BLISTER-BEETLES 



307 



Canada and the United States westwarrl to Kansas and 

 Nebraska. 



The Hfe history of this insect has never been hilly worked 

 out. The beetles appear in swarms in May or June and are 

 more or less abundant until autumn. 

 The female lays her eggs in irregular 

 masses in the ground an inch or so 

 below the surface. The beetles have 

 been reared from larv<ne feeding on the 

 eggs of the Rocky Mountain locust. 

 In Minnesota there are said to be two 

 generations annually, the adults of the 

 first brood appearing about the middle 

 of June, those of the second from the 

 middle of August to early in Septembei'. 

 These beetles are especially fond of 

 leguminous plants, pea, bean, soybean, 

 cowpea, clover, alfalfa, black locust, 

 honey locust, wild indigo, lupine and 



astragalus. They also attack potato, tomato, sweet potato, 

 beet, radish, flax and several wild plants. 



Fig. 187. — The ash-gray 

 blister-beetle (X 4|). 



The Black Blister-Beetle 



Epicauta pennsylvanica De Geer 



This insect (Fig. 188) is i inch or less in length and of a uni- 

 form, dull black color. It is widely distributed throughout 

 the eastern United States and Canada east of the Rocky INIoun- 

 tains. It attacks a large variety of plants, including potato, 

 tomato, carrot, mangel, cabbage, corn, onion, chrysanthemum, 

 pink, aster, clematis, passion flower, zinnia and alfalfa. It 

 also feeds on pigweed, thoroughwort, ragweed and meadow rue. 



This blister-beetle usually becomes abundant a little later 

 in the season than the other common species. The egg is pale 



