﻿PACKAKD.] 
  THE 
  TUENIP 
  FLEA-BEETLE. 
  745 
  

  

  Ijut 
  as 
  tbe 
  insect 
  was 
  yet 
  quite 
  pale 
  and 
  soft, 
  conclude 
  that 
  it 
  was 
  not 
  

   more 
  tban 
  a 
  day 
  or 
  so 
  out 
  of 
  the 
  ground. 
  The 
  actual 
  time, 
  however, 
  in 
  

   the 
  pupa 
  state, 
  was 
  less 
  tban 
  seventeen 
  days, 
  for, 
  like 
  the 
  larva 
  of 
  tbe 
  

   cucumber-beetle 
  and 
  other 
  beetles, 
  these 
  worms 
  pass 
  a 
  kind 
  of 
  inter- 
  

   mediate 
  state, 
  in 
  a 
  quiet, 
  motionless 
  condition, 
  in 
  their 
  little 
  dirt-tombs 
  

   beneath 
  the 
  ground. 
  During 
  this 
  time 
  they 
  decrease 
  in 
  length 
  very 
  

   much, 
  becoming 
  a 
  shorter, 
  thicker 
  ' 
  grub.' 
  This 
  period 
  is 
  a 
  peculiar 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  larval 
  state, 
  and 
  may 
  be 
  called 
  the 
  quiescent, 
  or 
  'shortening 
  

   period,' 
  in 
  contrast 
  with 
  the 
  feeding 
  period. 
  At 
  the 
  end 
  of 
  this 
  pre- 
  

   paratory 
  shortening 
  period, 
  the 
  little 
  larva 
  casts 
  its 
  skin 
  and 
  becomes 
  a 
  

   pupa. 
  

  

  " 
  During 
  the 
  past 
  summer 
  I 
  bred 
  a 
  good 
  number 
  of 
  these 
  beetles 
  from 
  

   the 
  larva 
  and 
  pupa, 
  taken 
  from 
  their 
  breeding-places 
  beneath 
  the 
  

   ground 
  ; 
  but 
  as 
  1 
  took 
  no 
  precise 
  notes 
  of 
  the 
  date, 
  I 
  can 
  say 
  no 
  more 
  

   regarding 
  the 
  time 
  of 
  the 
  pupa 
  state, 
  except 
  that 
  it 
  is 
  short, 
  only 
  a 
  few 
  

   days. 
  

  

  " 
  Every 
  gardener 
  knows 
  that 
  these 
  insects 
  are 
  very 
  injurious 
  to 
  young 
  

   cabbages 
  and 
  turnips 
  as 
  soon 
  as 
  they 
  appear 
  above 
  the 
  ground, 
  by 
  eat- 
  

   ing 
  off 
  the 
  seed-leaves 
  ; 
  he 
  also 
  almost 
  universally 
  imagines 
  that 
  when 
  

   the 
  second 
  or 
  true 
  plant 
  leaves 
  appear, 
  then 
  the 
  young 
  plant 
  is 
  safe 
  from 
  

   their 
  depredations, 
  then 
  the 
  stem 
  is 
  so 
  hard 
  that 
  the 
  insect 
  will 
  not 
  bite 
  

   it, 
  and 
  the 
  leaves 
  grow 
  out 
  so 
  rapidly 
  as 
  not 
  usually 
  to 
  be 
  injured 
  by 
  

   them 
  ; 
  but 
  if 
  we 
  would 
  gain 
  much 
  true 
  knowledge 
  of 
  what 
  is 
  going 
  on 
  

   around 
  us, 
  even 
  among 
  these 
  most 
  simple 
  and 
  common 
  things, 
  we 
  must 
  

   learn 
  to 
  observe 
  more 
  closely 
  tban 
  most 
  men 
  do. 
  

