190 



COLEOPTERA— BEETLES 



to the bark can be found by means of the chips that are 

 forced out and project from the burrow or drop to the 

 ground and form Uttle piles. The grub can be cut out with 

 a clean sweep of the knife and the wound covered with a 

 little wax, thick paint, or something of the kind to prevent 

 entrance of water and formation of decaying spots. 



Leaf Beetles (Chrysomelidw). — The leaf beetles represent 

 rather more primitive habits and have rather more primi- 

 tive characters than CerambycidcB, the antennae being short 

 and filiform, but are similar in the character of the tarsi. 

 The larvae of Chrysomdidw with a few exceptions feed on the 

 leaves of plants in a very exposed manner and the adults 

 feed, so far as they feed at all, on the leaves of different kinds 



Fig. 137. — Colorado potato beetle {Lepliiiotarsa decemlineala) : a, beetle; 

 b, larva; c, pupa. Enlarged. (Chittenden, Div. Ent., U. S. Dept. Ag.) 



of vegetation. They are sometimes restricted to certain 

 plants and sometimes have a ^'ariety of hosts. 



The Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlmeata) 

 was at one time a much-dreaded pest but can now be easily 

 controlled. It occurred originally in the Rocky Mountain 

 region, feeding on wild plants related to the potato, but with 

 the introduction of the potato and abundance of food it 

 multiplied rapidly, migrated eastward and soon spread over 

 the entire country. It has two generations each year, adults 

 hibernating in the ground, appearing in early spring and 

 laying eggs on first-appearing potato vines. The larvae 

 which hatch soon feed on the leaves, maturing in a short 

 time, pupating under ground, and a summer generation of 



