this tube ; and whether they possess a rostrum for sucking I have not been able to ascertain, from the extreme minuteness and obscurity of the head. The other parasite belongs to the same order, Acera, + but to the family Microphthira, and the genus Leptus, Latreille. It infests the click-beetle named Elater rujicaudis, which has been already described and figured. § It * Dr. Leach formed the insects of Linnneus into five classes, namely, Crustacea, Arachnoiila, Acari, Myriapoda, and Insecta. + Mimoires pour servir a VHistoire des Tnsectes, v. vii. p. 123, Plate 7, figs. 15 and 16. t Latreille, in his later works, makes this a family only of his Arachnides. § See Plate F, fig. 12. 200 FARM INSECTS. is a very different little animal to the JJropoda umbilica, thrusting its beak into the punctures of the thorax and elytra of the beetle, and thus absorbs the juices (fig. 50, i). The dreadful pest called the harvest-bug,* which insinuates itself into one's legs, causing an insupportable irritation, and which is also red, but invisible, or nearly so, to the naked eye, is closely allied, I beheve, to our tick, which appears to be described by De Geer under the name oiAcarus Phalangii, from its infestiag the harvest-spider (Phalangium Opilio). It now bears the appellation of — 15. Leptus Phalangii. — It is of a brilliant scarlet colour, and soft. The head is pear-shaped, terminating in an attenuated slightly- cm* ved rostrum, and on each side is an appendage forming a pair of horns or short legs ; these seem to be tri-articulate, the basal joint the stoutest, third smaU. The abdo- men is large, and like an oval bag, attached by a narrow base, forming a neck. The back and beUy are sparingly clothed with black stoutish hairs. To the pectus are attached six long slender legs, remote at their base, especially the hinder pair, which are the longest, and those before them are shorter than the second pair: they are composed of many joints, and clothed with black hairs, which appear thick, from their being pubescent, I suspect: fig. 51; the natm-al size being shown at t, fig. 50, and No. 28, fig. 8; 9, magnified. Having now discussed every subject, I believe, relating to the " true wire worms," I shall turn to the history of the other animals which are im- properly included by agricultm'ists imder that denomination, and may not inaptly be termed " false wireworms." Some of them may be almost as injurious to the crops as those just described; but as portions of their economy stni remain doubtful, this is a point which I fear cannot be determined satis- factorily. A general belief prevails amongst farmers that the larger gnats, or Tii^ulce, called crane-flies, daddy long-legs, &c., are the parents of the wireworms. This we have already shown to be quite a mistake, yet it is very far from improbable that the maggots of the Tipida oleracea, &c., may do mischief to farm as well as to garden crops ; but as they are most destructive to grass lands, I shall pass by their history imtil I arrive at that portion of my woi-k. There is, however, a larva of a fly {Musca ?) which I shaU here describe and figm-e, as it is an undoubted enemj'' to the corn crops ; and, being one of the false wireworms, it will come imder this head. I regret exceedingly that it did not reach my hands in a living state, in order that I might have reared it, to ascertain the parent insect. The larvae alluded to were found in gi'eat numbers in May, 1841, attacking the roots of Lord Prudhoe's wheat, and ♦ Leptus autumnalis, figtired in Shaw'e Zoological Miscellany, vol. ii. Plate 42 WIREWORMS, ETC. 201 were transmitted to Mr. Yarrell, wlio gave them eventually to me. They were of a yellow ochreoiis colour, composed of the usual number of segments (fig. 52), tapering to the head, and trmicated at the tail, and were about two lines long {v). The head was fm-nished with two small black horny fangs (u); and the tail was cut oif abruptly, the lower circumference being deeply indented, and forming several irregular lobes, and in the centre were two brown tubercles {tv). It was destitute of feet, as such maggots usually are. I must not omit to mention a gnat, probably the Tipula maculosa, which I have bred from larvse; these no doubt are exceedingly destructive to young plants in turnip and corn fields, where I have seen the gnats in multitudes. The remaining animals which infest the roots of corn and other crops, and called also wii-eworms by the farmers, belonged to the class Ai'aclmides and the order Myriapoda. Latreille subsequently altered the value of these tenns, changing them to the class Myriapoda, the order Chilognatha, and the family Anguifoemia. Linnaeus gave them the generic name of JuLUS ; and from the typical species resembling snakes in miniatiu*e, especially the slow-worm, I have applied to them the English appellation of snake-mUli- pedes. After describing them I will relate their history and economy. One has been named — 16. Julus giittatus by Fabricius, and pulchellus by Leach — the Spotted or Beautiful Snake-millipede. It is now included in the genus Blaniulus. This species is from one-sixth to half an inch long, or upwards. It is slender, cylindi'ical, and shiuiner (x) ; it has •' & V / ' No. 29. about 170 legs; the horns are cla- vate, pubescent, and seven-jointed, the apical j oint being miaute (y) ; the eyes are black, and coarsely granu- lated;* it is pale ochreous, with a double row of bright crimson spots down each side, excepting the fom* fii'st and five last segments; the whole of them are faintly striated longitudinally with a rather deep incision separating the rings (fig. 53, and No. 29, fig. 2; 3, magnified). After death this species becomes of a fine sanguineous purple, which will stain the paper upon which the specimens are giunmed. It is, I think, the most widely spread, if not the most abundant, of the snake-millipedes. It inhabits both fields and gardens, and has been observed feeding upon a smaU HelLx. Guerin says they have none ; perhaps they are only visible when alive. 202 FAKM INSECTS. 17. Julus Londinensis of Leach, the London Snake-millipede (fig. 54!, and No. 29, fig. 1), is visually about an inch long, cylindiical, shining, and rather stout. It is of a dark lead coloui-. The segments are longitudinally striated, the margins subferruginous ; there are two black dots on each, excepting the five thoracic and four apical ones, forming a line of pores down each side, from which an acid liquor flows, of a disagi'eeable odour, which is said to be employed to defend itself from enemies. The legs are dirty white, and amomit to about 1 60, in pairs on each side, so that each segment seems to be provided with fom* legs. The head is brownish, and pubescent, with black granulated eyes. The antenn^B are brown, clavate, and a little hairy. The basal joint is svibglobose; second elongated, and slightly exceeding the following in length; the third, fom'th, and fifth are stouter, ovate-truncate, the last formmg a club in union vnth the sixth, which is small. Thoracic segment twice as long as the others. Apex of abdomen rounded, with a vertical slit; the penultimate ring with the centre a Httle angulated, and lapping over the apex, but not mucronated (z). This is a large species, and similar to the following; but there are gigantic snake-millipedes in South America, as thick as one's little finger, and up- wards of half a foot in length. Julus Londinensis was so named from its having been fii^st discovered in the neighbourhood of the metropolis ; and it infests the roots of wheat in Sm-rey, from whence I have received specimens at the end of April, which had not arrived at their full growth. 18. Jidus terrestris, Linnaeus — the Earth Snake -millipede (No. 29, fig. 4, magnified). Shining, cylindi-ical, and piceous ; rather strongly striated longitudinally ; the edges of the segments brownish, a line of indistinct black pores on each side ; the legs ochreous ; eyes black, and granulated ; antenngs spotted, longer than the first thoracic segment, which is larger than the others, seven-jointed, basal joint globose, four following elongated, clavate, truncate, the last being the stoutest, and forming with the sixth and seventh a little oval club, the apical joint being minute (b, and No. 29, fig. 5) ; penultimate segment of abdomen mucronated (a) ; the lobe subtrigonate, the tip rounded. This species greatly resembles the foregoing, but the spined tail and longer antemise readily distinguish it. I remember one being discovered inside a rotten pear. 19. Jidus puncttdus, Leach — the Dotted Snake-millipede — is often an inch long, but rather slender, cylindrical, and of a testaceous bro-wn or ochreous colour ; the margins of the segments are finely and very closely striated ; the crown of the head and thoracic segment are freckled, the penultimate one is mucronated, the lobe oval; face, antennae, and legs, pale ochreous; eyes gray. WIREWOEMS, ETC. 203 gi'amilated with black. When alive this species is of a somewhat pellucid pale flesh colour, every segment with a black dot forming a line down each side. I generally find this julus amongst the moss on old stumps, and under stones in woods ; but I think I have received it with the other species from gardens. 20. Julus latent r'tatus, Curtis — the Broad-lined Snake-millipede — is 5 or 6 lines long, of a dull ochreous lilac with a pui-ple tint, cylindi-ical, very shining, sparingly striated, the lines not approximating ; down each side is a row of dots, and the penidtimate segment is not mucronated, but slightly angulated and rounded, as in Julus Londinensis ; the antennae are stout and rather short, pilose and capitate, second joint the longest, the apex very pubescent. This julus I took at first for the young of J. Londinensis, but the strisG are twice as far apart as in any other species I have examined, and when dead it gi-eatly resembles /. pulcJtellus in colour. I have never seen it alive; but thousands were infesting a gai'den at Nantwich, and a small box full was forwarded to me. 21. Julus pilosus, Newport's MSS. — the Hairy Snake-millipede — is nearly an inch long, rather slender, cylindrical, lead- coloured, slightly pilose, the margins of the segments being striated and somewhat ciliated, the penulti- mate segment is mucronated; the lobe is pointed, and projects beyond the terminal joint, wliich is brown and hairy ; there is a line of black dots down each side; the thoracic segment, head, and antennae are brown: these last are rather long, slender, very pubescent, and slightly clavate; the fifth joint is nearly as long as the second. This very distinct species stands in the British Museiun with the above appropriate name, being distinguished from all the othei's by the hairs scattered over its entire length. I have found it more than once infesting the roots of cabbages in gardens in Marck There is one more species which belongs to the geniLS Polydesmus of Latreille. It is essentially distinguished fi-om the juli by the apparent absence of the eyes, as well as by its flattened back, the segments being a little dilated or margined on the sides, and the hinder angles of each are acute ; the tail is mucronated, and it has only between sixty and seventy legs: the antennae are seven-jointed, the basal joint being subglobose; second, ovate; the thu-d is by far the longest; the two following are elongate, clavate, and truncated ; the sixth is stouter and ovate, forming a little club ; the seventh is small (d); the species is named — 22. Polydesmus complaiiatus, Linnaeus — the Flattened Millipede (fig. 55; and No. 29, figs. 6 and 7)- — It is of a pale lilac colour above ; the back is 204 FARM INSECTS. granulated ; the belly is whitish ; the legs are more or less oehreous. It is generally from ^ inch to 3^ lines long (c), but when arrived at matm-ity some specimens are as large as fig. 55. This is reported to be by far the most destructive species. In April, considerable numbers of the smaller ones were detected eating the roots of wheat, and in the spring and autmnn they were injuring the roots of onions and pansies. They propagate rapidly where the earth is undisturbed ; and .specimens measuiing three-quarters of an inch have been foimd under garden pots at the roots of anemones. In a systematic arrangement Polydesmus forms a natural transition from the snake-millipedes to the centipedes, called ScoloiJendrce, the habits of all being similar; but as the numbers of the latter family are comparatively insignificant, and they are said to live like the earth-worms upon the soil alone — wliich, however, I very much doubt — it will be unnecessary at present to enter fm'ther into their economy. The snake-miUipedes seem to be both carnivorous and herbivorous, for they have been detected feeding upon small snails, as well as upon the pupa of a fly; and they are believed to live also upon larvae, acari, earth-worms, &c.; and there is such abundant evidence of their destroying the roots of many vegetables, being found clustered together in multitudes at the roots of corn, potatoes, turnips, cabbages, fee, that there can be little doubt of their doing great mischief to many crops of the gardener, and apparently to the farmer also. In order to confirm this generally received opinion, wliich appeared formerly to rest upon doubtful evidence, I shall enumerate the different proofs which have come to my own knowledge.* A garden at Ledbury, Herefordshire, was infested by Julus pulchcllus, wlrich con- gregated in masses at the roots of the brassica tribe. On pulling up some rotten cabbage stalks in the beginning of March, I found the Julus pilosus amongst the roots ; they were then of a large size, and had, as well as I could Jiscertain, 156 feet, being thirty-nine pairs on each side. At the end of the same month Julus L ondin ensis wns detected at the roots of wheat; they were at that time an inch long, and Julus ptdchellus was observed with them : these I buried at the roots of some potatoes and wheat, which I dug up in August, when the former were completely decayed, but the latter were not in the least injured; and I could not detect any of the snake-miUipedes. I received some roots of the scarlet-bean from XJUswater, in Westmoreland, which were eaten through and through by the Julus pulchellus and Poly- desmus complanatus, wliich were still sticking in the holes formed by them in the cotyledons; and the party who transmitted them stated that thousands Latreille says, "These insects (the millipedes) live upon substances both vegetable and animal, but dead and decomposed."— See Cuvier's Reyne Animal, edition 1829, vol. iv. p. 333. WIREWOEMS, ETC. 205 of those species infested his garden, destroying the pease and kidney-beans also. Near Nantwich, in Cheshire, the Jul its latestriatus was in countless myi-iads in January 184<4, destroying the potted plants in the green-houses, by eating the rind just at or under the surface of the soil ; and cauliflowers and cabbage plants shared the same fate in the garden : nearly at that period of the year the J id us Londinensis was doing great injuiy to the early potato crops near Chester. My friend Mr. W. W. Saunders, who is too able a natu- ralist to be deceived, lias ascertained that the juli are very destructive in his garden at Wandsworth, where they devoured the young shoots of the heart's- ease just below the surface. I have more than once observed the snake- millipedes and polydesmi in September infesting the roots of onions which had been attacked by the maggots of a fly ; * and the polydesmus injures the carrot crops by eating various labyi-inths in the roots. The juli are also found in pears, apples, &c., but I believe not in sound fruit. A few similar proofs the reader will have observed appended to the descriptions of the various species. These animals are also found in considerable numbers under the loose bark of decaying trees, in company with woodlice, earwig's, &c., also amongst the moss which clothes the base and holes in the trunks and stumps of trees, and likewise under stones in humid situations. The action of the snake- millipedes is very remarkable; the horns are constantly moving when they walk, which is very leisurely, yet they appear to glide along in a very peculiar manner, owing to the immense number of leg's they possess, amounting sometimes to 240: these legs are very small, jointed, and terminate in a single claw, and are so thickly set in pairs, that when the animal is in motion they resemble a fringe of hairs, one pair moving after another in quick succession, yet with the most exact and beautiful regularity, causing an imdulatory effect. They are able to jerk themselves about like a scotched snake, and when disturbed they coil themselves up spirally, the head forming the centre, and all the legs are then contracted and concealed, and in this position they appear to repose. These animals being long-lived have ample means of doing mischief, if such be theu' natm-e, for they do not arrive at their full growth until the expira- tion of two years, when the organs of generation are developed, and during that period they change their skins, or rather horny coats, five times : in this respect they resemble the true wireworms, but there is a great difference in their economy; for these, as we have shown, become beetles, and pass through four distinct stages or metamorphoses, namely, the egg, larva, pupa, and beetle, whereas the snake -millipedes, &c., are animals which seem to be * Called Anthomyia ceparum, Hoffmansegg; see Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. i. p. 39G. 206 FAEM INSECTS. always in a caterpillar state, undergoing a constant succession of growth, and increasing in bulk from their birth to their death, so that they are active and feeding dru-ing the whole period of their lives, and do not, like the true wire- worms and other larvae of insects, ever change to anything else. The females lay their eggs from Christmas imtil the middle of spring, each depositing a great nmnber in the earth : those of some species are round, whilst others are stated to be oval and of a dirty or yellowish white colour-. A few of these animals, however, may be said to undergo certain degrees of perfection as they increase in stature, for they are very dissimilar in their inftmcy to thek parents, having very few legs when they are first hatched,* at which period the young of Julus sahulosus have only three pairs, and seven or eight abdominal segments alone, but in four days they acquire four pair more with additional rings. The number of segments thus increasing with the age of the animals, renders a knowledge of the species difficult to acquu-e, and this is not diminished by the frequent moultings; it is therefore possible that some of the smaller species may be only the yoimger state of the larger ones, yet I cannot think but that all I have described are quite distinct. The way in which these animals live amongst the roots of plants, renders it extremely difficult to destroy them, without sacrificing the infected crop ; and their horny coats, which resist the point of a pin, being impervious to water, notliing, I should conceive, coidd be of much service but very great heat and hand-picking; unless, indeed, any di-essing could be discovered which is disagreeable to them: whether lime would answer the purpose I have no means of ascertaining, but I am inclined to think it might, for I believe that they cannot endure heat, and I am certain they are not able to exist without humidity, for if confined in a box deprived of moist earth or damp moss they die in a few hom-s. The following remedies have been suggested by various writers. Watering the land repeatedly with lime-water is believed to destroy the miUipedes, and soot spread over the surface will drive them away. Sprink- ling nitrate of soda round the plants, and afterwards watering them, would, it is presumed, prove the best remedy, or watering the land with a solution of the nitrate would be equally beneficial, and more applicable to extensive crops ; but this operation must be performed in a dull damp day, or in the morning or evening when the sun does not shine upon the field, otherwise it might scorch the leaves. Mr. Wilshin, of Hayes, near Uxbridge, finds that salt applied to the land before the crops are sown, is an excellent remedy against all sorts of wireworms. Traps should also be resorted to, particularly * De Geer's Memoires, vol. vii. p. 583, Flate 36, figs. 20-22. WIBEWORMS, ETC. 207 in gaixlens, where if loosely made baskets, such as strawberry pottles, were filled with damp moss, especially ikiring cby weather, and sunk in the earth, the juli would, in all probability, resort to them, and the baskets might easily be drawn out by the handles every morning, in order to examine their contents and kill the animals. In hand-picking, all large stones autl clods should be turned over, as the millipedes secrete themselves in such humid situations, and where these animals are abimdant, large numbers, I expect, might be caught by strewing old cabbage-leaves over a field, in the same way as when slugs are troublesome, and employing chikh-en to tm-n them over and collect the millipedes, &c., secreted beneath. SUADIARY OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER. Descriptions of eight cUck-heetles which inliabit com fields, namely — Mater holosericeus, the larva or wii-eworm of which is unknown. Mater miirinus, it has not been ascertained whether tlie wu-eworm of this beetle is injm-ious to the crops. Elater fulvipes, its wii^eworm lives in decaying trees, Elater sputator, the wireworm of this species is very abmidant and inju- rious in meadows and pastm-es. Elater niger, the wirewonu is said to live in rotten horse-dimg. Elater inargiTudus, the wireworm of this beetle has not been discovered. Elater acuTYiinatus, the economy of this wireworm is not known. Elater longicollis, the -wii-eworm of tliis species has never been detected, that I am aware of Descriptions and habits of the vjirevjorrns of some of the above and other species of click-beetles. Some of Bouch^'s figau-es of the wkewonns appear to be inaccm-ately named, that of Elater niger may be coiTect, but the larva of his Elater lineatus is certainly the wireworm of some other species. His Elater fulvipes may be intended for that wireworm, and that of his Elater fulvipennis, inhabiting decayed timber, is probably correctly named. Elater fulvipes, its larva described, but it is not injurious to the crops; it lives two years in decajdng "sviUow-trees. Elater onurinus, or E. niger, description of the supposed wireworm of one of those species. Probably none of the insects injm-ious to agriculture are free from 2^<^'i^<^<^ sites, of the class Insecta. The Carahidce, eminently serviceable in the destruction of larvae, worm.s, &c.; Carahus glahratiis feeds upon the earth-worm. 208 FAEM INSECTS. Calosoma sycojphanta feeds upon caterpillars. Carabus (Steropus) m,adidus destroys and feeds upon the true wireworms. Nehria hrevicoll'is, another groimd-beetle, is bred in turnip fields, and lives upon larvae, &c. One of the true wireworms of the " Striped Click-beetle," probably Elater lineatus, is inoculated with maggots, which produce ichneumons. The click- beetles are infested with vermin, which belong to the class Arachnides. Uropoda uinhilica is a tick which attaches itself in considerable numbers to the click-beetle, called Elater ohscurus. Leptus phalangii is a tick which infests the Elater ruficaudis, the red- tailed click-beetle. History of the false wireworms. The larva or maggot of the Tipula oleracea, one of the crane-flies, is im- properly called a wireworm; it is very injiu-ious to pasture lands. The maggot, apparently of a fly, was abundant in a wheat field, feeding upon the roots. Tipula maculosa, in multitudes on arable land. Descriptions of the snake and other millipedes which infest the roots of plants, and are improperly denominated wireworms. Julus guttatus or pulchellus inhabits both fields and gardens, and is widely spread over England. Julus Londinensis infests the roots of wheat in April. Julus terrestris is found in rotten fruit, &c. Julus punctcdus inhabits moss on trees, and resides under stones. Julus latestriatus, thousands infested a garden and green-house, destroy- ing cabbages and potted plants. Julus pilosus lives in cabbage roots in Marcli. Polydesmus complanatus is said to be the most destructive species, eating the roots of wheat and destroying onions and garden flowers. Snake-millipedes feed upon animal as well as vegetable substances, such as snails and earth-worms ; and in addition to the plants already alluded to, potatoes, turnips, the entire tribe of cabbages, beans, pease, carrots, &c., suffer from their attacks. When the snake-millipedes walk they glide along, and cmi themselves up spirally when at rest. They live two years before they can procreate their species, and change their skins five times. The females lay a great nmnber of minute eggs in the earth,, from Christ- mas to the middle of spring. WIREWORMS, ETC. 209 The young when first hatched have only 6'i£c legs, which increase with age \nitil they have from 150 to 240. Application of artificial heat and hand-2nchlng the most certain remedies. They cannot live without 'moisture. The application of lime probably would be serviceable where they aboimd, especially I ime-tvater. Soot spread over the land will di'ive them away. Sowing nitrate of soda, or watering the crops with a solution of it, or of common salt, might destroy them. Bull damp days the best for this operation, and never attempt it when the Sim shines upon the crop. Baskets filled with damp tyioss, and sunk in the earth, might be employed in gardens as traps to decoy them, especially during droughts. They will be found under clods and stones in fields, pastm^es, &c. Old cabbage leaves, if strewed over fiekls, would attract them, where they are numerous and hand-picking is resorted to. Explanation of Plate G. Fig. 31. Elater holosericeus. *, The same magnified, a*, The antenna or horn. Fig. 32. Elater murinus. *. The same magnified. b*, The antenna. Fig. 33. Elater fidvipes. *, The same magnified, c*, The antenna. Fig. 34. Elater sputator. *, The same magnified. Fig. 35. Elater niger. *, The same magnified. d*, The antenna. Fig. 36. Elater marghiatus. *, The same magnified, e*, The antenna. Fig. 38. Elater longicolUs $. *, The same magnified. /*, The antenna. Fig. 39. Wireworra oi Elater fulvipes? g*, The head. h*, The tail. Fig. 40. Wireworm oi Elater murinus'? i*, Tlie head. I-*, The tail. Fig. 41.* Apical joint of the wireworm oi Elater niger J Fig. 42.* Do. do. called Elater lineatus by Bouche, Fig. 43.* Do. do. Elater fulvipes? 210 FARM INSECTS. Fig. 44.* Apical joint of the wireworm called Elater fulvipennis. Fig. 45.* Steropus madidus $. Fig. 46. Emaciated wireworm ot E later Uneatus? p*, The pupa protruded. Fig. 47.* The same pupa magnified. I*, The head and e^-es. VI*, The antennae. n*, The thorax. 0*, The feet. Fig. 48.* Elater obscurus. The lihe shows the natural length. r, The tick with which it is infested. q, The natural size of the tick. Fig. 49.* Uropoda umbilicus, removed from the click-beetle. », The cord by which the animal is attached. Fig. 50. Elater ruficaudis. t, The parasitic ticks, called Leptus phalangiil Fig. 51.* The same tick removed, and greatly magnified. Fig. 52.* Larva of some Tipula? V, The natural size. w*, The head in profile. w*, Front view of the tail. Fig. 53.* Julus guttatus or pulchellus. X, The natural size and walking. ij*, The antenna. Fig. 54. Julus Londinensis. z*. The unarmed tail. a*. The armed tail of Julus terrestvis. b*, The antenna of the same species. Fig. 55. Polijdesmus complanaius when full grown. c, The younger state. d*, The antenna magnified. All the figures are drawn from nature, and those numbers and letters with a * attached indicate that the objects referred to are represented much larger than life. ick IU;-ll,:s Wire W,^ lines; breadth, 2j: fig. 3; 4, the same flying and magnified. These beetles might be collected into bags by children, and after being crushed or killed in hot water, they may be given to poultry, which fatten well upon them. The best period for this picking is early in the morning, as the beetles are torpid and sluggish when the dew is upon them. It is, however, the larvae which are so destructive, especially to pasture lands, and they wordd therefore more properly form a portion of a future chapter ; but as it wiU be equally serviceable to complete the descriptions and economy of the insect at once, I have added a figm-e of the maggot, which * Memoranda relating to Coleopterous Insects, p. 31. t Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. iv. p. 700. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 221 can be referred to when we arrive at the insects affecting the artificial and other grasses, at which time the best modes of extirpation will be discussed. Tliese larvae ai'e very similar to those of the cockchafer (Melolontha vul- garis), but much smaller; they generally lie curved up, somewhat in the form of a horseshoe (fig. 5), yet they are rather active, and can walk tolerably well, dragging their heavy bodies after them : they are of an ochreous white coloiu-, but the head is deep ochreous and destitute of eyes ; the two little horns are very distinct, slender, and five-jointed, the mandibles are somewhat rust-coloured and black at theii- tips, the body is clothed with a few brown hairs, the heavy apex being lead colour whilst the animal is feeding, but it is like the rest of the body when the stomach is empty : and it has nine spiracles on each side : on the breast and immediately behind the chin are six longish legs, clothed with bristly haii's, they are tri-articulate, the third joint short ; the claws are small and acuminated, vnth one or two bristles on the sides. They form cells of the surroimding earth at a considerable depth in the soil they inhabit, where they undergo their transformation into delicate pale coloured pupre. I shall now have to treat of some insects affecting the ears of corn, and I shall avail myself of the information obtained from Dr. I. W. Calvert,* to make the agiicultm-ist ac(][uainted with a caterpillar which is very destructive in some districts. Dr. Calvert says, in a letter dated January, 1 841, " I have been much annoyed at Snilesworth, for the last three years, by a brown streaked grub, or small caterpillar, about 1 inch long, attacking the wheat-ear, chiefly in the manner of a leech sucking. It pierces the chaff, and empties it of its contents, whether in a milky or farinaceous state. I have left some at the Entomological Society's rooms, and have attended two of their meetings, but could not hear of anything of this sort ever being observed before, nor can I learn that tliey have been noticed by any of the tenants at Snilesworth. They first made then* attacks about the beginning of September; so that if I can hasten the harvest by forward sowing in the previous autumn, they may find themselves too late to do material mischief; hitherto, however, it has been more than we could do to get the corn ripe at all, the seasons having been so wet of late. I have some of the caterpillars confined in the earth, where they have buried themselves, and hope to give a better account of their origin and histoiy next year." The follomng August I received a communication from Dr. Calvert, saying that these caterpillars had not been observed in the previoTis year until the 1st of September, when they were from y inch to ^ inch long ; that in the standing com they perforated the chaff and nearly emptied the grains of their contents. Dm-ing the reaping of * Of Snilesworth, Yorkshire. Communicated by Professor Henslow. 