l86 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETABLES 



was no opportunity for plant attack. Most cases of injury arc 

 due to the operations of the beetles, and damage is more pro- 

 nounced on young plants, older growth appearing in some cases 

 exempt from attack, owing to its more woody texture. Injury 

 may be accomplished both by hibernated individuals in the 

 spring from April to June, according to locality, and by recently 

 transformed specimens in late summer and autumn. 



The species is with little doubt single-brooded. Pupation 

 takes place in an oval cavity in the earth, and hibernation, 

 without much doubt, occurs in the adult condition. The 

 favorite food of the beetle is evidently carrot, and after this 

 corn, parsnip and celery are chosen. Sweet and Irish potato 

 are subject to much damage, as are also sunflower, dahlia, sugar- 

 beet and sometimes cotton. The beetles usually feed beneath 

 the surface; corn is cut just above the roots, and root crops are 

 punctured with holes. Sometimes a crop appears in good condi- 

 tion, judging from the tops alone, but when the plants are 

 pulled injury becomes manifest. Entire plantings have been 

 destroyed by the beetles, and the roots of tubers rendered un- 

 marketable on account of their ravages. They gnaw into the 

 roots of celery, dwarfing and killing the plants, and eat the 

 bark from the root. They sometimes imbed themselves in tap 

 roots and may penetrate the earth to a depth of seven inches. 

 As many as fifty beetles have been found about the roots of 

 a single plant. 



Methods of Control. — When this insect is present in large 

 numbers there is little, owing to its working underground, that 

 can be accomplished in the line of control. The beetles are 

 strongly attracted to electric lights, but it is not certain that 

 they could be lured from the field after beginning to feed. It 

 is reported that lime scattered through infested fields has ap- 

 parently driven the beetles away. After the crop has been har- 

 vested, if the insects continue in numbers in the ground, it would 



