GRAPEVINE ROOT WORM 



63 



•easily frightened, and when alarmed usually fold up their legs 

 and fall to the ground, where they remain quiet till all danger 

 appears to have passed. The beetles on the wood, however, are 

 not so easily disturbed. They can frequently be picked from the 

 vine, and it requires repeated jarring to dislodge all. This is 

 of considerable importance when collecting beetles with any 

 machine and the persistence with which some hang to the wood 

 offers a serious obstacle to this method of controlling the insect. 



The tendency of this species to remain in a locality is well 

 shown in a certain vineyard at Ripley. It had suffered very 

 severely in earlier years from the depredations of this pest and a 

 portion of it was uprooted last spring, A small area was 

 allowed to remain in the hope that it could be brought back to 

 a normal condition. A few rows next tO' the uprooted area were 

 fed on to a very great extent by the beetles, which had evidently 

 emerged from the adjacent soil and made their way to the 

 nearest vines where they were content to remain and feed. The 

 extensive injury inflicted on these vines is well illustrated on 

 plate 4, which shows how badly many of the leaves were riddled. 

 A curious fact in connection with the abundance of the beetles 

 on these small vines is that few or no eggs could be found and 

 there is apparently no reason for such a condition. This 

 tendency of the insects to remain in one locality is very favor- 

 able to growers attempting to control the pest, as there is less 

 danger of their flying from infested vineyards where no effort 

 is made to check them. 



Eggs. The eggs of this insect are deposited almost entirely 

 under the loose bark of last year's wood, many being found 

 as high as the top wire. Professor Webster states that over 

 700 have been taken from a single vine, and from a section 16 

 inches in length and an inch in diameter he took 225 eggs. 

 Once he found a few eggs pushed down between the earth and 

 the base of the vine, but we have failed to find eggs in any such 

 position. Beetles in confinement deposited eggs in crevices 

 and cavities of the wood and even on leaves. Eggs were 

 found in the field in 1902 as early as July 9 and oviposition was 



