STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 177 



Others similar are found boring into books, stale bread, dry natural 

 history specimens, etc., which are true grubs, in form resembling the 

 white grub, except they are not enlarged posteriorly. They are bent or 

 curved, and have si.\ small feet placed on the first three segments. These 

 belong to the family P tin idee. 



There is a large group of beetles, generally known as weevils or 

 curculios, whose larvre almost always inhabit plants, and especially the 

 fruit in some of its various forms, as seeds, nuts and pulpy fruits, doing 

 much injury to the horticulturist. These are soft, white, footless grubs, 

 of small size. A few, as the pea-weevil and grain-weevil, belong to the 

 family Bnichidu', but much the larger portion to Curculioniticc, or true 

 snout-weevils or curculios. Some of the latter gnaw galleries under the 

 bark of trees, especially the pine ; some form galls on the stems and 

 leaves of plants ; some form knots and galls on the roots ; some reside 

 within the stems or canes ; but the greater portion live in the seeds, nuts 

 and fruits of plants. Among the latter we may mention as examples the 

 plum-curculio {Conotrachelus nenuphar), the apple-curculio {Ant/ionofnus 

 ^-gibbi/s), the nut or acorn weevils {Balaninidcs), the strawberry crown- 

 borer lyAnaicis /ragari(c), etc. All of these larvae are very small, few 

 reaching half an inch in length, while many are less than one-fourth of 

 an inch long. 



There are certain wood-boring larvoe which very closely resemble 

 the weevil-grubs, and, except by their habits, are difficult to distinguish 

 from them, as they are also white, footless grubs, of very small size. 

 The absence of feet will distinguish them from the Piinidce, before 

 mentioned, and their wood-boring or mining habit will distinguish them, 

 as a general rule, from the weevil larvae. They belong to Scolyddce, a 

 familiar example being the hickory-bark miner {Scolytus /^-spinosus), 

 which forms the numerous furrows so frequently seen on the inside of 

 hickory bark. 



The leaf-eating beetles form another very extensive group,' which, as 

 Dr. LeBaron has done, may be united in one family ( Chrysoniclidie). 

 The larvae are generally short, thick, fleshy, convex or hump-backed grubs, 

 usually found lying upon the surface of the leaves on which they feed. 

 They have six true legs, placed on the first three segments, and usually a 

 terminal proleg, and they are often brightly colored. As examples, we 

 may mention the larvai of the Colorado and three-lined potato beetles. 



There are certain small, flat, oval-shaped, strange-looking larvae, 

 frequently found feeding'on sweet potato and other convolvulous plants, 

 sometimes in company with brilliant gold-colored, turtle-shaped, small 

 beetles. These, which may be known by the prickles along the sides, 

 belong to the Cassidic. The larvae of the lady-birds ( Coccinelidcc) some- 

 what resemble these, but may usually be distinguished by having the 

 spines barbed, more numerous, and j^laced upon the upper portion of the 

 body as well as upon the sides. The.se, which are often mistaken for 

 enemies, especially when found collected in masses, as is sometimes the 

 case, on the twigs of cultivated pines, should be left undisturbed, as they 

 are one of our most efficient aids in destroying plant and bark lice. 



Vi 



