POTATO PESTS 



1729 



to break up the breeding places will prac- 

 tically eliminate all possibilities of in- 

 jury. 



Solanum Root Louse 



TrifldapMs radicicola Essig 



General Appearance 



The apterous females are distinctly 

 globular in shape, and vary from amber 

 to cream-color and often with a fine, 

 white, powdery covering. The winged 

 forms are amber with head and thorax 

 dark. The wings are also dusky. Length, 

 1 to 2 millimeters. 



Life History 



The lice are subterranean in their 

 habits and are evident during the early 

 spring and the entire summer. The 

 winged forms appear in July and August. 

 It has not been determined whether eggs 

 are deposited or not, but so far the 

 the writer has been unable to find any. 



E. O. Essig 



Tomato Sphinx. See Tomato Pests. 



Twelve-Spotted Cucumber Beetle. See 

 Cucum'ber Pests. 



Western Army Worm. See Beet Pests. 



Western Potato Flea Beetle 



Epitrix suhscrinita Lee. 



A. L. Lovett. 



This potato flea beetle (see Fig. 1) is 

 one of our very serious insects pests of 

 the potato in the Northwest. The trouble 

 it causes and the total injury it does are 

 hard to estimate. The small black-brown 

 beetles, which jump quickly like a flea 

 when approached, are fairly well known. 

 They eat small irregular holes in the 

 foliage of the potato, tomato and other 



crops. From these feeding punctures a 

 fungus spreads. The total leaf surface 

 thus destroyed is considerable, and where 

 the attack is severe the food supply of 

 the developing tubers is materially cut 

 down. The larvae are small, white and 

 thread-like. They occur below ground, 

 feeding on the underground stems of the 

 potato plant and also on the tubers. They 

 give the potatoes a peculiar pimply ap- 

 pearance, which may affect their commer- 

 cial value. There are two generations in 

 a season. The beetles from the fall gen- 

 eration pass the winter as adults, and 

 attack the crops in the spring. The sum- 

 mer generation, which really does the 

 most injury, appears about July 10 to 

 August 5. 



Remedies 

 Spray with Bordeaux mixture. \ 



Fig. 2. Tlie Western Potato Flea Beetle. Po- 

 tato foliage showing injury. (Original.) 



White Grubs 



Lacnosterna sp. 



For description and control see Straw- 

 berry Pests. 



Fig. 1. The Western Potato Flea Beetle. A, 

 adult beetle; B, pupa; C, larva. (Original.) 



Note. — Other species of flea beetle attack 

 tomato in other parts of the country. Same 

 remedy applies. — Ed. 



3—26 



