COLEOPTERA OR BEETLES. 



167 



The Easpberey Beetles (Bytubus tombntosus). 



Of all Easpberry pests the so-called Easpberry Bug, the 

 Byturus tomentosus, is the most noxious. The beetle (fig. 82) is 

 about one-sixth of an inch long, brown in colour, with a dense 

 golden-brown pubescence. It belongs to the Nitidulidw, the 

 same family that contains the Mustard Blossom Beetle. We 

 notice these beetles at their work in May upon the canes, eating 

 the flower-buds at their base. The females deposit their eggs 



Fig, 82. — The Raspberry Beetle (^Byturus tomentosus). 



singly in the fruit-buds, and from these come the larvae at 

 about the time the fruit is formed, which at once commence 

 feeding upon it and thus spoil it entirely or reduce it in size. 

 This grub, which we often eat in the fruit, is yellowish, with 

 brown marks in the middle of each segment, and about one- 

 third of an inch in length ; at the tail end are two curved 

 projecting points. It mainly lives in the receptacle of the 

 fruit. When mature it falls to the ground or gets into the 



