ATTACKING THE LEAVES. 355 



catcs its natural size. The beetles pass the winter concealed 



under stones or rubbish, appear very early in the season, and 



attack the young melon and cucumber plants as 



soon as they are up. They eat small round patches Fig. 376. 



on the upper surface of the leaves, consuming their ' 



substance, but not always eating entirely thiough. 



They hop very actively from leaf to leaf, and are 



very destr^ictive to young plants ; while partial to 



melon and cucumber vines, they are also fond of the potat<i, 



raspberry, turnip, cabbage, and other plants. 



Their larvae are minute and slender, tapering towards each 

 end, and are said to live within the substance of the leaves 

 attacked ; hence the plants suffer from the depredations of the 

 larvse as well as from the injuries caused by the beetles. They 

 attain maturity, pass through the chrysalis state, and change 

 to beetles, within a few weeks, and there is a constant succes- 

 sion of the insect in its various stages throughout the greater 

 part of the summer. 



Remedies. — Air-slaked lime, powdered hellebore, or Paris- 

 green mixed with flour, in the proportion of one part of the 

 poison to twenty or thirty parts of flour, dusted on the foliage, 

 will speedily destroy them. 



No. 224.— The Melon Caterpillar. 



Eudioptis hyalinata (Linn.). 



This is an insect which is very widely distributed, being 

 found throughout the greater part of North and South 

 America. In some parts of the Southern States it is partic- 

 ularly destructive. The larvse, which are shown feeding on 

 the leaves in Fig. 377, are, when mature, about an inch and 

 a quarter long, translucent, and of a yellowish-green color, 

 with a few scattered hairs over their bodies. They are not 

 content to feed on the leaves only, but eat into melons, cu- 

 cumbers, and pumpkins at all stages of growth, sometimes 

 excavating shallow cavities, and at other times penetrating 

 directly into the substance of the fruit. They spin their 



