STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
503 
STRIPED PLEA-BEETLE. PCPA. BEETLE DESCRIBED. 
and bury themselves in the earth not quite two inches below the 
surface, selecting a spot near to a turnip, where its leaves will pro¬ 
tect them from wet and from drouth. 
Here iu the earth they become immoveable pupce or chrysalides, 
which are brought to maturity, it is supposed, in about a fortnight, 
when the beetle emerges from its tomb to again fulfill the laws of 
nature. 
Thus, from the careful observations and experiments of Mr. 
Le Ivcux, it appears that the female beetle lays but few eggs com¬ 
pared with most other insects, and that it requires a period of 
about a mouth to carry the animal through its different stages, up 
to the time when it becomes a perfect luictle again—namely, it 
remains an egg ten days, a maggot six, and a pupa fourteen days. 
The beetles themselves are rather long-lived, for they have been 
kept from July until the following February. 
In its perfeot state as we meet with it upon the leaves in our gardens, our American 
Striped flea-beetle is of an oval form, twico as long as thick, and usually measuring one- 
tenth of an inch in length, though individuals of a slightly smaller sizo aro not unfre- 
quently met with, these being usually males. It is of a shining black color with the sur¬ 
face covered with very fine shallow punotures. Tho head is small and deeply sunk into 
tho thorax, with tho oyos and mouth slightly protruding above the gonoral level 
of tho surface. The antenna) aro inserted noar each other slightly above tho 
r | nose, in tho middle of the face, and are about half as long as the body, and very 
“ plainly grow thicker towards their tips. They aro composed of olevon joints, 
which aro rather compactly united together, tho first joint longest and gradu¬ 
ally thickened towards its tip, as are tho remaining joints, which are about a 
third longer than thick, the last joint being oval and pointed at its ond. The 
Fig. 0. 
Striped flea- throe first joints aro palo dull yellow, and 
the others black. Tho thorax or 
beetle, forebody is moro broad than long, broadest at its base and gently narrowing 
to its apex with the sides convex. Tho wing-covers whon closod together aro oval in 
their outline, and twice as wide as the thorax, and four times as long. On tho middle 
of each is a broad, irregular stripo of a palo tarnishod yellow color, occupying about 
a third of tho width of the wing-covers. This stripe bogins almost upon tho base, 
inside of tho middle, and extends at first obliquely outward and backward a short distance, 
and then turns directly backward, its hind end being bluntly roundod and slightly turned 
inward towards tho suturo. Tho middle third of its length is narrow and slender, from 
having as it wero a half oval notch cut from it upon its outer side, this notoli including 
about two-thirds of its width, but being sometimes moro sometimes less deep. And 
slightly forward of this notch, on tho outer side of the stripo, at the point whero it turns 
from an oblique to a longitudinal direction, is a roundod, somotimosan angular projection, 
with tho point in tho latter case directed forward. Tho legs aro black with tho knees and 
foot palo dull yollow. Tho hind thighs aro very thiok and stout, whereby they are adapted 
for making a strong leap, and thoir shanks on tho outer side towards the apex are fringed 
with coarse bristles, rendering tho foothold moro secure whon in tho aot ol leaping, the 
other parts of the surface of these as of tho other shanks being clothed with an inclined 
beard. Tho feet aro four-joiotod, tho first joint longest and equal to tho two following 
onos in its length, the second joint shortest, tho third dooply divided into two lobes, these 
three joints having short inclined bristlos on their upper side, and their under side tur- 
nished with brushes of fine hairs, enabling thorn to cling and walk with facility, up tho 
