THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 



05 



[Fig-. 40.] 



Their subsequent work when the vines have once pushed forth their 

 leaves, is too well known to need description. Yet notwithstanding 

 the great numbers and the persistency of these beetles, we finally suc- 

 ceed, with the proper perseverance and vigilance, in nursing and pro- 

 tecting our vines, till we think they are large enough to withstand all 

 attacks. Besides, by this time, the beetles actually begin to diminish 

 in numbers, and we congratulate ourselves on our success. But lo! 

 All of a sudden, many of our vines commence to wilt, and they finally 

 die outright. No wound or injury is to be found on the vine above 

 ground, and we are led to examine the roots. Here we soon discover 

 the true cause of death, for the roots are found to be pierced here and 

 there with small holes, and excoriated to such an extent, that they 

 present a corroded appearance. Upon a closer examination the 

 authors of this mischief are easily detected, either imbedded in the 

 root, or lurking in some of the corroded furrows. They are little whit- 

 ish worms, rather more than a third of an inch long, and as thick as a 

 good sized pin ; the head is blackish-brown and horny, and there is a 

 plate of the same color and consistency on the last segment. These 

 worms are in fact the young of the same Striped Bug which had been 

 so troublesome on the leaves earlier in the season; and that the in- 

 sect may be as well known in this, its masked form, as it is in the 

 beetle state, I present the annexed highly magnified figures or the 

 worm (Fig. 40), No. 1 showing a back view 

 and No. 2 a side view. The beetles, while 

 feasting themselves on the tender leaves of 

 the vine, were also pairing, and these worms 

 hatched from the eggs which were deposited 

 near the roots by the female. When the worms 

 have become full-grown, which is in about a 

 month after they hatch, they forsake the roots 

 jj and retire into the adjoining earth, where 

 each one, by continually turning around and 

 around, and compacting the earth on all sides 

 forms for itself a little cavity and in a few days 

 throws off its larva skin and becomes a pupa. 

 z This pupa is much shorter than was the worm, 

 and is represented enlarged in the annexed Figure 41, No. 1 ventral 

 view, and No. 2 back view, the hair lines at the sides 

 showing the natural size. This pupa state lasts about 

 jtwo weeks, at the end of which time the skin is again 

 moulted, and the perfect beetle form assumed. All 

 the parts of this newly developed beetle are at first 

 soft, but after remaining motionless in its cell, till 

 these soft parts have acquired solidity and strength, it breaks through 

 the walls of its prison and works itself up to the light of day. 



There are from two to three generations each year, the number 

 varying according to the latitude, or the length of* the winter. To 

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