22*2 FARM INSECTS. the harvest they were also foimd lying on the surface of the ground ; and in the stack or bam, after the corn was carried, committing their depredatioiLs there. In the month of November Dr. Calvert gave me several of the cater- pillars, which were feeding upon wheat-ears in a bottle ; some of them were not more than | inch long, whilst others were more than 1 inch in length, but were scarcely so robust, except when they drew themselves up; these were of a dull rosy brown, freckled, wi-inkled, and sparingly clothed witli short hairs ; the head was horny, of a dull chestnut colour, with two black stripes on the face; the first thoracic segment was horny also, shining and piceous, with three yellow stripes, the central one extending the whole length of the back, and distinctly defined with dark edges, the lateral ones are con- tinued along the sides, but these became duller and are less distinct ; they approximate at the tail, where the intervening spaces are piceous ; each seg- ment bears four black dots, the hinder pair being farthest apart ; there is a broAvn irregular line along the spiracles, which are black.* It is remarkable, but in conformity with the usual laws of creation, as regards insects at least, that when a species becomes abundant in one district, in all probability it will make its appearance simidtaneously over tlie whole kingdom, and this has been the case even with species that had up to a given period been very rarely seen. Such was the case with these caterpillars, as will be evident by comparing the following dates with the previous ones : for in the beginning of September I received examples from a friend in Surrey, sajdng that the rubbed-out produce of some rye fi'om seeds found in a sample of Spanish wheat, in 1839, was full of them ; again, in Aug-ust, 1841, the same party transmitted me more specimens, which I will describe, as they differed at this period from Dr. Calvert's full-grown examples: one of them was pale green, Avith four reddish brown stripes forming three yellowish green lines down the back ; the head and pectoral feet were brown, the fii'st thoracic seg- ment slightly horny and shining, and each of the abdominal segments had four black dots between the stripes, as in the larger ones ; a black dot charac- terized the spiracles, and there were three or four black dots on the thighs and feet, on the pale green, which extended under the body ; down the centre of the belly were five or six dusky spots. I should not omit to mention, that I also received this caterpillar in the beginning of June, 1 844<, from Mr. M. Saul, of Garstang, Lancashire, who discovered it upon the young wheat, but it did not appear to be very abundant ; it was f inch long at that early period. * As we have not succeeded in rearing the moth from this caterpillar, it is still very doubtful whether it be the Xoctua tritici, or the Eremohia ochroleuca, Esp., wliich is abundant on the coast during July, August, and September ; and the caterpillar is reported to live upon the standing wheat crops in the middle of June, on knapweed and other flowers around corn fields. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 223 Dr. Calvert also informed me, that he was preserving the seeds of gra.sse.s. and consequently the grass is not cropped ; and as he finds these caterpillars feed upon the seeds, he suspects that they are thus nurtured until they are attracted by the wheat crops ; they are by far most abundant on the heads of gi-ass in seed, pai-ticulai-ly the fescues and cocks-foot; and the gi-ass .seeds matured by the end of July and beginning of August are not infested by them. It seems probable that these caterpillai-s do not generally appear in great numbers, and only in their first skins, until the wheat crops in many parts are harvested in good seasons; but in the more northern counties they may prove v'eiy destructive to the standing com, where the crops are later in an"i\-ing at perfection ; and as they must often be carried into the bam or stacked with the wheat, their presence may be dreaded anj^vhere, especially when we find them injuring the com to the extent observed by Dr. Calvert, who states that Colonel Le Couteur's improved Talavera, and many other wheats, had sufiered to an extent of about one-third of the crop ; and what is remarkable, they had not been detected in the neighbom-iag fields. In many of the ears, the grains had only small holes in them, but multitudes were nearly or entirely eaten out, the skin of the wheat alone being left. One which I put upon a cb-ied ear of corn immediately began to eat into the grain, so that in a short time it was concealed, and the pm-e whiteness of its excrement showed the good- ness of its food as decidedly as the quantity did its rapid progress, and the celerity with which it was digested. On taking out the grain I foimd a hole in the top just at the base of the stigma, and on opening it nothing but a thick shell was left. It is a remarkable fact, that among-st the corn infested by the caterpillars Dr. Calvert found numbers of the homy heads, wliich convinces him that they will live upon each other ; and as the heads are not merely the homy shell, and often have the fii'st thoracic covering of the segment adhering to them, I am of the same opinion. These larvse have no doubt been troublesome abroad, for in a memou- by Dr. Herpin, he says, " At the approach of harvest I have found a pretty large quantity of stems of wheat wliich contained near to the ear, between the leaves, a thick caterpillar of about 2 centimetres long (nearly | inch), of a yellowi.sh gray, rayed upon the back, and appearing to me to be the larva of a Noctua. This caterpillar, which is found also in the bams many months after the harvest, gnaws and devours the interior of the grains of wheat yet adhering to the ears, and deposits between the leaves large excrement of a whitish colour."* * Extract from the memoirs of the Soc. Royale et Centralc d' Agriculture, for 1842, p. 29. 224 FAEM INSECTS. Dr. Calvert, I find, " read a notice (before the Entomological Society) of the attacks of one of the Noctuidse upon the ears of standing corn, which led to a discussion, in which it was suggested that the only advisable remedy against tlie attacks of fresh broods of these insects, was to subject the land to repeated ploughings after the crop had been got off, and the insects gone into the earth to undergo their transformations, in order to expose tliem to .the rooks, as well as to the action of the atmosphere." * As we have seen, however, that numbers of the caterpillars remain in the ears, and are conse- quently stacked or housed with the grain, and feed until the winter, when in aU probability they hybernate, any application to the soil in this instance would not have the desired effect. In what way these caterpillars undergo their transformation to the chry- salis state is uncertain; if it be in the refuse chaff, then those which are housed in the barn may escape in the chinks of the floor and round the walls ; or, as they are very active, and great ramblers, as all caterpillars are, when they are about their final change, they may succeed in getting out of the building at the appointed season, and secrete themselves in herbage or in the earth, to become chrysalides ; and of course those which inhabit the stacked com have no difficulty in finding situations suited to their wants. I have repeatedly endeavoured to rear the caterpillars, but they always shrivelled up and died. I once, however, found some larvse in January so exceedingly like these, if not the same, under the bark of willow trees outside of a stack-yard, which subsequently spun up there and produced Noctua {Garadrina) cubi- cidaris, that I am strongly impressed with the conviction this is the motli which produces these destructive caterpillars. t The above species belongs to the order Lepidoptera, the family Noc- Turo^, and is named by Hiibner — 9. Garadrina cuhicularis — the Pale Mottled Willow-moth. It is also the Noctua quadripunctata of Fabricius, and the Noctua sege- tum of Esper.J It is of a brownish mouse colour; antennae like bristles; eyes fuscous ; palpi short and scaly, with a pitch-coloured patch on the out- side ; abdomen rather slender, obtuse at the apex in the males, conical in the females: wings lying horizontally and incumbent in repose, forming an elon- * Transactions of the Entomological Society, vol. iii. p. xxxv. + Mr. F. J. Graham, as well as myself, has since bred these moths. The caterpillars are fleshy, and vary in colour from a dull ochreous red to a dirty green ; the heads are blackish ; and on the first thoracic segment is a horny scale, with two brown spots ; the abdominal segments have a wavy line on each side, edged with black, leaving a pale space down the back; No. 33, fig. 1. They spin a few grains of wheat loosely together (fig. 2), and become pupae inside, shining and of a bright brown colour (fig. 3). J Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 651. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 225 length, 6 lines; gated triangle (No. 33, fig. 4), superior long and narrowed at the base, with three irregular and crenated transverse lines, forming little black spots on the costa ; the first is near the base, no. 33. the second before the middle, and the third beyond it; between these is a round and kidney-shaped spot; be- tween the third and the posterior margin, which has a line of black dots, is a sinuated ochreous line, reddish and suffused on the inside, the external space dark fuscous; in- ferior wings pearly white, slightl>^ tinged Avith browTi next the cilia, the nervm'es brownish expanse, 1-i or 15 lines (fig. 5.) This moth is common in ha}^ fields and about hay-ricks in May, June, and July, as well as on willows in gardens, &c. 10. Noctua {Agrotis) tritici, Linn. — the Wheat Full-bodied Moth — has long been known as an enemy to wheat crops. The larva is naked and yellow, with three white lines ; it feeds on the ears of wheat and grass, and keeps under ground during the day. The moth is ashy brown; superior wings, with an oval and ear-shaped pale spot on the disk, and a dark elliptical one below ; also two wavy lines beyond, and between them is a row of pointed black streaks ; the pinion edge is spotted ; inferior wings dusky, white at the base in the male ; legs annu- lated with white. It expands from 1.^ to \{ inch.* It is abundant from the beginning of July to the middle of August, in pasture and gi-ass lands, resting on the long grass and ragwort flowers. The history and economy of another species of moth has come to my know- ledge, which I believe to have been entirely unknown until Mr. F. J. Graham succeeded in rearing the moth from the caterpillar. It is one of the night- flying moths, caUed Noctuidm, and belongs to a genus named Apamea, wliich contains about thirty British species. It has been stated that the cater- pillars of some of the species live in the stems of grasses, and the moths are occasionally in the greatest abundance during the months of Jvdy and August, in fields and pastures. The species which is injurious to wheat crops lias been named — 11. Apamea didyma, Bork; var. l-niger, Haw. — the Common Rustic Moth. This night-flying moth is fuscous, the upper wings have a darker central • See Godart's ffist. Nat. des Li'-pidopteres de France, vol. v. p. 225; Plate 65, figa. 4, 5. 28 226 FAEM INSECTS. fascia bounded by two pale lines, which unite and form a black streak on the inner margin, resembling the letter I ; a little beyond the centre is an ear- shaped spot variegated with white and brown, and nearer the base is a smaller circular one : the hinder margin is clouded with fuscous, and at the base are two short black lines ; hinder wings and abdomen smoky : when at rest, the wings meet over the back, forming somewhat of a triangle ; but when expanded, they are about Ij inch long.* Owing to its being a most variable moth in colom-, the different varieties have been described mider various names.! I first received caterpillars of this moth on the 5th of March, 1846, from Mr. Baker, of Alton ; they were forwarded to me with the wheat plants, in the stems of which they were feeding, and they bmTOwed downwards to the roots; they were smooth, and of a shining palish green colour, with a brownish head, six pectoral, eight alxlominal, and two anal feet: the spiracles being distinct down each side. At that time they were | inch long, and about as thick as a crow-quill, but I failed to rear them ; Mr. Graham, however, was subse- quently more successful. On the 8th of April, 1850, this gentleman brought me a wheat plant with the outer leaf rusty, and at the base was one of the above described caterpillars, with its head downward, and not quite full grown. On the 1 5th of April, Mr. Graham found three more in wheat stems at Cranford, which, by the 2d of May, had attained to 1 inch in length, and two of them entered the earth to change to chrysalides. I am indebted to Mr. Graham for the following additional interesting observations. He states that the habit of this caterpillar is to crawl up a fresh stem of wheat, about ■i inches from the ground, and stop at the apex of the sheath, at which point it is expanded into the blade, where it commences gnawing a hole in the main stem with its head downward; and in the course of a few hours it thus completely buries itself in the tube of the stem, and having eaten the main stem quite through, it usually falls out of the sheaf; where, therefore, these fallen pieces are seen on the ground, they readily lead to a discovery of the caterpillar. It will continue thus within the sheaf, secure from observation, gnawing the tender stalk regularly round within, until it has consumed every poi'tion of it quite down to the root, leaving the sheath partly occupied with its fiBces. When the caterpillar has destroyed one stem, it crawls out to attack a fresh one in a similar manner. Three caterpillars thus in about a fortnight ate upwards of thirty stems ; one of these, which had rested quietly in a stem for at least three weeks, disappeared on the 3d of June, and pro- bably descended into the earth. When the caterpiDars entered the earth, * See Wood's Index Entom., Hate 12, f. 268. t See Curtis's Guide, Gen. 8i8, and £rilish Enloniology, fol. and Plate 2G0. INSECTS AFFECTING COKN CROPS. 227 they formed a substantial cell about 1 inch below the surface, within which they changed to clu-ysalides, and they were thus occupied from the middle of April until nearly the end of May. The moths were hatched on the 30th of June and 5th of July. It is evident that when these caterpillars are abimdant in wheat fields, as in all probability they often are, that very considerable damage must be the consequence. We are still ignorant where the eggs are deposited by the female moth, and it has not been ascertained where the young catei-pillar feeds in its earliest stages, but I entertain little doubt that it will be found they penetrate the stem, and reside there. I had communicated to me the larva of a saw-fly which was found in abundance on the ears of wheat near Cardiff, in Glamorgansliire, and as there was something mysterious in its visit, and I have never met with any similar occmTence, the record of the fact may possibly lead to a more coiTect know- ledge of the economy of the animal. It is of the order Hymenoptisra, of the same family (Tenthredinid^e) as "the Tm-nip Saw-fly;"* and from its flgm-e and the number of legs, it appears to associate with the genus Ten- THREDO; but without the fly which it would change to, it is impossible to speak with any certainty. 12. Tenthrcdo? — On the 3d of August, 1842, I received more than fifty specimens of these caterpillars ; they were about | inch long, rough, and of an orange brown cast, with a paler line down the back ; they had six horny pectoral, fom-teen abdominal, and two anal membranous feet; the head was large, homy, hemispherical, and ochreous, with a minute prominent eye on each side smrounded by a small black ring, and a minute horn before each. The jaws were strong and horny, meeting in front, subquadrate, pitch coloiu* iit the apex, one with strong irregular teeth, the other more crenated ; the maxillse were small, and furnished with a short, tapering, tri-articulate palpus. I will now transcribe my correspondent's account of them. He says, " I find from my friend, that on walking through a field of wheat, at noon on Monday, he saw one of these caterpillars on the top of almost every ear of corn, perfectly inactive, and the corn not injured in anyway. Great numbers still i-emain on the ears, almost all are quite at the top, some apparently impaled upon the shai-p points of the husks of the uppermost grains, and only one on each ear. A large wood adjoins the field, and I should observe that almost all the caterpillars appear dead and dried up on the ears ; and it was with difiiculty I could find any at all showing signs of life." It was cei-tainly a strange phenomenon, which came so suddenly, and appeared so * Chap. ii. Plate B, figs. 6 and 7. 228 FARM INSECTS. unaccountable, that the bailiff declared "they fell in a shower duiing the night." It is very remarkable that on the 6th of July, 1845, I saw great quantities of the same larvae dead and dying, upon stems of grass in the marshes near Lea-Bridge, Essex. In 1847 I also found them at GlanviUes- Woofcton, on wheat, feeding upon the leaves. We have now arrived at the liistory of a genus of small flies which is highly interesting; and although their depredations are well known, the liabits of the various species had not been completely investigated until within the last few years. Opportunities of studying their economy having been offBred, I commenced my observations some years since, but did not complete them until 1844, and I now find that Dr. Herpin had been engaged upon the same subject, by a pamphlet upon Chlorops, &c., which has lately appeared, with plates and additional observations, by M. Gu^rin-M^neville. My investigations, therefore, have no longer the charm of novelty, but they may yet strengthen the observations already promulgated, and will not prove iminteresting to the agricultm-ist, when combined with the facts recorded by my fellow-labom-ers in science. As the documents relating to these insects are very numerous, it may be as well to preface my narrative with an outhne of their general economy. When the incipient ear is formed, but concealed in the sheath close to the first knot, or even at an earlier stage of growth, the wheat and other corn plants often droop ; * on opening the stem a maggot is found ; this changes to a pupa higher up, from whence eventually emerges the legitimate fly, or some parasite which feeds upon the larvse. The earliest intimation we have of these pests is in the Stockholm Transactions, first by Linnaeus, and secondly by Bierkander. Gmelin, Fabricius, and others, have described the species in their works; and subsequently we find an excellent paper in the Linnean Transactions, as well as more recently the 3Iemoir of MM. Herpin and Gu^rin-M^neville, besides notices in many other works, which I shall endeavour to embody in my nairative. 13. OsciNis PUMiLiONis, Bierk. ; Chlorops GLABRA, Mieg.? — Bierkander t describes one of the species, which he caUs the ryeworin, and the following is his accurate account of this insect, which he named Musca pumilionis : X — " In the month of May, 1778, I perceived some dwarf stems amongst the rj^e, from 1 inch to 3 inches long. On examining them, I discovered that at their first joint there was a little worm, which caused this singular growth. In * This, it will be also remembered, is the case with the wireworms. + See the Transactions of the Royal Academy of Stockholm, vol. xxxix. a.d. 1778, pp. 240 and 241 ; also the Transactions of the Linnean Society of London, vol. ii. p. 79. X Tlius named from its causing dwarf and abortive grains in the ears. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 229 order to trace at leisure the metamorphoses of these worms, I took many specimens, which were put in a glass bottle. " The larva is white, 2 lines long ; it has ten segments ; the head is pointed, black at its extremity, forming a A. The fii-st began to change to a pupa on the 2oth of May. "The pupa3 are yellow and shining, a little more than 1 line long, depressed and annulated. They began to produce flies on the 1 2th of June. "The imago, or perfect fly, is a little more than 1 line long; its head is yellow, and its eyes black ; it bears at the nape a black triangle : the black antennie are a little knotted, and produce some hairs : the thorax is yellow beneath, black upon the back, and marked with two slender yellow lines the whole length ; below and near to the abdomen is a yellow crescent-formed spot ; the fore legs bear two black spots ; the abdomen is black above, yellow beneath, and is composed of fom- segments ; the poisers are white ; the wing-s glitter with red and green, and extend a little beyond the body ; the legs are grayish at the base, black at the extremities.* " I am still ignorant whether the eggs are deposited in the stalks of the rye ; but the larvae, which were yet small on the 23d of April, had acquired their full size on the 25th of May. I do not see any holes upon the sides of the stems, for which reason it would appear that the eggs or the worms are deposited upon the leaves. When we find any holes there, they are made by 'the white worms of the ear,' or other insects. When the fly has issued from the pupa, it climbs up the stalk and flies away. " The quantity of dwarf rye, which began to grow yellow and decay on the 14th of June, amounted to from eight to twelve and fourteen in every 4 square feet. We see by this how much mischief the insect could do to the growth of rye ; it is therefore necessaiy to pull up and bm-n the attacked plants, whilst tlie worms and the pupa3 are inside. I have sometimes pulled up as many as 350 affected stalks in a few hours, and one or moi'e persons could collect some thousands in a day, which would be of great importance, because then the numbers would be less considerable the succeeding years." Gmelint gives the following description of Musca jpumilioms, which he considers the essential characters of Bierkander's insect: — "Black; under side, head, and two lines on the thorax yellow, halteres white, legs cinereous, apex black;" and adds, "The larva, which has an acute head and black apex, inhabits the stems of rye to an extent hm-tful to their mcrease, as they scarcely reach 1, 2, or 3 inches in height." Unfortunately there is no description of the species which we shall next * Evidently related to our fig. 1, Plate H. t Gmelin's Systema Naturae, vol. v. p. 2849, No. 217. 230 FAPJM INSECTS. notice, and tlie figures in the plate are not sufficiently accm-ate to detei-mine if it be Bierkander's insect; but I am inclined to think not.* This excellent paper, being " Some Account of the Musca jmmilioms of Gmelin's edition of the Syst. Naturae, by William Markwick, Esq., F.L S.," was read before the Linnean Society on the 1st of November, 1791.t He says, "Early in the course of the last spring some fields of wheat in the neighbom-hood of Battle appearing to be much blighted, a friend of mine discovered it to be caused by a small insect of the grub or caterpillar kind, lodged in the centre or very heart of the stem, just above the root. About the latter end of March I procured some of the wheat, examined it, and found in most of it a small larva or caterpillar ahve ; but in some it was akeady changed into the chrysalis state. " Being exceedingly anxious to determine the species of this apparently destructive animal, I planted some of the diseased roots in my garden under a hand-glass, where they flourished very much, and threw out strong shoots on each side (the middle shoot withered) ; but whether the flies escaped through some hole in the glass, or whether they were devoiu-ed by a colony (jf ants which made their nest under the glass, I cannot tell, as I did not succeed in this attempt, for when I pulled up the wheat and examined it, there was an empty chrysalis in each plant. However, I had better luck in my next attempt : I placed several of the diseased roots of the wheat in a small flower-pot filled with bran, and covered it over close with gauze, in such a manner that no insect could get in from the outside, nor could any escape fi'om within. On the 14th of May three small flies were discovered sitting on the inside of the gauze. A few days after, tln-ee more of the same flies appeared. There were in the flower-pot of bran six roots of diseased wheat, which produced six flies. On examining the roots afterwards. I fomid an empty shell of the chrysalis in each, so that, I think, there can be no ulvilH also black; length, H line; expanse, 3^ lines (fig. 2, highly magnified). As I have great doubts regarding this insect being only a variety of Fabricius's Musca lineata, I have adopted Meigen's name ; their economy is imdoubtedly similar, but his description is too incomplete to enable any one to determine the point, and Meigen's insect is at once distinguished from all others of the genus by the pale band on the intensely black fore feet. On the 7th of August, 1841, a friend informed me that, in going into a small wheat field in Surrey, it was lamentable to see the multitude of stems and ears that were injured and disfigured. The wheat had been transplanted, the stalks were scored, and in them were the chrysalides of maggots protected by the leaf Upon inspecting the three stems that accompanied the com- munication, one of which is represented in Plate H, fig. 5, and No. 34, fig. 5, I observed an iiTegular brown channel commencing a short space above the joint (figs. 5, o), which extended to the base of the ear. At fig. o I found a shining brown pupa, from whence I concluded that the egg had been deposited at a somewhat early stage of the wheat, possibly in May or June, and that the larva fed, working its way down, Avithin 1 inch or 1^ inch of the joint, where it was enveloped and secm-ed by the leaves, and would no doubt turn round before changing to a pupa. I then split the stems longitudinally, and 236 FARM INSECTS. found that the channels formed by the maggot (No. 34<, fig. 4), in no instance penetrated through, but that there was occasionally a corresponding thickening inside of the straw; I had seven pupse, all of which appeared to be dead, excepting one (figs. 6), through the skin of which I could trace the embryo fly, which eventually proved to be the Ghlorops tceniopus. On a second examination I found in two of the ears that the larvse had commenced eating about ^ inch above the base of the ear, and kept apparently on the smface of the stalk, which is, of com-se, very rigid, and one had passed over a grain which was impressed with a small channel ; in another the calyx of the basal grain was perforated with a small hole which had rendered it abortive, unless the corn had been consumed. As the channel had passed over one of the calyces, where it was much narrower than below, and the kernels swelled, tlie line of connection was interrupted. Such were my first impressions ; but, after reconsidering these appearances, I have come to the conclusion that the egg is deposited so that it may hatch when the ear is but just formed, and by then feeding on one side, the chaimel in the stalk is only the scar, which is elongated as the plant grows ; if this be the case, my fii'st theory is incoiTect: but to show how cautiously one must proceed, I may mention that the specimens of wheat above alluded to were carefully pre- served in a closed box, and on re-examining them on a subsequent occasion, I saw one of the stems had not been opened, and on splitting it a great quantity of white excrement fell out, which puzzled me greatly; but on proceeding in my search, I found that the canal terminated in one of the glumes, and there, to my surprise and satisfaction, I discovered a little beetle (the Anobium paniceum)* which had been feeding on the soft internal lining of the straw, with others which had escaped, and they were the cause of this unexpected and casual inj luy. On the 16th of August, 1841, I bred the fly Ghlorops tceniopus from one of the pupse in the stems ; the others produced parasites, of which I shall speak hereafter. The same fly attacks the barley also, but apparently at an earlier period, for on the 2d of July, 184)4, I received two plants from Sarsden, which were rank, and looked green and healthy, but, on unfolding the leaves, I found the central ones yellow, dead, and eaten, and the stem destroyed. Within 1 incli of the joint was inclosed a bro"\vii, shining pupa, like fig. 6, but smaller; in the other a similar one, but 1 or 2 inches higher up, and adhering to the inside of one of the outer leaves: in this plant the young ear of barley was eaten and become brown at the extremity. It was stated by my corres- * See Curtis's Bntish Enlomolorjy, fol. and Plate 387 ; and his Guide, Genus 290. