502 ANNUAL REPORT OF THE Off. Doc. 



the sandy grounds where they are abundant be cultivated so that the 

 pests will be destroyed in their larval stage and will not come to ma 

 turity. 



* * * Among the leaf-eating insects that are very troublesome 

 and injurious to vegetation are the Flea Beetles. One of these 

 known as the "Steely Bug" attacks the grape vine to such an extent 

 as now properly to be called the Grape Vine Flea Beetle. As the 

 larva feeds on the roots of tire plant which it attacks it is also called 

 the Grape Root \\'orm. Jt is one of the most serious pests of the 

 grape. The egg is laid in the summer at the roots of the grape and 

 the larva hatches and feeds on the roots during the summer, pupat 

 ing in the ground, spending the vvinter in this condition and place, 

 and appearing in the early spring as the adult, leaping and flying 

 beetle, which at once attacks leaves, making many small rounded 

 holes in them. In its mature state it attacks the grape leaves, and 

 in its larval stage it is injurious to the root. Spraying with arsenate 

 of lead as soon as the adult beetles appear in the spring is one of 

 the best measures, and frequent cultivation of the soil near the 

 roots of grapes during spring and fall is to be recommended. 



Flea Beetles on potatoes and other crops are often to be seen jump- 

 ing readily, like fleas, and hence given their common name. Of 

 course, they are not fleas, but true beetles, with chewing mouth 

 parts, with which they gnaw small holes in the leaves. The Potato 

 Flea Beetle may be so abundant on the vines as to cause the leaves 

 to turn brown from their eftects. They can be prevented by spray- 

 ing with the Bordeaux mixture, with arsenate of lead or Paris green 

 added. Use the same formula as for spraying for the codling moth, 

 as given in our May Bulletin. 



* * * Among the borers of our tres is a group known as 

 Long-horn Borers. These are so named because their antennae or 

 feelers are of unusual length. The Long-horn Borers in their adult 

 stage are beetles of rather elongate slender body and a pair of im- 

 mensely long antennae, like threads, on the head. In the larval stage 

 they are familiar to fruit growers as borers beneath the bark and 

 also in the wood of apple, pear and quince trees. The common name 

 is given because the front portion of the larva is rounded and not 

 flattened. 



The evidences of borers are to be seen in discolored flattened spots 

 of the bark, under which are the burrows, or by very fine holes made 

 by the larvae where they enter, or by fine grains of sawdust made by 

 the mature or full grown larva when in bores to the outer side of the 

 bark to make a hole through which it can push as a mature beetle 

 after it completes its transformation. After making such a hole it 

 withdraws into its tunnel and forms its chyi)salis. In this stage it 

 remains during the winter, coming forth in the spring as a mature in- 

 sect. 



Wherever borers are found they should either be cut out, or 

 pierced by sharpened soft wires stuck into their holes, or, better, 

 destroyed by injecting a fluid known as carbon bisulfide into their 

 holes, using a spring bottom oil can to give the injecting force. 

 Plug the holes with putty or mud and let them remain. 



