INSECTS INJURIOUS TO MISCELLANEOUS CROPS 363 



and many common weeds, so that it may be safely said that when 

 abundant they will attack almost any crop at hand. The species 

 seems to occur practically throughout the United States, but injury 

 has been most common in the Middle States east of the plains. 



The beetle is about one-eighth inch long, cream-colored, with 

 the wing-covers marked with three stripes of dull light-brown, 

 and the eyes and abdomen are black. A nearly related spfecies, 

 the banded flea-beetle,* is very similar in appearance, the dark 

 stripes being expanded until it is a polished black with two white 

 stripes (Fig. 3056), and the two species have until recently been 

 commonly considered as identical. They are similar in life 

 history and habits so far as known, and may be considered as 

 the same for practical purposes. 



Life History .. Very little is known of the life history. The 

 beetles usually appear in late June and early July, coming out in 

 enormous numbers, gnawing small holes in the foliage of the 

 plants attacked, so that when abundant they completely defoliate 

 the plant in two or three days and often necessitate replanting. 



Control. The destruction of the weeds on which the larvae 

 develop is of obvious importance, and it would be well to plow 

 under deeply any fields grown up in weeds during late summer. 

 Bordeaux mixture is possibly the best repellant for these beetles, 

 though they will be driven off by covering the plants with any 

 dust which thoroughly coats the foliage. Usually the best method 

 will be to spray the plants thoroughly with Bordeaux mixture 

 containing 3 pounds of arsenate of lead or one-third pound Paris 

 green per barrel. All parts of the foliage must be thoroughly 

 coated. Good success has also attended dusting the plants with 

 Paris green and flour and by spraying the beetles with kerosene 

 emulsion. Powdered arsenate of lead dusted over the foliage 

 while the dew is on would probably prove effective, or it might 

 be sprayed at the rate of 3 to 5 pounds to the barrel. 



The Garden Webworm f 



The term garden webworm is possibly a misnomer, for although 

 these little caterpillars frequently do more or less injury to various 



* Systena tasniata Say. 



t Loxostege similalis Gn. Family Pyraustidce. See C. V. Riley, Report 

 U. S. Comm. Agr. for 1885, p. 265; Sanderson, Bulletin 57, Bureau of Ento- 

 mology, U. S. Dept. Agr., p. 11. 