  

  "The 
  gardener 
  sees 
  his 
  young 
  cabbage-plants 
  growing 
  well 
  for 
  a 
  time, 
  

   but 
  at 
  length 
  they 
  become 
  pale 
  or 
  sickly, 
  wither 
  and 
  die 
  in 
  some 
  dry 
  

   period 
  that 
  usually 
  occurs 
  about 
  that 
  time, 
  and 
  attributes 
  their 
  death 
  

   to 
  the 
  dry 
  weather 
  ; 
  but 
  if 
  he 
  will 
  take 
  the'pains 
  to 
  examine 
  the 
  roots 
  

   of 
  the 
  plants, 
  he 
  will 
  find 
  them 
  eaten 
  away 
  by 
  some 
  insect, 
  and 
  by 
  

   searching 
  closely 
  about 
  the 
  roots 
  will 
  find 
  the 
  larva, 
  grub, 
  worm, 
  or 
  

   whatever 
  else 
  he 
  may 
  choose 
  to 
  call 
  it 
  5 
  from 
  this 
  he 
  can 
  breed 
  the 
  striped 
  

   turnip-beetle, 
  as 
  I 
  have 
  often 
  done. 
  

  

  "I 
  have 
  observed 
  the 
  depredations 
  of 
  these 
  larvse 
  for 
  ten 
  years, 
  and 
  

   most 
  of 
  that 
  time 
  had 
  a 
  convincing 
  knowledge 
  of 
  their 
  origin, 
  but 
  only 
  

   proved 
  it 
  in 
  1865 
  5 
  since 
  that 
  time 
  I 
  have 
  made 
  yearly 
  verifications 
  of 
  

   this 
  fact. 
  

  

  " 
  Every 
  year 
  the 
  young 
  cabbage-plants 
  and 
  turnips 
  in 
  this 
  region 
  re- 
  

   ceive 
  great 
  damage 
  from 
  these 
  larvae, 
  and 
  often 
  when 
  we 
  have 
  dry 
  

   weather, 
  in 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  May 
  and 
  early 
  in 
  June, 
  tlie 
  cabbage-plants 
  

   are 
  ruined. 
  A 
  large 
  proportion 
  of 
  the 
  plants 
  are 
  killed 
  outright 
  in 
  June, 
  

   and 
  the 
  balance 
  rendered 
  scarcely 
  fit 
  for 
  planting; 
  but 
  when 
  the 
  ground 
  

   is 
  wet 
  to 
  the 
  surface 
  all 
  the 
  time 
  by 
  frequent 
  rains, 
  the 
  young 
  plant 
  is 
  

   able 
  to 
  defend 
  itself 
  much 
  more 
  effectually, 
  by 
  throwing 
  out 
  roots 
  at 
  

   the 
  surface 
  of 
  the 
  ground, 
  when 
  the 
  main 
  or 
  center 
  root 
  is 
  devoured 
  by 
  

   the 
  larva; 
  but 
  in 
  the 
  dry 
  weather 
  these 
  surface 
  roots 
  find 
  no 
  nourish- 
  

   ment 
  and 
  the 
  plants 
  must 
  perish. 
  

  

  " 
  This 
  year 
  I 
  saw 
  these 
  beetles 
  most 
  numerous 
  in 
  early 
  spring, 
  but 
  

   have 
  often 
  seen 
  them 
  in 
  August 
  and 
  September 
  so 
  abundant 
  on 
  cab- 
  

   bages 
  that 
  the 
  leaves 
  were 
  eaten 
  full 
  of 
  holes 
  and 
  all 
  speckled 
  from 
  

   their 
  presence, 
  hundreds 
  often 
  being 
  on 
  a 
  leaf, 
  and 
  at 
  this 
  time 
  the 
  

   entire 
  turnip-crop 
  is 
  sometimes 
  destroyed 
  by 
  them, 
  and 
  seldom 
  a 
  year 
  

   passes 
  w^ithout 
  their 
  doing 
  great 
  injury." 
  

  

  These 
  observation 
  are 
  not 
  entirely 
  in 
  accordance 
  with 
  the 
  teachings 
  

   of 
  the 
  masters 
  in 
  entomology. 
  From 
  Westwood's 
  Introduction 
  we 
  learn 
  

   that 
  the 
  Chrysomelians 
  feed 
  on 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  plants 
  ; 
  that 
  some 
  of 
  them 
  

   attach 
  themselves 
  to 
  the 
  leaves 
  to 
  transform, 
  and 
  that 
  others 
  descend 
  

  

  