150 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 1918. 



on the ground at the base of the bushes, and these eggs pass 

 the winter, hatching the following spring. There is only one 

 generation each year. 



All of these flea-beetles can be controlled by spraying with 

 arsenate of lead. Parasitic flies were bred from the adults of 2 

 species and a predaceous bug was found attacking the larva of 

 one species. All are susceptible to fungous and bacterial dis- 

 eases which doubtless play a large role in holding them in check. 



SPECIES DISCUSSED. 



So far as the records of this Experiment Station show. 6 

 species of Altica, the typical genus of jumping chrysomelids or 

 flea-beetles, occur in the State of Maine. Since all of them feed 

 on plants of greater or less economic importance, and as these 

 very prolific beetles under favorable conditions may appear quite 

 suddenly in enormous numbers, an acquaintance with their vari-. 

 ous life histories is important, so that we may know at what 

 period remedial measures may be most effectively applied. More- 

 over in entomological literature there is great confusion regard- 

 ing the structural and biological limits of the different species 

 of Altica, and in many cases the host plant records are hope- 

 lessly mixed up. It is hoped that some light may be thrown 

 upon the specific limits and the biological habits of the insects 

 described in this bulletin. 



Four of the 6 recorded species are discussed in this bulletin. 

 These are the dogwood flea-beetle A. corni sp. n., the rose flea- 

 beetle, A. r'osa'e sp. n.. the elm flea-beetle, A. uhni sp. n.. and the 

 blueberry flea-beetle, A. torquata LeC. A fifth, the alder flea- 

 beetle, A. bimarginata Say, has already been treated in bulletin 

 ^65 of this Experiment Station, in which is also given a state- 

 ment of the facts which make it seem proper to drop the "H" 

 and revert to Geoffrov's original spelling of the generic name. 

 The sixth is listed provisionally as identical with what Lugger 



