Ill VITIS LABRUSCA. 



thirty in nunilicr, and are dcj^sited from one to fonr inclies bonoatli tlie snrface 

 ol tlit^ soil; tln'v an- nearly Lriohular, wliitisli. and ali<nt oik; tinriictli olan inch 

 in dianii'ter, and arc liatclicd twi'nty days altrr ihcy arc laid. Thu yonng larvuj 

 begin to feed on snch tender roots as are within their reacli." ***** 

 ''They attain their full si/e in the antinnn. heing then nearly thrco-(inarters of 

 an inch l(n^, and about an eighth of an inch in diameter."' * * * * * ' In ( )cto- 

 ber, they descend below the reach of tin; fro.st, and pass the winter in a torpid 

 state, in the si)ring they approach towards the snrface, and each one forms foi 

 itself a little cell of an oval sliajie, by turniiii^ round a great many tunes, so as to 

 compress the earth, and render the inside of the cavity hard and smooth. Within 

 this cell the grul) is transformed into a pnpa, during the month of May, by cast- 

 ing otf its skin, which is pushed downwards in folds from the head to the tail. 

 The i)U]ia has somewhat the form of the perfect beetle; bnt it is of a yellowish- 

 white colour, and its short, stump-like wings, its antenmc, and its legs are folded 

 upon the breast, and its whole body is inclosed in a thin fdm, that wraps each 

 part separately. Dnring the month of Jnne, this filmy skin is rent, the included 

 beetle withdraws from it its body and its limbs, bursts open its earthen cell, and 

 digs its way to the snrface of the ground. Thus the various changes, from the 

 egg to the full development of the perfect beetle, are completed within the space 

 of one year. Such being the metamorphoses and habits of these insects, it is 

 evident that we cannot attack them in the egg, the grub, or the pupa state : the 

 enemy, in these stages, is beyond our reach, and is subject to the control only of 

 the natural but unknown means appointed by the Author of Nature, to keep the 

 insect tribes in check. When they have issued from their subterranean retreats, 

 and have congregated upon our vines, trees, and other vegetable productions, in the 

 complete enjoyment of their propensities, we must unite our efforts to seize and 

 crush the invaders. They must indeed be crushed, scalded, or burned, to deprive 

 theiu of life, for they are not affected by any of the applications usually found 

 destructive to other insects. Experience has proved the utility of gathering them 

 by hand, or of shaking them or brushing them from the plants into tin vessels con- 

 taining a little water. They should be collected daily during the period of their 

 visitation, and shoidd be committed to the flames, or killed by scalding water."' 

 The Haltica chalybea or steel-blue flee-beetle, as it is sometimes called, also 

 inhabits the vine and preys upon its buds and leaves, in almost every part of the 

 union. An interesting account of its habits and ravages is given in the xxvuh 

 volnme of Silliman's " American Journal of Science and Arts," by Mr. David 

 "^Phomas, of Cayuga county, in New York. The brilliant insects of this species, 

 were observed by him, in the spring of 1831, creeping on the vines, and destroy- 

 ing the buds, by eating out the central succulent parts. Some had burrowed 

 even half their length into the buds. When disturbed, they jump, rather than 

 fly, and remain where they fall for a time, without motion. In 1830 and 1831, 

 he also found the vine-leaves infested by small, chesnut-coloured, smooth worms, 

 which he fed in a tumbler, containing some moist earth, until they were fully 

 grown, when they concealed themselves below the surface. In about two weeks 

 after, some beetles were found in the tumbler, which led him to suppose that 

 their larvae undergo their transformation in the ground. These beetles, according 

 to Dr. Harris, are exceedingly variable in their colour, being sometimes of a dark- 

 purple, violet, Prussian blue, greenish-blue, and deep-green colour. The most 

 common tint of the upper sides is a glossy, deep greenish-blue : the under sides 

 of a dark-green ; and the antennae and feet are of a dull black. The body is 

 oblong-oval, and the hinder part of the thorax is marked with a transverse fur- 

 row. It measures rather more than three-twentieths of an inch in length. In 

 Massachusetts, these beetles begin to come out of their winter quarters towards 



