GENERAL CROP PESTS "JJ 



The winged Northern forms of May beetles are replaced in 

 Texas and some other portions of the South by three common 

 species, two wingless {Lachnosterna cribrosa Lee. [fig. 43] and 

 L. lanccolata Say) and one with similar habits (L. farcta 

 Lee.) which do great damage in their beetle stage to trucking 

 industries. They subsist largely upon 

 weeds, hence in addition to treating af- 

 fected plants with arsenicals, the weeds 

 should be similarly treated. Late fall or 

 winter plowing and avoidance of weedy 

 fields for planting are advisable as pre- 

 ventives. Swine should be used for de- 

 stroying them and on small areas hand- 

 picking can be employed, when the beetles p^^ '^^.-Lachnosterna crib- 

 make their appearance an hour or more ''"■^a- Female. (Sander- 



, . , son, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



before sundown. 



Among white grubs that are likely to be mistaken for the 

 more injurious forms {Lachnosterna spp.) are the carrot 

 beetle, which will be considered in a later chapter; the "muck 

 worm," which occurs in manure and in the droppings of cattle, 

 and which appears to be normally a purely dung-feeding 

 species ; the sugar-cane beetle ; the rice grub ; the green June 

 beetle, and the brown fruit-chafer, which last will be described 

 in the consideration of insects affecting sweet corn. 



PREDACEOUS AND PARASITIC ENEMIES 



Although white grubs are apparently protected by their sub- 

 terranean mode of existence and their life, as beetles, is com- 

 paratively brief, many predatory animals as well as parasitic 

 and predaceous insects attack and destroy them. Birds of sev- 

 eral species and most wild mammals which still linger in cul- 

 tivated regions are among this number. Domestic fowls are 

 very fond of white grubs and, when given the opportunity, fol- 



