254 Report of the Entomologists of the 



tlioy do canse considerable damage to the fruit itself. They will 

 gnaw away the rind from immature fruits, while on mature canta- 

 loupes they eat holes through the rind and then devour the flesh. 

 This injury to the fruit of muskmelons is very noticeable in mar- 

 ket garden sections, especially where there are but few wild flow- 

 ers, such as golden rod and aster, for the insects to feed upon. The 

 injury they do in the fall is not confined to the fruits of the melon ; 

 they often attack late planted beans, devouring not only the leaves, 

 but also the tender pods. 



Thus it is seen that this little pest is busy devouring our crops 

 from late spring until driven into winter quarters by freezing 

 weather. In ages past, before they had cultivated crops to eat, 

 they fed upon a few wild species of the gourd family and upon the 

 pollen and flowers of many other plants. They still have this 

 habit of feeding upon the pollen and flowers of plants, but we 

 have no means of estimating the amount of damage done in this 

 way nor have we means of preventing it. 



FOOD plants. 



It is well kno^^^l that the striped beetle feeds not only on cu- 

 cumber, muskmelon, and squash vines, but also on all related 

 Cucurhitaceae. In early spring I have found them feeding on 

 the flowers of wild cranesbill (Geranium maculatum) . In the 

 fall of the year they have been found feeding on the flowers 

 of golden rod and sunflowers. They are also known to feed on 

 beans, peas, and the tassels, silk and kernels of corn. They are 

 said to feed on the flowers of the apple, chokeberry, Juneberry, 

 cherry and related plants, also on the wild balsam apple 

 (Echinocystis lohatd). 



HABITS AND LIFE HISTORY. 



Beetle. — On Long Island the adult beetles issue from their 

 winter quarters in the ground at various times between the middle 

 of April and the first of June. During 1897 no I)eetles were taken 



