THE FARMERS' REGISTER. 



697 



thick and formed for Icnpinir; their tibhp, or shaiike, ] 

 are also the stoutest, and ihiclily rrin<red on (he out- 

 side towards ihe end : the leel are all composed ol 

 (bur joints, the lips as well as those o( ihe shanlis 

 •lenorally pilch-colored; in ihe hinder pair ihe basal 

 foint is considerably ihe longest; Ihe third is (brmod 

 "ofivvo slii!;htly dilated lobes, rou<jhened beneath 

 with finehliirs, as well as the two preceding; joints, 

 li)r Ihe sake ol' adherin^r to smooth surfaces, and 

 they are thus enabled to ascend glass; the Iburih 

 joitu is sleinler and club-shaped, and always fur- 

 nished with two minute claws. 



The mouth is composed of six parts ; the 

 upper lip or Inbrum, is large, broader than long, 

 and a little narrowed before; the anterior margin 

 is slightly concave, and furnished with two 

 short bristles. The mandibles, or teeth, form 

 two sets, one placed on each side, so as to meet ; 

 ihey are strong, bony, and semilunate ; one 

 terminated by three, the other by four sharp 

 strong teeth ; the second being the longest, 

 the lower one smallest. The maxilla,, or 

 jaws, are two, placed on each side, beneath 

 the teeth : they are small, terminating in two 

 lobes, densely fringed with fine hairs at the 

 apex ; the inner lobe the largest, somewhat 

 orbicular; the outer one smaller, being an articu- 

 lated, somewhat ovate lobe : on the outside 

 of each jaw is attached a moderately long 

 and stout leeler or palpus, composed offour joints : 

 the basal joint is clavaie, Ihe second is obovate 

 and truncated, the third is much stouter and 

 similar in form ; the fourth is the lonsjest, stout 

 and conical, being somewhat pear-shaped. The 

 mentum, or chin, is somewhat quadrate, the sides 

 are convex, with the anterior angles acuminated : 

 the Za6mm, or under lip, is somewhat quadrate, 

 horny and truncated at the base, with a leathery 

 oval lobe in (ront ; the sides are excavated to 

 receive another pair of small (eelers, or palpi; 

 these are very short, stout, and composed of three 

 joints only ; the basal joint is cup shaped and 

 scarcely visible ; the second stout and oval ; and 

 the third is very slender, with the apex pointed. 



The length of the beetle varies from ^ to 1^ of a 

 line ; the line being the twelfth part of an inch : 

 the longer ones are the females, which are con- 

 siderably stouter than the males, and this is es- 

 pecially the case after impregnation. 



When the beetle is feeding, the different parts of 

 the mouth are all employed : the upper and under 

 lips open to liberate the other organs ; the two sets 

 oi" teeth, or the toothed mandibles, as ihey are 

 named, meet when closed, and from their sirengih 

 and horizontal action they readily break the 

 cuticle of the leaf. Indeed, some that I put into a 

 quill soon reduced the inside of the cork stopper to 

 powder. The jaws seem to be adapted for keepinor 

 in the food during the short process of masti- 

 cation, and the four feelers hold and steady any 

 portion of the leaf to be eaten, and assist in con- 

 ducting the detached morsels into the mouth. 



From tlie experiments so successfully conducted 

 by Mr. Le Keux, it appears that the female beetle 

 lays but few eggs compared with most othf^r 

 insects, and that it requires a period of about 

 thirty days to carry the animal though its various 

 stages up to the time when it becomes a perfect 

 beetle again, viz., it remains an egg ten days, a 

 maggot six, and a chrysalis fourteen days : the 

 beetles themselvea are rather long-lived, for they 

 Vol. IX. -71 



have been kept in that state from July until the 



following February. 



The turnip beetle, and all the species of alticcR 

 related to it, are readily known by the great 

 thickness of their hinder thighs, which gives 

 them the power of !ea[)ing, like fleas, to a pro- 

 digious distance, considering their small size. 

 fT"' htcen inches is about ihe greatest extent of their 

 leap, which in a straight line would be, averaging 

 their stature, 21G times their own length: 

 and when it is remembered that this leap is per- 

 'brmed in a curved line, it must be admitted that 

 a considerably greater distance is achieved. They 

 seldom walk, and when at rest sit with their hind 

 legs Iblded under them, ready to skip ofl in an 

 instant, if disturbed, or when even approached : in 

 warm weather, during sunshine, with the thermo- 

 meter standing between TO'* and 80° in the shade, 

 ihev fly with facility. 



This little plague is not confined to our island, 

 for it is abundant in Gecmany, and common every 

 where in Sweden, where it is very destructive in 

 its perfect state. Probably in England no portion 

 of the country is perfectly free from these insects, 

 at least every bank and meadow harbors them 

 to a greater or less extent, and they have been 

 found also on grass lands which had not been 

 plouofhed for many years, and where there were 

 no turnips within half a mile. It will be ne- 

 cessary to consider this part of their history 

 before we enter upon a discussion of the 

 remedies. The turnip-beetles hybernate, or live 

 through the winter, in a torpid state, and may 

 be found under the bark of trees, as well as 

 beneath the fallen leaves, in the chinks of old 

 timber and paling, the slumps of thorns and of 

 other bushes, where the bark does not adhere 

 close to the stem, and ihe hollow stalks of grass 

 and stubble seem to afford them an asylum 

 during the inclement months of winter; but in- 

 active as they then are, the warmth of the hand 

 is sufficient to revive them in a few minutes, 

 I so that an unusually mild day in January or 

 March will partially seduce them from their re- 

 treats, and will render them almost as active as 

 would the ardent sun of summer. 



On the first indication of spring, if the weather 

 prove fine, warmed by the sun and cheered by his 

 rays, Ihey arouse from their slumbers, and perma- 

 nently leave their winter quarters for sunny situ- 

 ations, where they may be seen silling on walls in 

 coiisiiierable numbers, or sunning themselves on 

 dry banks and on clods of earth, protected from 

 the wind ; they have been observed in gardens on 

 turnips and calDbage- plants as early as March, and 

 1 in April on the crops in the fields, but May and 

 I June appear to be the more usual periods of their 

 j first and mo?t liital attacks. The autumnal crops 

 have been occasionally destroyed by them,* and 

 I in one instance I have seen recorded, as late as the 

 middle of September. They maybe said to be 

 abundant from May to October amongst the grass, 

 and in all fields, whether of wheat, oats, or bar- 

 i ley : a friend of mine observed myriads on turnips 

 ! in Surrey, on the 2nd of Sepiember, but they all 

 disappeared in two or three days ; and both sexes 

 u^ere common on the white turnips in Dorsetshire 

 last October. 



* In 1826 a crop was destroyed at KnutsforJ after 

 the 2lst of Anp:iif.t. 



