HANDBOOK OX INSECT ENEMIES OF FLOWERS AND SHRUBS 59 



yellow and dry, and new laterals develop 

 below the point of injury. The adult 

 is about }i inch long and pale green 

 with white markings (fig. 95). Damage 

 to dahlia by this insect is discussed 

 on page 35. 



&> 



Figure 94. — Injury on marigold cause* 

 by the potato leafhopper. 



Figure 95. — Adult of the potato leaf- 

 hopper. About 6 times natural size. 



Another species, the six-spotted or 

 aster leafhopper (p. 20), feeds on mari- 

 gold and causes the leaves to become 

 stippled, turn brown, and die. 



Treatment and prevention. — See 

 leafhoppers (p. 10). 



Other Pests of Marigold 



Page 



Greenhouse leaf tier 5 



Yellow woolly bear 3 



Blister beetles 7 



Cutworms 2 



Stalk borer 34 



Tarnished plant bug 35 



Garden flea hopper 89 



Red spiders 11 



MORNING-GLORY 

 Golden Tortoise Beetle 



Morning-glory, sweetpotato, and bind- 

 weed often have rounded holes eaten 

 in the foliage, and sometimes entire 

 leaves are devoured, by the larvae 

 and adults of the golden tortoise beetle 

 or "gold-bug" (Metriona hicolor (F.)). 

 The adult is a beautiful golden-colored, 

 oval, turtle-shaped beetle with black 

 spots, and is about V 4 inch long. The 

 beetles overwinter in sheltered places, 

 under bark, or in trash, and appear late 

 in the spring. The curious-looking 

 larvae, or grubs, are provided with 

 spines, on which they carry around a 

 shelter of excrement and shed skins. 



Several other species of tortoise 

 beetles cause injury somewhat similar 

 to that described, including Plagio- 

 metriona clavata (F.), which often in- 

 jures the leaves of Chinese-lantern 

 plants (fig. 96). 



~+ 4 



&2 



Figure 96. — A tortoise beetle, Plagio- 

 metriona clavata, and its injury on a 

 leaf of Chinese-lantern. About 6 

 times natural size. 



Treatment. — Both species are con- 

 trolled by spraying or dusting with lead 

 arsenate. Usually they occur in only 

 small numbers, so that they may be 

 gathered by hand and destroyed. 



Prevention. — Clean culture destroys 

 their hiding quarters. 



Morning-Glory Leaf Cutter 



The caterpillar of the morning-glory 

 leaf cutter (Loxostege obliteralis (Walk.)) 

 injures morning-glory by cutting the 

 leaf stalks and causing the leaves to 



