ENTOMOLOGIST AND BOTANIST. 



327 



gether, first on one side and then on the other. 

 Eiich act of jerking is a(-conii)anied by a sharji, 

 croaking sort of noise, not unlike tlie subdued 

 chirp of a grasslioppcr. It may be necessary 

 for some persons to bring (lie ear rather near the 

 larva to hear the sounds, but to persons having 

 good auditory nerves the noise is patent enough, 

 and I liave no doubt it is andil)lc enougli lo 

 Ichneumon tlics and odicr jiarasilos. Now, how 

 are these sounds produced? Is it by a sharp 

 emission of air through (lie l)r('athing liolcs? 



It is remarkable tliat when allai-ked Ibis caler- 

 l)illar always elevates its fail, which, in lliut 

 position, looks like a snake's hea<l, the glossy 

 tubercle adding to the decei)tion; and this cy- 

 clopean appearance renders it a i|nile formidable 

 animal to look at. 



W. V^. Anduews. 



INSECTS IN-IUIMOUSTOTllEURAPB-VINE— No. 12. 

 Tlic (Jraiie-viiie Flea-beetle. ' / 



>wr iUaltiea chidi/liea, ll)ip-r.) 





(;i>1or.s-((.) shiny lirnwii 



Is there a grape-grower in tl-.e United States 

 who does not know, to his sorrow, wliat the 

 Grape-vine Flca-beellc is ? Hardly one! And 

 yet how few ever connect it with its disgusting 

 little shiny brown larvx, which generally i>rovc 

 still more injurious than (he beetle, by riddling 

 the leaves in the middle of summer. 



ThetJrape-vine Flea-beetle (If'ig. "201, d) often 

 goes by the cognomen of " Steel-blue ISeclle," 

 and is even dubbed '-Thrips" by some viiie- 

 yardists. The latter term, as most of our 



readers arc well aware, is entirely inapplicable.* 

 The former name is not sutflciently character- 

 istic, because the color varies from steel-blue to 

 metallic-green and purple, and because there 

 are many other tlca-beetles to which it would 

 equally apply. 



The (irapc-viue Flea-beetle is found in all 

 parts of the United States and in the Caiiadas, 

 and it habitually tceds on the Alder {Jlniin scr- 

 rukitn), as well as upon the wild and cultiv.iled 

 Grape-vine. Its depredations seem tirst lo have 

 been noticed in l.s;U, by Judge Darling of Con- 

 necticut, and in is;!! Mr. David Thomas, of New 

 York, published an account of it in I he 2(!th 

 volume of Silliman's American Journal of Sci- 

 ence. Its transformations were, however, un- 

 known till some time alter Dr. Harris wrote 

 his excellent work on Injurious Insects, and no 

 tigure of the larva has been hitherto published. 



The beetles hibernate in a torpid state under 

 any shelter which is allbrded them in the 

 vineyard, such as the loose bark and crevices of 

 slakes, etc., etc., and they are roused to activity 

 i|uite early in the spring. The greatest damage 

 is done by them at this early season, for they 

 often bore into and scoop out the unopened bud, 

 and thus blight the grape-grower's bright ex- 

 pectations. As the leaves expand, the little 

 jumping rascals feed on the leaves, and .soon 

 pair and deposit their small orange eggs in clus- 

 ters, very much as in the case of ihe Coloi'ado 

 Fotato Ileetle. These eggs soon hatch into 

 dark-colored larvae, which may be found of all 

 sizes during the latter i)art of May and early 

 part of ,lnne. They are generally found on the 

 Hjiper surface of (he leaf, which they so riddle 

 and devour as to give it the appearance repre- 

 sented at Figure -JOl, a. Wlicn very numerous 

 they devour all but the very largest leal-ribs, 

 and we have seen the wild vines thr()ugliout 

 whole strips of country rendered most unsightly 

 by the utter denudation which these insects had 

 wrought,. The larvic feed for nearly a month, 

 and when full grown present the appearance 

 of Figure "Jill, i, the hair-line at the side showing 

 the natural si/.e.f They then desceiul from the 



Vhf ti-nu Tkritis 



losi- iilliuil U'.s Id'iIu- Drilioplci 



tWLiii,|„-naiiniUcit.si-ii|iii, 



()..■(.-> ilU-ll H'Mil |H.||,||.-,| 1,1m 



ii:lli-rli.M.!illi; Mlh.vliii'lnrill 

 Ml -i.l.s. Ml„l ,;ll-ir.ll\i.l.,l , 

 lulils; on I'Mi'li f..l.i .1 n.w ..I' s 

 lllc .lui-MJ ..M,s 1mij;.'1- lliin I 

 Mlly Ihr |...>ti ri.,1- t».>| c-ui,llu 

 n:in»w ilor^Ml liiir; .mi-Ii 

 &tia'li;iir; one suuli .-^ubsti^ 



m "f 



i;.. 



, Mini III Ih.y-o/K./,, 



, fli-iiwn (1)1 rniiii I 



. Fnll-iir,„im \,.nr 

 , i;...U liv..l-hr. 



Ill,- j.Hlli^ llUluill- 



\-l.i;l. k .l.-VMl..! -|"Pts 



iiKittU black spul |<lacciJ lu midUiu 



