POTATO INSECTS 89 



larged muscular femora on the hind legs with which 

 it jumps like fleas hence the name. 



The beetles hibernate in hedgerows, along fences, 

 etc., and appear early in the spring; they bite holes 

 in the epidermis of leaves and eat out green tissue; 

 later in the season they cause much injury by their 

 persistent feeding; the eggs are deposited on and 

 in the soil around the base of the plant and the 

 small larvae feed on the underground stems and 

 tubers; they bore straight into the tubers and cause 

 ''slivers" in the potatoes; pimple-like spots often 

 occur over the outside of the potato where these 

 larvae are situated and cause "pimply" potatoes. 



Control — Thorough spraying with Bordeaux 

 mixture to keep the plants covered is the only satis- 

 factory method of control. Arsenate of lead may 

 be added or paris green for the Colorado potato 

 beetle. 



Blister-beetle ^ (Epicauta vitfafa) 

 Order — Coleoptera. Manual, p. 586 



This species is known as the striped blister-beetle; 

 it is a large, slender beetle with soft, flexible elytra ; 

 these beetles pass through complicated changes in 

 their life history ; the eggs are laid in the earth and 

 the young grubs feed upon the eggs of grasshop- 

 pers ; the beetles often appear in great swarms over 

 limited areas and are hard to control and quite de- 

 structive. 



Control — Hand-pick into pans of kerosene, 

 spray with strong poison mixture 3 pounds of ar- 

 senate of lead to 50 gallons of water. 



The potato aphid ^ (Macrosiphum solanifolii) 

 Order — Hemiptera 

 This aphid is widely distributed from Maine to 



3 Gibson— 42nd Ann. Rpt. Ent. Soc. Ont. 



*Hoiiser and Guyton— Ohio Expt. Stat, Bull. 317. 



