362 



BUGS, INSECTS, ETC.— REMEDIES FOR. 



confines of the two districts exclusively 

 inhabited by each, they intermingle in va- 

 rying proportions, according to the lati- 

 tude. 



Remedies. — This insect is so large 

 and conspicuous that the most effectual 

 mode of destroying it is by hand-picking. 

 In destroying the worms in this manner 

 care should be taken to leave alone all 

 those specimens which one finds covered 

 with little white oval cocoons, as these 

 are the cocoons of little parasites which 

 materially assist us in its subjugation. 



STRIPED BLISTER BEETLE.— The 

 Striped Blister Beetle is almost exclusive- 

 ly a southern species, occurring in partic- 

 ular years very abundantly on the potato 

 vine in Central and Southern Illinois, and 

 in Missouri, though, according to Dr. 

 Harris, it is also occasionally found even 

 in New England. In some specimens, 

 the broad outer black stripe on the wing 

 cases is divided lengthwise by a slender 

 yellow line, so that instead of" two there 

 are three black stripes on each wing-case ; 

 and in the same field all the intermediate 

 grades between the two varieties may be 

 met with. 



This species (Fig. 7) is the one com- 

 monly found in the more northerly parts of 

 the Northern States, where it usually takes 

 the place of the Striped Blister-beetle fig- 

 ured above. It is of a uniform ash-gray col- 

 or; but this color is given it by the presence 

 upon its body of minute ash-gray scales 

 or short hairs, and whenever these are 

 rubbed off, which happens almost as 

 readily as on the wings of a butterfly, the 

 original black color of its hide appears. 

 It attacks not only potato vines, but also 

 honey-locusts, and 

 especially the Eng- 

 1 i s h or Windsor 

 bean, and we found 

 ^_it quite abundant 

 on the Early Snap 

 bean. It also at- 

 tacks the foliage of 

 J -the apple tree, and 

 likewise gnaws in- 



^ 1G ' 7' to the young fruit. 



BLACK BLISTER-BEETLE. — This 

 species is very similar in appearance to 

 the Black-rat Blister-beetle; the latter 

 being distinguishable from it only by 

 having four raised lines placed lengthwise 

 upon each wing-case and by the two first 



joints of the antennae being greatly 

 dilated and lengthened in the males, as 

 shown at Figure c. The Black Blister- 

 beetle appears in August and September, 

 and is very common on the flowers of 

 the Golden-rod. As a general rule, it 

 makes its appearance too late in the 

 season to do great damage. 



MARGINED BLISTER -BEETLE. — 

 This species may be at once recognized 

 by its general black color, and the narrow 

 ash-gray edging to its wing-cases. It 

 usually feeds on certain wild plants ; but 

 we found it quite abundant on potatoes 

 last summer, both in Missouri and in 

 Illinois. It appears not to attack the 

 Peach Blow variety. 



Remedies. — The same remedies will 

 apply equally to all three of the blister- 

 beetles that have just been described. 

 Let it be remembered that during the 

 heat of the day, these beetles are ready 

 with their wings and may be driven from 

 the vines. Thus the most practical and 

 efficient mode of destroying them* is to 

 drive them into a windrow of hay or 

 straw, and kill them by setting fire to it. 

 As they all appear rather late in the 

 season, we should recommend the plant- 

 ing of early varieties, which will be more 

 likely to escape their attacks ; and espe- 

 cially of the Peach Blow variety, the 

 leaves of which seem to be more distaste- 

 ful to them than those of any other 

 variety. 



THREE-LINED LEAF - BEETLE. — 

 The three first insects, described and 

 figured above as infesting the potato- 



FlG. 8. Three-Lined Leaf-Beetle., 

 plant, attack it only in the larva statev 

 The five next, namely the three Blister- 

 beetles, attack it exclusively in the perfect 

 state. The three that remain to be con- 

 sidered attack it both in the larva and in 

 the perfect state, but go underground to 

 pass into the pupa state, in which state — 



