386 FRUIT INSECTS 



i inch in length apparently passes the winter in a partly 

 grown condition, inside a silky case in its burrow in the crown ; 

 completes its growth the following spring and pupates in May 

 or June. There is apparently only one generation annually. 



The Strawberry Crown-girdler 

 Otiorhyiichus ovatus Linnaeus 



While the larvae of this beetle often injure strawberry plants 

 by eating off the roots near the crown, whence the name girdler, 



it has attracted more at- 

 tention from the annoy- 

 ing habit the beetles have 

 of invading dwellings in 

 search of shelter. The 

 insect occurs in the 

 ^ Northern states and 

 Canada and is widely 



Fig. 334. — Beetlr ()f the strawberry crown- aistri})Uted in Europe 

 girdler (xl>)- , x, a • 



and northern Asia. 

 The full-grown grub is } inch or less in length, whitish in color 

 with a yellowish head, and is strongly curved. The grubs feed 

 on the roots of the strawberr^^ cutting them off near the crown, 

 but as a rule do not l)urrow into the crown like the crown-borer. 

 They also attack the roots of various grasses, white clover, 

 wild strawberry and related plants. Badly infested strawberry 

 plants are killed outright. The time required for the grubs to 

 reach maturity has not been determined. When full-grown the 

 grub constructs a small earthen cell within which it transforms 

 to a whitish pupa and later to an adult. The latter is a very 

 dark brown, almost black, snout-beetle, about y\ inch in length 

 (Fig. 334). The beetles are unable to fly; the wings are ab- 

 sent and the wing-covers have grown together so they cannot be 

 opened for flight. They often congregate in great numbers 



