UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
/ BULLETIN No. 352 4g 
Contribution from the Bureau of Entomology 
L. O. HOWARD, Chief. 
Washington, D. C. PROFESSIONAL PAPER. May 5, 1916 
THE CHERRY LEAF-BEETLE,' A PERIODICALLY 
IMPORTANT ENEMY OF CHERRIES. 
By R: A. CusuMaAn, Entomological Assistant, and Dwiaut IsELy, Scientific Assistant, 
Deciduous Fruit Insect Investigations. 
CONTENTS. 
Page. Page 
MMETOGUIEtIONM eer pen amet ace tse OS ies Deseriptioniof stages 2: ss=ssen. aeons. eee 6 
HOOGs DL amtSpees es eee eee ae ee ee Qo llvite Stony: feo k= Bea ee eee 9 
MDISUTIDUbIOM eat er eee te ce ee tre Pts Gees 3 | Seasonal-history summary.............-..--- 18 
Economic history previous to 1915 ......---- Su eAgpredatonyaenemya-ce a: seeeee ee een eee eee 19 
SRhrosOl youll nea keene aan eee em opel | MCR ee eGo tata soos ao 5S¢ aot Sdaseassta=se 19 
Feeding habits and destructiveness......-.. Dele Bablographivcassee ee ee eee ee Cee eee eeee Ren: 25 
INTRODUCTION. 
The sudden appearance of enormous numbers of a small red 
beetle throughout a wide area in the northeastern United States in 
the spring of 1915 caused consternation among many of the fruit 
erowers of that region. It attacked the foliage of cherry and peach 
trees and to some extent the fruit of the former. Its range of great- 
est destructiveness was in New. York, Pennsylvania, and northern 
West Virginia. This insect is the so-called cherry leaf-beetle 
(Galerucella cavicollis LeC.) (fig. 1), a member of the family Chrysc- 
melidze, and is closely allied to the imported elm leaf-beetle (@. luteola 
Miller). At the time of its appearance practically nothing was 
known by fruit growers in regard either to its habits or its control, 
and comparatively little was known by entomologists. Sporadic 
outbreaks had occurred in the past, but references to them in ento- 
mological literature are brief. Taking advantage of this unusual 
outbreak, the writers have undertaken to secure as complete data as 
possible in regard to its natural food plants, its immature stages and 
1 Galerucella cavicollis LeConte; order Coleoptera, family Chrysomelide. 
NotE.—While this’paper was going through the press an account of this insect appeared in the 
Journal of Agricultural Research under the authorship of Glenn W. Herrick and Robert Matheson of 
Cornell University. 
20968°—Bull. 352—16——1 
