Reports to the Board of Agricultitre. 19 



to some extent for the rest of the year, and hibernate during the 

 winter under the bark of trees, and amongst rubbish, etc., at the foot 

 of hedgerows. 



It appears from observations made on the specimens sent from 

 Cottenham that the beetles do not leave the dead blossoms for 

 some days. 



Much good may be done l)y collecting, as far as possible, all the 

 dead blossoms beneath the trees (first seeing that all " capped" blossoms 

 have fallen ; if not, shake the remainder off the trees) and burning 

 them. At the same time spray the ground beneath the trees with 

 .strong soft soap and paraffin wash, adding double the amount of paraffin 

 usually employed. 



At present all we can do in this attack is to destroy the beetles 

 and so prevent theu- increase. This can be done in three ways : (i) 

 by that mentioned above ; (ii) by destruction of winter shelter by 

 use of caustic alkali wash ; and (iii) by jarring tlie tiees when the 

 l)lossom appears in spring so as to shake off the weevils on to sheets 

 spread beneath the trees, when they can be swept up and destroyed. 

 Warm days should be chosen for this, preferaldy with a S.W. wind. 

 This has been found to do considerable good where properly 

 -carried out. 



Stress should be laid on the destruction of fallen diseased blossom. 

 A few days, or even hours, may be sufficient for the beetles to escape, 

 .and so give them every chance to continue their work next season. 



Strawberry Beetles. 



A correspondent of the Board sent an enquiry in September 

 asking for information concerning beetles that had been very 

 harmful amongst the strawberries in parts of Norfolk. The following 

 report was sent in retuin : — 



Several species of ground beetles attack strawberries, including 

 the following : Harpahis ruficornis, Fabr. ; Omascus vulgaris, Linn. ; 

 Sterojms mandidus, Fabr. ; and Calathus cisteloides, Panzer. 



These beetles attack the benies at night, usually just when the 

 fruit is ripening. The insects remain under the earth, straw, or 

 grass between the rows during the day, making holes in the soil and 

 having regular runs opening through the litter. Green fruit is also 

 attacked, the skin being eaten away, the seeds usually being left 

 intact. There are nevertheless records of the seeds also being eaten, 

 the ground being described as "covered with a jwwdery deposit," 

 ^caused by the seeds eaten off the berries. 



c 2 



