68 



INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETABLES 



the two are frequently confounded, and injuries inflicted by one 

 attributed to the other. The form under consideration (fig. 37) 

 is a little more slender, has three stripes on each wing-cover 

 instead of two, and is a little longer. It is very abundant south- 

 ward, and is partial to potato, cabbage, squash, and to beet tops. 

 The Spotted Blister Beetle {Epicauta maculata Say). — The 

 southwestern portion of the United States is the home of many 

 species of blister beetles not found in 

 the north and east. Among the most 

 abundant is the species illustrated in 

 figure 38. Its body is covered with 

 fine gray hairs, with small areas on 

 the elytra, through which the natural 

 black of the body shows, giving it the 

 appearance of a gray insect finely 

 dotted with black. It abounds from 

 Texas and New Mexico northward to 

 South Dakota, thence westward to 

 California and Oregon. It is found 

 upon potato, beet, clover and other 

 plants. 

 Remedies. — Paris green is one of the best remedies for blister 

 beetles when they occur on potatoes and most other crops. It 

 may be applied dry, or as a spray, according to directions al- 

 ready given in the discussion of insecticides. Arsenate 

 of lead is also excellent for these pests. Repeated ap- 

 plications are sometimes necessary, since the poisoned beetles 

 are replaced by others. A remedy employed with success in 

 the West consists in sending a line of men and boys through 

 infested fields to drive the beetles, by short flights and running, 

 before them until they alight in windrows of hay, straw, or 

 other dry vegetable material which have previously been pre- 

 pared along the leeward side of the field. When the beetles 

 have taken refuge in such a windrow, it is fired and the beetles 



Fig-. 38-— Spotted blister 

 beetle. (Author's illustra- 

 tion, U. S. Dept- Agr.) 



