The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram., 1912-07-16

| INDIANAPOLIS, July 16.-Leaves
part of the city, especially those be-
tween Eleventh street and Fall Greek,
are at the present time shedding many
of their leaves, and many property
owners whose trees apparently are
being ruined, have been at a loss to
understand the cause of the strange
condition. Yards in some places are
| literally covered with the fallen leaves
of the maple trees.
w. S. Blatchley, former state geolo-
gist, says he has been called by tele-
phone dozens of times day lately
and that many persons have asked
him on the street for an explanation
of the trouble. He prepared a state
ment giving the explanation as fol-
lows:
This is due to plant louise or
aphid, which occurs in large numbers
on the under side of the leaves. These
plant lice are very small and mostly
wingless, the young being a translu-
cent pale green, the older ones striped
with dusky They exude great quanti-
known as "honey-dew," which falls
down and covers the upper surface of
the lower leaves of the trees with a
shining coat, causing them to appear
as if vanished This honey-dew is
only the sap of the maple leaves,
pumped out by aphids and rendered
so sticky in passage through their
| bodies that the fallen leaves become
attached to shoes and clothing. A few
days ago a squirrel was seen running
wildly to and fro and shaking it's tail
vigorously, trying to free it from one
of the maple leaves which had stuck
fast to it's tip.
Production Rapid.
These plant lice passed the winter
! in the egg stage, and the plentiful
rains and cool nights of the last
month have been especially favorable
to their production and growth. Not
all of them are Matched from eggs, as
the wingless females of these sum-
mer broods have the power of produc
ing young by process of budding"
or giving birth to living young without
the intervention of the males Thus
myriads are formed in a few days or
weeks when the climatic and food con-
ditions are favorable. In the latter
broods both sexes are found, which
in time mate, the female laying the
eggs which survive the winter.
More than one hundred kinds of
plant lice occur Indiana, and each
one has it's particular species of plant
IL
maple is probably Chaitophorus ace
ris Linn, which, as the second part of
its name indicates, is a common spe-
cies on naples, though the hard maple
of the city do not at present seem to
be affected by them in any number.
Food For Bees, Etc.
| The honeydew when fresh is fed up
on by bees, wasps and ants. Each spe-
cies of Aphid produces it in varying
quantities and some are attended reg
ularly by ants which at intervals tap
! the aphids with their antennae and
cause them to give forth the liquid.
Such aphids are often called ANTS
cows" Certain kinds of aphids are
known to be kept in the nests of the
ants during the winter and in the
spring are taken by the ants to their
special food plant, so that they can
the more quickly and readily produce
the honeydew in quantity.
1T is very probable that the plant
louise now so abundant on the Norway
maple will disappear as soon as We
have several days of hot dry weather
In the meantime it can be readily des-
troyed by spraying the trees with ker-
osene emulsion or strong solution of
whale oil soap
| How to Make Emulsion.
| The emulsion is made by dissolving
one-haf pound hard soap in one gal.
lon OF rain water. While still boiling