INJURIOUS INSECTS. 



97 



changes and emerge in the spring of the third or fourth year as 

 the beetle described. 



Remedies. — The grubs are eaten by birds, moles and skunks. 

 They are not apt to be abundant in any but grass land recently 

 broken up. They are exceedingly hard to destroy on account of 

 their remaining so long in the soil. When young plants are seen 

 to be wilting from the effects of the grub, they may sometimes 

 be taken up, the grub removed and the plant reset. When lawns 

 or other grass lands are badly affected they should be broken up 

 and grown in some cultivated crop for two years. The beetles 

 should be trapped when they become very abundant as recom- 

 mended for cut worm moths. Such animals as moles and shrews 

 should generally be permitted or even encouraged m our lawns 

 and gardens and the little damage they generally do suffered 

 patiently, since they are among our best friends and destroy im- 

 mense numbers of white grubs and other insects that live in the 

 ground and are difficult for us to reach. They are seldom 

 abundant except where insects are numerous. 



and hatch out in about two weeks into maggots, that commence 

 to feed at once and finally become one-half inch long; these 



1 



Maggots (Anthomyia 

 sp.) — They are often de- 

 structive to the seed or 

 roots of a variety of plants 

 including onions, cabbage, 

 cauliflower and similar 

 plants; they also attack the 

 seed of corn, peas, beans 

 and other vegetables in 



some seasons. 



Life History. — The mag- 

 got here referred to is the 

 larvae of a fly somewhat 

 resembling the house fly, 

 but brown in color. The 

 eggs are laid in cr near the 

 surface of the ground, gen- 

 erally on the food plants 



figure 42. — Bean and onion mag- 

 gots on young bean plants. 



