CLOVER CULTURE. 113 



The larvae appear in September, change to pupae in October, 

 and emerge as beetles in November. Some of them lay 

 their eggs from which the larvae hatch and hibernate while 

 quite small within the old clover stems. Others hibernate 

 as beetles and lay their eggs the following spring. The 

 young larvae are seen as early as April, feeding- on the 

 clover, but their ravages do not become marked until May 

 or June. They feed first on the folded young leaves, and 

 attach themselves to the under side of the leaf, while later 

 they fasten themselves to its edge, which they eat in irregu- 

 lar patches. It is difficult to observe the older* larvae, as 

 they are quite timid and drop to the ground when approached, 

 feeding mainly at night and passing the day among the roots 

 and old stalks, or any other shelter found upon the ground. 

 About the first week in July the beetle emerges. The sev- 

 eral periods of the insect are given by Dr. Lintner as follows i 

 ' ' The egg stage, ten and a half days ; first larval stage, nine 

 days ; fourth larval stage from the third molting to the spin- 

 ning of the cocoon, twenty-five days ; larvae unchanged in the 

 cocoon, nine days ; pupa state, thirty days. The entire time 

 from the egg to the perfect insect is one hundred and one 

 days, or about three and one-third months." This beetle is 

 very prolific. The female lays from two hundred to three 

 hundred eggs in the clover stem, which it usually punctures 

 for that purpose. The larvae, or worms, are constitutionally 

 hungry and consume every part of the plant above the surface 

 of the earth. The beetles are described by Prof. Cook as 

 doing very serious damage in June or July, thus completing 

 the work of destruction begun by the larvae. Inasmuch as 

 these beetles are waterproof, they may be expected to spread 

 very rapidly along streams, and once introduced are liable to* 

 become a very serious pest unless they fall a prey to their 

 parasitic and other enemies. Paris green would no dottbt 

 destroy them as it does other insects, but it is not a practical 

 remedy under western conditions, nor with field crops. It is 

 probable that no better thing can be done than to plow up the 

 infested clover fields in May and plant them to corn. It is 

 to be sincerely hoped that the insect will not appear in the 

 West. 



The clover leaf hopper (Agallia sanguine lento). Of the 

 numerous minute leaf -hoppers that affect different crops, this 

 is one of the very abundant and widespread species. It 

 appears to be quite distinctively a clover feeder, for, while it 

 occurs on other plants and doubtless at times feeds upon them, 

 it shows decided preference for this as its staple food. The 

 life history has been worked out by Prof. Osborn and is in 



