594 



STATE BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



or passed the winter in some protected place. These adult beetles lay 

 eggs, which hatch and commence to be noticed in July as grubs feeding 

 on the cherry leaves. They pass the pupal stage in the earth and become 

 adults in September, remaining in this stage until the following spring. 



REMEDIES. 



The best remedy is a spray of Paris-green, applied as directed in the 

 chapter on insecticides, but this must not be used after the fruit is well 

 set and before it is picked. During this period it is necessary to use 

 some contact poison, such as whale-oil soap or kerosene-emulsion, and 

 the soap solution, used at the rate of one pound to five gallons of 

 water, will probably prove the cheapest and best remedy, for at this 

 time the insects are in the larval stage and no doubt will readily suc- 

 cumb to the spray. 



THE ASPARAGUS BEETLE. 



[Crioceris asparagi Linn.) 



As long ago as 185G the asparagus beetle is supposed to have been 

 introduced into America from Europe. Its first appearance was at 

 Astoria, N. Y., near New York city. Since that time it has spread 

 through most of the eastern states. Michigan has been fortunate to 

 escape the depredations of this insect up to the summer of 1896, when 

 it appeared in Berrien county. The past season has brought several 

 complaints of its presence and injuries from that district. This pretty 

 little beetle lives both in the larval and in the adult stage on the aspara- 

 gus, both wild and cultivated, and both young and old. 



The elongated eggs, about one-tenth of an inch in length, are placed in 

 short rows on the plant and hatch in about eight days. The soft, gray 

 grubs (Fig. 24d) coming from these eggs immediately attack the succulent 



Fig. 24. Asparagus Beetle (Crioceris asparagi); a. adult beetle; d, larva, full-grown; r, voung 

 larva; b, egg; e, pupa, (Chittenden, Year-book of Dept. of Agriculture for 1893.) 



leaves or stems and continue to feed for about two weeks, after which 

 they go into the ground and become pupae. Here they remain for about 



