48 



CIRCULAR 270, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



warm days about that time. They are about one fourth inch long, 

 and light gray, dirty white, or yellowish (fig. 58). They begin feed- 

 ing in the trees at once and may be found in the orchards for about 2 

 months. For the most part they remain quietly between the buds 

 or among the foliage but fly out in warm weather if the trees are 



Figure 57.— Immature cherries injured by syneta leaf beetle. 



shaken or sprayed. Eggs are simply dropped to the ground, where 

 they are very difficult to find because of their smallness. The eggs 

 hatch in 2 or 3 weeks, usually just after a rain or in damp weather, as 

 the young grubs find it difficult to survive in dry soil. The grubs 

 burrow into the ground, where they feed on the fine fibrous roots of 

 the trees and in this way do a certain amount of damage. Feeding 

 continues throughout the summer and fall . The grubs remain in the 



soil during the winter, forming small cells early 

 in the spring. Within these cells they change 

 to pupae and then to beetles. 



CONTROL 



The injury caused by the beetles may be 

 greatly reduced by spraying the trees twice 

 very thoroughly with lead arsenate at the 

 rate of 3 or 4 pounds to 100 gallons of water. 

 The first application should be made just be- 

 fore the blossoms open, that is, when the tips of the white petals are 

 beginning to show, and the second just after the petals have dropped. 

 In severe infestations a third application may be made as soon as 

 the husks have fallen. The application made just after blooming is 

 the most effective of the three, and if the trees are sprayed only once, 

 the spraying should be done at that time. Fungicides for controlling 

 brown rot may be used with any of these sprays. 



Figure 58.— Syneta leaf beetles, 

 male and female. About 13-2 

 times natural size. 



