REPORT OF THE ENTOMOLOGISTS. 



combati:ng the steiped beetle o^ 



cucumbers.* 



F. A, SiRKINE. 



SUMMAKY. 



The striped cucumber beetle^ in one form or another is injurious 

 to cucumber, melon, and squash vines, from the time the vines 

 start in the spring until the plants are killed by frost. 



Only one brood of the beetles occurs during a year on Long 

 Island, but the adults of this brood are injurious at two periods 

 of their lives; in the fall and again, after hibernating in the 

 ground below frost line, in early summer of the next season. The 

 larvae require moist earth to live in. They feed upon the stems 

 and fruits wherever these come in contact with moist soil. 



The striped cucumber beetle cannot be controlled by any one 

 remedy or j:)re v^entive measure. l>lo remedies can be used to 

 hinder the work of the beetle on the flowers, nor can the work of 

 the larva? on and within the stems and fruits be prevented. The 

 following combination of remedies and preventive measures is 

 recommended for large fields: First, planting squashes on the 

 margin^ of the field previous to planting the cucumbers or melons ; 



* Reprint of Bulletin Xo. 158. 



1 This pest is wrongly called the " striped bug." It is not a bug, but a 

 beetle, having hard wing-covers. Long Island farmers call it the " cuck 

 beetle," which is more appropriate than " striped bug," or even " cucumber 

 bug." 



