The twice-a-week Twin Falls times. (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1916-1918, 1917-08-02
ENTOMOLOGIST UTTERS A
WARNING ON MOTHS AND
RED SPIDER PESTS
Chemicals Needed Not
to be Found
Tells Something of Large Families
in Red Spider Tribe Which
Would Please Teddy - Race
Suicide Unknown.

AluAlAAO OAAAAAAOW H.
That Goblin moths have already ap-
peared and that the red spider plague
is growing worse and requires imme-
diate attention is the story told by
Professor A. G.. Burrill, entomologist.
The prolific characteristics of the red
spider family are dwelt upon at
length The story told by Professor
Burrill is substantially as follows:
The first moths of the second brood
of apple worms have been flying at
least five days except when the
nights are too cool in the early even
ing. A large second brood is expected
on the southerly side of Twin Falls.
Arsenical sprays are the only safety
known fo rthe crop and where apples
are already wormy, two sprayings
must be made about two and a half
weeks apart.
At a conference of apple growers
at the Hotel Rogerson, Monday night,
it developed that the need of spray
ing for red spider mite as published
in the Sunday Times, was quite seri-
GUS in some orchards; also, that some
of the best chemicals needed were not
to be had of the local dealers.
The farmer can not know in ad-
vance what epidemics are going to
break out each year but he will expect
those with whom he trades to keep
at least the standard remedies, just
as the doctor expects the local drug
store to be at his beck for human ill
ness. The chief tangle seems to be
that neither the drug store nor any
one else now in business in this COM
munity has the storage space to keep
a line of all the regular remedies for
orchard and garden crop work
AT present, it seems that those or
chards in which beans were detroyed
by bean thrips and red spider last
year. are this year worst hit by the
red spider mite, causing a dusty yell
lowing appearance of the foliage, quite
easily confused with road dust on the
leaves, with seepage, crown rot and
other discolorations by those who do
not look carefully at the under side of
the leaves in bright light. At this
time the mite looks green, not red, a
few appearing even yellow or orange.
Not only are the apple trees affect
ed in many places, but beans planted
near last years beans are likely to
suffer again, and also red clover and
some grasses. In fact clover growers
often attribute whiting stunted clover
to alkali spots or poor soil when a
study Of the leaves from such spots
will show myriads of mites at work.
The latest published list of host
plants of red spider shows that IS
different plants, bushes and trees are
subject to attack; to which Prof. Bur-
rill can add one or two more hosts he
has discovered. AS the spider mite
occurs throughout the whole agricul-
tural world as well as on indoor
plants, greenhouse crops, etc, it may
be well to give a list of the hosts on
which red spider is most often re-
, ported:
Rose, hops, beans, violets, cotton
strawberry, tomato, weeds, grass and
trees.
Thus it is of interest to every
[ townsman with a front yard as well
= as agriculturist. Look for leaves
e with a stippled appearance, or wher
r further attacked, leaves turning white
= or brown and dropping off. The Leaf
f hopper in some apple orchards to-
4 wards Eden also produces a stippling
SAASSN Oh dpplS lcdNeS, Dul WIFI re-
). gard to apple, the red spider omiti
the stippling and proceeds at once Il
= curl bronze, and wilt the foliage.
Like the clover aphis, this little pesi
multiplies at an astounding rate The
). great French savent Reamur is saic
to have become disgusted with mere
figures to convey to the human minC
n how fast such small mites multiply
and so he figured bulk, using a com
mon aphis as the basis of his cal
culations. He said let us grant lif,
to pair of aphis for ten years only
n How many will there be at the enc
of ten years, by bulk. He found tha
ii would make a column the diameter
of the earth at it's base and stretch
ing out past Jupiter by the end of tn,
k tenth year, and growing faster thai
light can travel
S Fortunately the limit to such mul
tiplication stops before the food SUP
5. ply gives out, stops as soon as it
Il enemies, bad weather, or Mr.. Spray
man rushes to the attack The spide
u mites crawled off last years bean
and other infested plants to the bari
OF trees, high grass, or to the base
/ of beans where same were left L
stand all winter, and snuggled dow
+" to winter sleep. In spring they go
busy laying eggs, a single mothe
" laying as high as "a eggs. Thes
hatch in about five to eight days i
spring, and in two to four days dur
ing August. The baby mites look