ENTOMOLOGY 63 



smaller roots and rootlets and eating pits or burrows into the outer 

 portion of the larger roots. It is the larva of a small, hairy, chest- 

 nut-brown beetle which makes its appearance in vineyards at about 

 the close of the blooming period of such varieties of grapes as Con- 

 cord, Niagara, Catawba, and Delaware. The beetles feed freely on 

 the upper surface of the leaf, eating a series of patches or holes 

 through to the lower surface, thus producing characteristic chain- 

 like feeding marks, by which their presence in vineyards may be 

 readily detected. The injury to the foliage, however, it quite unim- 

 portant compared to the work of the larvae on the roots. When 

 the larva} are abundant the vines may be killed in the course of a 

 season or two, but usually the plants will live longer, though making 

 but a feeble growth and failing to produce profitable crops. The 

 death of vines or the gradual failure of a vineyard should call for 

 an examination of the foliage for the feeding marks of the beetles 

 and of the roots for the work of the larva? on these parts. 



The grape root- worm, or grapevine Fidia, is without doubt a 

 native species, feeding originally on wild grapes, as it does at the 

 present time. In addition to cultivated varieties of grapes it has 

 also been recorded as feeding on the Virginia creeper and the Amer- 

 ican red-bud. 



The beetle, or parent insect of the grape root-worm is about 

 one-fourth of an inch long, rather stout, with long legs, the body 

 brownish in color and covered with grayish white hairs. The adults 

 make their appearance in vineyards beginning about the close of 

 the blooming period of the vines, which in the New York, Pennsyl- 

 vania, and Ohio grape districts, during normal seasons, will be from 

 about the 15th to about the 20th of June. The great majority of 

 beetles will appear during the latter part of June and the first two or 

 three weeks of July, though a few will be coming out during the 

 latter part of July, and stragglers may appear for a month or six 

 weeks later. In a given locality there will be some variation in the 

 time of appearance, which will be earlier on light, sandy soils or 

 warmer locations and later on heavier soils. In the course of a few 

 days after emergence the beetles begin to feed, eating rows of holes 

 in the upper surface of the leaf. Eggs are deposited in patches 

 usually from 25 to 40. 



On hatching, the larva? drop to the ground. At this time they 

 are about one-seventeenth of an inch in length, and from their 

 small size are readily able to find their way through the soil. Al- 

 though the powers of locomotion and endurance of the young larva? 

 are considerable, to enable them to overcome difficulties in reach- 

 ing their food, many doubtless fail to do so and perish. When estab- 

 lished on the roots, however, the grubs feed freely and grow rapidly. 

 By fall the majority of them will be full-grown or nearly so. Upon 

 the approach of cold -weather they descend into the earth several 

 inches, a few as much as a foot below the surface, and here construct 

 oval earthen cells in which they pass the winter. With the approach 

 of warm weather the larva? ascend to a point near the surface, tho 

 immature ones completing their growth, and the pupal stage is en- 



