WIREWORMS AND GRUBS INJURING THE ROOTS 109 



Fig. 72. — Adult of a white grub, 

 Lachnostcrna fusca Froehl. Original. 



White Grubs {Lachnosterna spp.) 



The presence of white grubs usually is first indicated by the dying 

 off of plants here and there in the field or garden. Corn, and various 

 garden crops as well as straw- 

 berries, are subject to marked 

 injury. 



Examination of the soil beneath 

 plants attacked will disclose the 

 grubs. They will be found lying 

 somewhat cm-led up, are soft- 

 bodied, an inch to an inch and a 

 quarter long, and have a brown 

 head. The end of the abdomen is 

 swollen and darkened. 



The adults are brown, heavy-bodied beetles, familiarly known as 

 '' May beetles " or " June bugs." They fly at night, feed on the leaves 



of various trees, and are attracted to 

 fights. Eggs are laid in the soil, and 

 about two years are required for the 

 development of the grub. At the end 

 of the second summer the larva makes 

 a pupal cell in the soil at a depth of a 

 foot or less, and transforms to the 

 beetle ; but the latter is soft-bodied at 

 first, and does not grow hard and emerge 

 until the following spring. Grass land 

 is the natural breeding place, and injury 

 usuallj^ occurs in fields that have been 

 in sod for a number of years, and have recently been broken up 

 for other crops. 



Careful planning of crop rotations is the best means of avoiding 

 injury. Fall plowing will help to some extent. Chickens following the 

 plow will destroy the grubs turned up. Hogs are fond of white grubs, 

 and will root up and eat large numbers of them. There is no chemical 

 that may be applied to the soil to kill them. 



Fig. 73. — Larva of Lachno- 

 sterna fusca Froehl. Original. 



