452 



produce a profitable crop might be sprayed with H lb. lead arsenate 

 powder in 40 U.S. gals, of water as a means of keeping the borer 

 under until the plants can be ploughed up and destroyed. 



Garman (H.). Flea Beetles of Tobacco and Potato. — Kentucky Univ. 

 Coll. Agric, Extcns. Div., Lexington, Circ. 109, July 1921, 4 pp., 

 2 figs. [Received 5th July 1922.] 



Epitrix parvula is very destructive to young tobacco plants in the 

 beds and for some time after they have been transplanted to the fields. 

 The eggs are laid in the soil among weeds, and the larvae feed on the 

 roots of the plants. The adults gnaw small areas in the leaves, 

 producing a diseased appearance sometimes mistaken for rust. The 

 whole life-cycle is completed in about 30 days, and several broods 

 may develop in a season. 



The flea-beetle attacking potatoes in Kentucky is E. fusatla ; the 

 plants are often so badly gnawed that growth is checked and the yield 

 reduced. This species also occurs on egg-plants. 



Both species may be destroyed by poisons applied to the leaves, 

 but treatment should be made early, before the beetles are noticed. 

 Powdered lead arsenate, \\ lb. to 40 U.S. gals, water, may be applied 

 with a watering can or sprayer. Two applications are generally 

 sufficient for tobacco. Paris green may be used at the rate of \ lb. 

 in 40 U.S. gals, water with the addition of 1 lb. freshly slaked lime. 

 In the case of potatoes the lead arsenate spray with the addition of 

 Bordeaux mixture produces a decided increase in the yield by 

 preventing injury from flea-beetles and potato-beetles, as well as 

 affording a certain amount of protection from early blight. Spraying 

 should be begun when the plants are young, and repeated every ten 

 days. 



Wade (J. S.). U.S. Bur. Ent. Observations on Typocerus sinuatus, 

 Newman, as a Forage Plant Pest. — Bull. Brooklyn Ent. Soc, 

 Brooklvn, xvii, no. 1, February 1922, pp. 27-29, 1 plate. [Received 

 5th July 1922.] 



The Cerambycid, Typocerus sinuatus, Newm., hitherto onty con- 

 sidered of economic importance as a pest of forest trees, has been found 

 to cause injury to the forage plant, Andropogon scoparius, in the Central 

 Great Plains region. The insects eat out the crown of the plant, causing 

 the stems to break off just below the surface of the ground, and the 

 base of the plant may be entirely eaten. In the late spring the older 

 stems of plants are attacked in preference to green ones. In Kansas 

 considerable areas are damaged. This pest also feeds on roots of 

 bunch grass {Sporobolis airoides), Indian grass {Sorghastrum nutans) 

 and Colorado blue stem {Agropyron smithi). 



In Kansas the larvae hibernate in cells beneath the infested plants, 

 becoming active again in early spring. Pupation occurs about the 

 end of April in earthen cells, the adults emerging early in June. Eggs 

 are probably deposited shortly afterwards. The length of the larval 

 stage apparently varies with the quantity and quality of the food supply. 

 In clumps of grass that have been burnt over the larval stage is greatly 

 retarded, and under such conditions the life-cycle from egg to adult 

 may cover two seasons. The adults are not found after July. 



