94 INSECTS INJURIOUS TO VEGETABLES 



seedlings, the roots of which are weakened by having their tops 

 devoured. Larvas, as well as beetles, attack the tenderest por- 

 tions of the plants, but the latter gnaw with seemingly equal 

 relish the epidermis, or rind, of the stems. 



The beetle, illustrated by figure 52, is 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 one-fourth 

 of an inch. 



From the scene of its first colonization, Queens County, N. Y., 

 the insect migrated to other truck-growing regions, and has 

 now extended its range northward through Connecticut and 

 Massachusetts to the State line of New Hampshire. Southward 

 it has traveled to southern Virginia. At the present time it is 

 well established in the principal asparagus-growing sections of 

 the northern Atlantic region, and occurs westward to Illinois 

 and Michigan. In a very few years we may expect its spread 

 to other portions of states in which it is now local, and later 

 it will naturally move westward. 



The insect passes the winter in the beetle state under con- 

 venient shelter, and in April or May, according to locality, or 

 at the season for cutting asparagus, issues from its hibernating 

 quarters and lays its eggs for the first brood. The eggs are 

 deposited endwise upon the stem or foliage and in early spring 

 on the developing stalks, in rows of from two to six or more. 



In from three to eight days the eggs hatch, the young larvae, 

 "grubs" or "worms," presenting the appearance indicated in 

 figure 52, c. They at once begin to feed, and are from ten days 

 to a fortnight in attaining full growth. When full grown the 

 larva appears as in figure 52, d. It is soft and fleshy, and in 

 color is dark-gray or olive, which becomes lighter and yellowish 

 with age. The mature larva enters the earth, and here, within 

 a little rounded, dirt-covered cocoon which it forms, the pupa 

 state is assumed. In from five to eight or more days the beetle 



