34 
under ground, and our correspondent stated that they had ruined the 
carrot and celery crop that fall. December 5. Mr. Dickinson again 
wrote in regard to investigations which he had conducted at the 
writer's request. He succeeded in ascertaining that carrots, at least 
in that locality, were the chosen food of the beetles, but celery and 
sweet potatoes were greatly damaged. Of parsnips an occasional 
root was found that had been eaten into, but not to seriously damage 
it. Celery was greatly injured by the beetles' gnawing into the roots 
so that the plants were killed and dwarfed, sometimes so badly that 
the crop was practically worthless for market. One-half of Mr. Dick- 
inson's sweet potatoes were not marketable on account of the holes 
made by these beetles. 
LITERATURE AND RECORDED INJURIES BY THE SPECIES. 
The first account which the writer finds of injuries by the carrot 
beetle was published in the report of the Commissioner of Agricul- 
ture for 1880 (p. 274). About the middle of August of that year 
specimens were received from St. James. Nebr., where it was 
reported at the roots of sunflower plants of sickly appearance, from 5 
to 25 of the beetles to each plant. They had eaten the bark from the 
root and scored lono- o-rooves in the wood. The larvae were found in 
the same situation doing apparently the same work. Later in the fall 
of the same year a correspondent at Glencoe. Nebr.. wrote that 
this species often nearly exterminated wild sunflower by working at 
its roots. He had also observed it on cultivated sunflower and dahlia. 
June 4 of the same year we received from Mr. D. Donaldson. Rock 
Hill. Bexar County. Tex., a lot of larvae of this species — which were 
subsequently reared to adults — with the report that the species was 
doing much damage to potatoes. Of this lot. one changed to pupa 
June 14 and others June 16. the beetles issuing June 28 and July 1. 
respectively. It will thus be seen that the pupal condition for this 
season required about fourteen or fifteen days. Pupation took place 
in an oval cavity in the earth formed by the rolling and twisting of 
the larva. September 16 Mr. J. H. Wayland, Plainview. Tex., sent 
beetles with the report that they were numerous and doing much 
damage to shrubs and vegetables of different kinds by working upon 
their roots, first cutting small roots and afterwards the tops. From 1 
to 50 beetles could be found in the ground around the roots of single 
vegetables, weeds, and small shrubs. 
It is plain from the above that injuries must have been quite exten- 
sive in the year 1880. 
In September. 1889. Mr. F. M. Webster reported the occurrence 
of this species in destructive numbers on carrot at Purdue. hid. 
The carrots were found to be gnawed to the depth of 2 or 3 inches. 
the cavities thus formed being large and irregular. Injuries con- 
