114 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETATION. 



in great abundance on the horse-radish, various kinds of 

 cresses, and on the mustard, and turnip, early in May, and 

 indeed at other times throughout the summer. It is very 

 injurious to young plants, destroying their seed-leaves as soon 

 as the latter expand. Should it multiply to any extent, it 

 may, in time, become as great a pest as the European turnip 

 flea-beetle, which it closely resembles in its appearance, and in 

 all its habits. Though rather larger than the cucumber flea- 

 beetle, and of a longer oval shape, it is considerably less than 

 one tenth of an inch in length. It is of a polished black color, 

 with a broad wavy buff"-colored stripe on each wing-cover, and 

 the knees and feet are reddish yellow. Specimens are some- 

 times found having two buff'-yellow spots on each wing-cover 

 instead of the wavy stripe. These were not known, by Fabri- 

 cius, to be merely varieties of the striolata, and accordingly he 

 described them as distinct, under the name of bipuslulata* the 

 two-spotted. 



The steel-blue flea-beetle, Haltica chalybea of Illiger, or the 

 grape-vine flea-beetle, as it might be called on account of its 

 habits, is found in almost all parts of the United States, on 

 wild and cultivated grape-vines, the buds and leaves of which 

 it destroys. Though it has received the specific name of 

 chalybea, meaning steel-blue, it is exceedingly variable in its 

 color, specimens being often seen on the same vine, of a dark 

 purple, violet, Prussian blue, greenish blue, and deep green 

 color. The most common tint of the upper side is a glossy, 

 deep, greenish blue; the under side is dark green; and the 

 antennae and feet are duU black. The body is oblong-oval, 

 and the hinder part of the thorax is marked with a transverse 

 furrow. It measures rather more than three twentieths of an 

 inch in length. In this part of the country these beetles begin 

 to come out of their winter quarters towards the end of April, 

 and continue to appear tiU the latter part of May. Soon after 

 their first appearance they pair, and probably lay their eggs on 

 the leaves of the vine, and perhaps on other plants also. A 

 second brood of the beetles is found on the grape-vines towards 



• Crioceris bipustulata, Fabricius. 



