392 



Kansas State Board of Agriculture. 



and suffocates others by the dust stirred up, and tears up the cocoons that 

 are present on the plant and on the ground. If the brush drag is built 

 right there will be parts of the brush tearing through every crown of 

 alfalfa in the field and stirring up the soil sufficiently to cause a dense 

 fine dust, in which many of the younger larvae are suffocated and which 

 the older ones find it very hard to crawl through to reach the plants, 

 many of them perishing in the heat of the sun." 



CLOVER LEAF-WEEVIL. 



(Phytonomus punctatus Fab.) 



The adult is a stout, oval, hard-bodied beetle, about one-third inch long, 

 with a long, thick snout; brownish in color, with several narrow gray 

 lines above and broad gray stripes on each side; twenty rows of small 

 deep punctures on the wing covers. (Fig. 339.) The larvae are footless, 

 at first light yellowish-green, but becoming deeper green as they grow 

 older, head brown; feed at night upon the leaves, gating out irregular 

 patches from the edges of the leaves; hardly noticeable in the day, 

 when they lie protected around the base of the plant lying curled up 

 head to tail. (Fig. 340.) 



History and Distribution. 



This insect is a native of Europe; first made its appearance in Western 

 New York in 1881. Since then it has spread eastward and southward 

 until it is now distributed in many of the states east of the Rocky 

 Mountains. During the year of 1914 it was found injuring alfalfa in 

 eastern and south central Kansas. 



Habits and Life History. 



The larvae, which hatch from eggs that are laid in the early winter 

 on the stems near the base of the plants, feed on the leaves and become 



partially grown before winter, when 

 they hibernate in rubbish or just be- 

 neath the soil. They come out in the 

 spring and continue to feed on the 

 leaves until about June. When full 

 grown they go just under the surface 

 of the soil and make an earthen cell 

 in which they pupate. (Fig. 341.) 

 The cells are lined with coarse brown 

 threads. They remain in the pupal 

 stage about three weeks. In July the 

 beetles emerge, and for several weeks 

 feed on the leaves, doing equally as 

 much damage as the larvae. By early 

 fall the females are ready to lay their 

 eggs. 



Methods of Control. 

 NATURAL ENEMIES. That this in- 

 sect does not become a more serious 

 pest is probably due to the fact that large numbers of the larvae are 

 destroyed by a fungous disease. When affected by this disease the 



FIG. 339. Clover leaf-weevil (Phy- 

 tonomus punctatus). Adult beetle; 

 nearly six times natural size. (After 

 Folsom.) 