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 287 pondent that in his neighbourhood not a yard of any of the barley fields was free from this disease. About three weeks after, he sent me a larger supjily of infected plants, which had a rank and gouty appearance ; and informed me " that the disease was first detected when the barley began to shoot or stool ; and when one stalk was infected, the remainder of the shoots on the same stool appeared stimted. I do not think any stalk with a maggot in it will ever throw out an ear." And of this I am also convinced ; for in every instance the stalk wa.s eaten, often nearly through, and the tender grain was more or less consumed by the maggots, especially towards the base, where it was the most matvu^ed ; but it often happened that there was no indication of grain, the chaff only being developed. Having fomid two specimens of the Chlorops with their wings crumpled, near the top of the spatlie, I am satisfied that the flies crawl out from between the leaves as soon as they hatch, and there expand their wings; and the species I was able to identify by the colour of the feet. It has been said that this disease is confined to the most luxmiant crops ; but this sm-ely arises from the rank and unnatm-al appearance occasioned by the swelling of the stems. Some naked Nepaul barley was also infested with the Chlorops, which in August exhibited deep channels the whole length of the stems. It seems to attack rye and barley sometimes in preference to wheat ; and perhaps there is not a year that this fly is not at work, but at intervals in such small numbers that the mischief passes unnoticed. There are some other species of Chlorops, which occasionally make their appearance in myi'iads: I remember witnessing the ceiling of a room which was abso- lutely discoloured by a very similar species, the Chlorops hypostigma of Meigen, if I mistake not, which swarmed in the autumn of 1834, when many persons informed me that it was not of rare occurrence at that season in Suffolk. I also received examples of this species in October, 1844, which "literally covered the ceiling of a bed-room" that had been white- washed, after scarlet fever had visited the house, which induced a supposition that the flies were the consequence. There were thousands also on the windows of an uninhabited house in the neighbom*hood of Hayes in the second week of October. I recollect that Mr. D. Sharp, a member of the Linnean Society, presented me with specimens of the Chlorops tceniopus, many years since, which he had bred from the stems of wheat in Huntingdonshire ; and, more recently, the late Mr. Sells stated before the Entomological Society, that many acres of rye had been killed near Kingston, in Sun-ey, by these larvae burrowing into the stem at the sm'face of the gi'ound. In 1837 the Chlorops was observed in abundance, whilst removing a wheat stack, near Bristol, in the 238 FARM INSECTS. month of April, with the caterpillars of Noctua cubicularis ? already noticed ; and in the autumn of the same year, these little flies appeared in myriads in houses in various parts of the country. It is, however, very much to be regretted that it is impossible to ascertain if they were all of the same or different Sfjecies, as the specimens are either lost or scattered about in various collections. During the year 1844 a species was detected of similar habits, which had not been previously noticed. The first report of tliis disease was a com- munication from Mr. R. Arthm-, of Edinburgh, published in the Gardener's Chronicle and Agricultural Gazette, June 1, 1844, in which the writer says, "There has been a remarkable failm-e of some fields of wheat around North Berwick, which have been ploughed down within the last few weeks. In early spring it promised as fine a crop as any in the country. Plants, how- ever, here and there began to look sickly and to flag, which lay withered in the coiu-se of ten days. On examination, every stem of the plants attacked was found to contain a small grub, which enters about 2 inches beneath the surface of the soil, eats its way up the centre of the stem till it reaches the light, when it either dies or becomes transformed. The plants appear to reproduce fresh buds from the joint beneath the door of the grub, but the remaining vitaHty seems too weak to carry leaves to the air for respii'ation, far less to yield a crop." This was immediately followed by a letter addressed to the editor of the Preston Gioardmn by Mr. M. Saul, of Fort Green Cottage, Garstang, Lancashire, stating that he had discovered the giaibs in wheat fields on the estate of the Duke of Hamilton in that neighbourhood ; and, with the plants forwarded to the Royal Agiicultural Society, he stated that the wheat was sown in December, February, and March; the first suffering the least from their attacks. The fields are a peat -earth, and were cropped with potatoes in 1843. On the 9th of June, and again on the 19th, Mr. Saul obligingly transmitted me some plants with the living maggots in them. The first two plants of wheat I received were 4 or 5 inches out of the ground, and withering (fig. 7) ; on pulling open the dilated base of one of the sheathing leaves, I foimd a small yellowish white, shining, fleshy maggot (fig. 8), sur- rounded by atoms of the stalk, which might have been digested, as they adliered together. It was perfectly concealed, with its head downward, and close to the base of the plant ; it had ah-eady eaten through the central stem, so that I could draw it out with ease. This maggot was ^ inch long ; the body was gradually attenuated to the head, which was pointed, with two black homy points; the tail was terminated abruptly, with two brown tubercles and several smaller fleshy ones (fig. 8 ; and fig. 9, the same magni- fied). Unfortunately, these larvae, as well as those forwarded a few days INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 239 after, apparently (lied ; for, as they were much larger than those sent at th(^ end of June, I am disposed to think they may be different to the foregoing or following species ; yet, on opening the stems in October, I found two dead larvjE, and on a leaf I detected a small empty pupa case, very similar to that of the species I am about to notice. 18. Oscinis vastator. — The wheat plants transmitted tome on the 19th of June I placed in a garden-pot, when they died I inclosed them in a stopper-bottle, and on the 5th of July I found a small black fly hatched (%. 11; and No. 35, fig. 12; 13, flying and magnitiedj. The plants of com, whether of wheat or barley •^ No. 35. I could not ascertain, wliich I received on the 23d of June had the outer blades green (fig. 12, s), the inner one yellow or brown (fig. t) ; on pulling this blade it di-ew out, leaving the base be- hind, which was completely eaten through (fig. 13, u; and No. 35, fig. 6) : the stem which I had drawn out was of a yellow col- our, and about | inch of it was eaten and dry (fig. 14, v), and just within I detected a small yellow, shining maggot (fig. tv; fig. 5). Although it has no feet, it crawls well even upon glass ; attenuated, with two minute black hooks extending into the thoracic seg- ments, through which they are visible : I counted twelve segments, the apical one being roimded, with two minute tubercles (fig. x, magnified ; and No. 35, fig. 7; 8, the natural length). On the 29th of June, one or more of the maggots had changed to brown pup?e in the stem, occupying the same place as the larvae had done (fig. y; and No. 35, fig. 9; 10, magnified; 11, the natural length) ; and on the 20th of July I found two little black flies, the Oscinis vastator (fig. 11; and No. 35, fig. 12; 13, flying and magnified; dead in the box, and precisely the same as that bred on the 5th of July, with the empty cocoons also. OAving to a variation in the nervures of the wings, and other minor difter- ences, this species and many others* have been separated from Ghlorops, and are raised to a genus bearing the name of Oscinis ; and as our species does not agree with any of the others published in the works of Meigen or cinj>«TT and No. 35, the head is Curtis's Guide, Genus 1345, species 28 to 61. 240 FAEM INSECTS. Macquart, and I have no opportunity of ascei-taining if it be tlie one described by Olivier, I am compelled to give it a name which alludes to its destructive nature. 0. vastator, Curt. (Plate H, fig. 11); Tejyhrltis hordei, Oliv.? — Shining greenish black : antennae attached to the forehead, shoi-t, compressed, drooping, and approximating at the base; four-jointed, basal joint cup -shaped, second semi-orbicular, on the outside of which, near the base, is inserted the third joint, which is exceedingly minute, fourth a short pubescent bristle; lip and palpi concealed in a cavity beneath the head, which is bristly, with a large shining triangular space on the crown, on which are placed the three minute ocelli in a triangle ; face smooth, and not concave as in Chlorops; eyes remote in both sexes, lateral and oval, brown after death, but probably green when alive ; thorax as broad as the head, globose (juadi'ate, with a scarcely visible oclu-eous pile, forming very indistinct lines in perfect specimens, and an im- pression on the disk ; scutellum semi-ovate, terminated by two bristles, and finely rugose ; abdomen short, not so broad as the thorax, rather depressed, ovate conic and five-jointed ; wings decumbent in repose, and extending considerably beyond the tail, transparent and iridescent, but slightly smoky ; the costal nervure extending beyond the submarginal one to the mediastinal nervure (fig. 11, ■/i) ; all the nervm-es are pitchy, the two trans vei'se ones are not very remote ; balancers with an oval ochreous club ; legs six, longish and slender, base and tips of the four anterior tibiae ferruginous ; the base of the first joint, in all the tarsi, is of the same colour: length, | line; breadth, 2 lines (fig. 11 ; r, the same magnified). Some specimens are smaller and more slender ; possibly they are the males. This appears to be a much more formidable enemy than the Chlorops tceniopus, for the ten or twelve stalks I opened were filled only with powder at the base, every portion of the young ear being consumed; indeed the destruction was complete. Let us now pause for a moment, and reflect upon the extraordinary fact, that our corn, the stafi" of life, is placed in the power of this pigmy race ; and that, destined as man is to earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, yet famine, accompanied by its concomitants, disease and death, may overtake him, notwithstanding his industry, and let his prospects be ever so promising, through the united operations of the insect race. How wonderfully displayed, therefore, are the wisdom and goodness of the Creator, in so nicely balancing the destroyer and his parasitic enemies as to keep man, naturally prone to indolence, ever on the alert ; and yet, when the countless hordes of noxious insects fall like an irresistible jilague upon his crops, that hand which is ever ready to befriend mankind arrests the scourge. Myriads of parasitic insects INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 241 are let loose, multiplying as their prey increases — the threatening calamity passes over with less severity than could have been anticipated, and the suc- ceeding year, to the astonishment of the farmer, instead of the mischief being increased, not an insect enemy is to be seen. I may now be permitted to show, with regard to these little flies, tlie way in which the Creator himself has devised the means of arresting their multi- plication. In rearing the Chlorops and Oseinis I often found that even moi-e parasites than legitimate flies issued from the infested stems, and their history 1 shall forthwith relate. I bred a kind of ichneumon from the Canada wheat, which suttered from the maggots of the Chloroi^s in 1841, and the grower of it transmitted another specimen. Likewise on opening the spikes of barley from Sarsden, in October, I invariably found, on the inside of the inner spathe inclosing the incipient ear, an empty pupa case, from 1 to 3 inches from the base, which had either produced the fly {Chlorops tamiopus), or this ichneumon, called Coelinius* one of which stuck in the hole it had eaten with its strong jaws,t owing, in all probability, to the plants ha^dng been kept too dry. This parasite was first noticed and described by Olivier, and Dr. Herpin obtained it in such abimdance that he states the number of parasites to have been almost as considerable as that of the Chlorops; and from my experience I am of the same opinion as to their numerical force. He also says that both broods of the Chlorops are equally subject to the attacks of the parasitic Coelinius, which usually hatches many days before the Chlorops, especially the males. With the egg and maggot of the Coelinius I am unacquainted — indeed, the former must be too minute to be visible with the naked eye — but in all probability it is inserted into the maggot of the Chlorops, and feeds upon its fat until it changes to a pupa, which I found placed in the groove of the wheat stem (Plate H, fig. 5, a ; fig. b being the same magnified, and No. 34, fig. 5, a). A little above this pupa I observed a round hole (c) in some of the spathes, through wliich the parasites had made their exit; and it is worthy of remark that their wings are perfectly developed and ready for flight before they sally forth, whereas the Chlorops comes out with soft imperfect wings, which it is necessary to expand and dry in the open air. This parasite, like most of those described in former chapters, belongs to the order Hymenoptera, family Ichneumonides adsciti, and the genu.s * This is the genus Chcenon of my works; but Nees ab Essenbeck having previously characterized the group under the above name, mine is superseded. 1 should not have referred my insect to Nees's genus had not Mr. Haliday, in his Mono(jra2)h, been satisfied of their identity ; because Nees says the maxillary palpi are five-jointed, whereas they are undoubtedly six-jointed in the specimens of Ckcenon I have examined and figured. See Curtis's Brit. Ent., fol. and Plate 289, fig. 4. t Ibid., figs. 1* and 3. 30 242 FARM INSECTS. CcELiNius.* Olivier also described it under the name of Alysia nigra; and Gu^i'in, to pay a compliment to that distinguished naturalist, named it Alysia Olivierii.-\ It is undoubtedly the Chcvnon affunis of my work, which is synonymous with Nees ab Essenbeck's Godinius niger,\ and accidentally accords with Olivier's name, which has the right of priority. 19. C. niger (fig. 15; and No. 34<, fig. 7). — Reddish brown or piceous: antennae, head, and thorax shining black ; the former as long as the animal, slender, and composed of numerous subquadrate joints, basal joint most robust, third the largest; the head is globose-quadrate; face convex; the mouth is furnished with a pair of divaricating jaws, terminated by fom- unequal teeth ; the fom- feelers are long, especially the maxillary ; the eyes are remote and lateral ; ocelli three, large, and forming a triangle on the crown ; thorax very much elongated, and not broader than the head; post-scutel large, semi- orbicular, and coarsely punctm-ed ; abdomen as long as the head and thorax, and broader at the middle, pale piceous, the basal segments very much narrowed, rugose, and brown, the others forming an elongate ovate body; ovipositor scarcely visible; wings rather long, tran.sparent, and iridescent; superior ample, with one marginal, two submarginal, and two discoidal cells ; stigma elongate ovate, and brown, as well as the nervures; inferior wings much smaller, the nervm'es dark and distinct ; legs very slender, hinder the longest, anterior ochreous ; tarsi fuscous ; hinder trochanters and thighs with an oclireous ring at their union: length, 2-^ lines; expanse, Sf lines. (Fig. 16; and No. 3-i, fig. 8, magnified). All the species of this parasite, of which there are twelve described in the British Entomology, inhabit moist meadows, and are principally found from the end of June to September, which is strong evidence that many of the Chlorops are bred from the stems of grasses. Another parasite I bred also from the same stems of wheat and barley, which is an exquisitely beautiful little creature in form and colour. This had been likewise described by Olivier,^ and M. Gudrin foimd some specimens in the bottle containing the corn which produced the Chlorops Herpinii and the above Coelinius. On the 11th of August, 1844, and again on the 20th, I found a male of this Pteroinaliis, which had been bred from a stem of the gouty barley from Sarsden ; and I soon discovered a little hole, about | inch from the base, through which it had emerged (fig. 5, d). At the base of another abortive ear within the spathe, I found a second specimen of the * Curtis's Guide, Genus 562. t Notice sur quelques Insectes Nuisibles, p. 26, and Plate 4, figs. 1 anJ 2. + Ilymenopterorum Ichn. affinis Monor/., vol. i. p. 10. § Oliv., Mem. Soc. d'Agv., vol. xvi. p. 477, Plate 3, fig. 12. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CEOPS. 243 Pteromalus dead, and not a vestige of a pupa case, showing that this parasite is very different in its economy to the Coelinius, and lays its eggs in the maggots of the Chlorops at such an early period that they are devoured before they have time to change to pupse, so that there was nothing remaining in the cavity of the stem but the excrement of the Cltlorops maggot. It is, however, the opinion of some naturalists that this family of insects destroys the true parasites by punctm-ing their pupte. In a former chapter I described and figured a little fly which was parasitic in the pupse of the "White Cabbage-butterfly." * The parasite of the Chlorops is closely aUied to it, consequently it is of the same order Hymenoptera, the family Cynipid.e or Chalcidid.e, and the genus Pteromalus, of which my genus Colax forms a section, t It was named, apparently Ijy Olivier, Chalcis micans; and is closely allied to, if it be not identical with Mr. F. Walker's Pteromalus hellus.X 20. P. micans, the Glittering Pteromalus (fig. 17; and No. 3-t, fig. 9). — Head and thorax of a lovely green, more or less tinged with blue or yellow, and exquisitely shagreened ; the former is large and transverse ; the face more orbicular ; on each side is a dark oval eye, and on the crown three ocelli in the form of a triangle; antennae nearly as long as the head and thorax, inserted in the middle of the face, filiform, flail-shaped, hairy and brown, composed of thirteen joints, the fu'st being long and naked, and forming an angle with the following, second pear-shaped, third and fom-th like little rings, six following oblong, the remainder forming an elongated conical compressed club ; mouth with two denticulated jaws, four palpi, &c. ; I thorax not so broad as the head, but thrice as long, and oblong ; scutellum large, rounded, and convex ; abdomen black, smooth, and shining ; the base and sides metallic green ; the back violet, not so long as the thorax, strap-shaped, concave above, narrowed at the base, the apex pointed ; four wings transparent, iridescent, and pubescent ; superior ample, with a subcostal brown nervure extending to the middle, where it becomes the costal nervure, but does not reach the tip, and beyond the middle is a short clavate branch ; inferior wings much smaller, and nerveless, excepting a short subcostal one ; six legs, slender, and bright ochreous ; coxae bright green, hinder stout ; thighs pitchy, anterior with the apex and a stripe beneath ochreous, the others tipped with ochre ; tarsi five- jointed, anterior often dusky, the others, with the fifth joint, the pulvilH, and claws, black: length, H line; expanse nearly 3 fines. (Fig. 18, the male, magnified.) Such is the description of the male; and it is a little remarkable that the * Chapter iv., page 100, and No. 1-3, figs. 5 and 6. t See Curtis's Brit. Entom., fol. 166. :;: Curtis's Guide, Gen. 627. No. 101. § For the dissections, see Curtis's Brit. Ent., Plate 166. 244 FARM INSECTS. female seems to be unknowm, all the bred specimens being of the fonner sex.* There are probably 700 or 800 species of these insects which have been described as inhabitants of Great Britain, t their increase is prodigious, as already shown in Chapter IV., and there is scarcely a blade of gi-ass, dm'ing the summer months, that is not ornamented with these beautiful little creatm'es — " The green myriads in the peopled grass " — which may compete with the humming-birds in the brilliancy of their colours. From the stems of barley containing the pupse of the Oscinis vastator, I bred a third parasite, much smaller than either of the foregoing, and found many more upon the windows of my room, where the plants were placed, which, no doubt, had escaped. They were all females, belonging to the order HymenopterA; family Ichneumonides adsciti or Alysiid.e, the genus SiGALPHUS, and have been named by Nees ab Essenbeckj — 21. S. caudatus, from the length of the tail (f^. 19; and No. 35, fig. 14). § — It is black and shining, indistinctly punctm-ed; the head is subglobose, with two lateral eyes, and three minute ocelli on the crown ; the antennae are as long as the body, flail -shaped, slender, and filiform, composed of twenty or twenty-one ^ints, basal one the longest ; thorax oval and gibbose, the sutures very deep ; abdomen broader than the thorax, and rather longer, elliptic ovate, with three equal segments, the two first and the base of the third finely striated longitudinally; the apex polished; beUy concave; o\d- positor exserted, and longer than the animal, composed of an oviduct and two sheaths ; wings four, transparent, mdescent ; marginal cell ovate, submarginal subovate ; discoidal cells two, superior the largest, rhomboidal, inferior oblong ; nervures piceous, as well as the stigma, which is large and elongate ovate ; legs pitchy; anterior ferruginous, excepting the base of the thighs and the tarsi, base of the other tibise ferruginous: length from f to 1 line, without the ovipositor; expanse, 1| to 2^ lines. (Fig. 20; and No. So, fig. 15, the female magnified.) As Dr. Herpin seems to have ascertained the economy of this parasite, or a closely aUied species, during its early stages, I shall transcribe his sensible observations: — "An ichneumon, of which the female is armed with a long ovipositor, perforates the shell of the Chlorops' egg, and deposits there its own. The young larva of the Chlorops of the wheat grows and increases, * Since the above account was written, the female has been identified, and is figured in No. 34, fig. 10, magnified. t Walker, in the Entomological Magazine and his Monographs. X Eymenop. Ichn. affinis Monog., vol. i. p. 268. § Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 4 of the above wood-cut, refer to Oscinis granarius, which will be described in a future chapter. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 245 although it incloses in its body a mortal enemy. The larva of the parasite grows and flourishes with its victim, and she nourislies herself with its fatty substance ; but, how admirable ! the parasite never attacks any of the essential organs of life in the Chlorops, for if this happened to perish, the parasite would infallibly die with it. After the diseased Chlorops has metamorphosed to a chrysalis, the parasite finishes by destroying it entirely; and one sees with sm-prise an insect come out of the pupa of the Chlorops, not the destruc- tive fly of the wheat, but an ichneumon, which in its tui-n proceeds again to persecute the progenitor of the corn-destroying Chlorops." Having now completed the history of the instruments provided by Provi- dence to check the ravages of the Chlorops, we will tm-n to those means suggested by the experience of man ; and here again I shall translate a portion of Dr. Herpin's memoir: — " In the years when the Chlorops exists in great quantities, the means to destroy it consist in pulling up, carrying away, and burning the plants which are attacked by them, as well of the first as the second lajdng. " The fii'st operation can be done at the time of weeding or of clearing the corn of thistles: the young swelled and yellow plants are easily enougli known. The second operation ought to be performed a fortnight or three weeks before harvest time, when it is much more easy to execute, as the stems attacked by the Chlorops are very easily distinguished, even at a distance, because of their short height, more considerable thickness, and deep green colour of the head ; and, lastly, because the ear always remains sheathed and enveloped by large leaves. Moreover, these plants thus altered are almost always found situated at the lower side of the beds or furrows, so that in passing between two ridges one can easily reach them with the hand, from one side or the other, without causing any damage to the corn. " Another of the most certain means, the most economical, and the most advantageous, which can in general be employed to destroy the insects inju- rious to our crops, is to vary the cultm-e by alternate courses, so that corn crops may be succeeded by others which are weeded or fed ofl", and vice versa. It wiU follow that the noxious larvae deposited in the fields, not finding at the period of their hatching the nom-ishment which is suited to their organ- ization, are not able to subsist, and infallibly perish." * He is also disposed to attribute the apparent exhaustion of the soil from over-cropping, as much to the presence of, and the excessive propagation of certain injurious insects as to the land being actually tired; and thus the rotation and clianging of culture, whenever they are not eaUed for by other * Herpin's Memoir, pp. 11 and 12. 24 G FAEM INSECTS. powerful reasons, ought 3'et to be adopted and put in practice, to liinder and prevent the too gi'eat multiplication of certain species of noxious insects. Mr. Arthur says, "Perhaps the most efficient preventive would be to detect the insect fly when it appears to deposit its eggs, and keep it from lighting on the field by the application of some repulsive perfume, such as soot, guano, or sand that has been immersed in gas- water, fee, di'ied and sown over the field." * As the larvae of these flies have caused considerable alarm on many occa- sions, and have no doubt done extensive mischief, we will take a general review of their economy before we dismiss the subject. It is now evident that there are many species of these flies to whose larvae wheat, barley, and rye are equally acceptable, and we cannot be certain that they are not bred in grasses also ; indeed, from the swarms of the Chlorops' fly that are found in meadows, and the myriads that enter dwelling-houses, often not smTOunded by corn fields, it seems to be very probable. There are also, it AviU be observed, two broods of the Chlorops annually ; the maggots of one attacking the corn when the ear is formed, but yet concealed in the sheath, doing the greatest mischief in some instances, for not only are the ears not ripe at harvest time, but they are either abortive or the grains are shrivelled and wortliless, and what is equally detrimental, the lateral shoots are rendered useless, owing to the advanced period of the season. The following, or second brood deposits its eggs in the autumn -sown corn as late probably as the middle of October, in open weather. It is true tliat from the attacks of this brood the central shoot perishes in the spring. This, however, only retards the growth a little; for the lateral shoots being strengthened, and having time to grow and produce ears, it appears tliat in some instances little or no l^ad consequences followed ; and it may be that even a more abundant crop has been produced under such circmnstances. It is deserving of notice that white wheats are most palatable to tliese larvse, and, I believe, are generally preferred by noxious insects. When, therefore, it is stated that the Chlorops sometimes prefers rye and barley to wheat, it may be owing to its being red wheat, but at present this has not been substantiated. Of the two species belonging to the genus Oschiis, there seems to be no evidence of their producing two broods in a year. The larvae of the Swedish species (0. pumilionis) were small at the end of April, they changed to pupae at the end of May, and the flies were produced in the middle and end of June. Our British species (0. vastator) was found in the larva state in May * Gardeners' Chronicle for 1844, p. 365. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CHOPS. 247 and June, towards midsummer the maggots changed to pupse, and the flies were hatching, dming three weeks or vipwards, in July. This is decidedly the most destructive species that has fallen in our way. With regard to the successive transformations of these insects, it is jxjsi- tively stated that the eggs are laid at the base of the leaves which sheathe the ear, by the first or summer brood, and it may be presumed that the autumnal eggs are similarly deposited. To detect and destroy such atoms is impossible : the only remedy at this period would be to anticipate the female flies, and kill them. Whether it would be possible to attract the flies to any spot by white painted boards, or any liquor that would poison tliem, has not been ascertained. To drive the flies away by ammonia, gas -water, or other vapours, I should not think feasible ; but I doul3t not that du.sting the young com plants with soot or lime, on the first intimation of the fly in the autumn, would prevent the deposition of the eggs. The maggots or larva? of the summer brood live between the stem and the sheath above ground : those of the autumnal brood appear to be close to, if not below, the sm-face. The former could not be aflfected Ijy any applica- tion, I should imagine ; but strong liquid manm-es possibly might annoy the others. Hard frosts, however, are in all probability one of the greatest checks to the perfecting of these larvse. The next is the ijupa or chrysalis state, which the larvse assume about the end of March and in July, when the sickly plants are easily discovered, and may be pvdled up, and should be burned immediately, miless there is a prospect of the spring corn throwing out lateral shoots, and producing, as Mr. Marwick's did, an abundant crop. I have now only to observe, that a.s neither the eggs, larvae, nor pupse are deposited in the earth, of com-se no ploughing or haiTOwing can be of the least service; and as the injury, although it may be occasionally alarming, is not followed by any succession of continued attack.s, the mischief caused by them liitherto appears to have been only temporary. SUiMMARY OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER. The larvce of some minute beetle destroying the green wheat in 1802. One-fifth part of the wheat sown destroyed by tliem. Wirewor^nis occasioned an annual loss of 60,000 bushels of seed. Larva, probably, of a groimd-beetle, or Carahus, feeding on the roots of com. Zabrus g'lhhus, a ground-beetle which devours the soft grains of wheat in standing corn. The female lays her eggs in clusters in the earth. 