398 



FRUIT INSECTS 



rose, hence its common name, and on many wild trees, such 

 as sumac, elder and the wild thorn. It is generally distributed 

 from Maine to Colorado and southward to Georgia and New 

 Mexico, but has attracted attention as a grape pest particularly 

 in New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania. 

 It is most troublesome in sandy regions, especially in vineyards 



surrounded by waste grass 

 lands, in which the larvae 

 find abundant food. 



The beetles emerge from 

 the ground about the time 

 grapes are ready to blossom, 

 that is, about the middle of 

 June in New York and in 

 the latter half of May in 

 southern New Jersey. 

 They usually make their 

 appearance in the vineyard 

 suddenly and often in count- 

 less swarms. They feed at 

 first on the blossom buds 

 or blossoms and later at- 

 tack the newly set fruit 

 and the foUage. The de- 

 struction of the blossom 

 causes thin scraggly clusters 

 that are often scarcely worth picking. The berries that have 

 been eaten into when small often show the seeds protruding 

 from the wound later in the season. The injury to the foliage 

 is rarely severe enough to cause serious damage although the 

 leaves are often riddled by the beetles and have a tattered and 

 ragged appearance. The beetles usually remain, feeding on 

 the vines for ten days or two weeks and then migrate to other 

 plants then in blossom. 



Fig. 342. — Male rose chafer (x 3). 



