THE COLEOPTERA 



113 



In general the treatment can be based on the year the beetles are 

 abundant. Sod land broken up that year should be plowed before Octo- 

 ber and should not be in corn or potatoes, but in clover, small grain or 

 buckwheat the next year, if the farm practice of that region will permit. 

 The following year delay planting till as late as possible. Pasture every 

 season with hogs in the fall as soon as the crop is out. 



The Rose Chafer (Macrodactylus subspinosus Fab.). This insect occurs all 

 over the Eastern United States as far south as Virginia and Tennessee and west to 

 Colorado, being particularly abundant and destructive in sandy localities. The 

 adult beetle is about a third of an inch long, rather stout, though less so in pro- 



FIG. 104. Rose Chafer (Macrodactylus subspinosus Fab.): , adult beetle; b, larva 

 (grub) ; e, pupa; /, injury to leaves and blossoms of grape with beetles at work. Fine lines 

 beside a, b, and e, show the true length: /, somewhat reduced. (From U. S. D. A. Farm. 

 Bull. 721.) 



portion to its length than are the June bugs, dull yellow, with pale, red legs which 

 are long and slender. It appears about the time roses begin to bloom, i.e., in 

 May in the South, and in June in the more northern part of its range, and attacks 

 a large number of plants. It seems originally to have been a rose feeder: later 

 it became a serious pest of the grape and is now destructive to many fruit and 

 shade trees and shrubs, and even to garden fruits and vegetables when abundant, 

 eating blossoms, leaves and any fruit which may be available during its adult 

 condition (Fig. 104). 



The eggs, about thirty in number, are laid a little below the surface of the 

 ground, sandy land being apparently somewhat preferred, and these hatch in 

 2 to 3 weeks into tiny white grubs somewhat resembling those of the June bugs. 



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