THE ELM LEAF BEETLE. S 



Rhode Island, Connecticut, southeastern New York, New 

 Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland and a por- 

 tion of Kentucky, though isolated outbreaks have occurred in 

 western New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio and 

 North CaroHna. It is of course found in Virginia, Vermont, 

 New Hampshire, and probably in Maine. Kentucky, therefore, 

 contains the western limit of the distribution of this insect, 

 though we may expect that soon adjoining states may become 

 infested. The insect exhibits a marked tendency to spread 

 farther along river valleys than over mountains, and is dis- 

 tinctly a pest of city and village trees rather than of trees in the 

 open fields and roadsides of the country. 



Fig. 2. — Cluster of eggs, greatly enlarged. 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



The overwintering beetles come out of their winter quarters 

 during the warm days of early spring, mate, and as soon as 

 the leaves unfold they begin to eat small round or oval-shaped 

 holes through them. Many leaves are thus riddled as though 

 shot had been sent through them, and appear like the illustra- 

 tion on the front page of this bulletin. 



During the latter part of May and early in June the females 

 deposit small clusters of yellow eggs on the under sides of the 

 leaves. The period of ovipositing extends over about four 

 weeks, and each female may lay five or six hundred eggs. In 



