Clover Insects • 689 



in the center of the leaflet, or as symmetrical notches along the 

 edge. (Fig. 601.) The eggs are about one-sixteenth inch in length, 

 white to blackish in color, and are deposited by the female at the 

 base of the stems or among the roots. The eggs hatch in from 

 two weeks to a month and the young grubs become partly grown 

 before the advent of cold weather. In addition to the injury 

 to the foliage done by the feeding of the beetles the grubs injure 

 the roots and the base of the stems so as often to cause the wilting 

 of the plant. 



While the lesser clover leaf-weevil is generally distributed 

 and occurs in considerable abundance, its injuries have never been 

 of such a nature as to call for special remedial measures. 



THE CLOVER STEM-BORER 



Languria mozardi Latreille 



The stems of mammoth and of medium red clover are often hol- 

 lowed out by a yellowish grub that feeds on the pith. While 

 the presence of this larva does not; kill the stem outright, it does 

 weaken the plant to a considerable extent, increasing the tendency 

 to lodge and decreasing the quantity of seed produced. 



The parent insect is a beautiful, slender, reddish beetle with 

 dark blue wing-covers from one-sixth to one-third inch in length. 

 The beetles pass the winter hidden away under rubbish. In 

 ]\Iay and June the females deposit their eggs in the stems of 

 clover plants more than one year old. ^Mien preparing to oviposit 

 the female first eats a small hole into the stem, and then forces 

 the egg down into the pith. The egg is about one-fifteenth inch 

 in length, pale yellowish in color, elliptic oval in outline and 

 slightly curved. The eggs hatch in from three to five days and 

 the young grubs burrow through the stem, eating only the pith. 

 The full-grown larva is yellowish in color and about one-third 

 inch in leng-th. Most of the larvae become mature during late 

 July and early August. They pupate in their burrows and the 

 beetles emerge the same season, going intO' hibernation with the 

 advent of cold weather. 



The clover stem-borer is not restricted to clovers, but also 

 attacks many common weeds. It is most abundant in volunteer 

 clover plants growing in neglected fields and along roadsides. 



