164 



LEAF-BEETLES. 



tobacco, egii^-plants, and pepper, and can cause considerable mis- 

 chief to the youni;- and tender plants, into which they eat ntnner- 

 ous holes. 



The beetle is very small, black, covered with rather thick 

 hairs ; the feelers and legs are reddish-brown. It is a very active 

 being, and one very difificnlt to capture, being as agile as a healthy 

 and vigorous flea. In the larval stage it feeds chiefly in the 

 roots of the tomato. 



Fig. 16^. — Bpitrix paivula, Fab. — After Division of P^ntomology, IT. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agricultnre. 



/:. fiiscula ( r., has once been very destructive in hot-iiouse 

 flames, in which it killed numerous small egg-plants; E. parvula 

 Fab., so destructive to tol^acco in the SiUthern states, is shown 

 in Fig. i68. 



As far as remedies are concerned, Paris-green and London- 

 ])urple are satisfactory remedies, and it has also been observed 

 that the Bordeaux mixture, used against certain diseases of 

 I)lants, when liberally used, acts as a deterrent, and thus serves 

 a double purpose. If poisons can not be used a decoction of to- 

 bacco is of great benefit, at least if we have to use it only on a 

 small scale. 



