27 



The Rose-Chafer (Macrodactylus subspinosas), Fig. 40. Later in 

 the season, when the blossoms appear on the vines, another beetle, but 

 of a different family, makes an attack upon them. It is commonly called 

 the Rose-beetle or Rose-chafer, from its habit of devouring- the bloom of 

 roses, but it is even a worse enemy of the grape, as it destroys the blos- 

 soms and with them all hope of fruit. Fortunately it is somewhat local, 

 and is not everywhere a pest. During 1906 it appeared in great numbers 

 in various places from the outskirts of Toronto, which seems to be its 

 eastern limit at present, to the County of Essex ;» it has been abundant 

 for some years in the neighborhood of London, but does not appear to 

 extend much farther north. 



Fig. 40. — Rose Chafer (Macrodactylut subspinosus). a beetle, b, larva, c and d 

 mouthparts of same, e pupa, / injury to leaves and blossoms with beetles, natural size, 

 at work. ( After Mariatt, U.S. Dept. Agriculture.) 



The larva lives upon the roots of grasses in old pastures where the 

 soil is sandy ; it has not been found in clay land. The eggs are laid by 

 the female an inch or two below the surface of the ground, and the young 

 larvse gradually grow to maturity during the summer and spend the 

 winter in that condition, hibernating in a cell that they make somewhat 

 deep down in the earth. In spring they work their way to the surface, 

 transform to pupae and emerge as beetles in June. This destructive stage 

 lasts from three to four weeks. Thev appear suddenly in great swarms, 

 completely covering the bloom that they attack, crawling and sprawling 



