TREES, SHRUBS, VINES AND PLANTS. 379 



There are, accordingly, two generations of this insect each year, 

 the feeding periods of the caterpillars being during May and early 

 June, and late July and August. 



To check the destruction caused by this insect, the egg clusters 

 covered by the white crust may be gathered and burned whenever 

 they are noticed. Spraying with arsenate of lead early in May 

 and again the latter part of July will destroy the caterpillars, but 

 is unnecessary if the egg clusters have been attended to. Banding 

 the trunks of trees not infested, with Tree Tanglefoot, will protect 

 these if their branches do not touch those of infested trees, as the 

 female is wingless, and to reach the trees she or the caterpillars 

 must crawl up the trunks. 



SPECIAL FEEDERS. 

 THE ELM-LEAF BEETLE. 



This insect reached the United States from Europe about seven- 

 ty-five years ago and is now quite generally distributed through 

 the eastern states. The elm is its only food plant, and the Euro- 

 pean elm generally suffers more from its attacks than the Ameri- 

 can species. 



The insect passes the winter as the adult beetle, hiding in any 

 protected places available, such as attics, old chimneys, etc., and 

 is often found on the windows in houses in the spring, seeking to 

 escape to the trees. The beetle is about a quarter of an inch long 

 and about half as wide, and is yellow in the summer with a dark 

 band on each side, but after wintering over, the yellow changes to 

 a dull olive green. 



After the elm leaves appear the beetles fly to the trees, and feed, 

 eating irregular holes and laying their eggs. These are yellow in 

 color and are placed on the under sides of the leaves, generally 

 along a vein and in two rows, and number from a dozen to thirty. 

 The beetle feeds and lays its eggs in this way for several weeks. 

 The grubs which hatch from these eggs feed on the under surface 

 of the leaves, leaving the upper surface entire, for fifteen or twenty 



