266 BUSH-FRUITS 



that grapes are in blossom. The favorite food of the mature 

 beetle consists of flowers, especially those of the rose, grape, 

 spiraea, sumach, magnolia, etc.; but the foliage of nearly all 

 plants also suffers. In one report of their ravages in New 

 Jersey, Professor Smith says: "Of the small fruits, the black- 

 berries seemed very attractive. They were on each blossom, and 

 ate the petals but left the green forming fruit. Last year they 

 ate the leaves as well, and left only the canes. This year they 

 left the leaves. Raspberries were totally destroyed." 



Although occurring throughout the greater portion of the 

 northern half of the United States east of the Rocky Mountains, 

 it appears to be more or less local in its habits, for in parts of 

 central New York and northern Pennsylvania it is seldom or never 

 seen. In the Gulf states the species is replaced by the closely 

 allied one, M. angustatus, and in the extreme southwest by M. 

 uniformis. These are very similar in appearance, differing only 

 in the character of the prosternal process and the pubescence, 

 but have not thus far proved so injurious. 



Remedies. When occurring in such vast numbers as they fre- 

 quently do in some sections, nothing avails against them, and the 

 cultivator is utterly helpless before their march. Where their 

 numbers are limited, kerosene emulsion, pyrethrum, and coating 

 the vines with whitewash to which crude carbolic acid has been 

 added, have been found useful, and sometimes really satisfactory. 

 Mechanical devices for knocking them off and catching them have, 

 in some cases, proved more practicable than any other plan. At 

 one time it was thought that hot water would prove effective 

 against this insect, but notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of 

 such a remedy it was found to be impracticable for general use. 

 The temperature required is about 130 degrees Fahrenheit, but the 

 range is very narrow. If much above this temperature the plants 

 are injured, if much below it the insects suffer no harm. To 

 maintain the right degree of heat in field operations is not feasi- 

 ble. Even if the water as it leaves the nozzle has the right tem- 

 perature, it may not have when it touches the insect. 



