2 BULLETIN 263, U. S. DEPAETMEXT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



distribution of the insect with a view to devising means of control, 

 (1) by spraying, (2) by the use of water for flooding operations, 

 and (3) by cultural treatment of the bogs. Observations continued 

 through a period of two years indicate that at the present time the 

 pest is not one of prime importance on cranberry bogs and that its 

 ravages are not to be compared in severity with those of the cranberry 

 girdler (Crambus TiortueUus Htibn.) to which insect probably the 

 injury produced by the root-worm has heretofore been attributed. 



DISTRIBUTION. 



The cranberry rootworm is widely disseminated throughout the 

 United States and is also reported from Canada, Blatchley (1910) 

 reports it in Indiana and further states that it occurs from Massa- 

 chusetts to Dakota and south to North Carolina. In the collection 

 of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural Sciences specimens are 

 exhibited from Utah, Nebraska, Illinois, "Dakota," southwestern 

 Texas, Florida, Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Canada. 

 Smith (1909) lists it from New Jersey south of the Piedmont Plain. 

 The present investigation has led to its capture on one or more cran- 

 berry bogs at or near the following places in New Jersey: Pemberton, 

 New Lisbon, Whitesbog, New Egypt, Cookstown, Chatsworth, Pasa- 

 dena, Medford, and Brookland. 



FOOD PLANTS. 



Few plants are recorded as hosts of the beetle.- Say states that it 

 is common on the myrtle, while Blanchard found it abundant on 

 basswood. In Indiana it is reported on wild grape, and Smith lists it in 

 New Jersey on myrtle, grape, and basswood. More recent observa- 

 tions have shown that the beetle is a feeder on foliage and fruit of the 

 cranberry, and the writer has taken it on blueberry and inkberry by 

 jarring. The larvae are abundant on the roots of cranberry. 



CHARACTER AND EXTENT OF INJURY. 



The chief injury to the cranberry is caused by the feeding of the 

 larvae on the roots and runners (PI. I, fig. 2), where the latter come in 

 contact with the ground. As a rule only the bark is eaten from the 

 large and secondary roots, the wood occasionally being attacked, 

 while the fibrous roots (PL I, fig. 1), which are so numerous as to form 

 a dense mat an inch or more in thickness, are completely devoured. 

 The character of the rootworm injury is such that one can distinguish 

 between it and the injury produced by the cranberry girdler. The 

 larvae of the latter insect prefer the runners and crowns of the plants 

 and not only feed on the bark but devour the wood, often eating 

 completely through a runner. In a general way it may be said that 

 the rootworm feeds in the soil, while the girdler feeds on the surface, 

 concealed in the trash which lies on the ground. 



The vines which suffer the most are those growing on sandy land 

 or what are usually termed "savannas." Larvae have been found in 



