INJURIOUS TO CARROT AND RELATED CROPS 185 



plant, they very rarely ascend so as to enter the base of 

 the leaves (Fig. 107). 



Unfortunately no method of controlling this pest has been 

 devised applicable to the conditions under which its food plants 

 are grown in this country. 



References 



U. S. Div. Ent. Bull. 33, pp. 26-32. 1902. 



Felt, ISth Rept. N. Y. State Ent., pp. 99-103. 1903. 



The Carrot Beetle 



Ligyrus gibbosus DeGeer 



Throughout the United States, except in the extreme North, 

 the roots of carrot, parsnip and celery are sometimes seriously 

 injured by a medium-sized reddish brown 

 insect which has much the appearance 

 of a small June beetle. It is from ^ to 

 f inch in length. On the front part of 

 the thorax is a depressed area, in front 

 of which is a small distinct tubercle 

 (Fig. 108). The beetles feed mostly 

 underground, gnawing out holes in the 

 roots and underground stems. In 

 addition to the plants mentioned above, 

 the beetles have been known to attack 

 beet, celery, sweet potato, potato, corn, 

 dahlia, cabbage, sunflower and cotton, and among weeds 

 ragweed and red-root. 



The beetles hibernate in the soil at a depth of six inches to 

 four feet and are found in the field in greater or less abundance 

 throughout the growing season. The eggs are laid in the soil. 

 They are similar to those of the June beetles, white, smooth 

 and shining, nearly globular, grayish, and about ^t ii^ch in 



Fig. lOS. — The carrot 

 beetle (X 2i). 



