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  garden 
  flowers; 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  small 
  grain, 
  fruit-trees, 
  garden 
  vegetables, 
  

   and 
  of 
  some 
  weeds; 
  and, 
  lastly, 
  certain 
  molds. 
  The 
  beetles 
  are 
  common 
  

   on 
  sugar 
  beets 
  throughout 
  the 
  season, 
  and 
  have 
  frequently 
  been 
  found 
  

   gnawing 
  away 
  the 
  surface 
  or 
  making 
  irregular 
  holes 
  in 
  beet 
  leaves 
  in 
  

   Illinois, 
  Nebraska, 
  and 
  Oregon. 
  The 
  larvse 
  are 
  subterranean, 
  living 
  on 
  

   the 
  roots 
  of 
  corn, 
  but 
  especially 
  also 
  on 
  those 
  of 
  coarse 
  sedges 
  of 
  the 
  

   genera 
  Scirpus 
  and 
  Cyperus. 
  

  

  The 
  life 
  history 
  of 
  this 
  insect 
  is 
  in 
  confusion. 
  The 
  beetle 
  appears 
  in 
  

   early 
  spring, 
  increases 
  in 
  apparent 
  numbers 
  with 
  the 
  advancing 
  season, 
  

   becoming 
  most 
  abundant 
  in 
  August, 
  and 
  continues 
  in 
  gradually 
  diminish- 
  

   ing 
  numbers 
  until 
  October 
  or 
  November. 
  The 
  data, 
  published 
  and 
  un- 
  

   published, 
  in 
  our 
  possession, 
  are 
  insufficient 
  to 
  separate 
  the 
  succession 
  

   into 
  distinct 
  broods. 
  

  

  The 
  Striped 
  Cucumber 
  Beetle. 
  

   Diabrotica 
  vittata 
  Fabr. 
  

  

  This 
  well-known 
  melon 
  and 
  cucumber 
  pest 
  feeds 
  when 
  in 
  the 
  beetle 
  

   stage 
  on 
  a 
  large 
  variety 
  of 
  plants, 
  among 
  which, 
  according 
  to 
  observa- 
  

   tions 
  made 
  in 
  the 
  beet 
  fields 
  of 
  Nebraska 
  and 
  Oregon, 
  the 
  sugar 
  beet 
  is 
  

  

  Fig. 
  46. 
  The 
  Striped 
  Cucumber 
  Beetle, 
  Diabrotica 
  

   vittata: 
  a, 
  adult; 
  b, 
  larva; 
  c, 
  pupa; 
  d, 
  last 
  segment 
  of 
  

   larva. 
  (Chittenden, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Dept. 
  of 
  Agriculture.) 
  

  

  Fig. 
  47. 
  The 
  Striped 
  Cucumber 
  Beetle, 
  

   Diabrotica 
  vittata: 
  a, 
  top 
  view 
  of 
  head 
  

   and 
  prothora.\ 
  of 
  larva; 
  b, 
  leg 
  of 
  same. 
  

   (Chittenden, 
  U. 
  S. 
  Dept. 
  of 
  Agriculture.) 
  

  

  to 
  be 
  included. 
  It 
  is, 
  like 
  the 
  preceding 
  species, 
  subterranean 
  as 
  a 
  

   larva, 
  feeding 
  in 
  that 
  stage 
  upon 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  cucumbers, 
  squashes, 
  

   melonS) 
  and 
  other 
  plants 
  of 
  the 
  cucumber 
  family. 
  The 
  adults 
  feed 
  not 
  

   only 
  on 
  these 
  plants 
  but 
  also 
  on 
  beans, 
  peas, 
  and 
  ripe 
  apples; 
  on 
  the 
  

   leaves, 
  silk, 
  pollen, 
  and 
  unripe 
  kernels 
  of 
  corn; 
  on 
  the 
  blossoms 
  of 
  

   fruit-, 
  and 
  other, 
  trees; 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  sunflower, 
  the 
  goldenrod, 
  and 
  other 
  

   Compositct. 
  We 
  have 
  found 
  them 
  eating 
  the 
  blossoms 
  and 
  riddling 
  the 
  

  

  