The evening times., 1896-08-10
RAVAGE OF THE MELON BUG
This Pest Threatens to eDestroy
Valuable Patches.
ARE HARD TO ExTERMINATE
When Once the Insect Makes Its Ap-
. .opaarnnce Farmers Have Great Dif-
ficulty Of Getting Rid of It-Devis-
Ing Ways and Means to Eradicate
the Plague.

Beside worrying about the gold, silver
aud straddlebugs, the farmer is just now
devoting much 0f his time to another bug
the aphis cucumeris, or watermelon bug.
When once these pests appear In a patch
1t is very hard to save 1t FROM utter
destruction. They are 50 voracious and SO
-eiunrkabiy prolific, that i. requires the
closest attention on the part OF the farmer to
extcrrninate them. Unless every bug is
destroyed the farmer finds that the sueuieut
extremities aud stems OF the vines, are in an
incredibly short space of time covered
with II complete coat Of these destructive
pests.
For this reason their appearance among
the Della ware and Marylandyin just no W is
tile cause OF great anxiety to the farmers,
who are in correspondence with the Agri-
cultural D department and with each other as
to the best means OF exterminating them.
There are several interesting character
istics Of these bugs, one of them being the
manner In which they produce. In the first
instance eggs are laid by,a winged variety
OF the bug In the falL The bug then dies.
HATCHING THE YOUNG.
The eggs. which are laid. not on the
leaves which fall off. but on the stems and
branches nj the wine, lie dormant until
spring, when they shatch eout The Insects
which appear have no wings And are all
females.- These females produce without
the Intervention OF the male, and this IL
repeated for from sven to fifteen genera
tons. The 4youDgrare not produced from
eggs, but are born alive from the present
bug.
In the last generation, before the fall,
the winged variety, both male and female,
again appears. After pairing the female
lays her eggs on the vine, an ishortiy after,
Ia company with the male. dies, when the
species becomes extinct until the follow.
ing spdng. .Eachs generation lives about
fourteen days, when ats place is taken by
the young. St'
The wingless variety are green, withshort,
broad bodies, and are provided with two
extremities. which exude almost constantly
minute drops of fluid as sweet as honey
This is deposited on the branches Of the
vines or is gathered by ants. '=ai@
Wherever the plant house is the ant is
always sure TO follow and one OF the
surest methods of detecting the presence
Of this destructive insect is by noting the
pres ence OF ants on the vine.
i, This. is another interesting thing about
the bug, the fact that the ants use the
fluid for Dourishment In fact, they are
known among naturalists- as the mich
kline OF the ants. Thus the ants cleanse
them, kill many bugs which are danger
ous to them, and even care for their eggs
PROTECTED BY ANTS.
Ants have been known to take the eggs
out into the sun and lick them with tlieir
tongues until the eggs were sufficiently
warmed, when they would be again taker
| to the vines. aao'f eii' -
The bugs themselves seem TO live on
| the frieDdliest terms with the ants, who
run in and out among the setting millions
gathering the sweet exrdation without
seeming to annoy the bugs in the least
| Sometimes II, so entomologists aver, a
herd of ttese bugs is appropriated by one
| or more ants, who tend to them, and ART
ready to fight IL any other ants try to get
| the milk, 81 TO speak.
| Many larger insects. particularly Of the
] beetiespecies, kill and cat these pests. This
| prevents the rapid spread which would
otherwise necessarily occur. As 1t Is, they
are only moderately numerous around this
section OF the country. and bid fair 10 be
| come driven off by the exertions OF the
/ farmers and the DEPARTMENT. of Agriculture