452 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



the species, though it is occasionally found on plum, apple, pear, 

 quince, blue beech and elm. 



Life History. After feeding a few days the female beetles 

 commence to lay their eggs in cracks of the bark at the base of 

 the buds, or in any crevice or in the cavity eaten out of the bud 

 by the beetle, or sometimes on the foliage. The eggs are a long 

 oval shape, one-fortieth inch long, and of a dark straw-yellow 

 color. The eggs hatch just as the young leaves are expanding, 



FIG. 379. The grapevine flea-beetle (Haltica chalylea 111.): a, adult with 

 hind leg at right further enlarged; 6, larva, much enlarged; c, beetles 

 and larvae on foliage natural size; d, beetle feeding on bud; e, diseased 

 beetles. (After Marlatt, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



and upon them the young larvae feed greedily. The larvae feed 

 on the upper surface of the leaf, eating out irregular holes through 

 the skin and into the soft tissue, and become full grown in three 

 or four weeks. The young larvae are a very dark brown, but 

 when grown they are one-third inch long and a dark yellowish- 

 brown, marked by regular rows of blackish tubercles each of 

 which bears a small hair. The head, anal and prothoracic plates 

 and legs are black. The full-grown larva drops to the ground 

 and an inch or two beneath the surface makes a small cell in which 



