Insects and Other Foes. — 127 



Tobacco Worm {Phlegethonthis Carolina). — This is a very- 

 near relative of the tomato worm, and resembles it closely in ap- 

 pearance and habits. The moth delights in sipping the sweet 

 nectar from the flowers of the Jamestown weed {Datura sta- 

 motiiuvi), and this weed is sometimes planted purposely in 

 tobacco fields as a catch plant. A little sweetened whisky and 

 water poisoned with arsenic is then introduced into the flowers 

 that invite the visits of the sphinx moth. 



Blister Beetles. — Several species of beetles belonging to 

 the same family as the " Spanish fly " so familiar to the drug 

 trade, are known in various localities as "potato beetles," "old- 

 fashioned potato beetles," etc., and frequently do considerable 

 damage to potato fields. The most common among them are 

 the ash-gray blister beetle {Lytta cinered), shown at a, the black 

 blister beetles {Lytta miirina and Lytta atrata), shown at b; the 

 striped blister beetle {Epicaiita vittata), shown at c, and the 

 margined blister beetle {Lytta marginata), besides a number of 



others. Some or all of these species live in their larval stage 

 exclusively or chiefly upon the eggs of grasshoppers, and are 

 therefore of immense benefit to us on this account. Usually 

 blister beetles appear in large numbers in the season following 

 that of an abundance of grasshoppers. In consideration of their 

 services as grasshopper-destroyers, we would prefer to deal 

 leniently with them unless they do much damage by appearing 

 in large numbers. Then men or boys may be sent through the 

 field, who, working with the wind, drive the beetles before them 

 by short flights into windrows of hay or straw previously pre- 

 pared on the leeward side ot the field. These windrows are then 

 set afire and the beetles destroyed with them. 



Potato Stalk Weevil {Trichobaris trinotatd). — This in- 

 fests potato fields in various sections of the United States. The 

 female beetle (a snout-beetle) places a single q^% in a slit about 

 an eighth of an inch long, made in the stalk near the ground. 

 The whitish grub, which sdon hatches out, tunnels into the heart 

 of the stalk, usually in a downward direction, causing withering 



