Adult Cucumber Beetle covered with 
mites. — Sell. 
bish. If everybody would kill off the larvae, which can be success- 
fully done at the proper time, there would not be so many adult 
beetles to hibernate through the winter. 
Gamasid mites, Uropoda sp. (determined by Banks), are fre- 
quently found in the burrows with the beetle larvae. While investi- 
gations are by no means complete, there is a strong probability that 
the mites feed on the juice that 
flows so freely from the wounds 
inflicted by the beetle larvae. 
Whatever later investigations 
may disclose, it is certain that 
nicotine properly applied will kill 
the mites, as well as the larvae, 
after which the plants will be 
thrifty. 
When the adult beetles first ap- 
pear, these mites frequently load 
themselves upon the wing-covers 
in such numbers that the beetle is 
unable to fly — not only because of 
the extra weight, but also because they exude a sticky substance 
that plasters the wing-covers together. Female beetles are more 
likely to be afflicted with the mites than male beetles, but the mites 
do not destroy the beetle’s eggs. 
Sometimes a beetle can be found so completely loaded with 
mites that only a small part of the head, the antennae, and legs 
protrude from a mass of mites. 
By hindering the locomotion of the beetle, the mites may be in 
some measure indirectly beneficial, though it is doubtful if they 
interfere with any of the real life processes of the beetle. 
Nicotine or tobacco extract is a safe and efficient remedy. Nico- 
fume was used in the experiments upon which this paper is based, 
but any tobacco extract which contains 40% nicotine will give the 
same results. Cruder extracts may be used with as good results, 
but it requires a corrrespondingl}^ larger proportion of such extracts 
to the gallon of water. 
Nicofume Liquid (a concentrated, nicotine solution), is put up 
in pound cans (a druggist’s pound, 12 oz.) which retails for $2.00 
each. One teaspoonful of Nicofume to a gallon of water makes the 
solution strong enough. There is very little danger of injury to the 
plant, however strong the solution may be applied. One can of 
40% nicotine will be sufficient to treat one thousand to eleven hun- 
5 
