16 



IKJUEIOUS II^SECTS 



the forward end of the body, the tail end being used as a 

 pro-leg in walking, as with the larvae of most of the 

 allied beetles. The insect passes the winter under loose 

 bark and in other such sheltered situations, in the j^erfect 

 or beetle state; and in May, or soon after the season for 

 cutting the asparagus for table use has commenced, it 

 conies forth from its winter quarters and lays the first 

 brood of eggs. These hatch out in about eight days, and 

 by the middle of June the first brood of larvae are large 

 enough to be noticed, eating the bark off the more tender 

 part of the young stems first, and in default of this con- 

 suming the tougher and harder bark of the main stalks. 

 About the end of June they descend to the ground, and 

 either going under the surface of the earth, or hiding 

 under any rubbish that may have accumulated there, 

 form slight cocoons and pass into the pupa state. From 

 these pupae there bursts forth the same season a second 

 brood of beetles, which lays its eggs as before, and pro- 

 duces about the middle of August a second brood of 

 larvae or grubs, whence in the same manner as before 

 there comes forth in Sej^tember the brood of beetles 

 which is destiued to pass the winter in the beetle state 

 and reproduce the species in the following spring. 



According to Dr. Fitch, who published an excellent 

 account of the depredations of this insect on Long 

 Island up to the year 1862, one asparagus grower there 

 had three acres out of seven almost ruined;" and four 

 others had asparagus beds so badly injured that they 

 plowed them up. Throughout this entire region the gen- 

 eral idea up to 1862 seems to have been, that if this 

 beetle was not soon destroyed, the asparagus would be; 

 for every year the insect appeared to spread further and 

 further, extending already for a distance of at least forty 

 miles along the northern side of Long Island, and every 

 year it got to be more numerous aud more destructive. 

 Lime, salt, potash, and a variety of other such applica- 



