INJURIOUS INSECTS OF 1904. 



81 



Remedies: Protection of young plants by coverings. 2. Planting an 

 excess of seed in order to distribute the attack. 3. Hand picking early in the 

 morning. 4. Hand picking the large yellowish brown eggs, which can be 

 found without much difficulty on the under side of the leaves. 5. Strewing 

 some repellant on soil close to plant, such as lime, or gypsum, or sand sat- 

 urated with kerosene or turpentine. This is of questionable efficacy. 6. As 

 this insect hibernates in rubbish on field, it is of the utmost importance that all 

 vines should be destroyed immediately after gathering the crop, thus killing 

 the immature bugs, which are still on the vines. One should burn in the fall 

 all rubbish likely to afYord winter quarters for this pest. 7. It is claimed that 

 this bug will not touch cucumbers if there are squashes in the neighborhood; 

 that it prefers squashes to pumpkins and pumpkins to cucumbers and melons; 

 hence, if one wished to raise cucumbers or melons, he might (if the above 

 statements are correct) plant squashes or pumpkins near them as a catch crop. 



3. A yellow and black striped beetle, Y^ of an inch long, 

 feeding on leaf and blossom ; wrongly called "Squash 

 Bug." 



STRIPED CUCUMBER BEETLE. - - 



h tt. d 



Fig. 79. — Diabrotica vittata. Fab. From Chittenden, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Remedy: Paris green may be dusted dry on the plants, mixed with slaked 

 lime or cheap flour, about one part of Paris green to 50 or 60 parts of flour or 

 lime. At least one party (Forrest Henry) has obtained relief by dusting the 

 pure Paris green sparingly upon the plants, the plants not having been burned 

 thereby. Tobacco dust scattered about the young plants is said to keep the 

 Beetle away for quite a while. One should always burn the plants in the fall 

 immediately after gathering the crop, thereby killing a large number of insects 

 as well as destroying probably some eggs which have not hatched, and thus 

 lessening the Beetle crop for next year. Planting a much larger number of 

 seeds than are actually needed is also practiced. 



