516 THE WAVY-STRIPED FLEA-BEETLE. 
for a time, but at length they become pale or sickly, wither 
and die in some dry period that usually occurs about that 
time, and attributes their death to the dry weather ; but if he 
will take the pains to examine the roots of the plants, he 
will fiud them eaten away by some insect, and by searching 
closely about the roots will find the larva, grub, worm, or 
whatever else he may choose to call it; from this he can 
breed the Striped Turnip-beetle, as I have often done. 
I have observed the depredations of these larve for ten 
years, and most of that time had a convincing knowledge of 
their origin, but only proved it in 1865; since that time I 
have made yearly verifications of this fact. 
_ Every year the young cabbage plants and turnips in this 
region receive great damage from these larve,and often when 
we have dry weather, in the latter part of May and early 
in June, the cabbage plants are ruined. A large proportion 
of the plants are killed outright in June, and the balance 
rendered scarcely fit for planting, but when the ground 1s 
wet to the surface all the time by frequent rains, the young 
plant is able to defend itself much more effectually, by 
throwing out roots at the surface of the ground, when the 
main or centre root is devoured by the larva; but in dry 
- Weather these surface roots find no nourishment and the 
plant must perish. 
This year I saw these beetles most numerous in early 
spring, but have often seen them in August and September, 
so abundant on cabbages, that the leaves were eaten full of 
holes, and all speckled from their presence, hundreds often 
being on a leaf, and at this time the entire turnip crop 38 
sometimes destroyed by them, and seldom a year passes 
without their doing great injury. 
_ These observations are not entirely in accordance with e 
teachings of the masters in entomology. From Westwood's 
Introduction we learn that the Chrysomelians feed on the 
leaves of plants; that some of them attach themselves to w 
leaves to transform, and that others descend into the gro 


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