20 



POTATO-BEETLB. ACCOTJHTS OF IIS DESTIHTCIITBNESS. 



breast prolonged into a Iiorn-like point, wherefore tiie name ; Doryphoriis 

 being a, Greek word meaning a spear-bearer, and particularly memorable 

 as the name of one of the most celebrated statnes of the sculptor Polycle- 

 tus. But oiir insect and a few other species of this genus are destitute of 

 the sharp, thorny point alluded to. Chevrolat, in Dejean's Catalogue, pro- 

 posed to form these into a distinct genus, named Polygramma — i. e., many- 

 lined. But this step has not been approved of by subsequent authors. 



The year after Say described this insect, the distinguished German ento- 

 mologist Germar also published it, under the name Dip'ophora juncla, 

 which, of course, will be merely a synonym of the anterior name. 



The first notice of this as being an injurious insect, appears in the Prairie 

 Farmer of August 29th, 1861 (vol. viii., p. 116), in a letter from J. Edger- 

 ton, of Gravity, Iowa, saying that " they made their appearance upon the 

 vines as soon as the potatoes were out of the ground, and there being a 

 cold, wet spell of weather about tliat time, they devoured them as fast as 

 they were up." They appeared most fond of the Prince Albert variety, 

 doing but little injury to several other kinds. Several generations appeared 

 to grow up in the course of the summer. The specimens were sent to 

 D. Tiiomas, Esq., of Marion, Williamson county. 111., who in reply announces 

 them to be the species above named, and says that this same insect "is 

 found in abundance in Southern Illinois ; but so far I have only discovered 

 it on worthless weeds and low shrubs ; and here it has not proved injurious 

 to useful vegetation," wherefore he thinks it is only accidental that it has 

 fallen upon the potatoes in Mr. Edgerton's vicinity, ^nd that some pecu- 

 liarity of the plants, state of the atmosphere, or other influence may next 

 year -cause it to forsake the potato and take up its residence ^ipon some 

 other plant. 



The next year, Thomas Murphy, of Atchison, Kansas, sent a nurpber of 

 the beetles to the Valley Farmei', with an accompanying letter, published 

 in that periodical July, 1862 (vol. xiv., p. 209), saying that in August, 1861, 

 " soon after a heavy shower of rain, these bugs suddenly made their appear- 

 ance in largo numbers on the potato vines. Thoy were so numerous that 

 in many instances they would almost cover the whole vine. It is no exag- 

 geration when I tell you that we have often, in a very short time, gathered 

 as many as two bushels of them. When the cold weather set in they dis- 

 appeared. Early this spring I was setting out some apple trees, and away 

 down in the hard yellow clay, I found these bugs apparently dead, but put 

 them in the sun and they immediately came to life. They have again (May 

 22) made their appearance in large numbers in my garden. Last year 

 they first ate up everything green on the potato vines, then connncncod on 

 the tomatoes, and so on, on everything green. Strange to say, they trouble 

 no one else." Some of the beetles ha.d been forwarded to Benj. D. Walsh, 

 Esq., of Rock Island, Illinois, who communicates their name and a good 

 figure, but is singularly unfortunate, not to say erroneous, in several of 

 his statements made in connection with this subject ; for instance, that the 

 New York weevil is "an exclusively western species," "Mr. Murphy's 

 account is the first on record of this beetle occurring in gardens in such 



