THE VIOLET ROVE-BEETLE. £J 



Two days later he brought specimens of the beetles with single- 

 flowered violets which had not previously been attacked. Some of 

 these already showed injury by the beetles. The chief injury was 

 to the Marie Louise double violets, which grow with the flowers 

 resting on the ground, and to Campbell double flowers, which are on 

 the ground in their early stage but afterwards become erect. It seems 

 that the beetles crawl directly from the ground to the flowers, and 

 this accoimts for the single-flowered varieties being free from in- 

 festation. No part of the plant other than the flowers was injured 

 or attacked, so far as could be ascertained. 



August 14, 1905, Mr. G. Pauls, St. Louis Altenheim, St. Louis, Mo., 

 sent a specimen of this rove-beetle, which he stated was the great- 

 est plant destroyer of the year at the Altenheim. The plants affected 

 included lilies, dahlia, pansy, forget-me-not, and other soft plants, 

 which were destroyed. The beetles were described as occurring 

 everywhere, but preferring a low or mulch soil, especially under fallen 

 leaves. September 9, 1905, he sent additional specimens with a plant 

 of portulaca, which they were attacking. In his pansy beds, which 

 they had completely ruined, the chickweed and yellow wood sorrel 

 were not troubled. Portulaca seemed to be a favorite food. 



November 21, 1913, the Florists' Exchange of New York furnished 

 specimens of this insect on violets, requesting the name of the insect 

 and asking what could be done to remedy the evil. Exact locality 

 was not furnished. 



REMEDIES, 



Acting by the writer's advice, Mr. Barber used decaying leaves, de- 

 posited in piles at regular intervals about infested violet plants. 

 This attracted the rove-beetles, after which the leaves were quickly 

 dipped into hot water, which killed the insects, the leaves afterwards 

 being restored as traps. 



Four years after the first occurrence of this insect on hothouse 

 violets it had disappeared as a pest, Mr. Barber reporting that he 

 li;nl used spinach, kale, and chickweed as traps, as advised. The 

 same year Mr. Pauls reported that he had been successful in rid- 

 ding his garden of this pest, at least on three of his pansy beds, by 

 dusting them with tobacco. As a rule he could find no more rove- 

 beetles, although in adjoining beds (hey were nearly as plentiful as 

 before treatment. This report was receited September 20, 1905. 



There c;iii be little doubf that injury by this species might be pre- 

 vented by care in Looking over the soil, or the dead leaves used as a 

 mulch in violet or pansy beds, for the presence of the insect. Sterili- 

 zation of this materia] before using would result in the destruction 

 of the inert and prevent its introduction into the greenhouse or 

 flower beds. 



