THE AMERICAN ENTOMOLOGIST. 



how to destroy the common asparagus 

 beetle {Crioccris asparagi Linn.) inasmuch 

 as it is a native of their country and doubt- 

 less has fed on asparagus from its creation. 

 But from notes on this insect recently 

 published in foreign horticultural journals, 

 we conclude that the English gardeners as 

 well as those on the other side of the 

 Channel have not as yet discovered or ad- 

 opted the Yankee method of subduing 

 this little pest. 



[Fig. 1.] 



Criocebis asparagi :— a, beetle ; b, eggs ; e, i/, larvae ; /, 

 same enlarged ; c, eggs, enlarged. 



That most excellent journal The Garden 

 (London, Eng.j, has recently published a 

 series of very thorough, practical articles 

 on asparagus and its culture. The author 

 (Godefroy Leboeufi in the closing number 

 describes several of its insect enemies, 

 among the number the asparagus beetle, 

 as follows : 



Crioceris asparagi is a small beetle, long 

 in the body, and of a red colour, speckled 

 with grey and white spots. The larvre are 

 somewhat cylindrical, narrower towards 

 the head, and are of a dirty olive-green 

 colour, fleshy and shining. It only lasts in 

 the larva state for about ten days, but 

 during that time it commits the most for- 

 midable ravages. It deposits its eggs on 

 the tenderest parts of the asparagus, which 

 are speedily attacked by the young Urva 

 as soon as it comes out of the egg. These 

 destructive insects will devour a whole 

 plantation in a brief space of time if their 

 ravages are not checked immediately they 

 are perceived. Incessant war must be 

 made against both beetle and larva. If 

 there are only a few they may be crushed 

 between the finger and thumb. They 

 must especially be looked for during bright 

 sunshine, which is the time they generally 

 make their appearance. If they are too 

 many to be destroyed in this way, we must 

 take a bowl or other vessel full of water, 

 and holding it under the asparagus, tap 

 the stems lightly, so as to shake off the 



insects into the water. As soon as they 

 feel the blow their instinct teaches them 

 to imitate death and drop off the shoot. 

 When all have been caught the water may 

 be thrown on the ground and the insects 

 crushed to death with the foot ; or, what 

 is better still, the cold water should be 

 strained off and boiling water poured on 

 them. The Asparagus-beetle lays twice a 

 year — in the spring and in June or July. 



Hand gathering by crushing between 

 finger and thumb or shaking off into a 

 bowl of water might do where one had 

 only a few clumps of asparagus, but it is en- 

 tirely impracticable on large beds, or plant- 

 ations extending over many acres, as are 

 found in the suburbs of all our larger cities. 

 The Asparagus-beetle appeared in this 

 country some twenty or more years ago 

 and threatened for a time to destroy the 

 extensive asparagus plantations on Long 

 Island, as well as to spread to other parts 

 of the country, but some one soon dis- 

 covered that freshly slaked lime scattered 

 over the plants would almost instantly kill 

 every larva it touched, and two dustings 

 were sufficient to destroy the entire brood. 

 A second brood may appear later in the 

 season, because a few larvae may escape 

 ever so thorough a dusting, and because 

 there are always some wild asparagus plants 

 about, to which nobody pays any attention, 

 and on these a few hundreds or thousands 

 of insects breed without being disturbed. 

 Consequently the entire stock of this pest 

 in any one locality is not likely to be an- 

 nihilated, even if all are killed that appear 

 in gardens. But the lime is not only a 

 very cheap and effectual cure for the evil, 

 but one readily obtained in all parts of the 

 country. With a pail full of dry lime and 

 an old broom for a duster, or one of the 

 sifters used for applying Paris green to 

 potatoes, a man can soon go over an acre 

 of asparagus. The best time to apply the 

 lime is in the morning while the dew is 

 on, for then a portion will adhere to the 

 plants as well as to the grubs, and during 

 the day or days, following, it will be con- 

 stantly dropping down, or blown about 

 among the leaves and branches, thereby 

 making the escape of any larvce all the 



