EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. - 323 



The Rose-chafer. (Macrodactylus stibspinosus.) 



The rose-chafer, or rose-bus, is a small beetle with Ions, awkward legs and a 

 voracious appetite. They come in swarms, almost covering grape vines, fruit 

 trees, roses, ornamental shrubs, etc. They are worst in sandy regions, appearing 

 about the time that the grapes bloom. The beetle is about three-eighths of an 

 inch long, light yellowish-brown in color, and has long reddish legs. The habits 

 of this destructive insect are fully described by Dr. Marlatt of our National De- 

 partment of Agriculture. 



Dr. Marlatt says,* "It passes its early stages in grass or meadow land, especially 

 if sandy, — the larvas feeding on the roots of grasses a few inches below the sur- 

 face of the ground like the common white grub which they closely resemble 

 except in size. The eggs are laid on the ground in June and July, and the larvae 

 become full grown by autumn and transform to pupje the following spring, from 

 two to four weeks prior to the emergence of the beetles." 



REMEDIES. 



Nothing in the way of a spray seems to be eflBcient. When in small numbers, 

 the arsenites may prove of benefit, though the beetles usually keep coming so 

 fast that it is difficult to make sure that there is any real benefit. Arsenites act 

 slowly on these sluggish pests and new hosts are apt to replace those killed by 

 the poison. 



Dr. Marlatt advises the use of spirea as a trap plant. The beetles dearly love 

 spirea and will gather on the shrub in preference to anything else. From the 

 trap plants they may be knocked into pans containing water and kerosene, or into 

 an inverted umbrella wet with coal oil. Dr. Marlatt says (loc. cit.), "The number 

 of rose-chafers may be considerably limited by restricting the areas in which they 

 breed, — all sandy meadow land especially should be broken up and cultivated to 

 annual crops, and the more general the cultivation of all lands the fewer will 

 be the rose-chafers. In this procedure notable results may only be secured by the 

 cooperation of a neighborhood." 



The writer has long felt that results might be obtained by knocking the beetles 

 into long shallow sheet-iron pans, when the trouble is with the grape, at any rate. 

 These pans can be made of an entire sheet of sheet-iron, about twelve feet long 

 by two feet wide, by simply bending up a border of about two inches all the way 

 around. Braces should of course be put on the bottom and handles at the ends. 

 Then by spreading rags soaked in water in the bottom of the pan and pouring 

 kerosene over all, a death trap or beetle dozer is made ready. Such a dozer 

 should be placed parallel to a row of vines and the beetles knocked into it by 

 brushes made of pine twigs. Such brushes should tear the foliage only to a mini- 

 mum degree. The beetles after coming in contact with the oil may crawl away 

 or they may remain in the pan, it makes no difference, for they will shortly die. 

 ^The dozer may be drawn along by means of a rope and another set of vines 

 beaten, the stupidity of the beetles making them loath to fly. Of course such a 

 method will have to be persisted in if success is to be attained. One treatment 

 will not end the matter, nor will all the beetles be killed at any one treatment. 

 It does however promise well for the man who is willing to keep up a continuous 

 fight during the few weeks of the invasion. 



The Light-loving Anomala. (Anomala lucicola.) 



We occasionally see on our grape vines, medium sized cock-chafers, resembling 

 June-beetles, only smaller. They measure about one-third of an inch long, and 

 vary in color from brownish to yellowish-brown and even black. The common 

 form has brownish-yellow wing-covers and a dark thorax, usually with a border 

 the color of the Aving-covers. These beetles are said also to feed on the Virginia 

 creeper. From time to time they become numerous enough to entirely skeletonize 

 the foliage. The larval and pupal stages are passed in the soil. They resemble 

 the small white grubs and pupae of the June-beetle very much except in size. 



♦Farmer's Bulletin No. 70, U. S. Department of Agriculture; also, year book for 1895. 



