14 



Rose Chafer. 



About the middle to the latter part of June large swarms of 

 the common rose chafer, or rose beetle, Macrodactylus suh- 

 spinosiis Fab., often appear and ravenously feed on the flower 

 clusters and foliage of grapes. Although this insect is 

 principally a pest of roses, grapes and many other fruits and 

 ornamental shrubs, when abundant it frequently attacks various 

 garden crops, such as beans, peas, potatoes, etc. The adult 

 beetle is about one-third of an inch long, light brownish in 

 color, covered with numerous lighter hairs, and has long, spiny 

 legs. After feeding three or four weeks the beetles disappear as 

 suddenlj^ as they came, but in the meantime they have depos- 

 ited eggs in near-by grasslands for the next generation. These 

 soon hatch, and the larvae feed on the roots of grasses during 

 the summer. In the fall the nearly full-grown larvae, which 

 closely resemble small white grubs, go below the frost line and 

 spend the winter. In the spring they come near the surface 

 of the soil, transform to pupae and soon emerge as beetles. 

 There is but one generation a year, and the injury is done by 

 the beetles during the three or four weeks that they are abroad. 



Control. — When the beetles are very abundant the only 

 satisfactory method of control is to hand pick and drop them 

 into a can of kerosene and water. They also may be collected in 

 large numbers by sweeping the foliage of both garden crops and 

 surrounding vegetation with a strong insect net. When these 

 pests are not excessively abundant they have been controlled 

 by spraying vegetable plants heavily with arsenate of lead (see 

 page 4), preferably combined with Bordeaux mixture. This 

 spray applied thoroughly to garden crops acts as a repellent, 

 and tends to drive the beetles to other plants for their food. 



Snails and Slugs. 

 Very often these soft-bodied mollusks are decidedly destruc- 

 tive to vegetables, especially young seedHngs growing in hot- 

 beds and in cold frames. They feed on the foliage only at 

 night, remaining hidden during the day in some moist, pro- 

 tected place. 



