14 PESTS OF GARDEN AND FIELD CROPS 
Blister-beetles (\feloide) 
Swarms of rather large, long-legged beetles, black, gray, or striped 
black and yellow, with distinct heads and ‘ necks ”’ and elongated, 
straight-cut bodies, sometimes descend on field or garden crops and 
Fic. 139.— The Striped Blister- Fig. 140.— The Ash-gray Blis- 
beetle. Original. ter-beetle. Original. 
quickly destroy the foliage. They often do great damage to sugar 
beets, potatoes, and beans, or other legumes. There are several species, 
as noted below. 
The younger stages are spent in the soil, the larve feeding in the 
Fic. 141.— Nuttall’s Blister- Fic. 142.— The Black Blis- 
beetle. Original. ter-beetle. Original. 
egg clusters of grasshoppers. Emergence of the adult beetle takes 
place in the spring. 
The Striped Blister-beetle (Epicauta vittata Fab.) is black, marked 
with three distinct, longitudinal vellow stripes. It is common on 
potatoes and sugar beets, but often attacks other crops. 
The Ash-gray Blister-beetle (MWacrobasis unicolor Kby.) is a smooth 
