36 



CEREAL AND FORAGE INSECTS. 



FEEDING HABITS. 



The larva? of this beetle feed on the roots of all the plants men- 

 tioned as food plants. The smaller, more tender, or fibrous roots are 

 eaten by the younger larvae, which, as they become more mature, at- 

 tack the larger roots. Large cavities are eaten along the main roots, 

 and often these are in the form of a groove containing the feeding 

 larva (fig. 19, a). An examination of clover roots, made on Sep- 

 tember 23, showed clearly the after effects of the work of the larva?. 

 The roots were eaten at various places, some of them appearing as 

 though the whole surface had been eaten off, the roots being scabby 



and brown, the damage 

 having evidently been 

 done during late spring 

 or early in the summer. 



The adults feed on the 

 leaves, eating out irreg- 

 ular patches from the 

 margin of the leaf. 

 (Fig. 19, b.) They are 

 not as hearty eaters as 

 some of the allied species 

 of beetles that live on 

 clover, and hence their 

 work is not so noticeable, 

 except when the beetles 

 have developed in exces- 

 sively large numbers, as 

 was the case at Corning, 

 N. Y. 



FOOD PLANTS. 



While the genus Tri- 

 folium seems to provide 

 the natural food plants 

 of this insect, there are 

 reasons for believing that 

 others may in future be 

 added. The species hispkhdus. when first observed in this country 

 by Doctor Le Conte, was reported by him as present around the roots 

 of grasses growing on sand dunes. Stephens in 1831 reported it in 

 England as being abundant on sandy heaths, which were no doubt 

 grown up with grass. 



The writer in the spring of 1908 found the larvae in large numbers 

 in a blue-grass pasture. These were to all appearances feeding 



85 



Fig. 19. — The clover-root curculio : a, Red clover root 

 showing effects of attack by larvae ; b, red clover leaf 

 showing work of adult beetles. About natural size. 

 (Original. ) 



