The Monitor., 1891-05-08

THE RosE-sI.UG.

the snails. The young of butterflies and
moths are catefpllars. Rose siugs are
neither the one nor the other, but are the
lsrval forms Of a certain species of sa Willy,
these saw-fies being group of insects re-
lated to the bees and wasps.
Butterfly and moth caterpillars have
from ten to sixteen legs. The Iarya Of
| bees and wasps are lmbless, as are those
Of all the insects of their order, which, at
maturity, are provided with stinging In
struments. The saw-fy, which produces
the rose slug, exhibits the opposite ex-
treme, the number of legs exceeding those
| of any butterfly or moth, and reaching 20.
Small green caterpiliars with 20 legs, found
on rose bush, should at once be destroy
ed as an unmitigated pest of the loveliess
Of flowers.
The sirose= slug hatches from an egg
deposited by the mother saw fy under .be
SIX in of rose leaf. It is at first a small
caterpillar like worm, but. being exceed
iagiy yoraeious, it eats, grows and casts
its skini like other caterpillars, until it
reaches its full size. which is about half
an inch in length. IL color it is green
above, paler at the sides and yellowish be-
low. Ii numerous, by the time they have
completed their growth, the rose-slugs
| have accomplished an incalculabIe amount
OF mischief. Unless the rose grower has
been more industrious than his enemy his
+l h q
Some of them. and probably the best, are
dead, Others are dying, and all are more
or less weakened aud dsspolled of their
beauty. 0nly a part. however, of the de-
struetion has been completed. The worm
now drops to the ground, burrows into the
earth for an inch or two, weaves for itself
silken cell, awaits its transformation.
| and emerges as saw-hy to deposit fresh
eggs, and to renew the work of devasta-
tion later ia the season. This late brood
bures itself as before, but remains in the
ground until the following spring.
In May they begin to ascend, and at this
tine should be planned a warofextermina-
tion. have seen the stems Of rose bushes.
and even stakes standing beside them, lit
orally covered with these obnoxious insects
soon after leaving the ground. Any method
which can be devised to prevent the deposit
ton of their eggs is legitimate. Their
ascent should be watched for daily
from early ia My through the two
weeks following their first appearance.
They should be killed at all haz ards, If a
strong additional force of assistants has to
be employed. This is the c.itical period,
aud work now may prevent hundred fold
annoyance later. Ifprosecuted with sufi-
Gent vigor one may hope in time to get
control of the situation. The females of
this species are not disposed to fly much.
Those which may escape the attack made
upon them may probably be found on the
under side OF the leaf, from which they
should be picked By hand. Remembering
tie brood to which they give birth, no
quarter Inusi be effsred, although our pity
may be awakened by the Instinct which
bids taem fall TO the ground when touch-
ed, as if already dead. They are by no
means harmless, aud must be destroyed Il
is waste time to attend to the males. that
lly from place to place and that may be dis
tiuguished by their smaller size. The fe-
male is black, about fifth of an inch in
length and sedeutary during the brief
period Of It's existence in the winged state.
Efforts should be concentrated on the
destruction of the female
Having done all that is possible to prs-
vent the production of fresh eggs, further
care may exercised bF the use of liquid
poison, especially of hellebore.
There ought to be, aud probably is, some
well-known method Of destroying thechry-
sails Of the saw ny in the ground. II any
rose grower knows of such method, he
will confer vide benefit By making it
known. There is a fair field for experiment..
-Grace Anaa Leafs in Ledger Household.