248 FARM INSECTS. Tlie larvoe burrow in the earth, and do great mischief by eating into the stem, sometimes destroying two successive crops of wheat in Germany and Italy. They also attack rye and barley. Both the larvw and perfect insects feed by night, and lie concealed dming the day. Poultry and croivs will clear the land after ploughing. Peat-ashes are an excellent dressing for infested lands in the spring. Harpalus ruficornis, another ground-beetle, in abundance on wheat ears at night. The Jield-chqfer feeds upon the soft grain of rye and wheat. It is not known if their larvoi attack the roots of corn. May-hugs abundant in corn fields, feeding on leaves and flowers. Do they injure the corn? Their larvm consume the roots of grasses. A caterpillar which feeds upon the grains of wheat in the field, as well as in the ham. It also lives upon the seeds of grasses. These larvm destroyed one-third of the produce occasionally. Noxious insects often appear simultaneously over a great extent of country. These caterpillars will attack and destroy each other in confinement. Repeated ijloughings recommended to destroy the pupse ; but as the caterpillars are conveyed away with the corn, that would be useless. The ^^Pale Mottled Willoiu-moth" is the parent of this caterpillar, and is abundant in hay fields, &c. Caterpillar of a sawfiy, found on wheat ears amongst standing corn. Musca pumilionis, the larva very destructive to rye. The diseased stems should be collected and burned. One person could collect some thousands in a day. The same or an allied species attacked the wheat near Battle. The central shoot being destroyed, lateral branches were thrown out, and a good crop was obtained. The September and October sown wheats only affected, and the red ivheai nearly escaped. In 1812, the Society of Agriculture of the Seine was officially consulted b}'- the minister of the interior, regarding the ravages in France occasioned by the larvse of Ghlorops lineata. The larvm destroyed the central leaves and the j^lcf'^t itself When the wheat begins to show the ear early in June, the female lays her eggs on the stems. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 249 The eggs hatch in a fortnight, and the maggot eats away below the base of the ear. It is transformed to a pvpa towards tlie first superior knot. The Ghlovops hatches in September, and then biys her eggs on the rye and recently sown corn. The infested corn is stunted and green whilst the healthy plants are ripe, the ears are not liberated, and the grains are diminutive or quite abortive. In 1810, the loss was estimated at one-seventieth part of the harvest, besides the nimiber of yomig plants that had been destroyed at an earher period. Chlorops Herpinii attacks the ears of barley — from six to ten being found in each ; and by destroying the flowers they render the ears sterile. Musca frit, inhabits the husks of the barley, and destroj^s one-tenth of the grain. Linnoeus calculated the annual loss in Sweden at one hundred thousand pounds sterling. ChloTops tceniopus attacked some transplanted wheat. The larvce feed singly from the first joint to the base of the embryo ear or higher. In August the Jlies hatched. They attacked barley also at an earlier period It attacked also some naked barley from Nepaul. A species of Chlorops occasionally swarms in divelling-houses. They were in abundance in a ivheat stack in April, and destroyed many acres of rye. Another species attacked the ivheat fields in May. The larvoi entered 2 inches beneath the sm-face, destroying the internal stalk. Other fields of ivheat, sown in February and March, were .subject to the same disease. These maggots produced in July a new species of fly, the Oscinis vastator. This, from its operations, appeared to be the most destructive of the species. They are ke{)t in check by parasites. One, a kind of ichneumon, named Coplinius niger, feeds in the body of the maggots, and is frequently very abundant. Another, called Pteromalus tnicans, lives in the maggots also, and destroys them before they change to pupae. A thii-d parasite, the Sigalphus caudatus, was bred from the pupae of Oscinis vastator. 31 250 FAEM INSECTS. It is said to deposit its eggs in those of the Oscinis. Dr. Herpin recommends j^ulling up and burning the infested plants, which may iirst be done when weeding is going on, and, subsequently, two or three weeks before harvest, when their size and colour readily distingui.sh them. Rotation of crops one of the best means of keeping free from noxious insects. Over-croiJped land refuses to bear, perhaps as much from diseases caused by an excessive increase of insects in the soil, as from exhau-stion. Soot and saoul saturated with gas-water, sown over a field, might keep off the Chlorops. It is not improbable that some species of Chlorops breed in the stems of grasses. There are ttvo broods of the maggots in a year, the fii'st living in the spring, the latter through the winter, in some instances. The first brood destroys the ear, the second the central shoot, after which lateral shoots are sometimes matured. It is doubtful if the species of Oscinis produce two broods annually. The 0. vastator is by far the most formidable enemy. Is it possible to attract the files by white painted boards or poisonous liquids? Dusting the yoimg corn with soot or lime would di-ive away the flies. Strong liquid manures would annoy those broods which reside in the yoimg corn plants. Do not pull up the infested com plants in the spring, if they attempt to throw out lateral shoots. Ploughing and harroiving of no use, as neither the eggs, pup?e, nor larva:; inhabit the earth. Explanation of Plate H, Fig. 1. Chlorops tceniopus. Fig. 2.* The same magnified. n, The termination of the costal nervure. l*. One of the antennae or horns. Fig. 3.* The head in profile. m, The concave face. Fig. 4. The fly in repose. Fig. 5. The lore er portion of a wheat stem. 0, The pupa of Chlorops tceniopus, in situ. Fig. 6.* The same magnified. Fig. 5. a, Pupa case from which Ccelinius niger hatched. I)*, The same magnified. c, The hole from which the CccUnius escaped. d, The hole from whence the Pleromahis made its exit. f:N SECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 251 Fig. 7. A wlieat i)lant as it appeared oil the 7th of June. Fig. 8. Larva uf a Chlorops. Fig. 9.* The same magnified. Fig. 10. The pupa case in sitii. q*, The same magnified. Fig. 11. Oscinis vaslalor, Curtis. r*, The same magnified. n, The termination of the costal nervure. Fig. 12. Corn plant as it appeared on the 23d of June. s, The green outer leaf. /, The inner yellow one. Fig. 13. The same plant opened. u, The base of tlie stem eaten tlirough. Fig. 14. The interior of the stem exposed. V, A slender brown portion of the stalk left by the larva. w, The Larva feeding. a:*, The same magnified. y, The pupa in the stem. z*, The same magnified. Fig. 15. Calinius iu,it Miihir with il.s- !<,/-i ,!,■ .<■. n..\TJ-: f ■ilXLLmXTTl BLACKIE fcSCSH.OLAaCKJWEDIHBTJBjBH icLtlKDON. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 279 CHAPTER X THE NATURAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF VARIOUS INSECTS, ETC., AFFECTING THE CORN CROPS; INCLUDING THE PARASITIC ENEMIES OF THE WHEAT- MIDGE, THE THRIPS, WHEAT-LOUSE, WHEAT-BUG, AND ALSO OF THE LITTLE WORM CALLED VIBRIO. Cecidomyia tritici — The British Wheat-midge. When the liistory of the wheat-midge was discussed in the spring of 1845, I had hoped, during the following summer, to make some progress in the further development of its economy ; but although the little orange larvee were ab\m- dant in some wheat fields in August in the neighbourhood of Hayes, owing to the wet and cold season I presume, I did not discover a single midge on the wing, and the larvae appeared to have all died as usual. I have, however, collected materials for detailing the histories of several minute Ichneumonidce that attack the wheat-midge, which are too interesting and important to be passed by without comment. The most abundant, and consequently the most useful of them, is one named Ichneumon tipulce by Mr. Knby, wdio remarks, "It is singular, but most people who are acquainted with the larva of the Tipulci tritici mistake this friendly ichneumon for its parent, and thus impute aU the mischief to the very creatiu-e which is appointed to prevent it." * This insect is found upon grasses as early as June, and on the glumes of the wheat in July and August, when it runs over the ears and searches out the infected ones, depositing a single egg in each of the larvae by means of its sharp taU. The late Mr. A. Mathews, before he left England, sent me specimens, informing me that he had found them in the greatest abundance in the glumes of the wheat in a field near Sittingbourne, Kent, in the begin- ning of July. Never having seen this ichneumon depositing its eggs, I cannot satisfy the curiosity of the reader better than by transcribing Mr. Kirby's graphic account of its operations. " To see our little ichneumon," says Mr. Kirby, "deposit its egg in the caterpillar of the wheat-fly is a very entertain- ing sight. In order to enjoy this pleasm'e, I placed a number of the latter * Transactions of the Linnean Socidy, vol. iv. p. 236. 280 FARM INSECTS. upon a sheet of white paper at no great distance from each other, and then set an ichneumon down in the midst of them. She began immediately to march about, vibrating her antennae very briskly. A larva was soon dis- covered, upon which she fixed herself, the vibratory motion of her antennae increasing to an intense degree ; then, bending her body obliquely under her breast, she applied her anus to the larva, and during the insertion of her aculeus and the depositing of the egg, her antennae became perfectly still and motionless. Whilst this operation was performing, the larva appeared to feel a momentary sensation of pain, for it gave a violent wriggle. When all was finished, the little ichneumon marched ofi" to seek for a second, which was obliged to undergo the same operation; and so on to as many as it could find in which no egg had been before deposited, for it commits only a single egg to each larva. I have seen it frequently mount one which had been pricked before, but it soon discovered its mistake and left it. The size of it is so near that of the Tipula that I imagine the larva of the latter could not supj^ort more than one of the former, and therefore instinct directs it to deposit only a single egg in each ; besides, by this means one ichneumon will destroy an infinite number of larvae." These parasites are all included in the order Hymenoptera, and the family ICHNEUMONIDES ADSCITI. The species I am about to notice is comprised in the genus Platygaster. * It has been named by Mr. Kirby Ichneumon tlpulce, and is now described as the — 1. P. tipuloe (Plate J, fig. 1; a, the natural size). — Female pitch-coloured, shining : antennae nearly as long as the body, inserted at the lower part of the face, slender, clavate, geniculated or angulated, as if broken, slightly pubescent, ochreous, and ten -jointed, the four terminal joints brown and obovate, the apical one conical; basal joint long, curved, and clavate; second and third subovate, the latter very slender; fom-th a little longer; fifth and sixth minute (fig. 6) : head black, subglobose, thickly and finely punctured, with a minute tooth between the base of the antennae ; eyes oval and lateral, ocelh large, and placed nearly in a straight line across the crown: thorax somewhat globose, with minute pale pubescence; scutellum horizontal, long, conical, and mucronated : the spine ferruginous : abdomen small, scarcely larger than the thorax, slightly depressed, obovate, black and very shining, attached by a short stout pedicel, which is ferruginous at the base ; the second segment forms a convex shield, which nearly covers the back, with three or four rings towards the apex ; the flexible tip is armed with a very long curved ovipo- sitor, like a hair, which is concealed in the abdomen when at rest: the four * So named from some of the larger ones having broad bodies. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 281 wings transparent, iridescent, pubescent, and ciliated, destitute of nervures, the superior much the largest, the apex quite round: legs strong, bright ochreous ; thighs thickened at their extremities ; tibiae spurred at the apex, very clavate ; hinder with the knob sometimes fuscous ; tarsi slender and five- jointed. "Male black, shining, very smooth, sparingly clothed with short pubescence : head excessively finely punctiu"ed, slightly shining : eyes and ocelH pitchy black: antennae pitchy, first to fifth joints reddish: apex of scutel- lum fuscous ; metathorax and fii'st abdominal segment rough, obscure, pilose : abdomen smooth, shining ; second segment with two little pits at tlie base : legs pale reddish ; hinder tibiaj and apex of tarsi pitchy : wings somewhat transparent: scales pitchy." It seems that the males do not differ, except in a trifling degree, in tlie structm-e of the horns, in which, I believe, the fourth joint is larger, and the tenth longer and more pointed; but it is very remarkable, that whilst the females occasionally swarm, so little is known of the habits of the opposite sex that I have not yet been able to meet with a specmien. The only one I ever saw was captured by Mr. Haliday on a rose tree ; and the above characters are translated from Mr. F. Walker's paper upon the genus Platygaster* This is such an extensive group that he has described ninety-nine species which inliabit this country ; and amongst them is one named P. trltici by Mr. Hali- day, who found it on corn and willows in England and Ireland, and from its specific name it is evident that talented naturalist considered it to be con- nected with our wheat fields, t The second species described by Mr. Kirby he has named Ichneumon inserens: it is apparently a Ptoii^/S'^^^^^^'Vt ^^^t as I have not been able to find the specimen in his collection, I must be satisfied in transcribing his account, and copying his figiu'es. He says, "Upon the 7th of June, I observed a very minvite ichneumon exceedingly busy upon the ears of wheat, which, at fii-st, I took for Ichneumon tipulcG; but upon a closer examination, I found it to be a species entirely distinct, as wiU appear when I come to describe it. As soon as I was convinced of this, and observed that it pierced the florets at a time when no larvse had made their appearance, I conjectured that it must lay its eggs in the eggs of the Tijnda." " This insect is fiu-nished Avith an aculeus three or four times its own length (fig. c), which is finer than a hair, and nearly as flexile. This is commonly concealed within the abdomen ; but when the animal is engaged in laying its eggs it is exserted. One day it * Entomolofjical Magazine, vol. iii. p. 220. t Curtis's British Entomology, fol. 309 ; and Guide, Genus 585, where 108 species are recorded. X I have included it in the genus Inostemma in the Guide, a genus which has been formed out of Platygastcr. It is the /. scrutator of Walker. 35 282 FARM INSECTS. o-ave me a fvdl opportunity of examining this process. It inserts its aculeus between the valvules of the corolla near the top of the floret ; its antennae are then nearly doubled and motionless, its thorax is elevated, and its head and abdomen depressed; the latter, when it withdraws the aculeus, is moved frequently from side to side before it can extricate it. This insect has allowed me to examine its operations under a lens for six or seven minutes. Upon opening the floret into which it had introduced its aculeus, I could find neither egg nor larva of the Tipula; but upon examining it very closely under three glasses, I discovered, scattered over one of the valvules of the corolla, a num- ber of globular eggs extremely minute, evidently not those of that insect. It is possible that there were in this floret eggs of the latter, which might be destroyed upon opening it, or escape my observation. At other times I have found eggs of the Tipula triticl, and once some larvae, in florets upon which I had observed this ichneiunon busy." "From the time in which it first makes its appearance, ten days before the hatching of the first larvae, I am inclined to adopt my original conjectui*e, that the eggs are its prey; and yet there seems not to be a sufficient disproportion between the size of the one and the other for this purpose — at least, it must take more than one to nourish a larva of the ichneumon to its proper size." * 2. Platygaster (?) inserens, Kirby. — "Very black; antennae clubbed; abdo- men lance-shaped, shining: "t (fig. 2; e, the natural size). Female, body very black: antennae bent as if broken, and clubbed; basal joint long, stout, rigid, and clavate, reverse heart-shaped, cleft at the apex viewed laterally ; second joint stout, oval ; four following globular and extremely minute, the remainder forming a compact, ovate conic club of four joints (fig. d) : head and thorax somewhat dull in surface : abdomen sessile, lanceolate, excessively black and glossy, very acute, furnished with a very long, flexile, slender ovipositor, which is exserted (fig. c) : wings transparent, nerveless, longer than the body ; superior with a black line leading from the base towards the middle, termi- nated by a black dot : legs blackish ; thighs deep black, somewhat clavate : length less than a line. The third parasite detected by Mr. Kirby appeared on the same day that the Platygaster tipulce came forth in great numbers. He states that, " On the 22d of June I observed another ichneumon, not uncommon, piercing the florets of the wheat (figs. 8 and 4). This species did not aj^pear to insert its aculeus between the valvules of the corolla, but to pierce the glumes of the calyx, to effect which purpose it is armed with a very short one sub-exserted. Of this I found both the sexes. The male was distinguished from the female by * Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol. v, t). 102. t Ibid. p. 107. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 283 its large eyes, placed very near each other, with reticulations unusually visible. I presume this to lay its eggs in the larvae, but have not been able positively to ascertain the fact." * This singular species has been characterized as the genus Macroglenes by Mr. Westwood ; and I am happy in being able to give di-awings from nature of the sexes, as the figure in the Linnean Transactions is not sufficiently correct to identify it.t Mr. Westwood, however, has examined Mr. Kirbys original specimen of Ichneumon jpenetrans, and informs me that it is identical with his genus Macroglenes, which is comprised in the family Ghalcididoi, a parasitic group of immense extent as to amount of species, and scarcely yielding in numbers to any of the insect tribes as to aggregate masses. I have already described and figured several species of Chalcididm. They frequently inhabit and feed upon the parasitic larviB of Hymenoptera, to keep them within due bounds. 3. Macroglenes penetrans. — The r)ude is dark blue green, sometimes slightly tinged with violet, shining ; antennae not so long as the head and thorax, geniculated and clavate, ten-jointed; basal joint long; second as stout, oval; three following very minute and saucer-shaped; sixth and seventh stout, cup-shaped ; the remainder forming a compact, black, ovate conic club : head large and transverse, face orbicular, including the eyes, which are very large, lateral, reddish brown, orbicular, coarsely reticulated and approaching each other on the crown : ocelli three, forming a long triangle, prominent and larger than usual, especially the apical one : thorax oval, as broad as the head ; the sutures deep, forming four very convex protuberances: abdomen very much compressed, not longer than the thorax, and somewhat elliptical viewed laterally, with six distinct segments, and a short exserted slender process at the apex: wings ample, very transparent, iridescent; superior "w-ith a sub- costal nervure reaching nearly to the middle, where it unites with the costa, and a little beyond it forms a short branch, terminated by a minute dot: legs simple and slender: tarsi five-jointed, dirty white, darker at the tips (fig. 3; /, the natm-al size): length | line, expanse 1§ line. The female is scarcely so large, and differs, I think, in having shorter antennae, with a more abrupt club ; the face is very concave, forming a broad deep groove ; the thi'ee ocelli are placed in a transverse line at the back of the crown; the eyes are not large, but broAvn, oval, and remote; the abdomen is very much compressed, the back forming a sharp edge, and it is very deep * Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol. v. p. 104. t Mr. Haliday pre.sentecl me with a male ; for the loan of tlie other sex I am indebted to Mr, F. Walker. 284 FAEM INSECTS. viewed laterally; the apex is truncated, and an oviduct inclosed Letween two- valves projects beyond it (fig. 4; g, the natural size).* There is also a group of flies belonging to the order Diptera, and the family Empid^E, forming the genus Empis, several species of which carry off and devour the Tipula tritici.f Mr. Kirby has not recorded the species; but to enable the agriculturist to recognize this useful tribe of flies, I will figure one, named by Linnaeus Empis livida, which is abundant everywhere at the end of June, and I have repeatedly taken it in corn fields (fig. 5 ; m, the natural dimensions). 4. Empis livida. — Male deep ochreous, clothed with short black pubes- cence and scattered bristles ; head small, globose ; eyes large and contiguous ; ocelli three, placed at the back of the crown in a triangle ; antennas inserted in front of the face, approximating, stretching forward, shorter than the head, and five-jointed; two basal joints brown and bristly; first elongate ovate; second subglobose, the remainder black ; thiixl compressed, much longer than the first, dilated at the base and tapering to the apex; fourth minute, cup- shaped ; fifth elongated and forming a shortish bristle (fig. 6, h) ; proboscis pendent or inflected under the breast, horny, twice as long as the head, and much longer in some species, resembling the beak of a bird (fig. 6) ; the labrum, or upper lip (fig. i), is hollow, dilated at the base, cleft at the apex, inclosing a horny, slender, acute tongue and two very long and slender maxillse, with minute palpi, or feelers, at the base (fig. I) ; the under lip is very long, bilobed, and bristly at the extremity (fig. h) : the thorax is ash-coloured and oval, with three blackish stripes down the back and a few black bristles ; the scutellum is somewhat crescent-shaped, the margin ochreous : abdomen somewhat linear and seven-jointed, the apical joint nearly globose, but cleft: wdngs ample, incumbent, and parallel in repose ; pale smoky ochreous, with the third sub- costal nervure forked at the extremity, and a conical cell on the disk ; halteres pale ochreous and clubbed : legs long and stoutish, especially the hinder pair ; thighs and tibiae simple; tarsi tapering, brown, and five-jointed, basal joint the longest; claws and pulvilli minute, the latter bilobed: leng-th 3 lines, expanse 7 lines and upwards. The female (fig. 5) is larger than the male and of an ash colom- ; head globose (fig. 6) ; eyes large, but not contiguous ; the rostrum longer and thicker than in the male : abdomen stoutish, of the same colour as the thorax, but the incisures are more slate-coloured ; the apex conical and terminated by two compressed black slender lobes; ovipositor long, slender, and contractile ; the wings are perfectly transparent : the legs * Mr. Haliday has described two more species of this genus in vol. iii. of the Transactions of the Entomological Society, p. 295 ; he found all of them in various wild flowers, t Transactions of the Linnean Society, vol. v. p, 105. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 285 are oclireous; all the thighs, except the intermediate, are densely ciliated beneath with black hairs. The sexes of this fly are so different in the colour of the wings and body, that no one would take them for the same species, if they were not often observed in pairs. The Thrips. Every one must be acquainted with a little black slender insect which alights on the face in hot weather, causing an intolerable initation of the skin by running and leaping about with its bladder-tipped feet, throwing up its head and twisting about its tail to expand or close its beautifully fringed ■wings. I know of no other name for it than Thrips; and a closely allied species, if not the same, is accused of doing considerable mischief to the corn crops. The Thrips are all very minute, and many of them very mischievous ; one species often swarms upon peaches and other wall fruit, as well as on melons, &c., in frames ; * another causes great injury to the olives in Italy ; + and a third species is very destructive in hot-houses; but that which the farmer has to contend with is the T. cerealiuon, which Mr. Haliday says is "exceedingly common on grass and cerealia. Mr. Kirby found specimens in the fun-ow of the grains of wheat. Earlier in the year Mr. Vassalli-Eandi detected them gnawing (as he expresses it, rather incorrectly, I thinlv) the stems above the knots, and causing the abortion of the ear. It is at this period that their attacks are most mischievous. In the year 1805 one-thuxl of the wheat crop in the richest plains of Piedmont is said to have been destroj'-ed by this seemingly insignificant little insect. Whatever the causes may be which produce the alarming increase of these tribes, they appear to operate ahnost periodically, and over a wide space ; for in the same year (1 805) the wheat crops in England also suffered from a similar disease, as the com- munications in contemporary periodicals inform us."| The rye-spikes also in Scotland are reported to become unprolific from being infested by some of these insects. At an early stage of these inquiries the minuter species of insects were so ill described that many were confounded under the same name, and such was the case with many of the Thrips, which had been called Physapus by every one who wT:-ote upon the subject; but at this time there are above forty species described by Mr. Haliday,^ from whose monogi-aph it appears that the insect affecting the corn crops is a distinct species. They form an order * Qardeners' Chronicle, vol. i. p. 228. t Passerini's Nothie sojjra una Specie d'Insetto del Gen. Thrips. Z Haliday, in Entomological Magazine, vol. iii. p. 445. § Ibid. p. 439 ; and Curtis's Guide, Genera 1048. 286 FARM INSECTS. named Thysanoptera, from the plume-like fringes of the wings, but they were at first included in the Hemiptera, and subsequently formed a section of the Homoptera : our insect is comprised in the genus Thrips, and forms a sub-genus called LiMOTHRlPS, and the specific name is — 5. T. cerealium of Haliday, and T. physapus of Kirby. — The larva and pupa are similar in form to the imago, but smaller; "the larva is deep yellow, with the greater part of the head and two spots on the prothorax dusky. The antennse and legs have alternate rings of pale and dusky : the pupa paler yellow, with the antennae, legs, and wing-cases whitish, the latter reaching to the middle of the abdomen. The eyes are dusky red, and the simple eyes sometimes indicated by red dots."* The perfect insect is smooth, shining, piceous, often black, depressed, and about three-fourths of a line long. The male is apterous, the female winged: the head is ovate truncate, concave on the crown, with a channel down the centre : ocelli three, distinct, forming a large triangle on the crown; eyes remote from the base, lateral and oval, coarsely granulated ; the collar not contracted : antennae inserted before the eyes, approximating, a little longer than the head, sHghtly bristly, nine- jointed, two basal joints the stoutest, oblong; the third and foui-th rather longer, obovate, with a gland at the apex appearing hke a small joint; fifth obovate; sixth elongate ovate, truncated, the remainder tapering; seventh oblong; eighth minute; ninth twice as long, very slender, the apex pilose: face inclining obliquely beneath, terminated by the trophi, which unite and form a short beak close to the anterior coxse : t thorax somewhat quadrate, sometimes a little nan-owed before ^vith four impressed dots, two on each side ; scutellum short, somewhat lunate : abdomen long, narrow, and smooth, composed of nine segments ; apex ovate or conical and bristly, the last seg- ment armed with two lateral spines in the male; acuminated in the female: ovipositor or borer four-valved, incm-ved, compressed, concealed in the under side of the eighth and ninth segments : wings four, as long as the body, nar- row, horizontal, incumbent, and parallel in repose, but curving outward and not meeting ; superior rather coriaceous, fuscous, but pale at the base, ciliated with long hairs, and having three longitudinal nervures; inferior a little shorter, membraneous, transparent, and iridescent, likewise ciliated: legs remote, anterior very short and stout in the female, hinder the longest ; first pair of thighs thickened, but compressed in the female ; anterior tibise straw- coloured in the same sex, with a protuberance on the inside and a curved claw at the apex ; the others simple ; tarsi very short, straw-coloured, bi-arti- * Entomological Magazine, vol. iv. p. 146. t For descriptions and figures of the mouth, antennEe, &c., consult Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 748. