390 



FRUIT INSECTS 



oblique whitish bar on each wing-cover. The beetles feed on 

 the foliage of a large number of cultivated and wild plants and 

 have been known to eat off the stems of apples, causing the fruit 

 to drop. 



The female deposits her smooth, yellow, ovoid eggs, about 

 2V inch in length, in flattened clusters of ten to sixty in crevices 

 at the base of the strawberry plant (Fig. 336). On hatching 

 the grubs descend into the ground, where 

 they at first devour the slender roots and 

 later burrow into the crown, killing the 

 plant. When full-grown the grub is 

 about i inch in length, milk white in 

 color, and strongly 

 arched. When 



mature they leave 

 the crown and 

 transform to pupae 

 in earthen cells, 

 two to five inches 

 below the surface 

 of the ground. 

 The length of time 

 spent in the vari- 

 ous stages has not 

 been definitely determined. There are probably several broods 

 a year. The adults sometimes riddle the leaves of citrus trees, 

 especially in nurseries. 

 Treatment. 



The injuries occasioned by this insect may be prevented by 

 adopting a short rotation system of strawberry culture and by 

 shifting the beds to new, uninfested land. The beetles have 

 no functional wings and their natural spread to new fields is 

 consequently slow. A careful watch should be kept of the 

 newly set plants in April and May, and as soon as any begin to 



Fig. 335 

 beetle. 



— Fuller's rose 

 Knight photo. 



In,. .,.j(). — Egg-mass 

 of Fuller's rose beetle. 

 Knight photo. Enlarged. 



