T his work deals with the insects and other animals having a detrimental or beneficial influence upon horticulture in New Zealand. Its purpose is to supply such general information as will enable the common animal inhabitants of the garden to be identified and controlled, to act as a popular guide for the use of practical gardeners and schools, and at the same time serve as a source from which the examination requirements set out in the syllabus of the New Zealand Institute of Horticulture may b

A t the outset it is advisable, by reviewing the animal kingdom as a whole, to secure in perspective the relationships of the animals with which the horticulturist has to deal. To most people the animal kingdom is comprised chiefly of those animals commonly met with in everyday life or in general reading—​the game and domestic animals and the fishes, all of which are similar in that they possess a backbone or vertebral column, and are consequently known as the vertebrates. Popularly, however, th

The animal population of European New Zealand is very different from that of pre-European times, a position brought about naturally enough by the changes resulting from agricultural development as practised in the Old World, and the consequent creation of an environment foreign to the country. Though the official date of the settlement of New Zealand by Europeans is 1840, the influences, inaugurating that upheaval of the natural conditions which was later to have such a marked effect on the econ

I n the first chapter the plants were referred to as the primary producers of life, and the animals as the consumers; the former not only furnish nourishment for their own growth, but also for the support of the animal world as a whole. Living plants (in reference to green plants) utilise the sun’s energy in the manufacture of their complex food materials from comparatively simple chemical compounds. These latter compounds are carbon dioxide, derived from the air through the agency of leaves, an

A lthough insects present a great variety of forms, they nevertheless agree in general features; thus by studying the structure of some generalised species, which will give a broad idea of the main characteristics, one is enabled to recognise different structural modifications assumed by various species. For this purpose a weta, grasshopper, or cockroach may be taken as a type. Just as in the case of the crayfish, so the body of an insect is completely covered and protected by a continuous “shel

N o doubt owing to the endless assortment of sizes, from mere specks to giants of a few inches, a widespread idea has arisen, particularly in regard to such insects as have a general resemblance to one another, that the smaller individuals are the younger stages of the larger. Though gradation in size may be a sign of successive ages in certain insects, the presence of functioning wings denotes that growth has ceased; in the case of wingless insects, the characters of maturity may be less conspi

T he term “sucking insect” is applied to all insects that have the mouth parts modified as delicate stylets, by means of which the plant tissues are punctured and the nutrient sap sucked up. Not only may such insects weaken the infested plants, but they also cause the destruction of chlorophyll, interfere with the normal functioning of the stomata, and have a toxic effect upon the tissues; further, many serious plant diseases are carried and spread by sucking insects, whilst the punctures made w

T he small, soft-bodied plant-lice, or aphides, usually found forming dense colonies on all sorts of plants, are pests well known to every gardener; they attack plants by inserting into the tissues their delicate piercing mouth-parts, and drain the nutrient sap ( Fig. 8 , 1g). All parts of a plant may be infested, and the insects, owing to their ability to reproduce abundantly and rapidly, may destroy the plant, or at least injure it by stunting its growth, curling the leaves, or deforming the f

L eaf-feeding insects have their mouth-parts developed for the biting off and mastication of their food; such insects are, in general, earwigs, crickets and grasshoppers, the caterpillars of moths and butterflies, beetles and their grubs, and the grubs of saw-flies. Such insects vary, not only in their period of activity, some feeding at night, others during the day, but also in the manner under which they set about it. Many feed exposed upon the surface of the plant, while others require protec

C ODLIN MOTH ( Cydia pomonella ).—​The codlin moth caterpillar burrows in developing apples and pears, and such “wormy” fruit is known to everybody. The moth itself is seldom seen, since it lies concealed until after nightfall, when it becomes active and lays its eggs. The insect ( Fig. 12 a) measures about three-quarters of an inch long, and is inconspicuously, though beautifully, coloured; the fore wings, which cover the body when closed, are light grey, crossed by fine bands of a darker hue,

I n this chapter will be grouped for convenience mites, woodlice, millepedes, slugs, snails, and eelworms. Mites, together with spiders and ticks, belong to a group of animals distinct from the insects, from which, they differ in many respects; for example, they possess four, and not three, pairs of legs in the adult state, no head separated from the body as a movable, distinct region, while in many cases, especially in mites and ticks, the abdomen and thorax are continuous; in no case are wings

I n dealing with the control of plant pests, the objective is to prevent attacks, or, when the attacks have established, to check them as much as possible. In the latter case the term “exterminate” is in too frequent use; it is not usually practicable to exterminate a pest, and the best that can be done is to check or control it. In the control of animal pests, it should be borne in mind that the pests are usually associated with other factors inimical to plant life, such as unthrifty plants, du