84 First Report ou Economic Zoology. 



celery and potatoes. They have been very abundant this year in 

 many parts of the country, and have caused a great deal of harm to 

 all kinds of roots. 



Various remedies have been suggested and used with varied results. 

 Soot and lime broadcasted over the soil and worked in with a prong- 

 hoe in an attack on turnip has been successful. Bran soaked in 

 Paris green and placed in heaps just under or on the soil has been 

 known to destroy them ; hundreds being poisoned l3y eating the 

 arsenic on the bran. Kainit, at the rate of 3 cwt. to the acre, has 

 also been successful. In regard to the attack on potatoes, it is 

 difficult to do any good, but with the celeiy, soot and lime broad- 

 casted on each side of the rows would prove beneficial. 



One grower has recommended watering with paraffin emulsion. 

 If the plants are young this would no doubt be an excellent remedy. 



The Pigmy Potato Beetle. 



{Batliyscia 'wollastoni, Jans.) 



Early in June, Mr. Stains, gardener to F, Monins, Esq., of Eing- 

 would, near Dover, sent some potatoes badly damaged and full of 

 small Snake Millepedes (vide pp. 15, 32, and 86) {Julus lyulchellus). 

 These often serious pests had undoubtedly done most of the damage. 

 At the same time, either by accident or by intent, there were sent 

 with the potatoes a few small brown beetles. These were identified 

 by Mr. Waterhouse as Bathyscia wollastoni. 



Canon Eowler, in his " British Coleoptera" (Vol. III., p. 71), says 

 that this species is " found in rotting seed potatoes." Mr. Stains was 

 so informed, and the subject of these little beetles dropped. But 

 early in July they appeared upon the scene again. I noticed 

 some " Up-to-Date " potatoes in my garden with the haulm badly 

 damaged ; there were no signs of any larvre to be seen either by day 

 or at night. My gardener said the damage was due to small "brown 

 bugs " in the soil, and on digging up some tubers I found them 

 covered with this small beetle. Eather more than two-thirds of the 

 crop proved unsound, some from " rot," but the majority owing to the 

 ]\avages of this beetle, 



Not only is the sound seed potato eaten, but the tubers themselves. 

 The beetles work first of all along the surface of the potato, eating 

 surface galleries, and then tunnel little round holes into the tubers ; 

 these tunnels and channels soon decay and turn brown, and so the 

 tuber rots away. An attacked potato cut in two looks as if riddled 

 with fine shot. The seed potatoes seem to l)o hollowed out ; whether 



