182 FRIENDS AND ENEMIES OF PLANTS 



check the ravages of the San Jose scale. Tiger and ground beetles 

 devour hundreds of cutworms and caterpillars. Dragon flies live 

 in the vicinity of ponds and streams and feed on gnats, flies, and 

 mosquitoes. Some of the ichneumon flies kill fruit-tree borers, 

 tentworm caterpillars, and cabbage worms. One variety has 

 been found in Spain that feeds on the codling moth. 



The much despised red wasps and yellow jackets prey upon flies 

 and the larvae of the boll weevil. Some varieties of ants also prey 

 upon the boll weevil. 



The Plum Curculio. The adult is one of the snout beetles ; 

 it deposits its egg in the fruit and then surrounds each egg with a 

 crescent-shaped cut to check the growth of the fruit so that the 

 egg will not be crushed. The larva eats its way deep into the fruit 

 and causes it to fall to the ground. The larva then bores into the 

 earth, where it remains for a few days, when it comes forth as 

 an adult weevil, or beetle that lives over the winter. At this 

 stage the beetles may be killed by spraying the trees with poison. 

 Farmers also spread sheets of canvas under the affected trees 

 early in the morning, and by shaking or jarring the trees vigorously 

 most of the beetles will fall off, and then may be collected and 

 burned with a little straw. 



The potato beetle is a striped beetle which lays its eggs on the 

 potato plants. In a short time they hatch into reddish colored 

 grubs, which immediately begin devouring every potato leaf within 

 their reach. It is estimated that each female will produce six 

 hundred to one thousand eggs, and these develop into full-grown 

 beetles within five or six weeks. Two or three broods are 

 hatched every season, and when they finish their depredations 

 there is usually but little left of the potato plant. Spraying 

 with poison and hand picking seem to be the only satisfactory 

 remedies. 



The chinch bug is a small, insignificant looking bug which attacks 

 wheat and corn principally. Chinch bugs usually begin on the 

 wheat, oats, and other small grain, and after these are harvested 

 they begin to attack the growing corn. Several remedies have 

 been proposed, but nothing satisfactory has been found thus far. 

 Some farmers burn over their stubble fields and burn up all trash 

 that might afford shelter to the bugs. If proper precautions are 



