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Peach-twig Borer
The insect which we are considering was in all probability introduced into California, where it is now most firmly established, from Asia, probably from Japan. The eggs are deposited at the point where the leaves are attached to the stems, or where the stem of the fruit is located. The larvae make minute burrows under the bark of the twigs and into the stem of the fruit, and thus cause damage both to the trees and to the peaches. The insect is double-brooded. The larvae are secretive, and hide so effectually that it is said to be very difficult to detect them. The insect remains in the pupal state about ten days, when the moth emerges. The imago is about half an inch in expanse of wing. The fore wings are of a beautiful gray color, clouded on the costa with darker markings. The insects of the second generation hibernate as larvae in their burrows in the bark of the twigs.
A very full and excellent account of the habits of this insect has been published in the "Bulletin of the United States Department of Agriculture" by Mr. C. L. Marlatt. It is from this paper that we have been with great kindness permitted to draw the illustrations which are herewith given.
As a means of combating this pest, it has been recommended to spray the peach-trees, just as the leaves are beginning to open in the spring, with a solution of one pound of lime and one pound of Paris green mixed in two hundred gallons of water. It is also recommended to spray the trees in February, or even in January, with kerosene emulsion, which is said to penetrate the little burrows in which the larvae hibernate and kill them. The latter method is undoubtedly preferable.
CUPID'S CANDLE
"Round her flaming heart they hover,
Lured by loveliness they go
Moth-like, every man a lover,
Captive to its gleam and glow.
Old and young, the blind and blinking,--
Fascinated, frenzied things,--
How they flutter, never thinking
What a doom awaits their wings!
It is all the same old story,--
Pleasure hung upon a breath:
Just a chance to taste of glory
Draws a legion down to death.
Fire is dangerous to handle;
Love is an uncertain flame;
But the game is worth the candle
When the candle's worth the game!"