Observations on Insects affecthuj the Turnip Crops. 315 



titudes of larvDe with them, which had emerged from the eggs, and 

 were eating holes in the leaves, (fig. 24.) These larvae can 

 crawl about, having six pectoral feet and a proleg at the tail, the 

 intermediate segments being very much produced, like nipples on 

 the sides; they are of a smoky yellow colour, spotted with black; 

 the head is black, with short antennae and four small feelers ; the 

 1st thoracic segment is dull, the 2nd and 3rd have four small black 

 spots on the disc, and the following only two, but larger (fig. 25); 

 they are slightly hairy, and there is a line of brown tubercles on 

 each side close to the spiracles, from which the animal can pro- 

 trude yellow shining glands, when it is excited or put to pain : 

 these larvae are of course very small at first, and never attain a 

 large size, yet they eat innumerable holes in the leaves. I placed 

 several upon a turnip-leaf, and believe they entered the earth to 

 become pupae, for they soon disappeared. There is no doubt 

 that they change to a beetle of the Genus Chrysomela, which be- 

 longs to the same Family as the "Turnip-fly Beetle" (^Altica 

 Nemorum) ; * but it cannot leap, and it is far from improbable 

 that these larvae are the offspring of 



9. Chrysomela (Phaedon) Betulae, Linn. : f a brilliant shining 

 blue or green oval beetle, with the under side, horns, and legs 

 black, and about IJ line long, which I have often found upon 

 turnip-leaves. 



CuRCULio AssiMiLis, the Turnip-seed Weevil. 



T shall for the present notice only two other insects, both of 

 which are injurious to the turnips when in flower and seed : the 

 economy and habits of one were only discovered last summer by a 

 friend, who sent me some turnip-seed in a pill-box the end of 

 June, containing also twenty or thirty maggots : on scattering the 

 contents of the box upon a sheet of paper, the maggots stretched 

 themselves straight out and walked very well. I was at the same 

 time informed that a small bag of fresh rubbed-out " nimble- 

 nine-weeks " turnip-seed was strewed in a paper tray and placed 

 before the fire for the purpose of being well dried, when numbers 

 of these little maggots were seen crawling amongst the seeds. 

 On examining the seeds, however, I could not find any holes in 

 them ; 1 therefore placed the maggots in a pot of earth, and they 

 soon buried themselves. About a week after this my correspond- 

 ent examined some of the remaining pods of the turnip, and found 

 one with a small hole in it (fig. 28) : on splitting it open it was 

 evident that the seeds had been eaten, and it appeared that the hole 

 had been made by a maggot in order to effect its exit : three pods 



* Royal Agr. Soc. Jour., vol. ii. pi. A, figs. 4 and 5. 

 t Curtis's Guide, Gen. 433, No. 5. 



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