224 VEGETABLE GARDENING 



fields, and many growers prefer to destroy the old plants 

 when they are 10 to 12 years of age. The field should be 

 devoted to other crops for a year or two before replanting 

 in asparagus. 



285. The common asparagus beetle (Crioceris asparagi) 

 is by far the most troublesome of the insect enemies of 

 asparagus. Both the larvae and the beetles feed on the 

 shoots, which are thus lowered in market value or ren- 

 dered unfit for commercial purposes. They also feed on 

 stems and leaves of old and young plants, which they 

 defoliate and greatly reduce in vitality. 



The beetles winter under any convenient shelter and 

 lay eggs for the first brood in April or May. The eggs 

 are deposited in groups of two or more, upon leaves or 

 stems. The larvae emerge in three to eight days, begin to 

 feed at once and attain full growth in 10 to 14 days. Chit- 

 tenden ("Insects Injurious to Vegetables") describes the 

 beetle as "a most beautiful creature, slender and graceful 

 in form, blue-black in color, with red thorax, and lemon- 

 yellow and dark-blue elytra or wing covers, with reddish 

 border. Its length is a trifle less than ^ inch." Two and 

 frequently three broods are produced in a season. 



Various methods are employed to control this insect. 

 Arsenate of lead is effective in destroying both slugs and 

 beetles. It may be used with safety on young plants, in 

 old plantations after the cutting season, and on lure 

 plants. When shoots are cut every day, and there are no 

 other plants in close proximity, all the eggs are destroyed 

 when the stalks are cut and sent to market. Coops of 

 chickens are sometimes kept in the fields to feed on the 

 beetles and slugs. The plan is considered excellent when 

 properly managed. Fresh air-slaked lime kills the larvae, 

 and when they are brushed to the ground in hot weather 

 they die before they can get back on the plants. 



286. Other insect enemies. The 12-spotted asparagus 

 beetle (Crioceris 12-punctata) is a serious enemy some- 



