The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1890-07-01
THE NOXIOUS INSECTS OF
NORTH CAROLINA.

NORTH CAROLINA.
Insects Injurious to the Grape Vine and
sSzaCurrant---Rose Chofer--Grape
Vine Caterpillar--Phyl-
loxera--Currant
Worm.
By eE.ALD MCCARTHY, B. Sc, N. C. EXPERIMENT
STATION.
TSIxTH PAPER.
THE ROSE oHoFER-M4crodactyt"S sub
SpjnOSu6.
The rose chofer is a yellowish gray
beetle about one third inch long,
which appears early in spring lst as
vines are opening their flower buds,
and devours the buds before they
have set fruit. Afterwards it eats the
foliage. They often appear in vast
numbers and do irceparable injury to
vineyards. Unlike most insects, the
female rose chofer deposits her eggs
in the ground where the larvae feed
upon the roots of plants. At the
commencement of cold weather they
descend deep into the soil to be u of
reach Of frost, and there remain dor
mant until spring, At the return OF
warm weather the worms wake up,
ascend % near the surface. Then
they change TO pupae, and finally to
the winged bugs which eat the early
buds as already described.
REMEDIES.
The bess remedy for these insects
is the use of the cloth covered, keyo-
sene drenched, hand frames recon-
mended for the flea beetle. The
frames are to be used in the same
way, viz: by holdidg them under the
vines and Earring the vines. The
beetles will jump upon the frame and
be killed By the oil.
THE GRAPE VINE FLEA BEETLE-HotjcG
(Graptodero) choly6ea.
This little pest is very destructive
TO he vine. The beetles greatly re
sembl5 the turnip flies, but are blue
insteat of black. They appear early
in spring and bore into the flower
buds, later they affect the foliage.
They should be looked for at the
SAME time as the rose chofer, and re.
ceive The same treatment.
RAP VINE CATERPILLARS -PhILdn-
peIus, several species.
The grape vine and Virginia creeper
are attacked by several large, feshy
cateEp!l trs much resembling the cot,
ton caterpillar, to which indeed they
are closely related. There are sew
eral smaller caterpillars also, the most
noxious Of which are the blue and
yellow c~aterpilIars, The parents
of al these caterpilIars are nightly
ing mo.hs which appear iii Juve and
July. The best remedy is the lantern
trap SO often referred to. Such cat
serpill lrs as do appear should be HIND
pick as they are extremely ~voracious
and do great mischief. The use of
sulphate Of copper for fung3us dis
eases Of the vine serves also in d
manner to discourage insect pests. 1t
is probable that insect and fungous
remedies can be combined, and ex-
periments on this point are now be
ing made at several experiment sta.
tons.
PHYLLoxERA-PhyU0re u vaStatr:u.
The terrible phylloxera HLich has
wrought such disaster Ia European
vineyards, is a very small, almost
microscopic, plant louise. It is an
American insect and one IF the few
pests W. have sent to Europe in return
for the hundreds Europe has sent US.
American vines suffer very little from
this IJuse, though il is usually present
in small numbers IN most vineyards
and on he wild vines of the woods.
There are two we'll distinguished
types of this louise, VIZ: the leaf in
habiting louise and the root inhabiting
louise. 1t is found, however, that the
former may change to the habits of
the latter form, and Uice verSa. Both
forms of the phylloxera pass he
winter in the ground upon tae roots
of the vines. The leaf type cralls up
the cones to tie leaves and forms for
itself a gall within which it lays its
eggs and lives for the rest of is life.
To be more exact, the gall forms
around the insect, induced by tie irri
tation Of probably some kind of poison
which the insec, injects with is bite.
It does not ct the substance of the
leaves, out merely sucks "a the sap.
All the Insects are females, and propa
gate the species by the so called pro
cess Of partheno gen ISIS. E 4cI one lays
in her gall 200 to 500 eggs, and when
all are laid she dies and her skin
shrivels up within the gall. The
eggs hatch in a few days and the
young lice Immediately break out of
the gall and scatter over the Leaf, or
reach other leaves and there each
found a new gall and lays eggs as be-
fore. This for the leaf type of louise.