196 AGRICULTURE FOR COMMON SCHOOLS 



winter hidden away in the ground or under trash ready for 

 the next year's potato crop. The eggs of the*' old-fashioned 

 potato-bug" are laid in the ground, and while young the 

 larvae feed on the eggs of the grasshopper, which are laid in 

 the ground also. These larvse do not become adults until the 

 second year, when, as adults, they do much damage to potato 

 vines. 



Many of the borers are beetles, especially those that work 

 in forest trees. One of the most troublesome of the borers is 

 the fruit-bark beetle which makes little channels in the sap 

 wood just under the bark of fruit trees. The rose-chafer does 

 great damage in some places to vineyards, orchards, and gar- 

 dens by eating the blossoms. The eggs are laid in the grass 

 and the larvse feed on the roots of grass and other plants. In 

 spring the adults appear and attack the blossoms of any 

 kind of fruit. 



One other beetle which we must mention is the "May- 

 beetle" or "June-bug" or "cock-chafer." It is the large 

 beetle which flies in at windows and doors at night in the 

 spring. There are several species of these, but all look alike 

 unless one is making a careful study. The eggs are laid in 

 grass-land and the larvae feed on the grass roots. They are 

 what we call "grub-worms," and when the sod is put to corn 

 they often do much damage by eating the roots. Some species 

 live in the ground for two or more years before changing to 

 the adult stage. The adults often do damage by eating the 

 foliage of trees and bushes. 



9. Caterpillars. — There are several familiar examples of 

 these insects. One is the tent-caterpillar, which spins the 

 large white web so often seen in orchards and works inside 

 it; another is the fall web-worm, which also spins a web and 



