104 



CALIFORNIA STATE COMMISSION OF HORTICULTURE. 



The Colorado potato-beetle, asparagus-beetle, and elm-leaf beetle are 

 some very destructive species which have not yet reached California. 



Diabrotica we have in plenty, 

 however; D. vittata, the 

 cucumber-beetle, a greenish 

 yellow form with two black 

 stripes on each wing-cover; 

 D. soror, the flower-beetle, a 

 12-spotted greenish form, be- 

 ing familiar pests. Chrysochus 

 cobaltinus, a large, bright blue 

 beetle, is a noticeable Chryso- 

 melid, and the smaller, though 

 not less destructive, flea- 

 beetles belong here also. Hal- 

 tica chalybeus, a blue grape- 

 feeding flea-beetle, and the 

 black cucumber flea-beetle 



FIG.95. Grapevine flea-beetle (Haltica chalybeus). (C repidodera CUCUmeris), 



feeding on cucurbits, represent these destructive insects. Lena calif or- 

 nica is a small blue beetle found on dock, and Lena scripta on willow. 



The black-legged tortoise-beetle (Cassida nigripes) represents a genus 

 of bright golden-colored Chrysomelids of a peculiar shape, which are 

 most often found feeding on the leaves 

 of the sweet potato. 



FIG. 96. Black- 

 legged tortoise- 

 beetle (Cassida 

 nigripes). 



FIG. 97. Bean-weevil 

 (Bruchus obtectus). 



The family Bruehidse is small, and 

 consists of beetles which are short and 

 chunky, with the elytra cut off be- 

 hind, with small head, and thighs 

 swollen as if from jumping, and which 

 in all stages live on stored seeds. 



Bruchus pisi, commonly known as the pea-weevil, and B. obtectus, the 



bean-weevil, are cosmopolitan species. 



The Cepambyeidae have antennae as long or longer than the body, 

 and are primarily a wood-boring family, being commonly called the 

 long-horned wood-borers. The bodies of these beetles are usually cylin- 

 drical and elongate, though some are flattened, and their mandibles are 

 stout and sharp-pointed. The larvae are known as the round-headed 

 borers, to distinguish them from the flat-headed Buprestids. Over 600 

 species are known, most of them living in dead or dying wood, although 

 some attack healthy tissue. 



