Reports to the Board of A griculture. 143 
fruit is ripening. The insects remain under the earth, straw, or grass, 
between the rows during the day, making holes in the soil, and having 
regular runs opening through the litter. Green fruit is also attacked, 
the skin being eaten away, the seeds usually being left intact. There 
are, nevertheless, records of the seeds also being eaten ; the ground is 
described as covered with a powdery deposit, caused by the seeds 
eaten off the berries. 
The most destructive species appears to be Ilarpcdus ruficornis, 
which is winged, and which evidently migrates in large numbers. 
These beetles will feed on other substances, such as live worms, 
and meat, both cooked and uncooked. Harpalus ruficornis and others 
have been recorded before in Norfolk. 
Treatment. 
The only successful plan is that adopted by Messrs. Laxton 
Brothers, namely, of sinking small pudding-basins in the soil between 
the plants every few yards and baiting them with “ lights” and 
sugar-water ; the beetles swarm to this, and are unable to crawl back 
up the sides of the basins. Similar good results have been gained by 
using ordinary jam pots or glass jars. 
Probably poisoned baits would act well ; but trapping, as given 
above, is a well-tried and most successful plan. 
The Raspberry Beetle. 
{By turns tomcntosus , Fab.) 
This beetle was reported to the Board as eating the blossom of 
the raspberries at West Mailing in Kent. It is one of the regular 
raspberry pests, occurring in greater or less abundance every & y ear 
m this country. Besides the raspberry, it also attacks in a similar 
way the cultivated blackberry. Some years it entirely devours the 
blossom, and later on the larvae attack the fruit. 
The beetles generally attack the opened blossoms, eating their 
way right through them, but now and then when the blossom is 
backward they will eat the unopened buds. They may commence 
t leir work as early as the middle of May ; they were noticed in Kent 
11 s year on the 17th eating the unopened blossoms. As the fruit is 
ripening they are noticeable again in the maggot stage, living in the 
lcceptac e (Fig. 2 o, c) and sometimes crawling over the fruit - the 
ernes so attacked are usually deformed or stunted, and often shrivel 
right up. This pest occurs practically all over England, and is also 
