December, '15] 



SELL: CUCUMBER BEETLES 



519 



mating period they either fly or attempt to conceal themselves on the 

 ground. 



The eggs are oval with rounded ends and are rather large for the 

 size of the adult. They are light lemon-yellow and almost trans- 

 parent. A typical cluster contains four or five. Being rather frail 

 and adapted to moist soil and the surface of the growing plant, they 

 will dry up when exposed to the air. 



A number of egg-laying records were kept. The following record 

 of a female, placed in confinement with a male June 24, 1915, is a 

 typical example: 



June 24, placed in confinement, one female and one male. 



July 13 62 eggs deposited. 



July 14 4 eggs deposited. 



Aug. 6 61 eggs hatched, 



Aug. 18 48 eggs deposited. 



Aug. 19 female died. 



The first sign of hatching is a dark spot near the end that is attached 

 to the plant. As it develops the shell is rounded out, thereby tending 

 to make the egg shorter and thicker but, as the other eggs are next to 

 it, there are some indentations making it conform to the crowded con- 

 ditions. 



Remedies. Arsenate of lead spray (one ounce arsenate of lead, one 

 gallon water) will kill some beetles and act as a repellent for a few days 

 after it is used. In the experiments tried it killed less than 9 per cent, 

 but it almost relieved the plants from attack for three days. 



Bordeaux mixture (unslacked lime 4, copper sulphate 4, and water 

 50) was tried. It killed 12 per cent in confinement, but in the field it 

 was not as good a repellent as the arsenate of lead spray. 



Some experiments were made with a poison bait spray that seems to 

 indicate a remedy worth while, but the data are by no means complete 

 as to how it would work under ordinary field conditions. 



The Western Striped Cucumber Beetle. {Diahrotica triviUata 



Mannerheim) 



The western striped cucumber beetle {Diahrotica triviUata Mann.) is 

 found with the western twelve-spotted cucumber beetle (Diahrotica 

 soror Lec.) on pumpkins, cucumbers, squashes, muskmelons, etc., but 

 it is of comparatively small importance. It is closely related to the 

 striped cucumber beetle (Diahrotica vittata Fab.) and its habits and 

 life history, so far as they have been observed, arc identical, with two 

 exceptions: first, in this locality its feeding habits are more general 

 and, second, it has two generations in a season. 



