ENTOMOLOGY 75 



The beetles deposit their eggs singly, burrowing beneath the soil, 

 laying, according to Doctor Smith, from 12 to 20 eggs. The result- 

 ing larvae feed upon the roots of various grasses and possibly weeds 

 and other vegetation. They are mostly full grown by fall, and bur- 

 row below the frost line, where the winter is spent. With the coming 

 of spring the grubs ascend toward the surface and enter the pupa 

 stage, from which in from 10 to 30 days, varying with the tempera- 

 ture, the beetles develop and attack the grape and other plants, as 

 stated. There is thus but one generation each year, the principal 

 injury of the insect being done during the 3 or 4 weeks of its life 

 as a beetle. 



The rose-chafer is an exceedingly difficult insect to combat suc- 

 cessfully. When the insect occurs only in moderate numbers, arseni- 

 cals will be reasonably satisfactory; but when it occurs in swarms, 

 the plants are reinfested as fast as the insects are killed. A heavy 

 application of arsenate of lead, say 5 to 6 pounds to 50 gallons of 

 water or Bordeaux mixture, with l 1 /^ pints of molasses added, will 

 largely protect the vines. Very thorough applications should be 

 made upon first signs of the insects and repeated as necessary. 



The numbers of this insect may be considerably lessened by 

 restricting its breeding grounds. In vineyards on sandy or light soil 

 especial care should be taken to keep the rows and surroundings free 

 from weeds and grass, upon the roots of which the larvaB feed. 

 Sandy meadow lands in the vicinity of vineyards should be broken 

 up and cultivated to annual crops, and in this work the co-operation 

 of vineyardists throughout a neighborhood is especially important. 



Bagging grapes as soon as the fruit has set is often practiced, 

 and affords protection not only against further injury from the rose- 

 chafer, but also from the grape berry moth, the grape curculio, and 

 fungous diseases of the fruit. (Farmers' Bui. 284, U. S. D. of A.) 



The Grapevine Root-Borer. This insect has been recognized as 

 an enemy of the grape in the United States for more than fifty years. 

 It is capable of doing serious damage to grapevines and the slight 

 attention which it has received in the past is no doubt due in a 

 measure to the obscure appearance and habits of the insect through- 

 out the four stages that compose its life-cycle. So inconspicuous is 

 the insect itself, and its manner of working, that a vineyard may be 

 suffering greatly from its attacks and yet those who have the care of 

 the vines remain entirely ignorant of the cause of the trouble. The 

 c.uu* are small, of a dull color, and the female in ovipositing scatters 

 them promiscuously about in the vicinity of the vines. The larva), 

 or borers, feed beneath the ground on the roots of old vines, usually 

 some distance out from the base of the roots. No chips or castings 

 are thrown to the surface to direct attention to the injury which is 

 being done. The roots of one-year-old and two-year-old vines are 

 rarely attacked, so that in the work of planting out vineyards the 

 borer is not likely to be seen. The transformation from larva to 

 adult takes place within an earth-covered cocoon that is hidden in 

 the ground, often six inches or more from the root where the borer 

 fed. The adult moth flies by day, but in size, color and manner of 



