LARGE BEETLES EATING THE LEAVES 145 
gray in color. It is oftenest found on legumes, and sometimes on 
potatoes. 
The Gray Blister-beetle (Hpicauta cinerea Fors.) is of the same 
general type. 
Nuttall’s Blister-beetle (Cantharis nuttalli Say) is a handsome, shin- 
ing, deep blue in color and the largest species of the group. It ranges 
through the Western states, and is espe- 
cially destructive on beans and other 
legumes. 
The Black Blister-beetle (Epicauta 
pennsylvanica DeG.) is often destructive 
to potato vines. It is a shining black 
in color. 
The Buttercup Oil Beetle (Meloe an- F 
gusticollis Say) is injurious for brief 
Gg. 143. — The Buttercup Oil 
Beetle. Original. 
w 
periods. It is a deep, shining, blue black in color, and has shortened 
wing covers. Often the abdomen is greatly enlarged. 
Blister-beetles may be poisoned by prompt and thorough applica- 
tions of Paris green or arsenate of lead, but they are apt to appear 
suddenly, and to do much damage before noticed. In field crops the 
beetles sometimes are driven away by a line of people armed with 
brush moving slowly across the field. 
The Colorado Potato-beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) 
Potato-beetles or ‘ bugs’ need little description. For many vears 
they have been omnipresent, and all who have raised potatoes or 
seen them growing will readily recognize the heavy-bodied beetle, 
three eighths of an inch long, with its vellow or orange wing covers 
marked with 10 black lines. (See frontispiece.) 
The young or larva is often known as a “ slug,” and after the season 
is well started is found in large numbers on the vines. It is dark 
red, becoming lighter as it grows older, and has a series of black spots 
down each side. Its head is quite small. The eggs are bright orange, 
and are found in masses on the under side of the leaves. 
The pest passes the winter as adult beetles under ground. They come 
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