Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1894-08-16
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what have seen, that they have done any !
good; but still, should |
they become we'll established, they can |
not be entirely useless, and any small |
amount of good done will be continuous
and free of cost to the community.
The cabbage aphis is interesting from |
the point of view of its natural enemies. |
Down at Las Cruces one finds it attacked !
by one or two native parasites; but here |
at Santa Fe l have been pleased to find |
that it has been followed by one of its |
original European parasites, Lipolexis
rapae of Curtis.
Parasites are creatures which live at |
one period of their lives, at least, On or
in their host; but as mentioned already, |
there are also the predaceous enemies of
an insect. These are those which prowl
about and devour their prey as they can |
catch it; for example, the cat is pre- |
daceous enemy of mice. Now, returning
to the cabbage aphis, it has not only the
parasitic enemies mentioned, but certain J
predaceous ones, namely the red lady-bug
aud the larva of the surplus fly. Ex-
Fe and you will surely see some of the
bright red beetles, with small black spots;
but lowering over the plants, rapidly
darting to and fro, you will probably see
yellow and black fies-the surplus flies.
These latter lay their eggs on the cab
bages, and from these hatch small slug
like creatures, which fatten at the expense
of the cabbage aphides.
When you consider the great abundance
of the cabbage louise or aphis, nothwith-
standing it's numerous enemies, yoa can
imagine what it would be without them.
Thus the life of an insect depends on
various conditions of climate, food, pres
euce of enemies, and so on; these all
together making up very complex en-
vironment, which it must be the aim of
the entomologist to measure and under
stand.
l need not tell you that no statement of
the conditions of insect life would serve
for New Mexico as a whole; the general
principles, which have briefly outlined,
hold good everywhere, but within our
territory there must be many localities
distinguished by peculiarities not found
elsewhere. Consequently, have to con-
fess to a deplorable degree of ignorance
regarding the entomology of New Mexico
an ignorance which can only be re-
moved by the examination of many dis
tricts hitherto hardly or not at all ex-
plored by entomologists. But pending
the time and opportunity for such inves-
tigatlons, which might justly occupy
long lifetime if faithfully carried out, we
may draw some very interesting conclu-
sions from the little that is at present
known.
The only two districts in the territory
which are familiar to me are the Mesilla
valley and Santa Fe; consequently, Sc
lect these for comparison. You all know
the difference of altitude-about 5000
feet--and of climate and productions,
which obtains between these two locali-
ties; SO you will not be surprised to hear
that the insects also are to great extent
different. The bag-worm of Mesilla val
ley is not seen at Santa Fe. The striped
chafer (Polyphylla 10-lineata) of Santa
Fe is replaced in the Mesilla valley by the
brilliantly -colored June-bug (Allorhina
mutabilis). The butterfly (Synchloe laci-
MAJ which produces the spiny caterpil-
lars, SO abundant on roadside sunfowers
in the Mesilla valley, is wanting at Santa
Fe, while the latter locality possesses
beautiful large swallow-tailed butterfly
(Papilio rutulus) not found in the south
ern valley. Yet the two localities have
some species in common; for instance,
the bean lady-bug (Epilachna corrupta)
of Santa Fe is the same as that found at
Las Cruces; the codling moth also now
exists in both localities; also the cabbage
aphis, and some other pests.
When we are dealing with native pests,
the non-existence of Mesilla valley
species at Santa Fe, or vice versa, is al
most surely due to conditions of climate
and altitude, which can not be altered;
and for this reason think we need not
be afraid, for instance that the green
June beetle will come to attack the peach
es in Santa Fe, or that the striped chafel
will be seriously troublesome at Las Cru
ces.
But with imported pests it may we'll be
different. The codling moth, I believe
arrived in Santa Fe some few years before
it reached Las Cruces, but 1t fourishes
equally in both places. 1t is indeed pos
sible that the San Jose scale could not
live mp here, owing to the severity of the
winters, but we must not presume that
q difference of about IL degrees in the
minimum temperature will in all cases
or perhaps often, save US from a pest al
ready introduced in the more southern
locality. In the case of native insects
we can argue that since they have mo-
spread northward, or southwark, in thou
sands of years, they will probably not de-
| | bod J,To .o& ha or,ff hoa
foreign pests, whose presence or absence
in locality may be simply the result o
accident.
The pear and cherry slug (Eriocamp,
cerasD has somehow reached Santa Fe
and is doing good deal of damage. 1
has not reached the Mesilla valley, bu
who can say that it will not do 80, if carr
) is not takenY l am told that the plum
curculio has arrived here, but it is still
absent at Las Cruces. On the other hant
, you here have to fear the San Jose scale
! now abundant at Lus Cruces, but still
wanting in Santa Fe.
Because these pests have reached New
Mexico, it is no reason why they SHOULD
i. spread over the whole of it. The SAINT
i Fe district and the Mesilla valley are eac
of them we'll isolated from other areas o
cultivation, and it is practically impos
sible that the codling moth or San Jos
q scale should go from one to the Other
unless taken there by man. The codlin
: moth has doubtless spread through tn
8 shipping of wormy apples; the scale in
; scots and the pear slug may be distribute
. with young trees, or even. possibly, q
times with fruit. The chance of sendin
! pests with fruit, excepting those whic
o live in the flesh of apples, pears, etc,
Q not very great; but the distribution q
!; young trees is common means of spread
j, ing insect pests. As an example, I ma