Reports to the Boa yd of Agriculture. 143 



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, (rreen 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 is 

 described as co veered with a powdery deposit, caused liy the seeds 

 eaten otf the berries. 



The most destructive species appears to be Harpahiii rvfieornis, 

 which is winged, and which evidently migrates in large numbers. 



These beetles will feed on other substances, such as live worms, 

 and meat, both cooked and uncooked. Harpalas rvfuoniis and others 

 have been recorded before in Norfolk. 



Treatment. 



The only successful plan is that adopted by Messrs. Laxtoii 

 Brothers, namely, of sinking small pudding-basins in the soil between 

 the plants every few yards and baiting them with " lights " and 

 sugar- water ; the beetles swarm to this, and are unable to crawl back 

 up the sides of the basins. Sinular good results have been gained liy 

 using ordinary jam pots or glass jars. 



Probably poisoned baits would act well ; Imt trapping, as given 

 above, is a well-tried and most successful plan. 



The Raspberry Beetle. 



{Bijlnrus fomcn/osi's, Fab.) 



This beetle was rc})oi'ted to tlie Board as eating the blossom of 

 the raspberries at West Mailing in Kent. It is one of the regular 

 raspberry pests, occuning in greater or less abundance every yeor 

 in this country. Besides the rasplierry, it also attacks in a similar 

 way the cultivated blackberry. Some years it entirely devours the 

 blossom, and later on the larvie attack the fruit. 



The l)eetles generally attack the opened Idossoms, eating their 

 way right thi'ough them, but now and then wlien the blossom is 

 backward they will eat the unopened buds. They nuiy commence 

 their work as early as tlie middle of IMay ; they were noticed in Kent 

 this year on the 17th eating the unopened blossoms. As the fruit is 

 ripening they are noticeable again in the maggot stage, living in tlie 

 receptacle (Fig. 23, c) and sometimes crawling over the fruit ; the 

 berries so attacked are usually defornu^d or stunted, and often shiivel 

 right up. This pest occurs practically all over England, and is also 



