194 Bulletin 157. 



1890, Neal stated that in Florida. " tliese beetles, both as larvae 

 and as perfect insects, are injurious, eating the leaves of the 

 plum, grape and peach." In some sections the Virginia Creeper 

 {^Ampelopsis qiiinquefolia) seems to be a favorite food-plant for the 

 grubs and beetles. Bethune recently reports that in Canada the 

 insect has been very destructive of late years to the foliage of 

 this vine, the vines were often completely .stripped of their leaves 

 before the end of August. vStrange to say, a grape-vine against 

 a fence only a few yards from .some badly infested creepers was 

 not attacked at all. 



Prefereyice for varieties of grapes. — This last fact suggests the 

 question sometimes asked us : Does the flea-beetle attack some 

 varieties of grapes in preference to others? In 1884 one of Mr. 

 Fletcher's correspondents in Canada found that they attacked 

 the Concord grape more than any other. Mr. A. T. Beardslee, 

 Himrod, N. Y., wrote us in June, 1898 : "I saw a vineyard of 

 Clinton grapes which was totally devastated by the steely-beetle, 

 while a vine3^ard of Concords right over the fence remained 

 untouched. The pests commenced eating on the side of the 

 vineyard next to the Concords, and therefore must have passed 

 over the Concords to get at the Clintons. Nothing was left 

 except the hard wood of the vines. ' ' Thus the evidence is con- 

 flicting and indicates that certain varieties may suffer more in 

 some localities from this flea-beetle than in others, and there is 

 no way of foretelling which variety it may damage the most in 

 any locality. 



How THE Insect Works, and Its Destructive 



Capabilities. 



Fortunately the work of this flea-beetle in a vineyard is easily 

 seen and recognized when one knows what to look for ; but, 

 unfortunately it has usually done most of the damage before one 

 suspects that anything is wrong with the vines. Usually it is 

 not until the grape-grower awakens some morning early in the 

 spring to discover that some of his vines have not started into 

 growth as others have. Oftentimes the few vines in some village 

 yard will leaf out all right in the spring, while a neighbor's 

 vines, perhaps onl}^ a few rods away, wnll have the appearance of 