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 287 culate, bcosal joiut oblong; second short, terminated by a little gland; claws none. Plate J, and No. 38, figs. 8, exhibit the female walking ; figs. 9, the same sex flying, both gi'eatly mag- nified, as is shown by their natural dimensions at figs, q and n. I have repeatedly observed these insects running amongst the chaflf or husks on the ears of wheat in great abundance, in every stage of growth, with the larvae of the wheat -midge in June; in August in company with the Aphides; and in July, on opening some barley- straw (fig. 7, a portion split longitudinally), to investigate the economy of the Chlorops and its parasites, I found groups of the orange -coloured larvse (fig. o) and the perfect black Thrips (fig. p) between the spathes, and the former were also secreted in the ears amongst the incipient gi-ains. Mr. Kirby remarked that " of all the insects that are found in wheat the Thrips phy- sapus, in all its states, is by far the most numerous. I do not recollect examining a single ear in which it was not to be foimd ; and my opinion still remains imaltered, that it derives its nourishment from the grain." t As Mr. Kirby's letter to Mr. Marsham, dated August 27, 1795, comprises aU that is at present known relative to the injurious effects of the Thrips upon the corn crops, I shall transcribe the most important passages :| — "I examined a great number of ears, and in them found this insect in aU its states, between the interior valve of the corolla and the grain. It takes its station in the longitudinal furrow of the seed, in the bottom of which it seems to fix its rostrum ; probably sucks the milky juice which swells the grain, and thus by depriving it of part, and in some cases perhaps the whole, of its moistm'e, occasions it to shrink up, and become what the farmers in this part of the world (Suffolk) call pungled. If yom- correspondent in Hertfordshire means the same insect, he is mistaken in asserting that only a single grain in an ear is injured by it. I have myself seen ears in wliich a fourth part of the grain was destroyed, or materially hm't. I have frequently seen two of the insects upon a single grain, and am told that sometimes more are observed. What is singular, when I met mth them on the grain in the imago state, they were often in pairs, one of wdiicli was apterous. These * Figs. 1-4, in the above woodcut, represent Thrips minutiasima, which infests the potato, and will be described in a future chapter. f Linncan Transactions, vol. iv. p. 239. * Ibid. vol. lii. r. 246. 288 FAEM INSECTS. I take to be the sexes. I ouce found a large species, ano aculeato (Thrips aculeata, Mus. Kii-by), in which the same distinction takes place. The larva of Thrips physapus is yellow, has six legs, which, with the antennee and head, are black and white. Sometimes it is all yellow. It is very nimble in its motions, and although brought away in the grain soon makes its escape. The pupa is whitish, with black eyes, and wings apparent. It is very slow and sluggish in its motions." "There was an orange-coloured powder m every grain in which the insect was found, which I imagine is its excrement. All the farmers that I consulted respecting it agreed in saying that it did most mischief to the ^a^e-sown wheats, and that such as were sown early received little or no injury. This I think very probable; for when the grain is aiTived at a certain degree of hardness and consistency (which perhaps was the case with the early-sown wheats before the insect made any material attack), I suppose it is not liable to be hurt. Linnseus says of this insect, 'spicas secales inanit;'* but nobody seems to have apprehended the injmy it is capable of doing to wheat. An intelligent farmer, who first pointed it out to me, assm'ed me that he was firmly persuaded that it was this insect wliich occasioned what was called the bhght last year, Avhich was the cause of so defective a crop. The part of one field that I examined, and which was par- ticularly injm-ed, was to the north of a high hedge : but the above-mentioned farmer informed me that he had foimd them plentiful in a very 02^en country. To me they appeared more injmious in the heavy than in the light lands. Last year the bearded wheat (called by our farmers clog-wheat) escaped with the least injury; but this year, as far as my information and observation went, it was the most injured. I observed in one or two instances the Forficula auricularia upon the ear; and upon examining the grain, each time, to which it had applied itself, I found upon it the Thrips. Query: — Does it not devom- them?" "The only method which can be serviceable to prevent the ravages of this insect is to sow the wheat early. It is probable that it does considerable damage every year, as it is a very common insect. Nor do I imagine that it has been more injm-ious than usual in the present year, only the scarcity has excited people's attention to everj^thing that might hurt the grain." We may just observe, that as the earwig is now well known to feed upon vegetable substances, it seems doubtful that it renders any ser\dce in reducing the numbers of the Thrips; but as it is also reported to feed upon Aphides, this interesting question requires to be more fully investigated. The red dust wliich was supposed to be the excrement of this insect was no doubt the * That is, "it empties the ears of rye." — Linnasus, Sijst. Nat., vol. i. pars. 2, p. 743. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 289 minute fungus called rust, &c.* At the period when the above letter was addre.ssed to the secretary of the Linnean Society great scepticism seems to have existed as to the insects having injured the crops. In such matters we can often only draw our conclusions from analogy, and there can be no doubt from the mischief which is done to the foliage of melons, cucumbers, &c., by another species of ThrijDsi that the T. cerealium, called, it must be remem- bered, by Mr. Kirby, T. pliysapus, exhausts the juices of the wheat, and causes . the gi-ains to shrivel ; and probably the abortion of a portion may be traced to their puncturing the tender straw at the joints. It only remains to observe of this pest, that it is frequently attacked by parasites and other enemies, one of which is an Ocypete ; and Thrips cerea- lium is often covered with the small white mites that are found in damp hay, J which feed upon the insect. Aphides or Plant-Lice. The corn crops do not escape the visitations of this extensive tribe ; indeed, what crop does? We have already seen several species swarming upon the turnips, and another often destroys the fairest prospects of the hop-grower in a very short space of time. Mr. Markwick, whom we have so frequently men- tioned, found the Aphides, or dolphins, as they are called in some counties, infesting the wheat-ears in the second week of July, 1797. Mr. Kirby also reported this Aphis to be sufficiently common upon barley and oats as well as wheat in the same year; and as Fabricius has given no description of his Aphis avence, which is possibly the same species, Mr. Kirby was constrained in de- scribing it to designate it by a new name.§ This insect belongs to the order HoMOPTERA, the family Aphidiid^, the genus Aphis, and the species is called— "6. A. granaria. — It is green when alive, changing to an olive ochreous or brown colour when dead : the antennae are very slender and tapering, as long as the body, inserted close to the inner margin of the eyes, in front of the face, composed of seven black joints, more or less ochreous at the base ; first joint stout and ovate; second sub-globose; third very long; fourth and fifth decreasing in length ; sixth not longer than the first ; seventh very slender, and as long as the third : head fixed, small, transverse oval ; eyes lateral, remote, dark and globose; ocelli three, forming a large triangle, one being placed near the inner margin of each eye, the third upon the anterior margin of the forehead : trophi formmg the rostrum or mouth, arising at the lower part of the face, between the anterior coxae; imder lip not much longer * See Professor Henslow's report in the Journal of the Royal Agricwltural Society, vol. ii. p. 9. + Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. i. p. 228. — Thripg ochraccus. t Entomological Magazine, vol. iv. p. 144. § Linnean Transactions, vol. iv. p. 238. 36 290 FARM INSECTS. than the head, four-jointed, pointed, black, oclireous at the base, inclosing two maxillae and two mandibles, which forai an exceedingly slender, homy, long tongue: thorax moderately large, globose, the disk dark, collar much narrower; scutellimi semicircular: abdomen stout, oval, with two slender black tubercles or tubes on each side of the antepenidtimate joint, furnished with a horny process at the apex in the female: wings four, deflexed in repose (fig. r), transparent, iridescent; superior very ample, twice as long as the body, stigma long and green, the costal cell rather small and somewhat oval, the furcate apical cell small; inferior wings mvich smaller, with two oblique nervures. Females often apterous : legs long, .slender and green, with No. 39. short hairs on the tibiae ; thighs black, except at the base: shanks black at the apex ; tarsi bi- articu- late, of the same colour, with two minute claws. Plate J, and No. 39 ; figs. 10, the male magnified and represented flying; fig.s. r, the natural size. On the 12th of Jul}-, 18i2, I detected many of the apterous Aphides amongst the chaff of the wheat ears, apparently sucking X*T^/ C ^^"^^^^ 1 ^ s! the stem; they were brown and ( v*^^ \ \ ;\/ shining. And in looking over some wheat fields at Cranford with Mi: Graliam (in the middle of August, 1845), we found numbers of the Aphides in every stage of growth, from minute ones that were just born to the full- sized and winged parents. I observed that all which had not arrived at their last stage had shorter legs than the others ; the largest ones were of a dull orange colour; the antennae, except at the base, the eyes and abdominal tubes, the extremity of the tibiae and the tarsi were black, and the thighs pitchy towards their apex (Plate J, fig. 11 ; s, showing the natural size). With them were multitudes of dead Aphides, whose history I shall now relate. Opportunities have repeatedly been afforded us, in the course of these investigations, of showing the wonderful ways by which Providence has provided agents to restrain the ravages of noxious insects, which, without such checks, would fi'equently render man's greatest efforts abortive; and as there is no tribe of insects more subject to parasitic enemies than the Aphides, we may reasonably infer — indeed, it is proved by experience — that when such checks are withheld, our crops will suffer severely from the super- INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 291 abundance of insect tribes. The wheat ears in the above year afforded a beautiful illustration of the economy of parasitic insects, and the benefits resulting from their agency. On some wheat which we examined not a single Ai:)his had esca})ed the searching vigilance of its enemies, and the husks were spotted with immoveable black shining globules. On a closer examination, it was evident that these were Aphides which had been punctured by minute pai'asitic flies, and that, as they increased in bulk, the little internal maggots thrived upon their fot imtil the Aj^hides died from exhaustion, their bodies l:»eing gummed by a natural seci'etion to the chaff and stalks, their antennae and legs remaining just as they were during life, and likewise retaining their iiatm-al colours. I placed these infested ears in a box ; and after a short time I bred from them two distinct species of parasitic flies, as well as a third from another wheat ear, all of which I will now describe. They belonged to the order Hymenoptera, the family Ichneumonides ADSClTi; and the fii-st to the genus Aphidius: the species is named by Mr. Halida}^ — 7. A. avence* — In the male the antennee are dull black, filiform, com- pressed, inserted in front c>f the face, scarcely so long as the body, and com- posed of twenty joints, the two fii'st forming an oval shining mass: head and thorax smooth, shining black, the former transverse oval; eyes rather small, and somewliat lateral ; ocelli large, forming a triangle on the crown : thorax with a double channel down the fore part of the disk ; collar very short and narrow ; scutellum semi-ovate ; postscutellum and abdomen with a few whitish hairs as well as the thighs ; pedicle rather long, naiTow, rugose, and black, the base ferniginous; abdomen brown, smooth, shining, and shuttle- shaped, the margin of the segment next the pedicle and a suffused patch on the back ochreous : wings transparent, iridescent, and pubescent ; superior with a large cubital internal cell, imperfectly closed externally, and producing two rudi- mentary nervures only; all the posterior marginal and the radial cells wanting; stigma large, yellowish brown, forming a thickened costa towards the apex : legs subfeiTuginous ; all the coxae and thighs, excepting the first pair, pitchy ; their tibise clouded with the same coloiu"; tarsi five -jointed and blackisl), basal jomt considerably the longest in the hinder pair; claws minute; pulvilli longer (figs. 12; t, showing the natural size). This was produced from a large testaceous female Aplds found upon an ear of wheat in the middle of July (Plate J, fig. 13; u, the natural size). It made its exit near the tail, as shown in the figure. We learn from Mr. Haliday, that whilst the male Apliidii are hovering over the plants infested * Entomological Magazine, vol. ii. p. 99, 292 FARM INSECTS. by tlie Ajyhides, the female is engaged in laying her eggs, which she effects by bending her body under her breast ; and by lengthening her tail, the ovi- positor is conducted under the Aphis, and an egg is instantly inserted in its belly near the tail. She then seai'ches for another suitable victim, passing by all those which have been already inoculated. From the dead female Aphides of a black colour (No. 89, fig. 11; s, the natural size), I bred an allied insect, named by Mr. Haliday* and Nees ab Essenbeckt — 8. EphedriLs jjlagiator. — Female clothed with a few pale scattered hairs: antennse black, filiform, considerably shorter than the body, eleven-jointed, two basal joints small, third the longest, following elongated: head and thorax black and shining, the former transverse oval ; eyes small, somewhat lateral; ocelli three in triangle on the crown: thorax gibbose ovate; collar short and narrow ; scutellum semi-ovate ; pedicle long, narrow, and rugose ; abdomen small, shuttle -shaped, smooth shining brown; the base and disk ochreous browai, apex furnished with two slender horny pointed lobes : foui- wings transparent, iridescent, with a slightly smoky tinge ; nervures brown, superior with a long, yellowish brown stigma, the costal nerviu'e extending to the extremity of the radial cell, which is large and perfect; there are also three complete discoidal cells, and the external cubital cell is nearly perfect : legs ochreous, four hinder thighs and the tarsi pitchy, tips only of the first 2)air fuscous (No. 39, fig. 14; v, the natural size). This little insect is exceedingly like the preceding one ; but there are fewer joints in the antennae, and on comparing the wings it will be seen that the nerviu-es are different, and the cells more numerous. It has also been re- marked by Mr. Haliday, that the Ephedrus pierces the hacks of the Aphides to deposit her eggs, whereas the Aphidius punctures the under side for the same pm-pose. j I cannot refrain from remarking the singular fact, that so few males are found in some species ot Aphides ; and amongst the horny punctui-ed ones, not one of that sex have I detected upon the wheat. The services of this minute parasite are thus rendered more effective, as the pro- lific females not requiring sexual intercom'se for several generations, the destruction of one individual of that sex prevents many thousands from making their appearance in the course of a few months. The third species of insect I bred does not destroy the Aphides, but infests the Ephedrus. It belongs to the family Proctotrupid.e or OxYURi, and many years since I descril)ed it under the name of — * Enlomolo(jlcal Magazine, vol. i. p. 480. •I Hynieno}^. Ichncu. affin. Monog., vol. i. p. 16. X Entomological Magazine, vol. i. p. 486. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 293 9. Ceraphroii Carpenteri* — It is black and shiiiiug; head and thorax finely punctiu-ed and clothed with minute hairs. The male has a broad head ; the eyes are lateral; ocelli three on the crown in a curved line: antennft; inserted near to the mouth, longer than the body, eleven-jointed, geniculated, bristly and serrated; basal joint elongated, second minute, third and five following obtrigonate, the internal angles pointed, the remainder elliptical: thorax obovate, as broad as the head, with three longitudinal striae ; scutel- lum ovate; metathorax with the hinder angles toothed: abdomen smaller than the thorax, very shining, ovate conic, depressed, attached by a broad but very short pedicle, composed of seven joints, the first covering more than half the body, the base striated: four Mdngs transparent, pubescent, very iridescent ; anterior with a thick pitchy costal nervure, terminating beyond the centre in an oval horny stigma, from which issues a longish curved ray: legs pitchy, tips of anterior thighs with their tibiae, and the base of the other tibiae, bright ochreous ; tarsi more or less ochreous brown, five-jointed, basal joint long; claws and pul villi distinct. Female larger; the antennae scarcely so long as the body, not serrated nor hairy, but clavate and eleven -jointed; basal joint longer than the head, second and third of equal length and slender, two or three following obtrigonate, the remainder slightly oblong, the apical joint conical: abdomen as large as the thorax, and acuminated at the ti}», composed apparently of two horizontal valves. I bred one male and several females from the wheat ears, and these select those Aphides which have been ah-eady occupied by the parasitic Ephedrus, in whose larva the female Geraphron deposits an egg, and thus the maggot of the destroyer is punished with death in its turn. Here we see a countei-- check is provided to prevent the too great midtiplication of the legitimate guardian, and thus indirectly the Geraphron assists in preventing the extinc- tion of the plant-lice, t There is a little apterous Gimex, of a bright scarlet colour, wliich is fre- quently very abundant in com fields, and appears to me to be the larva only of a species of bug. I expect it lives upon the Aphides, or some other of the injurious insects, as in all probabihty it is carnivoroas ; but I am at present ignorant of its economy. It is this insect, I apprehend, which Somerville alludes to.| He supposes the blight called hungry pickles by dealers to be attributable to insects; but whether the shrivelled appearance of the grain ♦ Curtis's British Entomologij, lol. 249 and dissections in Plate 249; Curtis's Guide, Gen. 581, 7; and chapter iii. of this volume. t It is said that the beautiful scarlet Acarus named Tromhidium liolosericeuni, Fabr., injures tlie sjiikes of corn in Fiance. It is often abundant in the corn fields of England, where they resort, it is affirmed by Mr. F. Walker, to subsist upon the Aphides. J Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol. i. p. 55*J. 294 FARM INSECTS. aud the empty husks of the wheat, in veiy wet seasons, be caused by them, or by the presence of the blight named by Dickson Uredo frumenti, I am unable to decide. It is clear, however, that Somerville has confounded two distinct insects, as we shall see by his statement. He says it strikingly resembles a loiLse, being of a bright red colour, soft and tender ; it then assumes a dirty black tint, becomes stationary, and continues so till it dies, when it is hard.* In 1782, when the crop was very late, and the season very wet and cold throughout, the wheat crop, he says, almost entirely failed from the depreda- tions of this insect ; and it has always been in such seasons that it has been deficient. When the crops have been early they have been least affected, and the plant has attained sufficient vigour before these insects appear to resist their influence ; and if it be the delicate rostrum of the larva that causes the mischief, it would not penetrate the hardened stem, husks, &c., and, he adds, on such they seemed to die of hunger, or remove from them. After the grain lias passed the milky state, it is safe from their attacks. Such mischief has always been done to crops not perfectly covered after sowing, or when the seed is very near the surface, whilst such as are deposited at a greater depth almost wholly escape.! From the errors already pointed out, it is impossible to draw any correct conclusions from the foregoing observations. It is only from the most accurate data that we can hope to derive beneficial results. When we found the Aphides in August, three other insects were flying over and alighting upon the wheat. I shall allude to two of them briefly, in order to direct attention to their economy. One was a saw-fly called Selan- dria humeralis,^ of which there were several; another was a beautiful little green parasitic fly, with black feet, which was running over the ears; it belongs to the family Chalcididce, and is an Entedon. I The third was so abundant that Mr. Graham took many of them on the wing ; and as in all probability it lives upon the larva of some insect infesting the corn, I will describe it. It is related to the species lately alluded to in this volume, which is parasitic on the Chlorops t(^niopus ;\\ it consequently belongs to the order Hymenoptera, the family Ichneumonides adsciti, and forms a portion of the genus Dacnusa, I believe; If apd being uncertain of its specific name, I propose calling it, from its inhabiting corn fields — 10. Dacnusa cerealis.** — Male slender, black, and shining; head rather small and sub-globose; eyes orbicular; ocelli three in triangle: antennse as * This i.s no doubt the punctured Aphis (No. 39, fig. 11), which he has confounded with the scarlet bug. f See Dickson's Practical Agriculture, vol. i. p. 556. + It belongs to the Tenthredinidce, and is nearly allied to the Athalia spinarum produced from the nigger caterpillar; see chapter ii. § Curtis's Guide, Gen. 620. II Codinim niger, chap. viii. ^ Haliday's Hi/men. Brit. Fasciculus, il. p. 5. ** It is the Oanychorus ambulans of Haliday. See Curtis's Guide, Gen. 551*, 6. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 296 long as the body, filiform, composed of twenty-one joints, pubescent and fiiscous, the three or four basal joints bright ochreous; first joint oval, trun- cated obliquely; second small, globular; third long; fourth, and following, decreasing in length: thorax elongated, gibbose before; scutellum rugose, with elevated lines, the sides striated; postscutellum rugose, with three elevated lines forming a trident on the back ; the pedicle is elongated, narrowest at the base, depressed, striated, and pitchy brown: abdomen rather short and slender; the apex clavate, brown, excepting the btisal joint, which is ochreous brown, and the belly is of a similar but a paler tint : four wings very transparent, beautifully iridescent; nervures very pale reddisli brown, as well as the stigma, which is elongated; radial cell perfect and reaching to the apex: two complete discoidal cells, all the posterior ones imperfect: legs long, slender, and bright ochreous; tarsi five-jointed, their tips and claws black : length, 1 \ line ; expanse, 3 lines. Corn- Bugs. We have now arrived at some insects belonging to the Cimicidce, or tribe of bugs, wliich are abimdant in corn fields, and probably live upon other insects that injure the crops. Mr. Kii'by describes one in the Linnean Transactions* which he found very common upon the wheat, in all its states, with the wheat-midge, but he could not discover that it devom-ed it. The larvae, pupae, and perfect insects were at the same time upon the straw and ears ; for, like the plant-lice or Aphides, this tribe is active, and resembles its parents in its larva and pupa states. These bugs belong to the order Hemiptera, the family CoREiDJi, and the genus MiRis of Fabricius. The specific name, owing to its being attached to the wheat, is — 11. M. tritici.i — Male tawny ochreous, long and narrow; antennae longer than the body, inserted before the eyes, setaceous, pubescent, and four- jointed, parallel at the base, the first joint stoutest, blackish at the base beneath, forming a stripe outside, second twice as long, tliird much shorter, fourth the shortest and fuscous ; the rostrum is inflected and almost half as long as the body, four-jointed, blackish at the tip : head subovate, the centre a little projecting, and leaving two shoulders for the insertion of the antennae; it is sulphm-eous, with a deep channel at the base, a large slate-black patch on the crown, and a spot on each side of the base of the same colour ; eyes small, oval, lateral, and prominent; ocelli none: thorax oblong, narrowed before, the hinder angles rounded, sulphureous, with two black lines down * Vol. V. p. 110. t Curtis's British Entomology, fol. .ind Plate 701, where twelve species aie referred to. A figure of the male is represented flying, and dissections are given. 29G FARM INSECTS. the centre, and one on either side tapering beliind; scutellum moderately large, ovate trigonate, acute, and slate-black, with the edges and a line down the middle sulphureous: abdomen flat, linear, and margined, obtuse at the apex, slate-black above, silky gray beneath : elytra or superior wings coria- ceous, considerably longer than the body, Hnear in repose, pale sulphm-- coloured, the interior portion brown, with a slate-coloured stripe on each near the base, leaving a pale costal margin; membrane fuscous, with an elHp- tical cell at the base; inferior wings ample, folded in repose, with several faint brown nervm'es, transparent, very iridescent: hinder legs very long; foiu- anterior thighs spotted with brown beneath ; shanks simple, slender, and hairy ; feet tri-articu- late, basal joint the longest and stoutest; second rather shorter than the third ; claws slender and simple (No. 40, fig. 1 ; 2, the same flying, and magnified). Female similar to the male, but shorter and broader, entirely of an ochreous tint, excepting the black abdomen, which is conical and ochreous at the apex, with a long suture beneath to receive the ovipositor ; the reflexed sides are orange-coloured ; the antennae and legs are a little stouter and shorter. I have often met with this Miris upon grasses in marshes, in the vicinity of the sea coast, in company with M. erratlcus* of Linnseus, of which it may be only a variety. Another species is exceedingly abundant in barley fields, and upon the long grasses in flower on their borders. Towards the end of June, 1845, there were multitudes of the pupse and imago in the fields surrounding Wilton and Salisbury: they are, in all probability, carnivorous, and conse- quently the fanner's friend, but we have not been able to trace their economy to its source. This insect belongs to the same order, genus, and family as the last; and I gave it the specific name in the Guide of picticeps, from its painted head; but after collecting a series of specimens, I am inclined to believe that it is only a variety of the Linnean species called — 12. Miris dolabratus. — The male is sulpluu*-coloured, pubescent: head small, black, somewhat lozenge-shaped, a little narrowed behind the eyes, which are lateral, prominent, oval, and brown; the forehead is a little pro- * Bntish Entomolorjy, ful. and Plate 701 ; and Curtis's Guide, Gen. 1099. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 297 duceJ, with a yellow Jot on each side of the ftice, an orange streak on the forehead, and a yellow margin to the eyes above ; ocelli none ; rostrum long, slender, four-jointed, piceous at the tip: antennae not so long as the body, setaceous, pubescent, four-jointed, piceous or tawny, jiarallel at the base ; first joint the stoutest, a little longer than the head ; second more than twice as long ; third shorter ; fom'th not so long as the fii'st, and very slender : thorax trigonate, truncated before, t%vice as broad as the head behind, orange- colom-ed before, with two broadish stripes of a purplish colour, black before, leaving a pale lateral margin: scutelliun larger than in M. tritlci, trian- gular, orange-coloured at the base, with four black spots and two on the disk, the edges being of the same colom-: abdomen obtuse, fuscous above, ochreous beneath, with a brown stripe down each side, leaving the margins ochreous : elytra coriaceous, longer than the body, elliptical, rather broader than the thorax at the middle, lying flat on the back, the disk of a rosy tint ; mem- brane fuscous, with a large elliptical cell at the base : wings ample, fuscous : legs similar to the last, but not so long ; tarsi fuscous at their tips : fig. 3 ; a, the natural length of 4| lines ; breadth, 1 line. Female shorter and broader ; the elytra not longer than the abdomen : antennae and legs much stouter and not so long as in the male, the pubescence upon them thicker and black : the back of the abdomen and the stripe on each side beneath often of a reddish purple colour ; the channel to receive the ovipositor convex, and not so long as in M. tritlci: length, 4 lines; breadth, 1^ line. The pupa is not 3 lines long, boat-shaped, destitute of wings, and of a bright yellow colour ; the legs and antennae are rather stout, and most like those of the female in both sexes ; they are ochreous, often clouded with purplish red : the eyes are black ; on the crown of the head is a balloon-shaped figm'e of a chestnut colour: the thorax has a broad stripe on either side of the same tint, which runs along over each sheath of the wing-cases down to the tail, which is obtuse in the male and ovate conic in the female, the under side is variegated with reddish pm-ple : tarsi only bi-articulate ; blackish at the tips (fig. 4 ; h, the natural length). M. dolahratus also abounds on grass, in hay fields, in June, and is to be met with until the month of September ; it is sufficiently different from M. tritici in the form of the head, thorax, and scutellum, to establish a second section in the genus Miris. OSCINIS GRANARIUS. I am also indebted to Mr. F. J. Graham for anothei' enemy to the wheat crops. It will be remembered that I lately described and fig-ured a fly called Osciais vastator, which hatched from maggots hving in the stems of wheat.* * See chanter viii. Plate H. 37 298 FARM INSECTS. A grain of that corn, from its rosy colour, attracted Mr. Graham's attention in the smnmer of 1845, and being seciu-ed in a box, it produced a little black fly closely allied to 0. ixistator, but it may be distinguished from it by the base of the shank being black, instead of feiTUginous ; neither is it the Musca frit * of Linnaeus, which I doubt not is a Chlorops. On examining the grain of wheat, I found the faiina squeezed out acci- dentally, possibly in picking it from the ear ; it was of a pink colour, and from amongst it protruded an empty shining pupa- case of a rusty ochreous colour: from this had issued a fly belonging to the order DiPTERA, family MusciD^, and the genus OsciNiS, and as I cannot find it described, I shall call it, from its feeding on the grain — 13. 