560 The Insect and Allied Pests of the Hop. [oct., 



brown and dull reddish. In size it varies from i J to 2J mm.* 

 Its range extends all over Europe into Siberia. Like all 

 flea beetles, it is capable of considerable jumping move- 

 ments. 



The damage done is twofold. First and foremost, the 

 beetles attack the young and tender shoots, sometimes sweep- 

 ing them right off, at others making them wilt by gnawing 

 away the tender tissue in patches. Later they riddle the 

 young leaves. This flea beetle, however, rarely does much 

 harm after the bine has once grown strongly. 



Life-history. — The beetles pass the winter in all sorts of 

 places, such as under tufts of grass, in woods, at the foot 

 of hedgerows, &c, around the hop gardens. Many have 

 often been found sheltering in broken pieces of bine on the 

 ground. They deposit their ova, one or more a day, beneath 

 the leaves. These eggs give rise to larvse in from six to 

 nine days. The larvas tunnel into the hop leaves in the same 

 manner as those of the Turnip Flea. Maturity is reached 

 in from seven to eight days, and then the larvae leave their 

 tunnels and fall to the ground and pupate just beneath the 

 soil. This stage lasts from ten to fourteen days. I have 

 traced as many as three generations during the year, but 

 have failed to find them reproducing after the beginning of 

 August in Kent and Sussex. Sir Charles Whitehead says 

 they may go on breeding until September. This flea beetle 

 may also be found on various Cruciferas and on fruit blossom. 



Prevention and Treatment. — With regard to preventing the 

 attack of flea, the main thing to aim at is to get a rapid 

 growth early in the year by cultivation and by judicious 

 manuring. 



All old bine, after an attack of "flea," should be, as far 

 as possible, destroyed so as to lessen the winter quarters of 

 the beetles. Hedgerows around gardens should be cleaned 

 in winter, and the refuse burnt, as many of the "flea" 

 hibernate there, and come out in early spring when it is 

 warm. It is possible that spraying the soil around the bine 

 with paraffin or sprinkling Vaporite on the soil at the time 

 the "flea" first commences to appear would prevent the 

 attack. We find that if roots are treated in this way the 



* A millimeter (mm.) — -a 1 - inch. 



