FLEA BEETLES. 



20.3 



IS to shake them off into an open inverted umbrella or a kerosene tin ; 

 where they persistently attack valuable plants in gardens, a dose of lead 

 arseniatc sprayed upon the plants is sufficient to kill them. The ordinary 

 simple butterfly net is a handy weapon against all such beetles ; it is 

 described in the appendix and a few boys with nets can work havoc among 

 beetles on garden plants. 



Flea Beetles. 



Fleas are those small active insects Avhich infest human beings and 

 domestic animals, and are characterised by 

 great leaping powers. 



Flea beetles have similar leaping powers, 

 are nearly as small but live on the leaves of 

 plants. They are very small insects, usually 

 less than one-eighth of an inch long with 

 the shining appearance of the usual beetle 

 and coloured steel-blue or brown. They 

 bite small holes in the leaves they infest, 

 giving a very characteristic spotted effect 

 which is quite clearly recognisable. The 

 spotted leaves betray them, and a plant 

 with such leaves is almost sure to be in- 

 fested even if the beetles cannot at first 

 sight be seen. These active beetles are 

 difficult to catch. 



The life history of no flea beetle has been worked out in India. In 

 general their larviB are leaf-miners tunneling in the tissue of the leaf 

 between the upper and lower epidermis. The larva thus lives inside the 

 plant, the imago outside. Others are miners in the stem or some other 

 portion of the plants. These mines are seen as lines or blotches on the 

 leaf, but as they are produced by many other insects beside flea beetle 

 larvae, care must be taken in rearing them. 



Few species are destructive in India and little is known about 

 them. They are found as occasional pests, but not doing injury to 

 important crops. One species attacks wheat and is common on irrigated 

 wheat plots in experiment farms. Another attacks mustard crops but is 

 not really injurious. San hemp is eaten by a brown and black species 

 which appears in abundance in the rains. Brinjal is liable to attack, as 

 also are indigo, vegetable crops, etc. Rice in Burma is attacked l)y 

 another species (fig. 239), and there are doubtless many yet to be found. 



Fig, 239. 

 mce Flea Beetle. {3Iagnijied.) 

 On the right the hind leg to /thoio 

 the immense thigh that cha- 

 racterises these beetles. 



