THE FLEA-BEETLES. 127 



and in chinks of walls. They lay their eggs in the spring, 

 upon the leaves of the plants ^ upon which they feed. The 

 larvas, or young, of the smaller kinds burrow jinto the leaves, 

 and eat the soft pulpy substance under the skin, forming 

 therein little winding passages, in which they finally com- 

 plete their transformations. Hence the plants suffer as much 

 from the depredations of the larvae, as from those of the 

 beetles, a fact that has too often been overlooked. The 

 larvae of the larger kinds are said to live exposed upon the 

 surface of the leaves which they devour, till they have come 

 to their growth, and to go into the ground, where they 

 are changed to pupae, and soon afterwards to beetles. The 

 mining larvae, the only kinds which are known to me fi-om 

 personal examination, are little slender grubs, tapering to- 

 wards each end, and provided with six legs. They arrive 

 at maturity, turn to pupae, and then to beetles in a few 

 weeks. Hence there is a constant succession of these in- 

 sects, in their various states, throughout the summer. The 

 history of the greater part of our Halticas or flea-beetles is 

 still unknown ; I shall, therefore, only add, to the foregoing 

 general remarks, descriptions of two or three common spe- 

 cies, and suggest such remedies as seem to be useful in 

 protecting plants from their ravages. 



The most destructive species in this vicinity is that which 

 attacks the cucumber plant as soon as the latter appears 

 above the ground, eating the seed-leaves, and thereby de- 

 stroying the plant immediately. Supposing this to be an 

 undescribed insect, I formerly named it Maltica 



. Fig. 56. 



Cucumeris, the cucumber flea-beetle (Fig. 56) ; 



but Mr. Say subsequently informed me that it was 



the puhescens of lUiger, so named because it is very 



slightly pubescent or downy. Count Dejean, who 



gave to it the specific name of fascula, considered 



it as distinct fi-om the puhescens ; and it differs from the 



descriptions of the latter in the color of its thighs, and in 



never having the tips and shoulders of the wing-covers yel- 



