GRAPEVINE ROOT WORM 



53 



The condition of the roots also affords a clue to the identity 

 of the depredator. The young grubs eat away the small feed- 

 ing roots while the larger individuals gnaw the bark, particu- 

 larly from the under side of the larger roots. They frequently 

 eat away long strips, as represented on plate 1, figure 5, though 

 occasionally a single grub may pursue a somewhat sinuous 

 path. 



A native species. This serious pest of the vineyards is not," 

 like many of the forms so injurious to agriculturists, an im- 

 ported insect. It has long been known to occur in this country 

 and its work on wild grapevines was observed before its depre- 

 dations attracted notice in our vineyards. This insect may 

 •develop into a general pest of the grape and perhaps in time 

 ^come to be as well known as the very destructive Colorado 

 potato beetle, which is familiar to almost every farmer. It is 

 very probable that this grape enemy was able to exist only in 

 relatively small numbers on wild vines and hence was rarely 

 very injurious. It seems to have developed a great fondness 

 for some of our cultivated varieties and the growing of these 

 in large areas has enabled it to increase to an almost unparal- 

 leled degree. This may perhaps be cited as one of the cases 

 wmere the devotion of extensive tracts to one crop has resulted 

 in a species formerly harmless becoming very destructive. 



It is interesting to note in this connection that the species is 

 by no means new to New York State. There are examples of 

 the beetles in the private collection of the late J. A. Lintner, 

 which were taken in Schenectady in 1880 and on Virginia creeper 

 at Albany in 1882, and yet so far as known there is no record 

 of the species proving destructive in this section. The writer 

 also met with the insect at Albany in considerable numbers on 

 Virginia creeper in 1901, and though he has frequently visited 

 vineyards in the vicinity, no signs of the insect were observed. 

 It is very possible that the death of vines in early years here 

 and there may have been caused by this beetle and attributed 

 by the growers to other causes, as was the case before Pro- 

 fessor Webster discovered the identity of the depredator in 

 Ohio. 



