Strawberry Culture 37 



Insect and Fungous Enemies 



As I do not pretend to be a scientist I have been obliged to 

 ^borrow the most of what follows, mainly from reports of experi- 

 ment stations. These descriptions will assist growers somewhat 

 in identifying enemies, but I would strongly urge all who find 

 pests with which they are not familiar, to send specimens of 

 them and the aifected plants to the experiment station of their 

 own state, where they can get reliable information and com- 

 petent advice. 



INSECT ENEMIES 



WHITE GRUB (Lachnosterna fusca) . This, the most serious 

 insect enemy of the strawberry, is described by Miss Murtfeldt, 

 of Missouri, as follows: "Its length is about one and a half 

 inches and its thickness that of the tip of one's little finger. The 

 head and collar are horny and brown and there are six long 

 sprawling legs on the thoracic joints. Its most distinguishing 

 feature is the enlarged, smooth, bulbous hinder end, through 

 which the soil which it swallows with its food shows darkly. 

 This is its appearance when nearly ready to transform after, it 

 is supposed, three years of larval growth and when it is the most 

 destructive." 



The worst feature of this pest is that one never knows where 

 it is until it has destroyed plants. It is generally supposed that 

 it is most prevalent in land that for several years has been in 

 grass, but this is not always the case. I believe that it is more 

 likely to be found 011 knolls and hills than in low ground, and 

 near trees than in the open. 



The parent of the grub is the common May beetle or ' ' June 

 bug," which is so prevalent in those two months, buzzing about 



