DEPARTMENT OF ENTOMOLOGY. 



211 



tough, oval, silken cocoons on the ground heneath their host 

 plant. There they remain until the warmth of the succeed- 

 ing spring calls them to life, when they come from the cocoons 

 as marvels of insect beauty. The caterpillars are seldom 

 seen, and in New England at least they are never destructive 

 to a serious extent. 



The ROSE BEETLE {Macvodactylus suhspinosus), or eose 

 CHAFER, appeared in June, though in numbers conspicuously 

 less than usual. On the college grounds the attack of this 

 insect was most severe upon the young hydrangea shrubs, the 

 leaves of which were eagerly devoured by the beetles, leaving 

 only a framework of veins. (Fig. 15.) A number of sub- 

 stances were applied to check the injuries of the pests, but 

 nothing was found so simple and effective as that of brushing 



them into a pail or pan holding a 

 little water, on the surface of which 

 is a little kerosene. This is to be 

 done in the cooler part of the day 

 ^^'hen the beetles are more sluggish 

 than in the warmer hours. 



Several inquiries have been re- 

 ceived during the year regarding 

 a safe and effective remedy for 

 the CABBAGE WORM {Pieris rapce), 

 which the present season has been 

 at least as destructive as usual. In 

 some parts of the country the prac- 

 tice of applying Paris green or 

 other arsenical poisons to young 

 cabbages has apparently been on 

 the increase, the method having 

 received the endorsement of a 

 number of entomologists. It has 

 been argued that there is no danger to the consumer be- 

 cause the amount of poison applied is so small, and as it is 

 to be put on only when the plants are young before they have 

 begun to head, the leaves to which it is applied will not be 

 eaten. There is little doubt that the argument is sound, 



Fig. 15.— Leaf of Hydrangea 

 eaten by Rose Beetles. 



