Another species of saw-fly, with a yellow body and deep violet-coloured
wings, which also selects the rose-tree, deposits her eggs in a
different manner. Instead of making a groove for each egg, like the
preceding, she forms a large single groove, sufficient for about two
dozen eggs. These eggs are all arranged in pairs, forming two straight
lines parallel to the sides of the branch. The eggs, however, though
thus deposited in a common groove, are carefully kept each in its
place; for a ridge of the wood is left to prevent those on the right
from touching those on the left--and not only so, but between each egg
of a row a thin partition of wood is left, forming a shallow cell.
[Illustration: Nest of eggs of Saw-fly, in rose-tree.]
The edges of this groove, it will be obvious, must be farther apart
than those which only contain a single egg, and, in fact, the whole is
open to inspection; but the eggs are kept from falling out, both by the
frothy glue before mentioned, and by the walls of the cells containing
them. They were observed also, by Vallisnieri, to increase in size like
the preceding.
[Illustration: _a a a_, Saw-fly of the gooseberry (_Nematus Ribesii_,
Stephens). _b_, its eggs on the nervures of a leaf. _d d_, the
caterpillars eating. _c_, one rolled up. _f_, one extended.]
[In the middle of summer, plenty of these grooves may be seen, by
looking at the under lid of leaf-stalks or delicate young twigs. Row
upon row of the grooves are sometimes found, so the all-destructive
power of the insects must indeed be great. The larvæ, when full fed,
dispose of themselves in various ways. Those of the gooseberry-fly, for
example (_Nematus Ribesii_), after they have stripped the bush of its
leaves, either seek the ground or remain on the branches, and spin a
series of cocoons, attaching them to each branch by their ends. Those,
therefore, who wish to destroy these little pests, must know both
localities of the cocoons, or they will allow one half to escape while
destroying the other.]
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