THE IMPORTED ELM LEAF-BEETLE. 11 



distinguished by the elytra not being -mate-punctate but simply rag ulpt- 



mv under high magnifying being represented in Fig. 1 /. The color of the uj>p- . 

 18 pale yellow or yellowish-brown, with the following parts black: on the head a 

 frontal (often wanting) and a vertical spot : three spots on the thorax : on the elytra 

 a narrow stiipe along the suture a short, often indistinct scntellar stria each 

 and a wider humeral stripe not reaching the tip. Under side black, pro and 

 sternum and legs yellow, femora with a black apical spot. Upper and under ride 

 covered with very line, short, silky hairs. In newly-hatched individuals the black 

 markings have a greenish tint ; the humeral stripe varies in extent. 



The beetle assists the larva in its destructive work. but. as usual in 

 such cases, the damage done by the perfect ins< cl - small when c 

 pared with that done by the larva. There are three or lour annual 

 generations of the insect, according to the character of tie In 



the month of September the beetles prepare for hibernation, seeking 

 shelter in hollow trees, in the ground, under old leaves, &c, and re- 

 main dormant until the following spring. 



REMEDIES. 



31. Girard says : 



There is no other means of destruction than to jar the branches over cloths to collect 

 the larva 1 and adults which fall. It is also possible when they are on the ground to 

 distribute on them boiling water or steam, or even quick-lime or solutiou of sulpho- 

 carbonate of potassium. 



In our own country much more has been accomplished toward prac- 

 tically combating this insect. 



In the U. S. Agricultural Report of 1SG7, Glover suggested the use 

 of oil and tar gutters and other barriers surrounding the base or 

 the body of the tree, devices similar to those used against the canker- 

 worm and codling-moth. He then and afterward (1870) recommended 

 "to place around each tree small, tight, square boxes or frames, a foot 

 or IS inches in height, sunk in the earth ; the ground within the in- 

 closure to be covered with cement, and the top edge of each frame to 

 be covered with broad, projecting pieces of tin, like the eaves of a house 

 or the letter T, or painted with some adhesive or repellant substance, 

 as tar, &c. The larvae descending the tree, being unable to climb over 

 the inclosure, would change into helpless pupae within the box. where 

 they could daily be destroyed by thousands. Those hiding within the 

 crevices of the bark of the trunk could easily be syringed from their 

 hiding-places." (U.S. Agricultural Report, 1870, pp. 7.5, 74.) These 

 boxes were carefully tested at this Department, and they worked as 

 described. While coal-tar and other adhesives were recommended, we 

 have found scalding-hot water most convenient for destroying the in- 

 sects that accumulate in the inclosure or upon the ground elsewhere. 

 Where branches are low and droop near the ground some o{ the larvae 

 descend the wrong way and fall off, but shade trees should not be al- 

 lowed to grow in this low, drooping manner, and under all ordinary 

 circumstances, where the branches are not severely jarred to encour- 

 age the insects to drop, the larvae will descend by the trunk and be- 

 come captured in the devices here noticed. 



