154 LEAF-BEETLES 



The egg is oval, bright straw-yellow, the surface deeply pitted 

 with minute, rather irregular six-sided areas. The larva is about 

 5 mm. long, narrow, and tapering toward the end. According 

 to Mr. Davis, it has the head, legs, pronotum and terminal plate 

 black ; on the back of each segment are two transverse rectangu- 

 lar dark spots, with two or more smaller ones on the sides of the 

 larger two, and beneath them there is a longitudinal block on each 

 segment. The venter of each abdominal segment is marked with 

 five dark brown spots, the central one being largest. These larvae 

 also feed on the leaves of the cherry. 



To show the general appearance of insects of this group of 

 beetles, the "Elm-leaf beetle' (Galemca xanthomelaena Schr.), 

 is illustrated in Fig. 157. It is happily not found in Minnesota, 

 at least none have been seen or received thus far; it is another 

 of the many undesirable insects imported from Europe. It is 

 greenish-yellow when fresh, with two black stripes on the wing- 

 covers. The yellow, bottle-shaped eggs are laid in double rows 

 on the under side of leaves and from them the yellow, black- 

 spotted larvae hatch, covered with little bristly tufts of hair. 

 When full grown they crawl down the trunks to the ground, and 

 there among the grass and rubbish on the surface they change to 

 bright-yellow pupae. These beetles and their larvae are exceed- 

 ingly injurious to the foliage of the elm trees, and in the eastern 

 cities the authorities are forced to employ a large gang of men 

 to protect and save the trees by spraying them with arsenical 

 poisons. 



FLEA-BEETLES. 



This is another group of leaf-feeding beetles, of which many 

 different kinds occur in our state. They are easily recognized by 

 their hind legs, which possess very large and swollen thighs, en- 

 abling the insects to leap like fleas, hence the name flea-beetles 

 (Pig. 158). But they differ from fleas in that they also possess 

 wings as well, which are readily used. 



One of the best known of such flea-beetles is the "Sumach 

 Flea-beetle" (Blcpharida rhois Forst.), which is exceedingly 



