ENEMY OF BLACKBERRY

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 833, 29 November 1929, Page 1

ENEMY OF BLACKBERRY

DISCOVERY OF INSECTS IN AUCKLAND SIMILAR TO THAMES FIND Strange insects which, apparently, live on the leaves of the blackberry plant have been found in Auckland. A resident of Stanley Point discovered them some time ago and has been watching them carefully since. •■in yesterday’s Sun a message from Thames announced that for some time past observers have noticed that blackberry vines in small clumps were not making the progress shown in former years. This fact prompted a farmer interested in the pest to take closer notice. As a result of his observations, he found the blackberry was being attacked very vigorously by an insect which was doing a great amount of damage. Investigations were made on farms on both sides of the Coromandel Range, and he found that the insect attacks were causing the plants to die. The older leaves were : ddled with holes, aud young shoots were i withered and dead. It was observed i that an insect similar to the ladybird, ! only black, infested the plants. When ; the leaves were turned over colonies j were found eating vigorously at the | old leaves also the stems of plants. Especially was this the ease where 1 there were isolated clumps. No eggs were found. The publication of this report inter- : ested Mr. J. Rennie, of Stanley Point, who has been making similar invest i- ; gations for the past few weeks. On I vines near his property he noticed i insects which correspond closely to ; the description forwarded from | Thames. The leaves on which they were 1 found were riddled with holes and the plant appeared to be in an unhealthy condition. Samples of the eaten leaves and "a number of the insects were shown by The Sun this morning to experts at the Auckland University College, but no information as to the species of insect was available off-band.

i Accordingly the samples have been | forwarded to the Cawthron Institute where the blackberry pest problem is being investigated.