185 
A New ENEMY oF THE BuAcKk Locust. 
GLENN CULBERTSON. 
During the latter part of June and during July of 1914, the leaves of 
the greater number of the locust trees in Switzerland, Jefferson, Clark, 
and Floyd counties, of southern Indiana, were observed to be losing their 
greevish appearance, and upon closer examination the chlorophyll of the 
leaflets was found to have been largely consumed. The foliage appeared 
as though dried up as a result of a severe drouth. Here and there indi- 
vidual trees, at a distance from groves, were unaffected, but the trees of 
practically every grove, at least among the hills of the Ohio and tributaries 
were seriously affected. So evident was this that the brown and sere 
appearance of the groves was noticeable as far as they could be seen. 
The infected trees were found to be alive with a small beetle, which 
Professor Enders of Purdue classified as Chalepus dorsalis of Blatchley’s 
“Coleoptera of Indiana”: “This beetle is from 6 to 6.5 mm. long, wedge 
shaped and rather broad, bluish black, thorax red, with black sutural 
stripe. Found throughout the State, but much more abundant in the south- 
erl counties. Occurs on flowers of black locust, in the leaves of which the 
larve mine. Hibernates beneath the locust bark.” 
On striking the trees the beetles could be heard falling to the ground 
by the scores. They could be seen in large numbers on the foliage, as 
many as five were counted on a single leaflet. 
The eggs of this beetle are deposited late in April or early in May, and 
by the 20th of May the young larvae are at work between the coverings of 
the leaflets, destroying all the inside portion. In some cases several larvae 
may be seen at work within a leaflet. When mature the larvae stop eating 
and remain enclosed within the leaf coverings until metamorphosis is com- 
pleted, when they emerge, usually about the 20th or 25th of June, and for 
several days feed upon the upper leaf surface of any green foliage that 
may remain. 
The writer is of the opinion that many of the locust groves in the 
northeastern part of Jefferson County were badly infected with this beetle 
