INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNCM. 



[.June IS'.Mi. 



seed, may not be actually injured by the insect, yet the stores of 

 food laid up for the use and proper development of the future plant 

 are materially lessened. Even if the gemmule is not actually 

 eaten by the insect, it is by no means uncommon to find that it 

 has been bored through in the passage of the larva, and there- 

 fore seriously injured in respect of its powers of germination. 



An examination'of various samples of" Aquadulce " and " Seville 

 Long-pod " beans, made in April last, proved that the gemmule 

 was occasionally completely destroyed by the larva burrowing 

 through it, and that, in other cases, it was affected by the proximity 

 of the hole to it, being displaced, or isolated to a certain extent. 

 Some infested beans were sown in February in a hot-house, sound 

 beans being sown at the same date in separate pots. Those having 

 one or two holes in them germinated at the same date as those 

 not infested, and there was but little difference noticeable in the 

 plants except in cases where the hole was close to the gemmule. 

 In the latter cases either the bean failed to germinate, or the plant 

 • was weak and malformed. Seventy- five p*r cent, of beans having 

 four holes in them germinated, but in a few days their growth 

 was checked, and many of the plants became stunted and made 

 but little further progress. In some cases the " seed leaves/' or part 

 of them, were wanting, or they were only half the usual size. 



On the 8th of April plants from sound beans sown in February 

 in a hot-house averaged 1 foot 3 inches in height, while those 

 from infested seed averaged only 5 J inches. 



In one pint of " Aquadulce " beans taken from a bulk of three 

 bushels, 60 per cent, of the beans were punctured, and half of 

 these had more than one hole in them. 



Life History. 



The best authorities hold that the bean-beetle is not indigenous, 

 but was imported into this country, throughout which it is now 

 spread, and has become far too abundant in many places. 



Its length is rather more than one-eighth of an inch, being 

 not quite so long as the Pea-beetle, Bruchus pisi. Its general 

 colour is light brown with grey shades. The thorax is more of 

 a mouse colour ; the abdomen is of a dark mouse colour with grey 

 pubescence ; the legs are dark, except the first, or anterior, pair, 

 which are red, and this characteristic distinguishes Bruchus 

 rufimanus from other species of the Bruchidw. The mandibles 

 are reddish ; the antennas are black, with the exception of the 

 four basal joints, which are red ; and the elytra are somewhat 

 dark with grey flecks or patches. The elytra do not cover the 

 whole of the body, the last ventral segment, or pygidium, which 

 is of a grey colour and without the black spots that are upon 

 the pygidium of Bruchus pisi, being exposed. 



Some beetles are sown with the seed beans, and emerge from 

 them when they begin to swell and grow. Others escape into 

 the fields from the warehouses and granaries where infested 

 beans have been stored. They are strong on the wing and can 



