212 AN ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY. 



develop, they may be readily brushed off with a stick in the 

 middle of a hot day and iew of them ever get back, a short 

 period on the hot soil proving fatal. The work can be done 

 very rapidly, and is needed two or three times only to secure 

 entire protection. Where a field of old shoots becomes badly 

 infested by larvae, much benefit may be derived by a thorough 

 dusting with fresh, dry slacked lime early in the morning while 

 the plants are yet a little moist with dew. The lime, if properly 

 prepared, is sufficiently caustic to burn holes into and kill the 

 slimy larvae. As new specimens are constantly hatching, this 

 dusting must be done several times at short intervals, but is sure 

 to prove effective if thoroughly carried out. 



The " 1 2-spotted asparagus beetle," C. 12-piinctatus, is some- 

 what larger and more robust, uniformly reddish in color, with 

 twelve black spots on the wing-covers. It is as yet less common 

 than its ally and not so widely distributed, but may be treated in 

 much the same way. 



The species of Fidia are robust, rather long-legged creatures, 

 covered with short hair, giving them a more or less marked gray 

 appearance, and they feed largely upon grape. Fidia viticida 

 has proved locally injurious in Ohio, and, as the species occurs 

 over a large portion of our country, it may break out anywhere 

 at almost any time. The beetle feeds upon the foliage, eating 

 irregular holes on the upper surface in June. Eggs are laid on 

 the trunk of the vine or on the branches in any available crevice, 

 and the larvae drop to the ground when hatched, making their 

 way beneath it as best they may, to the rootlets upon which they 

 feed. Remedial measures have not as yet proved very satisfac- 

 tory, but spraying with a strong arsenical mixture, using lime to 

 avoid burning the foliage, will kill many of the beetles. Culti- 

 vating the ground so as to have a loose powdery top soil without 

 crevices leading to the roots, which should also be covered as 

 deeply as possible, will prevent many of the larviie from reaching 

 their feeding place. 



Strawberry plants are sometimes injured by whitish larvae 

 feeding upon the roots, and from these are produced small, shin- 

 ing, black or brownish beetles belonging to Paria aterrivia, or 

 certain allied species popularly known as "strawberry root- 

 borers." The best measures here are clean culture and frequent 



