370 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



to be the most common food plants for this insect, alfalfa also seems to 

 be a common food plant for both the larvae and adults, and the fact that 

 alfalfa is usually grown continuously on the same land for a number of 

 years will probably make it very favorable for this pest to increase in 

 numbers. 



Methods of Control. 



The following paragraphs relating to the methods of control are quoted 

 from F. M. Webster :* 



"BIRD ENEMIES. The Biological Survey, in its work on the food habits 

 of birds, has found that the following birds feed upon the adults of this 

 beetle: Upland plover, killdeer or killdee, ruffed grouse, broad-winged 

 hawk, flicker, nighthawk, chimney swift, wood pewee, crow, blackbird, 



meadowlark, Lincoln finch, song 

 sparrow, chipping sparrow, and 

 the white-throated sparrow. 



"Of these birds the chimney 

 swift and song sparrow were 

 found to be the greatest feeders 

 on the insect, as many as fifteen 

 adult beetles being found in the 

 stomach of one chimney swift, 

 while but few less were found in 

 stomachs of song sparrows. 



"REMEDIAL AND PREVENTIVE 

 MEASURES. Undoubtedly a short 

 rotation of the alfalfa crop will 

 have a tendency to limit the 

 abundance of the pest in the fields. 

 Of course this will not in any 

 way affect the continuous breed- 

 ing of the insect in waste lands 

 where clover or alfalfa occur un- 

 interruptedly. 



"The limited amount of food 

 consumed by the adults would 

 of itself place the application 

 of poisons out of practical con- 

 sideration. While the burning 



over of fields in winter when the ground is frozen might destroy some 

 of the hibernating adults, in many cases they would probably be so 

 near the soil, or so intermingled with the surface soil, as to escape 

 the effects of the burning, and especially would this be true if they were 

 further protected by a covering of matted green grass. 



"Therefore, at the present time the only practical suggestion that can 

 be made is the disking or harrowing of the fields as soon as the first crop 

 is removed. We know that the larvae, as a rule, do not descend much 

 more than an inch below the surface. If, therefore, the surface of the 



FIG. 315. Clover-root curculio. a, Red 

 clover root showing effects of attack by 

 larvaj; b, Red clover leaf showing work of 

 adult beetles; about natural size. (After 

 Wildermuth, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



3. Farmers' Bulletin 649, Bu. Ent., U. S. Dept. Agr. 



