THE LAMi:i.i i< ouN i;i;i:i'i.E8. 



Df)!) 



:',73. Lachnosleriia fusca Froli. 1, pup.i, in it.s earthen cfU; 

 larva; 3, 4, beetle, side and back views. (After Riley.) 



liciu'fic iiaiiic Ldiliiiosh nia. nieauiny "wool"" jiikI " Ix-t-iist."" Tliev 

 arc a 1)11 11(1 a lit every- 

 where in early suniiner, 

 liidinf; hy (la\- and be- 

 jrinninji- to tl\ at dusk, 

 when they settle upon 

 the foliatje of \ow slirults 

 and trees, espeeiall\' 

 those of lawns and other 

 ^'rass-eovered areas, to 

 which they often do 

 III (I c li dainati'c by dc- 

 \'oiiriti<:' the leaves, 'i'lie 

 best method of colle('t- 

 inu' thciii is to o'o out 

 uitli lantern and um- 

 brtlla just after dusk 

 and beat the branches 



upon which they are feeding'. In this way hundreds or even thou- 

 sands ean lie collected in a sin<;le evening' If the damage to shrubs 

 or small trees is too great the beetles may be easily gathered by 

 shaking them onto sheets. 



The larva> of the IMay bec^tles arc those large, bulky forms com- 

 monly known as "white grubs." (Fig. 373.) They often do much 

 damage to the roots of grass, corn and allied plants. Lawns and 

 strawberry lieds are sometimes wholly ruined, the grubs gnawing 

 off every root at a certain depth. Li\ing as they do, underground, 

 they are very difficult to combat. If the field is badly infested an 1 

 not in cultivation, hogs may be turned in to root them out, as the>' 

 are very fond of the grubs. Fall plowing turns out i)up:e and re 

 cently matured beetles and greatly lessens the damage to corn and 

 other crops the ensuing year. In law^ns and small areas of grass 

 lands a kerosene emulsion, washed down by an abundance of water, 

 often destroys many of the larviP. 



On account of the great similarity in form, color and size, the 

 May beetles are difficult to determine, and for a long time were 

 often jumbled together in i-ollections without specific names. How- 

 ever, Dr. Horn, in his Revision, furni.shed tables by which, with a 

 little patience and close otiscrvation, the males can be readily recog- 

 nized. The females are more dlilicnlt and can only ])e determined 

 by careful coiii|iarison witli the iual(>s. whicli thrcy most resemble. 

 [Gt— 23402] 



