THE ROSE CHAFER. 



NATIVE North American in- 

 sect, there is every reason 

 to believe that this rose chaf- 

 er, or rose bug, as it is more 

 generally called, has increas- 

 ed in number with the pro- 

 gress of horticulture, for the 

 perfect beetle evidently shows 

 a preference for the blossoms 

 and svveeter and more tender fruit of our cultivated 

 plants as compared with those of wild plants. 

 Another reason may be found in the increased area 

 of pasture and meadow lands which form the natu- 

 ral breeding grounds of the species. The first pub- 

 lished account of this insect seems to be that given 

 by Dr. Harris in his "minutes toward a history of 

 some American species of Melolonthse particularly 

 injurious to vegetation " in 1827. In this account 

 Dr. Harris says that at the time the bugs were first 

 noticed, they were confined to the roses, but within 

 forty years they had prodigiously increased in num- 

 ber, and had become very injurious to various plants. 

 From this it would appear that as far back as the 

 last century the insect was known as injurious. 



The Rose Chafer. 



Macrodactylus subsfiinosus: «, female; anterior part of male 

 to show the prosternal metacoxal process; c, pygidium of male; 

 rf, abdomen of male ; e, tip of hind tibia of female; /, ditto of 

 male ; g, front tibia of male— all enlarged (original). 



According to Harris, the female beetle lays her eggs 

 to the number of about 30, about the middle of July, at 

 a depth of from one to two inches beneath the surface 

 of the ground. He does not state the favorite place for 

 oviposition, but in our experience the larvae are espec- 



ially abundant in low, open meadow land or in cultiva- 

 ted fields, particularly where the soil is light and sandy. 

 Harris states that the eggs hatch in about twenty days, 

 and, while the period will vary with the temperature 

 the larva is found fully grown during the autumn 

 months. With the approach of cold weather it works 

 deeper into the ground, but in the spring will frequently 

 be found near the surface or under stones and other 

 similar objects, where it forms a sort of cell in which 

 to pupate. In confinement the pupa state has lasted 

 from two to four weeks. The perfect beetle issues in 

 the New England states about the second week of June, 

 while in the latitude of Washington it is seen about two 

 weeks earlier. It appears suddenly in great numbers, 

 as has often been observed and commented upon, but 

 this is in conformity with the habits of other Lamelli- 

 corn beetles, e. g:, our common May beetles (Lai/nios- 

 tcriin). It remains active a little over a month, and 

 then soon disappears. The species produces, therefore, 

 but one annual generation, the time of the appearing of 

 the beetle in greatest abundance being coincident with 

 the flowering of the grape vine. 



Geogr.\phical Distribution. — It is not represented 

 in the extreme south and west of the Rocky Mountains. 

 Northward it extends into Maine, Canada and Minne- 

 sota. It is certainly absent, or at least very scarce, in 

 western Kansas, though common and destructive in the 

 eastern and more wooded portions of the state. Profes- 

 sor Osborn finds the beetle not particularly destructive 

 in Iowa, and our experience shows that as a rule it is 

 less destructive in Mississippi valley than in the east. 

 In the gulf states it is replaced by a closely allied spe- 

 cies, Macrodactylits atv:;tisl,iliis, which has not yet proved 

 to be injurious and is in all probability less abundant. 

 A third species, M iiiiifor/nis, occurs in the extreme 

 southwest of the country, and of this we received in 

 Jul}-, 1899, specimens from Judge J, F. Wielandy, of 

 Springer, New Mexico, with the statement that they 

 were injuring apples. 



Food Plants and Ravages. — The food of the larva 

 consists of the roots of grasses and probably also of 

 other low plants. Whether it also feeds on the rootlets 

 of trees and shrubs has not been definitely ascertained, 

 although the larvae have been found quite numerously 

 around the bases of oak trees near Washington, both by 

 Mr. Keobele and Mr. Schwarz. We found them quite 

 numerous in the sandy low lands of the Merrimac val- 

 ley, New Hampshire, on cultivated ground, where they 

 must have fed on the roots of various weeds or on those 

 of meadow grass and cultivated rye and maize. It is 

 probable, however, that they occur yet more numer- 

 ously in unplowed pasture and meadow land than in 

 cultivated fields. 



The beetle has a partiality for flowers, but also feeds 



