18 HOW TO TEACH BEETLES, BUGS, AND LOCUSTS. 
brated for the great damage it does to the potato- 
crop and for the wonderful way it has spread 
during the past twenty-five or thirty years. In that 
time it has covered an area of over 1,500,000 square 
miles. 
The wing-covers (elytra) are striped with dark 
brown and yellow. The true wings are rose color. 
This insect is so common now that it may be seen 
and observed by everybody. 
The life-history is briefly as follows: {a) Eggs of 
a bright orange color are laid on the under surface 
of potato leaves. ( b ) These soon hatch, and the 
grub is small, of orange color, with dark brown head. 
These larvae grow rapidly, and eat the potato foliage 
with relish. Their bodies are very soft, only the 
upper end being hard. ( c) When full grown, the 
larva digs into the ground, and in about three weeks 
has passed through the pupa state. ( d ) The imagos 
come from' the ground, lay their eggs, and the same 
changes are repeated. There are always two, and 
sometimes three, broods produced every summer. 
The last imagos remain all winter in the ground as 
tf seed ” for the next season. 
This interesting beetle, as its name implies, was 
originally a native of Colorado and the Rocky 
Mountain States. It fed on a wild potato plant. 
But having learned to like the cultivated potato, it 
began to follow that crop eastward. Paris-green is 
the poison commonly used to rid the farms of these 
pests. 
