320 Gardening 
which lasts until late summer or autumn. Then the 
mature beetles appear and live through the winter under 
such rubbish as dead plants, mats of grass, or even boards 
that may be lying about. The beetle is only about 
inch long. Its color above is yellow, with a black head 
and a black stripe along the edge of each wing cover. 
When the wings are closed, these colors give the back the 
appearance of having three stripes. 
The striped cucumber beetle passes through four 
stages, quite the same as does the cabbage butterfly ; 
but it is of course a very different type of insect, both in 
appearance and in habits. It is most injurious to vine 
plants when in the aduli stage, and it is then that it is 
most easily destroyed. 
The five following methods of fighting the striped 
cucumber beetle are the most effective that gardeners 
know: 
(1) Early spraying. In spring it is well to spray the 
plants of cucumbers and squashes, as soon as they appear 
above the ground, with a solution of arsenate of lead of a 
strength of 3 ounces to 5 gallons.of water. As an ounce 
of arsenate of lead is equal to about 5 heaping teaspoon- 
fuls, the solution is made with 3 spoonfuls to 1 gallon of 
water. Paris green is not used, because it is likely to 
injure the leaves of cucumbers and squashes. 
(2) Use of trap planis. As the beetle prefers to feed 
on the squash, hills of the summer squash or the Hubbard 
squash may be planted among the cucumbers to act as 
“trap plants.” Then, when the beetles are feeding on 
these, a sudden application of a spray of pure kerosene 
will catch them and kill them before they can escape. 
