﻿PACKARD.] 
  THE 
  COLORADO 
  POTATO-BEETLE. 
  725 
  

  

  look 
  quite 
  well. 
  Grasshoppers 
  have 
  taken 
  all 
  the 
  grain 
  about 
  here, 
  and 
  they 
  are 
  very- 
  

   thick 
  now. 
  The 
  caterpillars 
  took 
  all 
  the 
  leaves 
  from 
  the 
  orchards, 
  consequently 
  there 
  

   are 
  no 
  apples 
  to 
  speak 
  of; 
  and 
  now 
  the 
  Colorado 
  potato-bug 
  is 
  here, 
  or 
  what 
  we 
  call 
  

   the 
  same 
  as 
  has 
  been 
  making 
  such 
  havoc 
  in 
  the 
  West 
  for 
  several 
  years 
  past. 
  I 
  

   send 
  one 
  to 
  you 
  to-day 
  in 
  a 
  bos. 
  I 
  hope 
  you 
  will 
  be 
  able 
  to 
  inform 
  us 
  if 
  this 
  is 
  the 
  

   genuine 
  potato-beetle. 
  [It 
  is 
  the 
  genuine 
  Colorado 
  beetle. 
  — 
  Ed.] 
  They 
  first 
  made 
  

   their 
  appearance 
  in 
  this 
  town 
  on 
  a 
  small 
  iiiece 
  of 
  potatoes 
  belonging 
  to 
  Herbert 
  E. 
  

   Hale, 
  near 
  where 
  H. 
  C. 
  Hall 
  & 
  Co. 
  have 
  unloaded 
  considerable 
  corn 
  that 
  came 
  direct 
  

   from 
  the 
  West, 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  supposed 
  that 
  they 
  might 
  have 
  been 
  brought 
  here 
  in 
  that 
  way. 
  

   They 
  have 
  also 
  made 
  their 
  appearance 
  on 
  Ed. 
  Farnham's 
  jjotatoes 
  on 
  the 
  old 
  Whiting 
  

   farm 
  at 
  Larone. 
  The 
  one 
  I 
  send 
  you 
  I 
  took 
  from 
  the 
  potato-vines 
  in 
  John 
  W. 
  Bates's 
  

   garden 
  in 
  this 
  town. 
  They 
  have 
  uot 
  done 
  mucb 
  damage 
  here 
  as 
  yet, 
  for 
  they 
  have 
  

   been 
  pretty 
  thoroughly 
  picked. 
  

  

  Early 
  in 
  October 
  specimens 
  were 
  found 
  on 
  potato-tops 
  in 
  North 
  Dix- 
  

   mout, 
  Me. 
  — 
  (Maine 
  Farmer.) 
  

  

  iSToue 
  have 
  yet 
  been 
  reported 
  from 
  New 
  Brunswick 
  or 
  Nova 
  Scotia. 
  

  

  The 
  Colorado 
  beetle 
  has 
  unfortunately 
  got 
  a 
  foot-hold 
  in 
  California. 
  

   Mr. 
  Henry 
  Edwards, 
  of 
  San 
  Francisco, 
  Cal., 
  writes 
  me 
  under 
  date 
  of 
  

   September 
  10, 
  1876, 
  that 
  the 
  ^'■JDoryphora 
  10-lineata 
  is 
  extremely 
  rare. 
  It 
  

   has 
  found 
  its 
  way 
  into 
  the 
  State 
  by 
  way 
  of 
  San 
  Diego 
  and 
  of 
  course 
  

   will 
  soon 
  spread. 
  I 
  have 
  some 
  specimens 
  from 
  there, 
  but 
  from 
  no 
  other 
  

   locality." 
  

  

  According 
  to 
  Eiley, 
  its 
  eastern 
  progress 
  has 
  averaged 
  88 
  miles 
  a 
  year. 
  

  

  The 
  accompanying 
  map 
  is 
  taken 
  from 
  Professor 
  Eiley's 
  Ninth 
  Eeport 
  

   on 
  the 
  Injurious 
  Insects 
  of 
  Missouri, 
  and 
  explains 
  itself. 
  