0. granarius. — It is black and shining, with a greenish cast: the head is transverse, semi- orbicular ; the antenna3 are black and orbicular, ^vith a short pubescent seta ; the eyes are large, remote, and oval ; ocelli three in tri- angle on the crown : the thorax is nearly quadrate ; scutellum semi-globose : abdomen of female ovate conic, apparently five-jointed: two wings trans- parent, iridescent; the ner\nires dark, and exactly like 0. vastator; two balancers, with a large ochreous white club : legs black, (?) the first pair is lost ; fom* posterior, with the basal joint of the tarsi, dirty ochreous, and tip of the intermediate tibise of the same colour.! I regret my inability to give any better history of this little fly, but I trust this sketch may lead to a knowledge of its economy, should it ever appear in any abundance. It is, moreover, interesting, as it shows how insects of the closest affinities vary in their habits of life, and it is only a practised eye that can in many cases detect the differences of allied species. Millipedes or False Wireworms. Before dismissing the insects attacking the wheat, I must not forget to state, that in November, 1844, I had some plants sent me which had been sown, and had made shoots from ^ to 1 inch in length, when they died, owing, it was believed, to their being infested by a millepede called Polydes- mus complanatus, which was lately figm-ed and described in this volume, i There was every appearance of their being the culprits, for they swarmed I'ound the grains, which were much injured and fast decaying; the only question is, whether they fed upon the grain before or after it became in a sickly state. Vibrio triticl Although neither the Millipedes nor the Vibrio belong to the same class, * See chapter viii. + Ibid, woodcut, No. 35, figs. 1-4. t See chapter vii. Plate G, fig. 55. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 299 they are so intimately connected with insects, in affecting the crops, that 1 could hardly complete this portion of my subject if I did not include them in the present chapter; and as it is many years since the history of the Vibrio was published in the Philosophical Transactions* and that work may be inaccessible to many agriculturists, I am induced to introduce sketches to illustrate its economy from the inimitable drawings of the late Mr. Francis Bauer, deposited in the Banksian Library of the Britisli Museum ; and they will prove tlie more acceptable from Professor Henslow having included the Vibrio in his " Report on the Diseases of Wheat," in the Jour- nal of the Royal Agricultural Society, t The minute worm which causes the disease called ear -cockle, or purples (No. 41, fig. 1), belongs to the class Infusoria, and has been named — 14. Vibrio tritici. — The eii2rs are taken up by the sap from the in- fected grain which may have been planted, and hatch in the stalk | as well as in the germen. The largest worms are ^ inch long at least, of a yellowish white colour, and not so transparent as the yoimg worms (fig. 2, magnified) ; " their heads are very distinct ; they have a kind of proboscis, which has three or four joints, which they contract or extend like an opera-glass. From the head, which is somewhat roundish, they taper gi-adually off towards the tail, which is scarcely half the diameter of the middle of their body, and ends in an obtuse, claw-like point. At a short distance from the end of tlie tail is an orifice, sur- rounded by an elevated fleshy edge ; from this orifice the worms discharge their eggs. The back of these old worms is nearly opaque, and appears jointed or annular; the number of joints or rings is fi'om twenty- five to thirty; the belly side is more transparent, and strings of ova can be distinctly seen tlirough almost the whole length of the worm to the orifice by which the eggs are dis- charged." Those in the cavities of the mature grain are generally ■g'-g- or -^ inch long, milk-white, and semi-transparent. After laying all their eggs, the parent worms soon die, and in a few days they decay and fall to ])ieces, but such is * The Croonian Lecture, read before tlie Royal Society, Dec. 5, 1822, and published in 1823, in the first volume of their Tz-awsaciioJis, being "Microscopical Observations on the Suspension of the Muscular Motion of the Vibrio tritici," by Francis Bauer, Esq., F.R., L.S. and H.S. + Royal Affricultural Journal, vol. ii. p. 19. + Mr. Bauer thinks this may be another species of Vibrio. 300 FAEM INSECTS. not the case at an earlier period of life ; for after being dried and appearing quite dead, on the appHcation of moisture they become as lively as they were at fii'st: and thus for five years and eight months Mr. Bauer was able to reanimate the worms by immersion, but it required a longer period as the time lengthened, and after that they died: other examples bred by hiin retained their revivescent qualities for six years and one month. It seems probable that the glutinous substance in which they are enveloped preserves their vitality. They may be kept alive for three months in water. It appears from Mr. Bauer's investigations, that the cavities of the grain are at first filled with a white fibrous substance, formed by gluten into balls of a silky nature. In water they instantly dissolve, and exhibit hundreds of minute worms, which l^ecome animated in less than a quarter of an hour when moistened, and the grains eventually assumed a dark brown colour, and were as hard as wood (fig. 8). Nothing is known regarding the sexes, and it is extremely probable the Vibrios are hermaphrodite. In some grains approaching maturity, only one worm was foimd with the cluster of eggs, in others there were three (fig. 4, the section of a grain, exliibiting some worms and multitudes of eggs). The eggs come forth in strings of five or six together, and are detached in water : the young worms can then be seen through the transparent skin (fig. 5). In about an hour and a half after the egg is laid in water, the young worm begins to extricate itself, which it took one of them an hour and twelve minutes to accomplish. Such are some of the leading points in the economy of this extraordinary little animal noticed by Mr. Bauer ; and for further information I must refer the reader to his valuable paper, and to Professor Henslow's interesting report. SUIVEMARY OF THE FOREGOING CHAPTER. Parasitic flies living upon the wheat-midge, Cecidomyia tritici, and upon each other. Platygaster tipulw, found during summer months, deposits its eggs in the maggots of the wheat-midge. It is exceedingly abundant. It lays only one egg in each maggot, passing by those previously in- oculated. Females in swarms, males very seldom seen. A second species in corn fields, called Platygaster tritici; and there is a vast number of other species. Platygaster (?) inserens lays its eggs in those of the P. tipulce, and limits its increase. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 301 Macroglenes penetrans is also occupied iu the same way, but lays its eggs iu the maggots of the Platygasicr tiivilci'. Flies called Empides cany off and devour the wheat^midge. A little insect called Thrips accused of injm-ing the corn crops. Some species destroy peaches and melons, cucumbers, olives, and hot- house plants. Thrips cerealiuni destroyed one-third of the wheat crop in the richest plains of Piedmont in 1805, and it is believed affected the same crops in England. It causes the rye to be miprolific in Scotland, and also in Sweden. The larvce and pupce are similar to the perfect Tlirips, but the first is of an orange colour, the others are black, and the female only has wings in her last stage. Abundant in summer in the ears and between the leaves, at the base, in wheat and barley plants. It is the most numerous of all the insects infesting the wheat, and com- mon every year. Pungled, or shrivelled gi'ains, caused by the Thrips extracting the milky secretions, and abortion frequently occurs from their piercing the tender straw at the joints. One fourth part thus destroyed in some ears. Orange-coloured larvm very active, pupce indolent. The orange- colom-ed poivder often accompanying them is not their excre- ment, but ?i fungus called rust. They do most mischief to late-sown wheats, the early-soivn being too hard to suffer from their attacks. Apparently more injurious on heavy than on light soils. In some years the bearded ivheat escaped, in others it has suffered most. Eariuigs with them. Do they live upon the Thrips ? Minute as the Thrips is, it is infested by a parasite, and is often covered with mites, which feed on it. Aphides, or plant-lice, called also dolphins, infest the ivheat in July and August ; when they are in every stage of gTOwth. Aphis granaria also inliabits barley and oats. Every Aphis sometimes punctured by a parasite, and the ears exliibiting numbers of broivn and black globides scattered over them. Ajjhidiws avence lays her eggs in the body of the apterous Aphis, which then becomes brown. Ephedrus plagiator deposits her eggs in a similar way in the apterous Aphides, which assume a blach colour. 302 FARM INSECTS. Very few male Aphides to be found, and the punctured ones are all females. Ceraphron Carpenteri destroys the parasitic Ephedrus, by depositing its eggs in the maggots, which are already living in the Aphides. Tromhidium holosericeum supposed to injure the spikes of corn in France, but they resort there to feed upon the Aphides. A little apterous bug, of a scarlet colour, abundant on corn. It is carni- vorous, and possibly lives upon the Aphides. Hungry picJdes supposed to be caused by this or some other insect by Somerville. A fungus, called Uredo frumenti, makes its appearance at the same time. Such mischief arises from shalloiu sowing, according to Somerville. A saw-fly, named Selandria humeral'is, an Entedon, and Daenusa cerea- lis, flying about a wheat field in August ; the last in abundance. Miris tritici, a bug, abundant on the wheat with the Aphides, in the larva, pupa, and perfect states. Does it live upon the plant-lice? It also abounds on grasses in marshes on the sea-coast Miris dolahratus equally common upon barley and the borders of the fields, in every stage, where it is in all probability serviceable in destroying noxious insects. It is exceedingly numerous in Jtay fields aromid London from midsummer to Michaelmas. A little fly called Oscinis granarius appears to live in the grain of wheat in the larva state. One bred from a pupa issuing from a kernel of a rosy colour. A millipede called Polydesmus complanatus in abundance about grains of wheat which had vegetated and died. Were they the cause or effect of the disease? The worm named Vibrio tritici, infesting the grains of wheat in the ear, which are then called ear-cocJdes or purples. Eggs absorbed from the soil with the sajx The female worm dies after laying her eggs. When dined and dead, moisture reanimates the worms, and their vita- lity has not been extinguished for upwards of six years. The glutinous substance in which they are enveloped probably secures their vital powers from destruction. The cottony substance which at first fills the grains is composed of hundreds of these worms, which become active in a quarter of an hour on being moistened. The grains finally become hard and dark 'B n A A N {' -R © P K^ , ii/' W/ieat-Mlih/f W/i,-,// //u-if,\ aiul Thuit lire, iiili.-iliii,/ Corn. Croii.s PI.. in- J BTjADICEfe 3CW. GT.AaaOW.EDINBTJRI3H fcLO^tDOH". INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 303 They are believed to be herinwpltrodite. The more matured grains coutaiii innumerable eggs, with from one to three wonns only in each. The eggs are laid in strings of five or six together, and the yomig worniK can be seen through the skin. The young worms hatch about an hour and a half after the eggs are laid, when put in water, and they are almost as long in extricating themselve.s. EXPLANATIOX OF PlaTE .J. Fig. 1.* Platygaster tipulw, male. a, The natural size. b*, The autenna. Fig. 2.* Platygaster inserens. €, The natural length. c*, The abdoipen and ovipositor. fZ*, The antenna. Fig. 3.* Macroglenes penetrans, male. /, The natural dimensions. Fig. ■!.* Macroglenes penetrans, female. g, The natural size. Fig. 5.* Empis livida, female. m. The natural dimensions. Fig. 6.* Head of the same in profile. h*. The two antenna". i*, The upper lip. Z'*, The under lip. I*, The palpi or feelers. Fig. 7. Portion of a stem of barley exhibiting — 0, Larvae of the Thrips. p, The Thrips itself. Fig. 8.* Tlirips cerealiuni, female. q, The natural size. Fig. 9.* The same flying. n, The natural size. Fig. 10.* Aphis granaria, male. r, Natural size, walking. Fig. 11*. An apterous larva. s, The natural size. Fig. 12,* Aphidius avence, male. t. The natural size. Fig. 13.* Case oi Aphis granaria, female, from which the Aphidius had hatched. M, The natural size. Those numbers and letters with a * attached, refer to the objects which are represented larger than life. All the figures are drawn from nature, excepting 2, c and d, which are copied from the Linnean Transactions. 304 FAEM INSECTS. CHAPTER XL THE NATUEAL HISTORY AND ECONOMY OF VARIOUS INSECTS AFFECTING THE CORN CROPS IN THE FIELD AND GRANARY, INCLUDING MOTHS, WEEVILS, AND OTHER BEETLES, ETC. Before I take up the history of the insects that infest housed corn, it will be necessary to record a few species that attack the standing crops, which have not at present been noticed, and this I will do as briefly as possible. ScoPULA FRUMENTALis AND Pyralis secalis — the Com Pyrcilides. The first moth is a native of Sweden and other parts of Europe, where it inhabits wheat fields in June. It was named — 1. Pyralis frumentalis by Linnaeus, but it is now incorporated with a section of that group, called Scopula. It expands about 1 inch : the palpi are minute, the horns very slender, the eyes prominent ; the thorax is mode- rately stout, as well as the abdomen ; " the superior wings are shining, pale ashy green above, with two or three oblique whitish bands, with linked oval spots ; the posterior margin is ciliated with alternate white lines ; under side of wings grayish green." * Linnseus and Rolandi t also describe an allied species called — 2. Pyralis secalis, which lives in the caterpillar state in the stems of rye, eating within the sheath, and migrating from one to another, rendering the ears white and empty. This moth, which I have captured in the end of May and the end of June in the south of France, has gray-brown striate wings, with a kidney-shaped spot inscribed with a Roman A.| Dr. Tm-ton says the larva is green, with tlu-ee brown lines, and a reddish head, which is very similar to one I shall immediately describe. I wish, however, to state that I have examined the cabinet of the Linnean Society, and find that a specimen of the P. secalis, with Linnseus' autograph label attached, is identical with the species figm-ed by Duponchel as the P. frumentalis above described, but of which I could find no specimen in Linnseus' cabinet. Treitschke and * Linnaeus' Faun. Suec, No, 1351. + ^ct. Stoch. for 1752, p. 62. t Linnaeus' Syst. Nat., vol. ii. p. 882, No. 338. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 305 Duponcliel affirm that Hiibners figure of P. repandalls is the female of S. f rumen talis. These moths are not at present recognized as natives of this comitry, hut they may eventually make their appearance ; for in the beginning of March, 1846, I received from Alton in Hampshire some wlieat plants; the blades looked sickly, and in the heart were larvfc of the Osciiiis vastator* and of a caterpillar of some moth answering to Turton's description ; but not having reared the moths I cannot determine upon the species. My correspondent T. C. stated that a large portion of tlie field was patchy, and affected by these larva3, yet in putting them into a garden-pot with a wheat plant they did not appear to feed. On the 8th of April, however, Mr. F. J. Graham of Cranford showed me some plants of wheat attacked by rust, and in one of the centre shoots was a caterpillar of the same species as the one from Alton. It lay with its head downward, and was about 8 lines, or nearly | inch long, about the thickness of a small crow-quill, of a pale green colour, with a rusty brown head, and two narrow stripes of the same tint down the back ; it was fur- nished with six pectoral, eight aljdominal, and two anal feet. I shall anxiously await the appearance of the moth, t It appears that these caterpillars are attended by a parasite, the Ichneu- mon secalis, which lays its eggs in tliem. " It is the size of a louse," says Linnaeus, " with a red head and beautifully green eyes ; the thorax is entirely black, as well as the horns, which are filiform, but scarcely so long as the body ; wings with a subrotmid black marginal dot ; abdomen ovate, black, smooth ; petiole rough ; aculeus as long as the body." | Fabricius describes this little fly as a Diplolepis,l but to which genus of the Chalcidites it belongs I cannot determine. Leucajstia obsoleta — the Antiquated Leucania. Hubner || figures this moth, which is one of the Noctaidce, under the above name. It w^as considered formerly an exceedingly rare insect in England, and we are indebted to Mr. Samuel Stevens for a knowledge of its economy. He was so obhging as to send me several of the caterpillars in the third week in August, 1844 They generally undergo their transformations in fenny places amongst reeds, tlie leaves of which they eat ; but having placed them in a cage with some fine oats coming into ear, I found they fed freely upon * Chapter viii. and Plate H. t These all died in the larva state, but Mr. Graham subsequently succeeded in rearing the moth, which proved to bo Apamea I-nic/er. See chapter viii. + Linnffius' Faun. Succ, No. 1641. § Fabricius' Si/st. Picz., p. 152, No. 19. II Europ. Schmet. Noctuce II., Genuinaj B, Tlate 48, fig. 233, 38 306 FARM INSECTS. the leaves, notching the sides (No. 42, fig. 1), and it is therefore desirahle to notice the fact and to record their habits. These caterpillars, like many others, only come out at night to feed ; and althovigh full grown by the end of August, they remain in the shortened stems of the reeds through the winter, No. 42 and the moths emerge from the pupae dming the entire month of June. When the caterpil- lars have anived at their greatest size they are often 1^ inch long (fig. 2) ; they are linear, not quite semi-cylindrical, smooth, of a flesh colour, the edges of the segments being of the deepest tint, and clouded with dull pale green : the head is pale brown, reticulated with deep brown, having two curved lines down the face, of the same colour ; the fii'st thoracic segment is short and shining, with three whitish longi- tudinal lines which extend to the tail, and are edged with pale green ; the six pectoral, eight abdominal, and two anal feet are pale dirty green ; the spiracles are pitchy, with a light centre ; tlie head and tail are slightly hairy. When disturbed they curl u}> and fall down, but can walk very nimbly. When prepared to change to chrysalides in the spring, they leave the i-eed stubble, conceal themselves just beneath the surface of tlie earth, or draw together a few dead leaves or rubbish with a loose web to inclose the pupa, which is brown. 3. Leucania ohsoleta is of a satiny textm'e: the female is of a dull pale ochreous colour ; the antennae are bristle-shaped ; the feelers form two short beaks; the eyes are brown when dead; the tongue is spiral, and about as long as the antennaB ; the superior wings are freckled with black ; the nervures appear whitish, and are margined with brown; between them are brown streaks terminating in a black point at tlie base of the fringe, and there is a curved line of brown dots beyond the centre : base of abdomen and inferior Avings nearly white ; the latter, with the nervm-es and the exterior margin, smoky, with a line of black dots along the base of the fiinge: expanse of wings, 1 ^ inch. The male is smaller, and of a paler and clearer coloui* ; the nervm-es are not so strongly marked, and there is a smoky streak from the base to the centre ; the under wings are white, a little freckled and ochreous at the exterior margin ; before the centre is a dark spot shining through from the \mder side, and beyond the middle is a line of fom- or five similar dots (fig- 3). INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 307 Crioceris melanopa — tlte Oat Crloceris. I have read of the gelatinous larva of a Tentltredo* which causes tlie leaves of the barley to Avither by feeding upon the upper surface, but have never met with it. I have, however, found a larva of a similar natui'e, which I expected would change to the Tenthredo, but no. 4;{. to my great sm-prise it eventually produced a beetle ; and as the economy of this species is imnoticed by authors, I will transcribe my notes. On the IStli and 20th June, 1842, I found on the leaves of some oats coming into ear in a field in the neighbourhood of Sher- borne, Dorsetshire, some slug-like larvae which had eaten the epidermis in longitudinal lines (No. 43, figs. 1). A small one was brown, mottled with ochre ; it was very glossy, but looked slimy like a little slug ; the minute head was black, and it had six small black pectoral feet ; it was ovate or pear-shaped, being slightly narrowed towards the head (fig. 2;. A larger specimen was more ochreous, and after being iuimersed in water for twenty- four hours it became perfectly of that colom-; it then appeared transversely striated and wrinkled, with minute warts behind the head, which was brown ; along each side was an elevated line of little brown bristly points ; and the six feet were brownish towards their tips.t These larvae feed down the leaves sideways, gnawing with their little mandibles an even line between the striie, either above or below the leaf, leaving only the membrane, which often dries and cracks, making a hole of greater or lesser extent. In other instances they had occasioned ochreous spots where they rested, and where their old skins had been cast ofi", as they increased in size. I placed one in a box with some bits of earth, amongst which it formed a spongy whitish cocoon, irregular in fonn externally (fig. 3) ; but as I was not stationary at the time, its economy was probably interfered with, and the cocoon may be more regularly formed under natural cu-cumstances. On the 10th of August I had the satisfaction to find in the box a specimen of Crloceris melanopa, a pretty beetle which is not vmcommon in corn fields and on rushes from the middle of April to the end r»f * This genus belongs to the same faniil}' as the Alhalla spinariiin. See chapter ii. + It now resembleil, in form, the larva of the asparagu.s beetle, Crioceris asparar/i, which belongs to the s.ime genus; see the Gardeners' Chronicle, vol. v. p. 592. Another species, C. merdigera, [>roduces the larvae which infest and render the white lilies of our gardens offensive. 308 FARM INSECTS. September. It belongs to the order Coleoptera, femily CmocERiDiE, and the genus Crioceris. The species was named by Linnceus — 4. Crioceris melanopa. — It is shining; the head is dark gi-eenish blue, minutely pmictured with a deep groove at the base ; the face is concave ; the mouth is pitchy ; the eyes are black and prominent : the antennae are twice as long as the thorax, subclavate, black and pubescent, excepting the basal joint, which is green, shining, and globose; second .small; third and fom-th obovate; the following compressed, broader, and obovate - truncate ; apical joint conical: the thorax is reddish orange, often with two dusky spots on the disk ; it is a trifle broader than the head, of an orbicular form, but the ante- rior angles are visible, and the base is contracted: scutellum blue: elytra elliptical, thrice as long as tlie thorax, and twice as broad, of a beautiful deep "blue, sometimes with a slight greenish tint, and rarely black ; there are ten lines of long punctures on each : the wings are ample ; the under side is deep blue and punctured : the six legs are bright and deep ochreous : the trochan- ters black: the thighs are stout: the tips of the tibia are dusky, and the tarsi are black and pubescent; they are four-jointed, and cushioned beneath ; the two basal joints are elongated, thii'd bilobed, fourth the longest, slender, clavate, and furnished with two simple claws; length, 2 Hnes; breadth, |: fig. 4; 5, magnified. For dissections^ &c., of the Crioceris consult the British Entomology, Plate 328 ; and in the Gardeners' Chronicle, previously referred to, the eggs, larvae, &c., of C. asparagi are figured and described. I have already given the historj'^ and di-a wings of the metamorphoses of a caterpillar * which feeds on the wheat when in ear, as well as after it is stacked or housed; and in October, 1845, I received from Mr. Graham of Cranford another caterpillai- belonging to the family Noctuidce, of somewhat similar habits. Mr. Graham sent me about a dozen of them from the refuse wheat in his bam after thrashing. Thej'^ were nearly f inch long, and several of them died from injuries they had received. I put them into a box with wheat and chaff' and they evidently fed upon the grain during the winter, and increased in size very materially, one being at the end of February 1 inch long, and as thick as an oat-straw. They were exceedingly active, and dis- liked the light, generally burying themselves amongst the corn as soon as the box was opened ; and in turning round they doubled themselves very much, so as to form a loop, the head approaching the tail. They were semi-cyhn- drical, with six pectoral, eight al:)dominal, and two anal feet, of a dull ochreous red tint, and slightly hairy : there was an indistinct paler line down the ante- rior portion of the back, but it vanished behind, and each segment bore a V- * Caradrina cuhicularis, chapter viii. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CEOPS. 309 shaped figure; tlie sides were darker, with apparently a pale oblique line on each segment, owing more to the light falling on the raised muscles than to colour, and the spiracle beneath each was black : the head is rather small and shining : the centre of the eyes is dark brown : the antennae are distinct, the tips dark : all the legs are pale, dark at the apex, the hinder pair spreading, and with the rump are ochreous, having a greenish tint, and this last segment has a darkish dilated line down the back: the under side is also of a dull pale greenish colour. Two of these caterpillars spun loose webs, to which some of the grains and chaff were attached; but they died before changing to jnipa". Having, however, made a drawing of the caterpillar, I hope at some future time to ascertain the moth it ought to change to.* Having now given the agriculturist an idea of the insects with which he has to contend in the field, I wish to turn his attention, as well as that of all persons engaged in the corn trade, to the various species which are destined to live upon the grain after it is stored away in barns and granaries ; and if they were not principally confined to the latter, it would be a great inducement for stacking the corn. The ravages, however, made by these insects may be justly attributed, I expect, in the first instance, to the impor- tation of foreign corn; and, secondly, to the same store-houses being em- ployed for many successive years without any purification or attemi)t at cleanliness. We well know if our own dwellings be neglected, if the rooms are not aired, and the broom and brush be not frequently employed, that a house soon becomes a harbour for moths, beetles, spiders, earwigs, woodlice, and hosts of various insects which destroy our clothes and furniture, and soon render the rooms untidy. If such be the case in a neglected house, what can be expected in a large apartment shut up for months together, fiUed with articles on which numerous insects feed, under a regular and comparatively high temperature, badly ventilated, and where the walls and roof are never purified by white -washing, or the floor ever scrubbed with hot water? If it were desirable to breed the corn-destrojang insects, more certain means could not be adopted than the practice, too often resorted to, of storing grain and malt ; for as sure as the soil will produce nothing but weeds if crops be not sown, so sure will almost all seeds become the prey of insects if they be neglected, and are not appropriated in due time either to reproduce their kind or to be converted into food. A very great evil results from bonding foreign corn ; for owing to the regular and liigh temperature on the continent of Europe, especially in the southern states, insects generate with more certainty and in gi'eater multi- * The caterpillars retained by Mr. Graliam underwent thuir transformations, and eventually pro- duced the Noctua {Caradrina) culicularis. 310 FARM INSECTS. tudes, and there is a larger number of species than in northern latitudes. In England there is not half the care required to preserve clothes, furs, collec- tions of stuffed animals, insects, plants, &c., that there is in the south of France even, and no doubt the same law applies to agricultm-al produce; and it is this additional tax laid upon the inhabitants of warmer latitudes which has led to the general study of entomology, and to a high value being- set upon scientific acquirements even by the legislature. * By importing foreign corn we also import foreign insects ; and as they are not generally exposed to the changes of the cKmate when the corn is stored, especially in lai-ge masses, they hve and multiply until an unusually severe winter or other casualties destroy them. It is very probable that some species may not be able to live for a single season in om- climate, however sheltered they may be, but others no doubt soon become naturahzed. I have also long entertained an opinion that epidemics — vegetable blights, as they are termed — and noxious as well as other insects, gi'adually progre&s from the south-east, taking a direction more or less to the west or north, imtil they meet with so severe a check from temperature, that they gradually decline in virulence and power, and eventually become extinct for a lesser or greater period. This is cei-tainly the case with some insects, t and the first species that falls under our notice seems to be gradually travelling northward. It has not at present, I believe, made its appearance in this country, and it wiU be fortunate for us if it never does. BuTALis CEREALELLA — the Little Coni-moth. The little moth I allude to, whose scientific name is Butalis cerealella,X is called by the French "L'Alucita," or "Teigne des bles," or "Teigne des graines." It was first described by Reaumur ; and from the ravages it has committed, its course has been noticed with intense interest by French agri- * In France, Germany, and Belgium, local laws are from time to time enacted to enforce the destruction of insects ; commissions have been appointed to consider the best means of arresting evils arising from insect agency : distinguished men have been deputed by the governments to visit districts suffering from the incursions of insects, and to report thereupon, and the publication of the most ccstly illustrated works has been the result. In many cases efficient plans have been devised for arresting the existing mischief, and in all cases the first step towards effecting any good has been secured by the attainment of an accurate linowledge of the economy of the noxious insects. I beg to refer the reader for further information to Kirby and Spence's Introduction to Entomology, vol. i. p. 171, first edition ; p. 40, sixth edition ; and p. 26, seventh edition. + The locust, for instance, which occasionally reaches our shores from the south of Russia: Sphinx nerii, Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 626 ; the cockroach {Blatta orientalis) ; and numerous insects which exist in collections, and have not been seen alive in this country for many years. t Alucita cerealella, Oliv., Encyc. Method., vol. i. p. 121 ; (Ecopliora granella, Lat. ; Tinea hordei, Kirby and Spence's Introduction, vol. i. p. 174, first edition. