JUXE MEETING, 1877. 113 



the curculio ; l)ut in instances -whore nil the trees of a vicinity were served in 

 tliis way no diti'erenco was noticeable in the crop of curculio. 



]\Ir. JJryant related a similar incident from his own experience in the use of 

 smoke from gas tar to prevent the ravages of this insect. 



The next paper was ui)on 



THE KOSE CHAFER. 

 BY J. S. OWEX, OF SAUGATUCK. 



In selecting a subject on which to write at this time, T have chosen one which 

 in our neighborhood is assuming almost alarming proportions, viz. : 'Uhe rose 

 bug, or, scientifically, the rose cliafer. In searching history for his antece- 

 dents, we find in the work entitled "Harris on Insects Injurious to Vegetation," 

 published in Boston as long ago as 184], that they were then well known, and, 

 after giving its unpronounceable scientific name, describes it as follows : 



"It is a diurnal insect, it measures seven-twentieths of an inch in length, its 

 body is slender, tapers before and behind, and is entirely covered with very 

 short and close ashen-3'ellow down, the thorax is long and narrow, angularly 

 Avidening in the middle of each side, the legs are slender and of a pale red color, 

 and feet tipped with black and very long." 



The natural history of the rose chafer, one of the greatest scourges with 

 which our gardens and nurseries have been afflicted was for a long time involved 

 in mystery, but is at last fully cleared up. 



The prevalence of this insect on the rose, and its annual appearance coincid- 

 ing with the blossoming of that flower, has gained for it the popular name by 

 which it is here known. For some time after they were first noticed, rose bugs 

 appeared to be confined to their favorite, the blossoms of the rose; but within 

 40 years they have prodigiously increased in numbers, have attacked at random 

 various kinds of plants in swarms, and have become notorious for their exten- 

 sive and deplorable ravages. The grape vine in particular, the cherry, plum, 

 and apple trees have annually suffered by their depredations; many other fruit 

 trees and shrubs, garden vegetables and corn, and even the trees of the forest 

 and the grass of the fields have been laid under contribution by these indiscrimi- 

 nate feeders, by whom leaves, flowers, and fruits are alike consumed. The 

 nnexpected arrival of these insects in swarms at the first of their coining and 

 their sudden disappearance at the close of their career, are remarkable facts in 

 their history. 



They come forth from the ground during the second week in June, or about 

 the time of blossoming of the damask rose, and remain tliirty to forty days. 



At the end of this period the males become exhausted, fall to the ground and 

 perish, while the females enter the earth, lay their egg, return to the surface, 

 and, after lingering a few days, die also. 



The eggs laid by each female are about thirty in number, and are de])osited 

 from one to four inches beneath the surface of the soil ; they are nearly globu- 

 lar, whitish and about one-thirtieth of an inch in diameter, and are hatched 

 twenty days after they are laid. The young larvae begin to feed on such tender 

 roots as are within their reach. Like otlier grubs of that tribe, when not eat- 

 ing they lie upon the side, with the body curved, so that the head and tail are 

 nearly in contact; they move with difficulty on a level surface, and are continu- 

 ally falling over on one side or the other. They attain their full size in the 

 15 



