798 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



than to yield passively to the scourge. The remarks of Mr. Lockwood^ 

 that we reprint in our account of the goldsmith beetle, are eminently 

 practical as applied to this insect. As for special remedies, we have 

 none to propose. Watchfulness and care in culture are better than any 

 special nostrums. 



" Undoubtedly the natural enemies of this grub are many, but we have 

 no observations bearing on this point. A fungus attacks the grubs in 

 certain seasons, often in considerable numbers. We have received speci- 

 mens from Missouri of dead and dried grubs, with a long stem growing 

 out from them, the result of the attacks of this fungus. It has been 

 figured by Mr. Riley, who states that another fungus attacks this worm 

 in Virginia. It is well known that caterpillars and even the common 

 housefly are sometimes attacked by a fungus which replaces the animal 

 portion with its own vegetable substance. 



" While many animals, such as skunks, moles, crows, etc., prey on th& 

 beetles, the only insect-enemy I have personally observed is tlie fierce 

 carnivorous Calosoma beetle [G. calidum) which I have noticed on a 

 blueberry-bush busily engaged in tearing open the hard, horny sides of 

 one of these beetles, which was in vain struggling to escape; on taking 

 up the May beetle a large hole had been eaten into its side, disclosing 

 the viscera. 



"Occasionally the beetles appear in immense numbers. It is then the 

 duty of the agriculturist to pick them off the trees and burn them. If 

 the French take the pains to practice hand-picking, as in one instance 

 'about eighty millions were collected and destroyed in a single portion 

 of the Lower Seine' (Eiley), our gardeners can afford to take similar 

 pains. 



"A description of the May beetle is scarcely necessary. Fig. 10 (p. 

 720) gives a good idea of its appearance and size. It is bay-colored, 

 or chestnut and brown, with yellowish hairs beneath, and is nearly an 

 inch in length. Its scientific name is Lachnosterna fusca, or, literally 

 translated, the brown woolly- breasted beetle. The pupa is white." 



The Goldsmith Beetle, Cotalpa lanigera, Linn. — Feeding on the roots as grub ; very 

 similar to that of the June beetle. 



"We also have in the Eastern States an insect allied to the preceding, 

 and with much the same habits, both in the adult and preparatory states. 

 It is the Cotalpa lanigera. It is nearly an inch in length, bright yellow 

 above, with a golden metallic luster on the head and thorax, while 

 the under side of the body is copper-colored, and densely covered with 

 white hairs. 



"Dr. Harris says that it is very common in this State, remarking that 

 it begins to appear in Massachusetts about the middle of May, and 

 continues generally till the 20th of June. 'In the morning and evening 

 twilight they come forth from their retreats, and fly about with a hutn- 

 ming and rustling sound among the branches of trees, the tender leaves 

 of which they devour. Pear-trees are particularly subject to their at- 

 tacks, but the elm, hickory, poplar, oak, and probablj^ also other kinds 

 of trees, are frequented and injured by them.' Dr. Lockwood has found 

 it on the white poplar of Europe, the sweet gum, and has seen it eating 

 the Lawton blackberry. He adds that the larvae of these insects are 

 not known; probably they live in the ground upon the roots of plants. 



" It has remained for the Eev. Dr. S. Lockwood to discover that the 

 grub or larva of this pretty beetle in New Jersej' devastates strawberry- 

 beds, the larva feeding upon the roots, in the same manner as the May 



