WIREWORMS AND GRUBS INJURING THE ROOTS 109 
White Grubs (Lachnosterna spp.) 
The presence of white grubs usually is first indicated by the dying 
off of plants here and there in the field or garden. Corn, and various 
garden crops as well as straw- 
berries, are subject to marked 
injury. 
Examination of the soil beneath 
plants attacked will disclose the 
grubs. They will be found lying 
somewhat curled up, are soft- 
bodied, an inch to an inch and a 
uarter long, and have a brown ie : 
4 = . Fie. 72.— Adult of a white grub, 
head. The end of the abdomen is — Lachnosterna fusca Frochl. Original. 
swollen and darkened. 
The adults are brown, heavy-bodied beetles, familiarly known as 
“ May beetles 
’ 
*or ‘ June bugs.’”’ They fly at night, feed on the leaves 
of various trees, and are attracted to 
lights. Eggs are laid in the soil, and 
about two years are required for the 
development of the grub. At the end 
of the second summer the larva makes 
a pupal cell in the soil at a depth of a 
foot or less, and transforms to the 
beetle; but the latter is soft-bodied at 
first, and does not grow hard and emerge 
until the following spring. Grass land 
Fic. 73. —Larva of Lachno- jg the natural breeding place, and injury 
a Ee eee usually occurs in fields that have been 
in sod for a number of years, and have recently been broken up 
for other crops. 
Careful planning of crop rotations is the best means of avoiding 
injury. Fall plowing will help to some extent. Chickens following the 
plow will destroy the grubs turned up. Hogs are fond of white grubs, 
and will root up and eat large numbers of them. There is no chemical 
that may be applied to the soil to kill them. 