  

  Habits. 
  — 
  The 
  habits 
  of 
  the 
  Colorado 
  potato-beetle 
  are 
  apparently 
  the 
  

   same 
  in 
  New 
  England 
  as 
  in 
  Illinois 
  or 
  Missouri, 
  where 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  

   watched 
  and 
  studied 
  for 
  more 
  than 
  a 
  dozen 
  years. 
  The 
  following 
  ac- 
  

   count 
  is 
  based 
  on 
  the 
  observations 
  of 
  Walsh, 
  Shimer, 
  Eiley, 
  Le 
  Bauer, 
  

   and 
  others, 
  and 
  myself. 
  The 
  beetle 
  having 
  wintered 
  a 
  few 
  inches 
  under 
  

   the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  appears 
  above 
  the 
  surface 
  before 
  the 
  potato- 
  

   plants 
  come 
  up 
  (in 
  New 
  England 
  early 
  in 
  May), 
  and 
  feeds 
  on 
  the 
  young 
  

   shoots, 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  time 
  the 
  leaves 
  are 
  expanded 
  lays 
  its 
  eggs 
  on 
  the 
  under 
  

   side 
  of 
  the 
  leaf 
  in 
  clusters 
  of 
  from 
  thirty 
  to 
  forty, 
  side 
  by 
  side, 
  the 
  eggs 
  

   standing 
  on 
  end. 
  The 
  eggs 
  are 
  oval-cylindrical, 
  and 
  orange-red 
  in 
  

   color. 
  Eegarding 
  the 
  number 
  of 
  eggs 
  laid, 
  Dr. 
  Shimer 
  writes 
  as 
  follows 
  in 
  

   the 
  Practical 
  Entomologist 
  for 
  1866 
  : 
  "From 
  an 
  equal 
  number 
  of 
  males 
  

   and 
  females, 
  well-fed 
  and 
  made 
  as 
  comfortable 
  as 
  possible 
  in 
  confine- 
  

   ment, 
  I 
  obtained 
  an 
  average 
  of 
  719 
  eggs 
  to 
  each 
  female 
  5 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  fresh 
  

   pure 
  air, 
  sunlight 
  and 
  freedom 
  of 
  nature, 
  under 
  propitious 
  circumstances, 
  

   I 
  have 
  no 
  doubt 
  of 
  its 
  exceeding 
  a 
  thousand. 
  They 
  laid 
  some 
  eggs 
  

   every 
  day 
  for 
  forty 
  days, 
  commencing 
  July 
  15 
  and 
  ending 
  on 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  

   September. 
  The 
  smallest 
  average 
  was 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  time, 
  being 
  

   7 
  J 
  eggs 
  per 
  day 
  to 
  each 
  female; 
  the 
  greatest 
  average 
  was 
  about 
  the 
  

   middle 
  of 
  the 
  time, 
  75 
  eggs 
  ; 
  the 
  last 
  day 
  they 
  averaged 
  12J 
  eggs." 
  The 
  

   young 
  grub, 
  on 
  hatching 
  out, 
  are 
  deep 
  blood-red, 
  but 
  of 
  nearly 
  the 
  same 
  

   form 
  as 
  the 
  adult. 
  They 
  usually 
  first 
  appear 
  on 
  the 
  leaves 
  in 
  New 
  En- 
  

   gland 
  early 
  in 
  June. 
  The 
  following 
  summary 
  of 
  its 
  habits 
  is 
  taken 
  from 
  

   Riley's 
  first 
  report, 
  and 
  applies 
  to 
  Missouri, 
  Illinois, 
  and 
  neighboring 
  

   States: 
  "In 
  the 
  latitude 
  of 
  Saint 
  Louis 
  there 
  are 
  three 
  broods 
  during 
  

   the 
  year, 
  the 
  last 
  brood 
  wintering 
  over 
  in 
  the 
  beetle 
  state 
  underground. 
  

   They 
  are 
  usually 
  dug 
  up 
  in 
  the 
  spring 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  in 
  land 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  

   planted 
  to 
  potatoes 
  the 
  year 
  before. 
  The 
  beetles 
  issue 
  of 
  their 
  own 
  

   accord 
  from 
  the 
  ground 
  about 
  the 
  1st 
  of 
  May, 
  and 
  the 
  last 
  brood 
  of 
  

   beetles 
  enters 
  the 
  ground 
  to 
  hibernate 
  during 
  the 
  month 
  of 
  ©ctober. 
  

   Though 
  in 
  general 
  terms 
  this 
  beetle 
  may 
  be 
  said 
  to 
  be 
  three-brooded, 
  

   yet 
  it 
  may 
  be 
  found 
  at 
  almost 
  any 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  year 
  in 
  all 
  its 
  different 
  

   stages. 
  This 
  is 
  owing 
  to 
  the 
  fact 
  that 
  the 
  female 
  continues 
  to 
  deposit 
  

  

  