136 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



Cabbage Flea Beetle (Halticus sp.). There are several 

 insects closely resembling one another and known as cabbage 

 flea beetles that feed on the surface of the leaves of cabbage, 

 turnips, radish, cauliflower, etc., and various wild plants. 

 They are very injurious to the very young plants if allowed 

 to have their way, but when the plants are nicely started 

 they do not seem to be seriously affected by this pest. 

 These beetles are very small and move very quickly. The 

 adult insect is black or nearly so; some of them lay their 



Fig. 51. Different species of flea beetles with their larvae. 



eggs near the roots of the food plants, where the larvae do 

 some damage ; in other cases the eggs are laid on the under- 

 side of the leaves and the larvae mine into them and live 

 between the upper and lower surfaces. But their chief 

 damage is as beetles, in which form they pass the winter. 

 One species of flea beetle is sometimes destructive to 

 potato vines. 



Remedies. Since these are biting insects they are 

 readily killed by Paris green in the usual proportions. If 

 the plants are kept dusted with air-slaked lime or plaster 