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 311 cultuiists up to the present day. Dr. Herpiii* says, "I have more grounds than ever to fear that the Aluclta, which had somewhat disappeared during several years from our central districts, will show itself again in 1843 or 18 14. I moreover fear that this scourge, which advances slowly from the south or west towards the north, will ere long penetrate into the fertile fields and the immense magazines of the Beauce. There will then no longer be time to avoid the most frightful disasters — famine and epidemics, which the Alucita brings after it. Imported into the Charente-Infdrieure and Angoumois towards 1750, the Alucita was then propagated in the Aunis and Saintonge. About 1780 it commenced to spread itself in the Limousin; in 1807 it pene- trated into the department of the Indre; in 1826 it invaded the department of Cher ; it is now at the confines of the Beauce." t One may readily com- l)rehend the dread expressed by our continental neighbours at the approach of this insect, when we learn from them that the infested corn loses forty per cent, of its weight in six months, and seventy-five per cent, of the farina- ceous substance it contains. The following history of this moth has been principally obtained from Reaiunm-. | It belongs to the order Lepidoptera, family TiNEiDiE, and the genus BuTALiS of Ochsenheimer, according to Duponchel ; but it agrees better, I tliink, with my genus Laverna. ? The caterpillars live in the grain of different kinds of corn, as wheat, oats, and maize, but prmcipaUy in barley-corns. The female moth lays a cluster of twenty or thirty eggs upon a single grain, in lines or little oblong masses in the longitudinal channel ; and this opera- tion is performed in the field before the ears are perfectly matured, as well as in the gTanary: they are of a beautiful red orange colour. The cater- pillars hatch in six or seven days after the eggs are laid, and sometimes in four only, and then they are hardly as thick as a hair. The fii'st cater- pillar which hatches penetrates into the grain, in a little spot between the beard and the aj^pendage of the sheath, which is more tender than the rest ; but the apertm-e is imperceptible, OAving to the minuteness of the larva. Having taken possession of the grain, the remainder, as they escape from the shell, have to seek other gi-ains ; and when they find them unoccupied they pierce and enter them in the same way as we have described, so that each grain contains no more than one occupant; and this is sufiicient to support the larva until it arrives at maturity, when it changes to a pupa witliin the grain, which is entirely emptied of farina, yet still to the eye * Recherchcs sur la Destruction de VAlucite, ou Tdgne des Graincs; published in Paris, in 1838. t Memoire sui- diverges Inscctes nuisihles d V Agriculture, par J. Ch. Herpin. t Memoires pour servir d VHist. des Inscctes, vol. ii. p. 486, Plate -39, figs. 9-19. § Curtis's British Entomology, fol. and Plate 735. 312 FARM INSECTS it appears a sound grain. If, however, it be taken between tlie fingers and pressed, it is found to be soft; and an experienced person can discover whether the grain contains a young larva or a pupa. By washing the corn the injured grain is readily detected. This little caterpillar is very smooth and quite white ; its head only is a little brown ; it has sixteen legs, of which the eight intermediate and mem- branous ones are only like little buttons, and so minute that one cannot perceive them without a strong magnifying glass ; and by the same means the ends of these legs appear to be bordered with a complete coronet of brown hooks. It is but little more than 3 lines long. A grain of wheat or of barley contains the exact quantity of nutrition necessary to feed and support this caterpillar from its birth until its transfor- mation. If a grain containing a caterpillar be opened when it is near to its metamorphosis, one sees that there is nothing more than the skin remaining: aU the farinaceous substance has been eaten. The cavity contains, besides the larva, some httle brown or yellow grains, which are its excrement ; and as these are found to be less in bulk and number with the old than with the young caterpillars, it is concluded that they eat these deposits once or twice, as there is no aperture by which the excrement can be expelled. Having consumed all the flour in tlie gi-ain, the caterpillar spins a white silken cocoon which hnes the inside of it, or rather a portion ; for the grain being divided longitudinally, and in two unequal parts, the smaller com- partment is reserved for the excrement, which is pushed on one side. Towards the end of November there are many cateipillars in the grains, and in spring almost always only pupre. Some eggs must hatch much earlier than others, from the clusters which are deposited at the same time. The moths first make their appearance in some years in the commencement of May, in others in June, and again in November; but these live only two or three weeks at most. The moth makes its escape through a little round hole in the side of the grain, which the caterpillar cuts with its mandibles without displacing the stopper, before it spins its cocoon. 5, Butalis cerealella expands rather more than h inch: the head is smooth : the antennae are setaceous, but appear a little beaded when mag- nified; the feelers are long, cm-ved, and elevated; the basal joint is clothed with scales and shorter than the second, which is pointed: the proboscis is long, and very visible: the head, body, horns, palpi, and legs are of a light gray or coffee- and-milk colour: the superior wings are of the same colour above, with some faint blackish atoms at their extremity; they are straight, with the apex very pointed when deprived of the fringe ; they form a rounded or depressed roof in repose, their extremities crossing one INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 313 another: the fringe, wliich is of a clearer coloiu', is also sprinkled with similar atoms along tlie internal margin : the under side of these wings is of a rosy shining brown ; both surfaces of the inferior wings, including the fringe, are of a leaden gray.* Reaumur mentions a parasitic tiy which sometimes hatches from the grains containing the caterpillars or pupse, to the number of twenty from one insect ; and Olivier saj^s, " One thing worthy of remark is that the moths which hatch in the month of May from the grains shut iip in the granaries, hasten to get out by the windows and to gain the fields, instead of which those that come forth immediately after the harvest make no attempt to escape. It seems that their instinct informs them that they will then find no more provision in the fields for the support of their posterity."! The foregoing account will enable those interested more readily to detect the presence of the little corn -moth, and the following remedies may be equally useful, if applied to other grain-feeding insects, even should we be spared from the visitations of the Butalis, which seems to have made its appearance in the United States of America, from specimens sent to Mr. E. Doubleday by Dr. Harris of Cambridge, New England. It may be as well to state, that the example I have carefully examined has black fore legs, and a black spot near the tip of the palpi, characters which I do not find recorded by the French naturalists. It appears that, of the various attempts made to prevent or diminish the ravages of this moth, the most effective method is to subject the infested grain to the heat of an oven or a very warm room. It does not seem to be ascertained what degree of heat the grain can endure without losing its germinating powers, but it appears that it is preserved at above 70° Reaumur (about 190° Fahrenheit). It is not, however, so much the intensity of the heat, as its continued action for a certain period, which kills the caterpillars and chrysalides in the grain, so that from 45° to 50° during twenty-four or thirty-six hours produce more effect than 76° or 96° for one hour. The difficulty is to maintain an equal temperature throughout the operation, and to obviate this, two machines have been invented and called " Insect Mills." One, by M. MarceUin, Cadet de Vaux, is a kind of large iron cylinder for roasting (bruloir), as simple as the common ones for coflfee; the other, by M. TeiTasse Dubillon, is also a kind of roaster, but with many spiral concentrics into whicli the gi'ains successively pass.j * Having no authentic specimen to describe, I have given the characters from Peaumiir and Duponchel. t Encyclopedic Meihodiquc, vol. i. p. 115. + Tlie foregoing and following facts have been copied from Duponchel's Sapjihment to the Lcpi- Joptens de France, vol. iv. p. 444. 314 FAEM INSECTS. " The grain being put into the roaster, the instrumeijt is turned over the fire like the coffee-roaster for five minutes ; the grain is then withdi-awn, the temperatiu-e being 57° Reaumur, and that it must be calculated at about 60', through the loss of heat which it experiences from opening the door and introducing the thermometer. The experiments made by the commission named by the Agricultural Society of Cher (in France) with this machine, proved that all the larvse contained in the grains were dead and dried iu the pre- scribed time (fifty minutes) ; that these grains, afterwards placed by tlie side of those infested, have undergone no more fermentation, and have been no more devoured by insects ; that they have suffered no more waste than the others continued to suflfer ; finally, that the entire grains which had been put into the roaster, liave germinated as well as the other grains which had not been placed there. " The commission of Cher has verified that the machine of M. Marcelhu was thus able to prepare in one day, 1 20 common bushels (boisseaux*) ; that a man and woman, or two women only, were sufficient to work it ; and that with the fuel employed the expense in the countiy amounted to three francs per diem, or to a demi-sous (less than a farthing) per bushel. " The machine of M. Dubillon has produced the same results as M. Mar- celHn's with a little more saving in laboim From the entry of the grain to its exit from the mill it passes over 300 feet, and the fii'st grain intro- duced has taken foui' and a half minutes to traverse this space: fourteen bois- seaux have passed through in one horn", which gives 140 boisseaux in ten hours of work, or twenty boisseaux more than M. Marcellin's roaster. The consumption of fuel was not greater, and two persons equally sufficed to serve the machine, it consequently shoAvs that the expense is a little less; but it must be observed that M. Marcellin's roaster is much more simple and cheaper than the complicated one of M. Dubillon, and is better suited to the pocket of the little cultivator than this last." Simple friction promises to answer every purpose, as will appear from the following remarks made by Dr. Herpin : -f — "I think I have made a discovery of a ver}'- easy and very economical process for destroying the Aluciia (Butalis cerealella) in its different states. It is by means of an agitator or shaking-machine, similar to the vertical tarares, furnished with little wooden or iron wings, propelled with very great velocity (600 revolutions a-minute). The shakings and concussions which the corn receives in passing in this machine are so multiplied and so quick, that the eggs are broken or detached from * A boisseau is rather more than an English peck ; thus three boisseaux are equal to one English bushel, and 107 parts of a thousand over, or rather more than one-tenth, t Recherch.es sur la Destruction de VAlucite, ou Teigne des Graines. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 315 the corn ; the iusect is mauled juij killed even in the interior of the grain where it is inclosed. I have not been able to make this experiment on a large scale, because I have not had a sufficient quantity of infested corn ; but I have observed that some corn containing living larvae of the Alucita, shaken briskly by the hand in a glass bottle for an horn*, has produced only a small number of the moths, compared with that which came out of the same corn which had not been submitted to this agitation. I have thought it my duty to record this fact, and to publish it." Tinea granella — the Wolf, or Little Grain-onotk. A moth, in some respects similar to the little coni-motli in its habits of life, is completely established in this country, as well as in every part of Europe. It is called in Englisli works the "Mottled Woollen Moth,"* and it lias received the scientific appellation of Tinea granella. The caterpillars do incredible mischief to bonded and housed corn laid up in gi-anaries, and they are I believe called " White Corn-worms." From April till August the little moth is found in granaries and magazines, resting by day on the walls and beams, and flying about only at night, imless disturbed. Soon after they have escaped from the chrysalis the sexes pair, and the female lays one or two eggs on each grain of corn until she has deposited thirty or more : t tliey are so minute that they can only be detected by a good magnifying- glass, when they appear of an oval form and of a yellowish white colour. The small white worms hatch in a few days (sometimes it is sixteen), and immediately penetrate the grain, No 44. carefully closing up the aperture Avith theii' roundish white excre- ment, which is held together by a fine web (Plate K, fig. 1). Wlien a sino-le fn^ain is not sufficient for its o o nom'ishment, the larva unites a second grain to the first by the same web, and thus it ultimately adds together a great number (Plate K, and No. 44, figs. 2), forming a secure habitation, which at the same time is well stored with provisions. When the maggots are almost full grown, they often leave their Lxlgings in great numbers, running over the com and covering the whole sm^ace so effectually, Avith a thick web of a grayish white colour, sometimes forming a crust three * Haworth's Lepidoptera Britannica, p. 563. t Leuwenhoek says they lay from fifty to seventy eggs. Phil. Trans., vol. xviii. p. 194. 316 FAEM INSECTS. inches thick, that scarcely a grain of corn is visible. It is considered that the object of tliis operation is to protect themselves from their enemies, as well as from transitions of the temperatmre. At this time the caterpillars are about 5 lines long (figs. 3), of a pale ochreous colom-, composed of thirteen segments, with six pectoral, eight abdominal, and two anal feet: the head is horny, shining, and red brown, and there are four dark transverse marks on the first thoracic segment, being two sections of a circle broken in the middle: figs. 4, magnified. It is in August or September that the caterpillars have arrived at maturity, when they leave the corn- heaps and search for a safe and suitable place to undergo their metamorphoses, and at this period they are usually most observed. They form their cocoons (figs. 5) by gnawing the wood, and working it up with their web, in any chink in the floor, walls, or roof, which are frequently swarming with them, and these cocoons being the form and size of a grain of corn look like one dusted over. It there remains in its snug and warm berth, in the larva state, through the winter, and does not change to a chiysalis until the month of March following, and in a backward spring not until May. The pupa (figs. 6) is of a deep chestnut colour, the abdominal rings being of a shining yellow tint, and the apex is furnished with two little points (figs. 7, the same magnified). In two or three weeks after they have assumed the pupa form the moth hatches, with almost perfect wings at its birth, I have heard, leaving the empty chrysalis sticking half out of the cocoon : figs. 8. This moth (figs. 9) belongs to the order Lepidoptera ; family TiNEiD^ ; the genus Tinea, and bears the Linnean name of — 6. Tinea granella. — It is of a cream- white with a satiny lustre : the head hairy and tufted, concealing the eyes from above ; these are hemispherical and slate-colom-ed : antennae rather shorter than the body, setaceous, composed of innumerable subquadrate joints, pubescent, and clothed with depressed scales: tongue or spiral proboscis very short and scaly outside : maxillary palpi arti- culated, but very minute;* labial palpi long, scaly, drooping, divaricating, and tri-articulate, second joint the longest and stoutest, third more slender, elliptic-conical: thorax clothed with scales: abdomen linear and blunt at the tip in the male, in which sex the organ of generation is sometimes exserted like a fine long sting ; the apex is conical in the female, with a telescopiform ovipositor: wings very much deflexed or sloping, like the roof of a house, Avith the fringe curved up in repose (figs. 9) ; superior longish and lanceolate, with many deep rich brown u-regular spots, freckled between ; there are six on the costa, the three nearest the base are the largest, the third semilunate, * It appears to me that these organs are most fully developed in the females. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 317 the two following uiiiiute, and on the inner margin is a brown oblong spot, forming an acute angle with the third ; the fringe is long and brown, with pale stripes : inferior wings smaller, lanceolate, of a pale mouse colour, coppery towards the tips ; the fringe very long and fine : six legs ; hinder thighs very short; anterior shanks short, with a hairy spine on the inside, the others spurred at the apex ; the posterior long, clothed externally with long liairs, having a second pair of long spurs near the base ; tarsi longer than the tibise, slender, tapering, and five-jointed; claws very minute: expanse of wings, 5 1 lines: figs. 10, greatly magnified. The female is larger and darker. I cannot describe the trophi or organs of the mouth with the accuracy to be desired, owing to my not being able to obtain living specimens of the moth ; but dissections of an allied species, very destructive to clothes, have been figured and described in the British Entomology, Plate 511. It is difficult to guard against the introduction of this moth, since it deposits its eggs on the sheaves in the field, as well as after the grain is stored and thrashed out, and it will feed as freely upon barley, rye, and oats as upon wheat; and Leuwenhoek adds, "That these worms are not only destructive to corn, but are also in old timber, books, boxes, woollen stuffs, and the like." In reflecting upon the economy of tlfis destructive animal, it is not difficult to suggest palliatives, if not remedies, and it appears to me that if the following rules were strictly attended to, few persons would suffer from the inroads of this insect: — (1.) Before replenishing an empty granary or loft, the floor should be well scoured with hot water and soft soap, or lees, if practicable ; if not, it must be well brushed with a fine stiff" broom, to clean out the chinks or fissures between the boards. The roof and beams should be white-washed, as well as the walls, with lime-water, used as hot as possible; and these operations would have greater effect if performed in the winter months. I presume coal-tar would be even better, if the scent be not communicated to the grain. Sprinkling the floor with salt dissolved in strong vinegar has been recom- mended, and might be very serviceable. (2.) In granaries already stored, where the caterpillars are at work, what- ever method for their destruction may be resorted to, by heat, ventilation, or otherwise, it must be employed during the summer, from the end of May to the end of August ; occasionally a month earlier or later, as during the winter these larvae are not to be found amongst the corn-heaps ; they retire in the autumn, to conceal themselves in fissures and cracks in the floors and walls, and form their cocoons. (3.) The moths themselves might be destroyed in April and May, when they deposit their eggs, by burning a very powerfid light, even in the day- 818 FARM INSECTS. time, in dark granaries ; for being attracted by the brightness of the flame, they would fly into it and be destroyed, or fall down sufficiently injured to prevent their doing any fm-ther mischief,* and at the same time the corn ought to be frequently turned over with shovels, to kill the eggs and disturb the young larvae. To complete the work, all cracks and broken places in the walls and roof must be stopped with Roman cement or plaster of Paris, to prevent the ingress of the moth, and the apertures left for light or ventilation must be covered with wire gauze. It is a great mistake to leave the inside walls and roof in a rough state, as they afford exactly the retreats fit for the transforma- tions of the larvEe; it would therefore be very advisable to have them smoothly plastered. When the larvse are securely feeding in the grain, one of the best reme- dies is to subject the whole to a sufficient degree of heat to destroy the insects. This is said to be best effected by kiln-drying, as a temperature of 19° of Reaumur (about 78° Fahr.) will kill the larvae; but it can only be applied to corn intended for the miU, as it destroys the vital principle so that it will not germinate. t The great object in this process is to obtain the required heat as speedily as possible, and to let the vapour escape through apertures made for the purpose, in order that no unpleasant odour may be communicated to the corn. Having so far shown what may be accomplished by heat, I wish now to turn the reader's attention to what has been proposed to be effected l:»y an oi)posite process, which may be termed the cooling system. It being fiscertained that the larvse of the corn-moth cannot live in a lower tempera- ture than 12° or 10° of Reaumiu- — namely, under a temperate heat — that they become torpid in a temperature of 6° or only 8° above zero, and that they die if this low state be maintained for any length of time, Dr. Ham- merschmidtj has proved by repeated experiments, that by keeping up an artificial cold atmosphere, by means of ventilators, a sm-e remedy is effected. This is easily done by making small windows in all directions, near the floors of the storehouses, which will supply the current of air required. If the tubes be introduced through the closed windows, one end being carried into * A contributor to the Gardeners' Chronicle says, ' ' Would not a few gas-lights kept burning in the granaries, during the months the perfect insect is on the wing, prove both attractive and destructive of this pest ? Lamps would not do, as they would soon be extinguished by the dead moths."— Vol. i. p. 133. + Such is Kollar's statement in his Natur. der Schced. Insecten, p. 128, but surely it must be incorrect, as the French assert that sixty degrees of Reaumur will not injure the germination of the corn, and it is liable to a much higher temperature than nineteen degrees in the open field. + Kollar, p. 128. I may here acknowledge my obligations to this useful work, and the translation, for many of the foregoing observations relative to the Tinea granella. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 319 the corn -heap, a cli-aiiglit will be created which will at once reduce the temperature sufficiently to attain the desii-ed object; or the tubes may be laid in the floor with the end rising a foot above it, and covered at the top with a perforated rose, like that of a watering-pot: over these the corn must be thrown, to receive the cooled draught thus created. Fumigation has been also recommended by M. Granier, who explained his method of preserving corn for long periods before the Aciidemy of Sciences at Paria " The corn was well winnowed, and put into a vessel or room perfectly free from damp ; the external air was excluded, and then sulphuric acid was introduced by means of bm-ning sulphur within, as is done in this country for whitening peeled wicker- wares. If many insects should be found to be destroyed by this method, pulverized charcoal should be mixed with the corn, to obviate the effects of putrefaction. M. Granier had kept com six years perfectly good by a renewal of this operation once a year.'" * It is, however, positively stated that fumigation with brimstone has been found of no use, as it only induces the larvse to bury themselves deeper in the corn-heaps. Sprinkling the corn with common salt is considered very beneficial ; indeed, Roesel says that salt powdered and mixed with the corn will kiU the larvge, or it may be dissolved in water and sprinkled over it ; and it will not in any way injure the corn, as brimstone, wormwood, &c., do, by communicating a disgusting flavoui*. When there is room, it is a simple and successful plan to form a small heap of a bushel or two of com near the centre, or the part most affected, and leave it undisturbed, whilst all the rest is to be turned over repeatedly, which will compel the larvte to take refuge in the small undis- turbed heap ; and by pouring hot water over it, the insects can be readily destroyed: many will, no doubt, climb up the walls, but these can be swept off. I must not omit to notice some interesting observations made in the Introduction to Entomology,i showing the extent to which this moth is multiplied in our granaries, and the serious consequences that might arise from neglecting to take timely measm'es for its extirpation. It is true that the facts in some degree contravene the modes that have been recommended to expel this pest : nevertheless, my advice to those who are sufl'erers is, to persevere. It appeai-s that in October, 1 887, the extensive gi-anaries of Messrs. Hellicar, in Bristol, the greater part of which had been built within the two previous years, were infested by these insects. Mr. Spence, who visited the premises with Mr. Raddon, says — " We found the barley lying on the flooi-s * Literary Oazdte, Aug. 1, 1840. t By Kirby and Spence, vol. i. p. HO, Gth edition ; and 7th cilition, p. 94. 320 FARM INSECTS. covered with a gauze-like tissue, formed of the fine silken threads spun by the larvse in traversing its surface, on recently quitting it for the purpose of undergoing their metamorphosis in the ceiling of the granary, formed of the joists and wooden floor of the story above. What was remarkable, as Mr. Raddon communicated to the Entomological Society,* was the great depth to which the larvse had bored in the wood — even through knots filled with tur- pentine, so as to convert portions of the wood- work in places quite into a honeycomb, and thus to be almost as injurious to the building as to the corn stored in it." It is certainly very strange that these larvss, after being glutted with the farina of the corn, should wander from the heaps to feed upon timber, even saturated with turpentine. Such, however, is the fact; and Mr. Spence adds, " that their main purpose (whether we suppose the excavated wood to be eaten and digested or not t) is to provide a retreat for the larvas, which remain in this state the whole winter, and do not become pupse till spring, is proved by the fact that it is from the mouths of these holes (after every portion of the excrement hanging from them has been swept away, and the whole ceiling thickly lime-washed, as it is every autumn) that the moths emerge by thousands in the month of June, as yearly takes place in Messrs. Hellicar's granaries." Some of these caterpillars ate through paper into the cork where they were placed. If diseased corn be used for seed, it is important to sow it deep, for the caterpillars will become pupae in the earth ; and it has been observed that when that practice has been adopted, few of the moths were able to struggle through the soil, and those were in a weak and languid state; whilst the corn which was buried about an inch only, with the larvfe in it, produced the moths, which readily made their escape from the chrysalides. It is also desirable to cut the corn in good season, and not suffer it to stand too long in the sheaf, as the moths will be enabled to lay their eggs in the ears in the field, and are thus introduced into the barn. The natural enemies of the grain-moths are bats, which feed upon these and other moths, especially those that surround and inhabit the same localities. Spiders also occupy the angles of the windows and doorways, spreading their nets to catch such prey. The gray and yellow wagtails, and many other small birds, are insectivorous, and might be enticed to visit our barns and stack-yards by placing water conveniently for them ; and, as Dr. Hammer- schmidt observes, the excrement of the birds, which might easily be removed by winnowing, is not to be compared to the filth of the caterpillars for its injurious effects. * See the Transactions, vol. ii. p. Ixviii. t See Leuweiihoek's statement in a preceding page. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CROPS. 