INJURING THE LEAVES. 173 



found upon potatoes. The commonest is probably 

 the Black Blister-beetle (Epicauta pennsyfoanica). 



Remedies. — It is sometimes stated that these in- 

 sects are not destroyed by eating Paris green, but 

 this is doubtless a mistake. The application of this 

 substance, however, seems often to be of no avail, 

 probably either because it does not act immediately 

 upon the beetles, or else because they continue to in- 

 vade the field from the outside. A few years ago a 

 favorite method of destroying them was to drive the 

 flocks of beetles upon loos'e hay or straw spread upon 

 the ground near where they are at work, and then 

 burn the hay, lighting it at several different places,, 

 so that it will burn rapidly. Hand picking can 

 often be resorted to advantageously It is doubtful 

 policy, however, to destroy these insects except 

 when they threaten to do serious damage, because of 

 the grasshopper-egg feeding habits of the larvae. 



The Imbricated Snout-beetle. 



Epicserus imbricatus. 



This is a small beetle about half an inch long, 

 silvery white in general color, with various darker 

 markings upon its back, of the form represented at 

 Fig. 89. It feeds upon a great variety of vegetation, 

 from the twigs and fruit of apple, cherry and goose- 

 berry to the leaves and stems of onion, radish, melon, 

 beans, beets, corn and potato. It often does very 



