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JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



[Vol. 15 



money damage, but also in its capacity for destruction wherever it has 

 become established, and in its tremendous capability for rapid spread. 

 In the Birmingham district of northern Alabama early in the summer 

 of 1921, the bean crop was destroyed in almost every case. When 

 garden bean foliage became scarce, serious damage was sometimes done 

 to cowpeas, and soy beans were occasionally injured. A number of new 

 cultivated and wild food plants have been discovered, and the species 

 is now permanently established in the vSoutheast. Since it thrives on 

 the important forage and cover crops, cowpeas and soy beans, its 

 potential importance to the general farmer is immense. 



pig_ g_ — Map showing distribution of Mexican Bean Beetle to Dec. 31, 1921. 



Distribution in 1921 



The accompanying map (Fig. 8), prepared under the direction of Dr. 

 F. H. Chittenden and Mr. J. E. Graf, shows the present known distri- 

 bution of the Mexican bean beetle in the United States. The trend of 

 distribution in the Southeastern United States is northward and, with 

 the exception of the Thomasville, Ga., infestation, follows the moun- 

 tainous or hilly country. This latter infestation is heavy over a small 

 area and is important in that it indicates the ability of the species to 

 thrive in flat country under extreme southern conditions. The insect 

 has demonstrated its resistance to lower extremes of temperature and 

 high altitudes in the West, and it will flourish also in the Northern and 



