INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE GRAPE 



511 



The Grapecane Girdler * 



This beetle is very similar to the last except that it is black 

 in color. Its native food-plant is the Virginia creeper, which 

 it has deserted in West Virginia, and occasionally elsewhere, 

 to attack grape. The species seems to occur generally through 

 the Central and Eastern States. 



Life History. The life history is almost identical with that 

 of the preceding species, the habit of the species differing only 

 in the manner of oviposition. The eggs are laid in late May and 



FIG. 368. The grapecane girdler (Ampelorjlypler ater Lee.): o, egg; b, larva; 

 c, pupa; d, beetle all enlarged. (After Brooks.) 



early June. In laying the egg, the female deposits it in the same 

 manner as does the previous species, and then instead of placing a 

 series of holes in a row she makes them in a ring around the cane, 

 only the first one containing an egg. She then goes to the next joint 

 above and makes a series of holes around it, completely severing 

 it, so that it hangs by a shred and soon drops. The little larva 

 feeds in the pith of the joints on either side of the egg puncture, 

 and these two joints die and drop to the ground. The larva 

 becomes full grown in about a month and changes to a pupa in 



* Ampeloglypter ater Lee. Family Curculionidce. See Fred E. Brooks, 

 Bulletin 119, W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. 



