52 
beetles appear in the spring before the buds of the grape have grown 
out, and seem to prefer for their food the interior tissue of the buds, 
lu this way they forestall the growth of the bud, and it may be of 
all buds of the vine. After the beetles have been feeding for three 
or four weeks they lay clusters of eggs of an orange color on the 
under side of the grape leaves. From these eggs are hatched dark 
brown larvae, viscid and slug-like, that feed much of their time in 
companies, leaving nothing but the larger veins of. the foliage. In 
June these larvae leave the vines, going into the ground, where they 
pupate and emerge in July as the second brood of beetles. These 
beetles feed upon the vines during the summer, but they do less in- 
jury then because the foliage is more mature. As winter approaches 
these beetles go into winter-quarters by concealing themselves under 
boards or rubbish and appear again the following May. 
Remedy. — If all injurious insects could be despatched as easily as 
this one, there would be no occasion for heavy losses from such a 
source. If the vines are sprayed with Paris green (one pound to 
fifty gallons of water with lime) when the beetles first appear and 
again (four ounces to fifty gallons of -water) when the larvae are 
observed, the vines can be fully protected. The young larvae may 
be killed with a weaker solution of poison than is necessary to de- 
stroy the beetles. 
THE GRAPE-VINE FIDIA OR ROOT-WORM. 
(Fidia viticida.) 
This insect has been known in Pennsylvania vineyards since 1900, 
when it was discovered doing serious injuryin the Chautauqua grape 
belt. It has been known for more than forty years in the Mississippi 
Valley as an enemy of the grape, but only as the adult feeds upon the 
foliage. The destructive work of the larvae was discovered just 
recently in Ohio. Vines upon which the beetles are feeding turn 
yellow in midsummer, some of them die outright. An investigation 
of the root system reveals the fact that the "root-worm" or larvae 
of the Fidia are present, and are the cause of the sickly condition 
of the vines. 
Description. — This beetle is slightly larger than the "steel bug," 
being one-fourth of an inch in length and is closely related to it. It 
is of a brown color, with a hairy appearance, due to numerous short 
white hairs. When disturbed these beetles fold up their legs and 
drop to the ground after the manner of the Plum Curculio. This 
beetle appears in duly and August and feeds upon grape leaves, eat- 
ing small holes, usually in chains. Varieties of grapes with foliage 
having the wooly under side have only the upper surface of the leaf 
eaten. 