321 The Corn- Weevils. From the numerous statements and complaints that have been transmitted to me, I am inclined to believe that no insect does more mischief to stored corn, in England at least, than these weevils, of which there are two species, but neither of them are natives of this country, although one is perfectly- naturalized. Probably the best plan will be to describe and figure these two species, then to relate their economy, and finally to investigate the remedies. These weevils belong to the order Coleoptera, the family CuRCULiONiDiE, the genus Calandra,* and one species is called by Linnjeus — 7. C. or y zee, the Eice- weevil (Plate K, and No. 45, figs. 1 1 ; figs. T 2, magnified). It is smooth, ellipti- cal, and somewhat depressed; some specimens are of a pale chestnut or ochreous colom', others are the tint of pitch, with every shade between the two extremes, regu- lated possibly by the age of the insect; the head is semi -ovate, the base smooth, and capable of being withdrawn into the thorax ; it is sparingly punctured ; the eyes ' *■ are not at all prominent, but black, granulated, elhptical, and vertical; the space between them has a deep V-shaped groove, with a smaller one on each side ; the fore part of the head is elongated into a stout rostrum or beak, twice as long as the head, nearly cylindrical, straight, smooth, and sparingly punctured; it is a little dilated at the base, with four grooves or lines of punctures, especi- ally in the males, in which sex it is the stoutest ; at the tip is the mouth, which is very minute, but composed of two horny mandibles, serrated so as to form four large teeth (fig. a) ; the maxilke are minute (fig. h), terminated by an oval lobe, with a slender triarticulate palpus on the outside (fig. c) ; the horns are as long as the rostrum, and inserted on each side of it, close to the base ; they are nine-jointed (fig. d) ; the basal joint is very long, and forms an elbow with the remainder ; the second is subglobose, the third obovate, the four following are short, more or less cup- shaped, the remainder forming a stouter ovate-conic club, the basal joint being by far the largest; the thorax is twice as broad as the head, oval, but trimcated at the base, with the angles rounded ; it is suddenly narrowed before, at the base of the head, and the 2U .^-3' • Schonherr, witli his usual mania for superseding SilophUm. stablished names, has changed this to 322 FAEM INSECTS. whole surface is covered with large deep punctures, leaving a smooth line down the centre, but almost uniting on the sides ; the scutellum is minute and semi-ovate ; the elytra are about as long as the head and thorax, not broader, oval, but ti-imcated at the base, and sometimes narrowed a little at the middle ; the dark specimens have fom- distinct orange-coloured spots, two on the shoul- ders and two near the tips, and there are regular rows of confluent deep little pits down the back, with lines of minute bristles between the alternate rows ; the wings are ample, and folded under the elytra ; the under side is coarsely punctured; the six legs are very strong, and rather short; they are also punctured, especially the thighs, which are stout; the shanks are short, slightly compressed, with series of minute bristles down the outside, and a short cm'ved claw at the external apex; the tarsi can be bent quite back against the shanks, and are fom'-jointed; the third joint is bilobed, the fom'th clavate and furnished with two minute claws: it is only If line long, and scarcely | line broad. I have often, in early life, found these beetles amongst rice, from which oTain it receives its specific name oryzce, and it no doubt was originally imported from the East Indies with that important article of food; but I have seen it infesting wheat from Ancona, sent to Mark Lane for sale in 1844, and from various granaries. Professor Royle also transmitted me specimens which were destrojdng East Indian wheat in the ships by which it was brought over to this country. On cutting open the grains of the Ancona wheat, I found at the base of the kernel, in multitudes of instances, a cavity (fig. 13) containing a very small larva, curled up, of a dirty white colour, with a ferruginous horny head (fig. 14, e). This is the young grub of the weevil, and I have no doubt the egg is deposited by the female in this end of the grain, but I have never suc- ceeded in obtaining the eggs or rearing the larvse. I could not help remark- ing, that however sound the grains might appear outside in this sample, there were scarcely any that had not been perforated (fig. 15, /; and 16,/, the same magnified) ; and I could not find one in twenty that did not contain some of the beetles or grubs (fig. 17). The pupse that I found in situ were all dead, and consequently not such perfect objects as I wished to delineate (fig. 18; cause the weevils no inconvenience ; but I think if it had been persevered in for several consecutive days, excluding, at the same time, the ingress of air, that it must have destroyed them. The fumes of sulphur are said to be e(iually inefficient ; and all these fumigations are still less adapted to destroy the larvae, as the smoke cannot penetrate amongst the grain. Olivier* also says — "Some have imagined, by putting the corn in pan- nelled cellars, or by sifting it in winter, the corn would be secured from the weevils ; but this is a great mistake, for, independent of the difficulty of pre- ventmg its germinating and rotting, the weevils would be imdisturbed, and more sure to commit their ravages. The sifting is likewise useless in winter, as the weevils have then left the corn-heaps ; the eggs are also so well glued to the grain that it is impossible to separate them by sifting or stirring with the shovel. Experiments have proved that a sudden heat of 1 9° (about 75° Fah.) is sufficient to destroy the weevils t without burning them ; but this would not suffi3cate the insects when they are buried in a heap of corn. It has been observed that a heat of C0° or 70° (1G7° or 190° Fah.) is necessary to kill the weevils in the stove ; but this excessive heat, which has the advan- tage of destroying the eggs and larvee inclosed in the grain, is capable of tbying the corn too much, even of burning it, and yet does not preserve it from the insects secreted in the granary, which will come out and attack it if there be no other for them." In a short communication to the Entomological Transactions, some valu- able data upon this point are fumi-shed by Mr. Mills, who was in Madeira * These .suggestions are translated from the Encyclopedic Mcthodiqiie, vol. v. p. 444. t See note, p. 318. The discrepancies and attendant doubts regarding these subjects are fit inquiries to be made by some talented chemist and entomologist ; but as the time such experiments and investigations require cannot be expected to be given by scientific men without remuneration, it is to be hoped that some plan m.ay be adopted by the government, in this enlightened age, to settle such important questions, which would be doing an essential service to the country. 328 FAEM INSECTS. from Jamiary to August, 1835. In that island lie thinks the eggs are first deposited whilst the maize is in flower, and he ascertained that he could hatch the eggs at 110° of Fah., whilst from 130° to 140° of heat killed them. He adds, "A gentleman of the name of Wilkinson, in Madeira, has now established a heated room with hot- water pipes, in which he receives as many as 800 bags of wheat at a time; these become heated tlnrough at about 135°, and the wheat, when resifted, is perfectly cleansed from these noxious insects, and makes quite as good bread as before. I also tried some of it in the ground that had been subjected to this heat, and it came up."* Olivier then recommends a ventilator to introduce cold air, which has already been discussed in the remedies proposed for " the grain-moth," as well as the forming of little heaps of corn in the spring, to act as decoys. He says that when the weevils have taken possession of them, boiling-water should be poured on the heap, at the same time turning it over with a shovel, in order that the heat may penetrate everywhere : it ought afterwards to be spread to dry, and then sifted to free it from the dead weevils. This should be done at the commencement of spring, before the eggs are deposited, by which precaution a fresh generation is stopped, t The introduction of cold air is, I expect, to be recommended for various reasons : at Lynn in Norfolk I have heard it is the practice, and the readiest way of getting rid of the corn- weevils, to expose an empty granary to two or three nights' frost by setting all the windows open. In a French work we are told| it is an excellent plan " to lay fleeces of wool, which have not been scoured, on the grain ; the oily matter attracts the insects amongst the wool, where they soon die, from what cause is not exactly known. M. B. C. Payrandeau related to the Philomatic Society of Paris, that his father had made the discovery in 1811, and had since practised it on a large scale." After aU that has been said, I shall only revert to the necessity of keep- ing storehouses clean and aired, and I have the authority of gentlemen of gi-eat experience in London to state, that by stirring or turning over the malt frequently, and taking every opportunity of white- washing the walls when- ever the granaries are at all empty, they experience no loss from the insects I have just recorded. The corn- weevils are frequently accompanied by several species of small Ijeetles, which assist in reducing the quantity and depreciating the quality of the corn in our granaries. Of course they all belong to the order Coleoptera, * Observations upon the Corn -weevils, by William Mills, Esq., F.L.S. ; Transactions of the Entomological Society, vol. i. p. 241. t Ency. Mtthocl, vol. v. p. 444. t Bulletin des Sciences Agriculture, July, 1826, p. 24. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CHOPS. 320 and the first is included in the family CORTlCARlDiE and the genus SiL- VANUS. It is named— SiLVi\:NUS suRiNAMExsis — the Com Sllvanus. From the specific name it may be inferred that this little beetle has been imported originally from Surinam. It is now a constant inhabitant of om' stores and warehouses ; and from its infesting corn, it was described by Fabricius as Anohium frumentarium ; and subsequently as Dermes^es sex- dentatum, from the spines on the sides of the thorax. Linnceus's name having the right of priority, I shall retain it. 9. S. surinamensis (fig. 24) is only 1^ line long (A;), and very narrow: it is flat, of a rusty brown colour, thickly and coarsely punctm-ed, and sparingly clothed with short, yellow, depressed hairs: the head is large and subtri- gonate, the nose appears truncated, but it is semicircular in front, and conceals the mouth, wliich is composed of an upper and under lip, two little horny jaws, maxillie and j^alpi: the antennse are inserted imder the reflexed sides of the head, stout, straight^ pubescent, nearly as long as the head and thorax, and eleven-jointed, basal joint stoutish, second and thii-d obovate, five follow- ing globose or cup-shaped, the remainder forming an elongated club, the basal and second joints being cup-shaped, the apical one more orbicular: the eyes are black, small, hemispherical, and coarsely granulated: the thorax is per- fectly oval, and a little broader tlian the head at the middle ; there are three ridges down the back, forming two broad cliannels, and on each margin are six teeth ; scutellum minute : the elytra are long, elliptical, and broader than the thorax, with four sHghtly- elevated lines down each, between them are double rows of pimctures, and series of little shining yellow bristles : beneath them are two ample wings : legs six, and short ; thighs stout ; shanks clavate ; feet five -jointed, three first joints short, fom-th exceedingly minute, fifth clavate, terminated by two claws. The larva is a little depressed, yellowish white worm (fig. 22 magnified, i being the natural length) ; it is composed of a tolerably large head, with two pointed jaws and two little horns, and of twelve transverse segments ; tlie tail is somewhat conical, and it has six articulated legs : the pupa (fig. 23, j, the natural length) is of the same colom* ; the head is bent down ; the thorax is suborbicular with thVee ridges ; the sides with a few short spines ; scutel- lum elongated: elytra wrapped over the sides and striated: abdomen with distinct segments, the sides with short thick points like the thorax. Mr. Ingpen bred this insect from bran he received from Scotland ; and it appears to be natm'alized, from its being found in various parts of England 41 330 FAEM INSECTS. and Scotlcand under the bark of trees. It breeds in rice and divers kinds of corn ; it also inhabits dried figs, and will feed on sugar. Cucujus TESTACEUS — the Com Cucujus. Tliis is a still smaller beetle, which accompanies the corn-weevils, and was foimd by Mr. C. C. Babington in a granary at Cambridge in gi'eat abundance, and a closely allied species, or it may be the other sex merely, was observed in granaries and corn-bins in Norfolk about thii'ty years back, in the month of December, at which period Mr. Ingpen detected it in an old decayed elm tree in Wiltshire. The G. testaceus, however, is decidedly a corn-feeding insect, for in examining the wheat from Ancona, and cutting ojDcn the gTains, I found two with the Cucujus in them, as shown by the cavity at the top of fig. 13, Plate K, and more distinctly exhibited at fig. 14, ^: in this cell, which is opposite to the point occupied by the corn- weevil, the Cucujus was l3dng dead, and there were two or three little holes in the skin of the wheat as minute as the point of a needle. This beetle belongs to a small family called CUCUJID^, which comprises the genus Cucujus, and from the colour of the insect it has been named by Fabricius — 10. Cucujus testaceus (Plate K, and No. 46, figs. 26) : it is only 1 line long (figs, m), very narrow and depressed, finely but not thickly punctm'ed, and clothed with short, soft, ochreous No. 4B. pubescence, and is of a bright shin- ing testaceous colour: the head is broad, with a small black eye on each side towards the base; it is narrowed before, and to the nose is attached the labrum, under which are two toothed jaws, two maxillae and palpi, and an under lip with two more palpi; before the eyes are placed the antennae, which are longer than the head and thorax, straight, moniliform, hairy, and eleven-jointed; basal joint stoutish and oval, the following more or less globose, the three last thickened, top-shaped, and forming a somewhat elongated club, the terminal joint having a little hairy tubercle at the tip: thorax rather broader than the head, somewhat quadrate, but a little narrowed behind, with the angles acute, the sides margined : scutellum small and trans- verse : elytra very much depressed, elliptical, often slightly concave, broader than the thorax and nearly tlu'ice as long, concealing two ample folded wings: legs six, rather small, intermediate pair a little the shortest; thighs INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CROPS. 331 stout ; shanks slender and simple, with a spine at the apex ; tarsi very slendei-, five-jointed, first four joints very small, fifth long, clavate ; the hinder pair is only four-jointed in the males; claws two.* "With them I had also the good foi-tune to find the larva (figs. I) : it is a little longer than the beetle, narrow, very nmch depressed, of an ochreous colour, sparingly hairy, and formed of tldrteen segments, including the head, which is somewhat orbicular, with two minute antennae and two palpi; it has six pectoral, short, articulated legs, the segment at the tail is the longest, semi-ovate, recurved, and terminated by two little spines forming a fork: figs. 25, greatly magnified. I have never seen the pupa. Another species of Cucujus, a})parently the minutus of Olivier, infests the maize. Ptinus crenatus — the Oval Ptinns. Another small beetle is often associated with these insects in old granaries, and by eating into the floors and rafters in which they breed, not only reduce the wood- work to powder, but prepare commodious retreats for the larvfe of the corn-moths and the grain-weevils. The mischief might be prevented, I expect, by kyanizing the timber employed in such buildings. This coleop- terous insect belongs to the family Ptinid^ and the genus Ptinus. From the difference of form in the sexes, the male was described as the P. ovatus and the female as P. cerevisice by ovir comitryman Marsham, but it had pre- viously been named by Fabricius — 11. P. crenatus. — It is of a rusty brown colour; the male is scarcely 1 line long and -| broad ; the female is sometimes 1 1 line long and | broad ; the head droops and is densely clothed with yellow hairs ; the eyes are small, black, prominent, and lateral ; antennae long in the male, filiform, pubescent, and eleven-jointed, basal joint stout; the following elongated, terminal one conical; shorter in the female, the joints more ovate-truncate: the thorax is somewhat orbicular, narrowed at the base, very convex, with a central ridge and two lateral tubercles, the spaces between them clothed with long yellow- ish hairs ; scutellum very minute ; elytra oval, more globose in the female, with lines of punctm*es and series of yellowish hairs ; the legs are of moderate size and pubescent ; the thighs clavate ; shanks rather long and slender ; feet longish, five-jointed, basal joint the longest, fourth the smallest; claws small. t * Dissections of the mouth, and more ample characters, will be f'>'opagat~ ing until the end of August. The vjarmer the iveather the more eggs are deposited, but the females cease to lay when it becomes cold. So fast do they viultiply in the south of France, that sometimes in a corn-heap nothing but the husks are left. It does not take more than six tveeks to undergo all the changes, from tlie laying of the egg to the hatching of the weevil. It is calculated that 604-5 indi\dduals may be reared from one pair of iveevils in a summer. INSECTS AFFECTING COEN CEOPS. 339 As soou as the female is impregnated, she buries herself in the corn-heap to lay her eggs. The presence of these insects in the grain cannot he detected by looking at a corn-heap, but on throwing the grains into water they Jloat. As long as the lueather remains hot, the weevils keep in the corn-heaps. When tlie mornings become cool they leave them, and secrete themselves in crevices and chinks in the walls, wood, &c. The weevils do not like light, and bury themselves if possible when exposed to it. The granary-weevils are never found in the fields in England, and con- sequently the eggs are only laid when the corn is housed. The granary-weevil can bear our climate much better than the rice- weevil. In the East and West Indies Calandra oryzce is exceedingly abundant in the magazines. They expose tlie grain to the sun, and ivinnoiu it frequently. Barley and malt suffer most from the Calandra granaria. On placing the beetles in a box with barley, maize, wheat, pease, and beans, they only attacked the two first; but in other instances wheat and black oats were devoured. In mild seasons the granary-iveevil may be found all the year in warm granaries and mills, and in sultry weather on the outsides of the buildings. Fumigating with strong-scented herbs only communicates a disagreeable odour to the grain, as the weevils escape by burying themselves in the corn. The scent of spirits of turjyentine did not appear to incommode the weevils, but it would, if persevered in, at the same time excluding the atmo- spheric air. The fumes of sulphur failed from the same cause, and still less affect the larvae contained in the grain. Placing the corn in close cellars the worst of all pi'oceedings, as the iveevils delight in darkness and being undisturbed. Sifting in the winter useless, as the weevils are not then in the corn- A sudden heat of 75° Fah. will destroy the iveevils, but it will not suffo- cate them when bm-ied in the corn-heaps. The eggs and larvce, as well as the weevils, are destroyed by 190° Fah., but it also scorches the corn. In Madeira the eggs are believed to be laid in the flowers of the maize. The eggs are hatched at 110° Fah., whilst 130° to 140° killed them. A room heated to 135° by hot ivater-pipes has been constructed in Madeira, which answers every purpose. 340 FARM INSECTS. The ivheat subjected to this high temperature vegetated in the ground. In Norfolk tlie windoivs of an empty granary are set open for two or three nights dm-ing a, frost, which expels the weevils. Fleeces of vjool laid on the corn-heaps attract and kill the lueevils. In London the malt does not suffer from these pests, when tvhite-washing the gTanaries and frequently stirring or turning over the heaps are regularly attended to. A little beetle called Silvanus surinamensis, with its larvse and pup?e, sometimes aboimd in granaries. It inhabits bran also, and is found under the hark of trees. A smaller beetle, called Gucujus testaceus, has been found in great abun- dance in granaries and mills. It has also been detected under the hark of elm trees in Decemher. Inhabited the wheat from Ancona with its larva. Another species, the Gucujus minutus, infests the maize. Ptinus crenatus often accompanies them, eating into the floors and ivood- \uork. Kyanizing the timber used, the best remedy against their inroads. Uloma cornuta is a beetle which inhabits the maize-spikes, and is often found in London bread. The Gadelle is the larva of a beetle which is mischievous in granaries^ especially in the south of France. It inhabits also dead trees, and will attack bread and dried fruit. It has been imported, and a colony of them was found in the floor of a malt-house in Cambridge. It was bred from a Spanish almond, in which it lived as a larva and beetle for three years. The Gadelle eats the outside of the grain, injuring more than it consumes. These larvce are most troublesome at the end of ivinter, and become 2^upce in the earth or amongst dust. The beetle is called Trogosita mauritanica, and devours the Tinea granella. Tlie meal-ivorm, Tenehrio molitor, breeds amongst damp and damaged flour. T. obscurus prefers dry and sound flour. Sometimes abundant in London and the provinces. These insects ground up with our food, in aU probability injurious to the constitution. Ghocolate sometimes manufactm-ed fiom cocoa-nuts swaiming with insects. C®E^-FJ[]EMi)S AN© (EMAKAMJ[ES tlL,s and, B e.f>lle.i iyifr.ifi,,,, r„rn ppjds ajid Gr i'i..\-ri-: l\. -.^ ^^i<^ 14^ (^^^^ . . .^,^zr^' %■ EDIHDTOUHl fcLOMDON. INSECTS AFFECTING CORN CEOPS. 341 Explanation of Plate K. Fig. 1. A grain of wheat opened, to show the cavity in which the caterpillar of l^inea r/ranella had fed, witli the excrement at the apex. Fig. 2. Several grains united by the same cateqiillar. Fig. 3. The caterpillar of Tinea (jranclla. Fig. 4.* The same magnified. Fig. 5. A group of the cocoons spun by the same. Fig. G. The c/icysaZis taken out of a cocoon. Fig. 7.* The same magnified. Fig. 8. A chrysalis sticking in a cocoon after the moth was hatcheil. Fig. 9. Tinea granclla at rest. Fig. 10.* The same flying, and magnified. q, The natural dimensions. Fig. 11. CakjuZm oj-ysce, the rice- weevil. • Fig. 12.* The same magnified. n*, One of the mandibles or jaws. i*, The maxilla. c*, The palpus or feeler. d'*, The antenna, or horn. Fig. 1-3. A grain of wheat opened, to show the burrows of tv/o beetles. Fig. 14.* The same magnified. e, The maggot of Calandra oryzce. 2>, The burrow of Cucujus tcstaceus. Fig. 15. A grain of wheat. /, The hole eaten by the larva of Calandra oryzee. Fig. 16.* The same grain magnified. /. The hole perforated by the little maggot. Fig. 17.* The grain of wheat opened to show the perfect weevil inside. Fig. 18.* The 2'>npa of Calandra oryzce. (J, The natural size. Fig. 19.* The parasitic fly, iV/eropoj-its /7m/«tMtco/a. A, Tlie natural size. Fig. 20. Calandra granaria, the granary-weevil. Fig. 21.* The same magnified. Fig. 22.* Larva oi Sihanus snrinamensis. i, The natural length. Fig. 23.* Pupa of the same. j, The natural length. Fig. 24.* Silvanus surinamensis. k, The natural length. Fig. 25.* Larva of Cucujus tcstaceus. I, The natural dimensions. Fig. 26.* Cucujus tcstaceus. m, The natural size. Fig. 27.* Cadcllc, or larva of Trogosita mauritanica. n, The natural length. Fig. 28.* Trogosita mauritanica. 0, The natural length. Thoso numbers and letters with a * attached, refer to the objects which are represented larjer than life. All the figures are drawn from nature, excepting Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8, which are copied from Roesel, and 22, 23, an^ 27, from Westwood's Modern Classifcation. 342 FAEM INSECTS. CHAPTER XII. the natural history and economy of the insects affectinci the pease and beans, including weevils, maggots, bees, plant- lice, grain -beetles, moths, and the mole- cricket. Millipedes. Pease are subject to many casualties, arising from atmospheric changes and the attacks of insects. A similar mildew to that which affects tm-nips and rose-leaves often renders the crops very sickly, and then they fall an easy sacrifice to the insect tribes. If the season be cold and wet when early pease are committed to the earth, they frequently are infested by the millipedes,* which eat into the softened and decomposing seeds ; and even if they have sprouted, few of them are able to struggle through the soil when thus weak- ened, and the winter and early sown crops are consequently lost to the grower. Pea and Bean Weevils. The next enemy these crops have to encounter are small beetles called weevils, which either destroy the plants as fast as they push above the sur- face, or nibble the leaves and notch the edges when they have expanded. Most farmers are very imperfectly acquainted wdth tlie economy of these insects, and it was a long time before gardeners could be convinced that it was a weevil which caused them so much anxiety. Some very naturally accused the sparrows; traps were set for rats and mice; lime strewed for slugs and snails ; and toads were encouraged to extirpate the wood-lice ; but still the crops kept disappearing, as none of these precautions affected the wary enemy in his coat of mail. There were, however, both gardeners and farmers (uniting a close attention to the operations of natm-e with steady perseverance), who eventually succeeded hi detecting the real cause of the mischief In favourable seasons the weevils make their appearance at the end of March, but April is the month when they are most destructive to the pea- * lulus 2>ulchellus and Polydesmus complanatus, chap. vii. INSECTS AFFECTING PEASE AND BEANS. 343 crops, and one then finds that healtliy shoots are daily, if not hourly, disap- pearing in a most marvellous manner, Avithout any apparent cause, so that spaces of a foot in length, and sometimes the entire rows, are lost, or the few that may be left are so weak that the produce can be reckoned of little value. The year IHH, if I may judge from the number of communications trans- mitted to me, appeared to be well suited to these weevils, which were actively at work in thousands in the vicinity of Hertford at the end of March, continuing their operations for a fortnight, and entirely eating off the second and third sowing when the plants had grown from two to four inches high. At this period of the year they issued from the ground from nine to ten o'clock in the morning, to feed all day upon the pease; and they retired under the clods of earth on the approach of evening. They were equally troublesome at Stafford the first week in April, when they ate off the early pease ; and in the Isle of Wight these weevils were not less destructive, for there they attacked the beans as well. On the 30th of the same month I received from Mr. Pusey an interesting account of this beetle, communicated by Mr. Robert Baker, stating that some garden marrowfat-pease were drilled early in February, which were retarded in growth from the cold north-east winds and wet, and destroyed by no. is. the ravages of this insect, which notched all the leaves (Plate L, and No. 48, figs. 6), and in many instances entirel}^ defoliated the stem: fig. 7. It most abounded on light turnip-soil. Mr. Baker correctly observes that " it is exactly the colour of the soil, and very difficult to detect, as upon the approach of any one it falls down suddenly from the pea, and lies motionless for some time afterwards, as if dead ; but if any one looks attentively forward a few yards, they may be obseiwed in scores sitting upon the edges of the pea-leaves and gnawing away earnestly, with appetites as voracious as the turnip-fly, and almost as destructive in the result." From the same source we learn that "they do not attack the common hog- pea so vigorously as the garden varieties, but the marrowfat and early pease suffer most ; and such have been its destructive effects this spring that nearly all my garden crops are destroyed by it." This was corroborated by the fact that the maple-gray pease nearly escaped, whilst the remainder of eight acres in the same field were obliged to be ploughed up. What has occurred at Hertford since Mr. Webb wrote to me I have not been informed ; 344 FARM INSECTS. but at the beginning of May in the following year, the weevils were com- mitting cbeadful havoc with crops of pease and beans in the neighbom-hood of Ware. It is somewhat remarkable that this l)eetle, named Curcidio lineatus, commences with the pease in March ; then it affects the broad beans to such an extent, that I have not been able to find a single leaf in a field of many acres which has not been notched as much as the one represented in the l^late (fig. 8) ; and in August, and until the close of the autumn, its ravages are transferred to the crops of clover and lucern. On the 18th of that month, 1813, I received a communication from Mr. C. Parson.s, of North Shoebury- hall, Essex, which is too valuable to be passed over. He says, " I inclose you a beetle, very destiiictive in these parts to the young plants of clover, lucern, &;c. ; so much so, as often totally to destroy whole fields, and especially those of lucern (Medicago sativa), which they attack in such a way that for several years past no one has been able to obtain a full plant, although going to the expense of sowing the land two or three times over. The damage is attri- Inited by our farmers here to the tm-nip-fly, and the habits of these little weevils render it in the spring of the year exceedingh" difiicult to detect, as the moment one approaches near, down they fall upon their backs amongst the clods, and remain motionless with their legs folded up. I have search e