Keport of Entomologists of Experiment Station. 555 



annually, yielded this year less than $200 worth. This failure he 

 says may be due in part to the dry weather of the previous season, 

 but very largely to the work of the beetles. The writer saw this 

 field and found it no worse infested than other fields in the vicinity. 

 A few growers had given up the business and were plowing out their 

 willows on account of the persistent attacks of the beetles. 



JIow the damage is done and habits of the insects. — Mr. Kennedy 

 tells me that the beetles are first noticed at Liverpool from the 

 twentieth of May to the first of June, The willows are then begin- 

 ning to get a good start for the summer's growth. The beetles feed 

 to a certain extent upon the leaves, but they seem to prefer the young 

 and tender growth at the tips of the willows. These are some- 

 times eaten dear off and at others only part way. The tender 

 leaves are also eaten. 



Plate 1, Fig. 1, is from a photograph of a bunch of three year old 

 willows which have been injured by the beetles. 



This injury to the new growth not only delays the plant but 

 causes the young willow to branch. For the purposes for which 

 these willows are grown, this is just what is not wanted. The 

 willows should be smooth and straight, otherwise they may be of 

 little or no value. Hence, at the very beginning of the season, 

 thousands of the willows may be made practically useless in a very 

 short time, for the beetles work rapidly. 



The eggs for the first brood are laid at this time. They are 

 placed on the under sides of the leaves in clusters of twenty-five or 

 thirty and resemble in general appearance the common potato 

 beetles' eggs, excepting that they are yellow in color. The time of 

 incubation varies with the season, although the eggs are usually 

 hatched in two weeks. The young larva? are nearly black in color. 

 They feed close together at first on the under sides of the leaves 

 devouring the cuticle and soft parts leaving only the upper cuticle 

 and framework. As they grow larger they separate eating ragged 

 holes or consuming the entire leaf with the exception of the larger 

 ribs. If irritated the larvse emit a milky substance of strong un- 

 pleasant odor from little tubercles along each side of the body. 

 They are usually mature in two weeks. 



Plate 1, Fig. 2, on the extreme right represents one of these 

 larviv greatly enlarged. 



Pupation takes place above ground, the larvae merely attaching 

 themselves head down to a convenient leaf or twig. The transfor- 



