364 



GENERAL SCIENCE 



young plants, feeding upon the buds and laying eggs in 

 some of the holes which they make in them. These 

 eggs soon hatch into grubs that immediately begin to 

 feed upon the interior of the buds, thus destroying the 

 blossoms and with them the prospects of a crop (Figure 

 324) . In a few weeks these grubs (larvae) change to pupae 

 and then to adult beetles which gnaw their way out and 

 are ready to lay eggs for a new brood of larvae. 



FIG. 325. Stages in the Development of the Colorado Potato Beetle. 



At the left are the eggs ; in the center the beetle, life-size and enlarged ; 

 and at the right the larva. 



The most effective way to combat the cotton boll 

 weevil seems to be to gather all the cotton plants late in 

 the autumn and burn them, after which the ground should 

 be plowed to expose the hibernating places of the bug. 



Other destructive beetles are the Colorado potato bugs, 

 the striped cucumber beetle, and curculios. 



The Colorado potato beetle has made its way from the 

 Rocky Mountain region to nearly every part of the world. 



