8 First Report on Economic Zoology. 



which it is clipped should be one pound of Paris green to fifty 

 gallons of water. 



For bran bait use 1 lb. of Paris green to 25 lbs. of wheat bran, 

 and mix: with just enough water to make a mash. 



Of course it should not be placed where poultry go or sheep or 

 other stock feed. 



In mangold fields the clover bait might be tried where the 

 attack is very bad. 



The fresher the clover the better the results would be. The baits 

 should be placed on the ground late in the afternoon. 



The gi'een-stuff might be sprayed with the Paris green before 

 being cut — so as to save the trouble of dipping it. 



The Pigmy Mangold Beetle. 



(Atomaria linearis, Stephens.) 



Some beetles sent by a correspondent of the Board from Barn- 

 staple that were destroying his mangolds proved to be the Pigmy 

 Mangold Beetle (Atomaria linearis). A similar attack was reported 

 to Wye College by Mr. Thos. Powell. In this case the beetles had 

 destroyed a field of mangolds on the Waldershare estate. Miss 

 Ormerod has recorded damage to mangolds l:)y an Atomaria wliich 

 she identified as linearis, Stephens. 



As far as is known, these little beetles (Fig. 1, d) destroy the 

 sprout of the mangold seed just as it germinates, and later they 

 attack both root and the leaves. 



The leaves are gnawed away and gradually die (Fig. 1, c) ; they 

 also gnaw away the lower parts of the leaf stalks below the ground 

 level and so kill the plants. The tap root is attacked, the damaged 

 part turning black (Fig. 1, b). It thus seems that all parts of the 

 plants suffer in the young stages and during germination. The 

 beetles may be found in great numbers on the ground under, clods 

 of earth, on the leaves and in the earth around the roots. They 

 appear in May and June and seem to decrease in July and August, 

 those occurring in the last two months apparently being a second 

 brood. Nothing is known of its life-history, but apparently the 

 larvae feed below ground, probably on the roots of the plants. 



This attack was first observed in 1839 by M. Bazin at Mesnil 

 St. Firmin, and later Macquart noticed this pest devouring the fields 

 of red beet in the environs of Lille to such an extent that whole 

 crops were ploughed up. It occurs in Great Britain in many districts 

 in great numbers and does much harm ; it is not noticed on accoun 



