STRAWBERRY PESTS 



1937 



dirapo t'olaspis 



CoJaspis brummea 



H. A. GOSSARD 



The grub of this species is found feed- 

 ing on the roots of strawberries during 

 the fall, winter and spring. It has on the 

 underside of each legless joint a pair of 

 fleshy appendages resembling legs, each 

 tipped with two or three stiff hairs. The 

 beetles are about onefifth-inch long, of a 

 pale yellow or straw color, the wing cov- 

 ers being sculptured with alternating 

 elevated ridges and depressed lines or 

 rows of punctures, or dots, like fine pin 

 pricks. They probably feed on the roots 

 of other plants, so that fall plowing for 

 their destruction would probably not 

 much avail. Spraying with arsenicals to 

 kill the beetles when they are feeding on 

 grape would appear to be more depend- 

 able. They appear on grape foliage dur- 

 ing July and August. 



Graphops Nebulosus 



The larvae of this small, uniformly 

 brownish beetle injures the roots of the 

 strawberry much the same as the straw- 

 berry root borer. It has a coppery, metal- 

 lic luster and is about one-eighth inch 

 long. The grubs of these various species 

 are practically indistinguishable by any 

 ordinary method of separation. The 

 beetles appear in June and July and de- 

 posit eggs for the brood of larvae, which 

 works in the late summer and fall. These 

 larvae remain in the ground over winter, 

 to continue damage the following spring. 



Distribution 



For CoxxnoL, see Strawberry Crown 

 Borer. 



Goldsiiu'tli Beetle 

 Cotalpa lanigera 



♦This is, without doubt, one of the most 

 beautiful of all our leaf-eating beetles. It 

 is nearly an inch in length, of a broad, 

 oval form, with the wing-cases of a rich 

 yellow color and pale metallic lustre, 

 while the top of the head and the thorax 

 gleam with burnished gold of a brilliant 

 reddish cast. The under surface has a 

 polished coppery hue, and is thickly cov- 



•Saunders, "Inaects Injurious to Fruits.' 

 3—39 



ered with whitish, woolly hairs; this lat- 

 ter characteristic has suggested its spe- 

 cific name, lanigera, or wool-bearer. 



This insect appears late in May and 

 during the month of June, and is distrib- 

 uted over a very wide area, being found 

 in most of the northern United States and 

 Canada; and, although seldom very abun- 

 dant, rarely does a season pass without 

 some of them being seen. During the 

 day they are inactive and may be found 

 clinging to the underside of the leaves of 

 trees, often drawing together two or three 

 leaves and holding them with their sharp 

 claws for the purpose of concealing them- 

 selves. At dusk they issue from their 

 hiding-places and fly about with a buzzing 

 sound among the branches of trees, the 

 tender leaves of which they devour. 



The pear, oak, poplar, hickory, silver 

 abele, and sweet-gum all suffer more or 

 less from their attacks. Like the common 

 May-bug, this beautiful creature is at- 

 tracted by light, and often flies into 

 lighted rooms on summer evenings, dash- 

 ing against everything it meets with, to 

 the great alarm of nervous inmates. In 

 some seasons they are comparatively com- 

 mon, and may then be readily captured 

 by shaking the trees on which they are 

 lodged, in the daytime, when they do not 

 attempt to fly but fall at once to the 

 ground. 



The beetle is short-lived. The female 

 deposits her eggs in the ground at vary- 

 ing depths during the latter part of June, 

 and, having thus provided for the contin- 

 uance of her species, dies. The eggs are 

 laid during the night, the whole number 

 probably not exceeding 20; they are very 

 large for the size of the beetle, nearly 

 one-tenth of an inch in length, of a long, 

 ovoid form, and a white translucent ap- 

 pearance. 



In about three weeks the young larva 

 is hatched; it is of a dull white color, 

 with a polished, horny head of a yellow- 

 ish brown, feet of the same hue, and the 

 extremity of the abdomen lead color. The 

 mature larva is a thick whitish, fleshy 

 grub, very similar in appearance to that 

 of the May-bug, which is familiarly 

 known as "the white grub." It lives in 



