THE POTATO-BEETLE. 27 
beetles flying during autumn are brighter in color, and have 
evidently all issued quite recently, while those found in 
spring and summer show considerable wear, hence it is 
very probable that the species issues in autumn and _hiber- 
nates as a beetle, while the true may-beetles, though also 
mature at that season, do not leave the ground until spring. 
Many complaints have been made about these sombre 
looking rose-beetles. In some cases they have eaten off the 
flowers of apple, plum, strawberries, blackberries, rasp- 
berries and others. They have destroyed the male flowers 
of the corn, and have eaten their way into the young ears 
of corn, and especially the ears of sweet corn have suffered 
severely in many places. Again the ripening fruit of many 
plants was eaten into, and when apples and berries were ex- 
posed to be dried these insects were not slow to appropriate 
a large share of them for themselves. Whenever a tree is in- 
jured and is bleeding, large numbers of such beetles congre- 
gate and are found in such numbers as to form clusters com- 
posed of many hundreds, even several thousands, of indivi- 
duals, all intent on obtaining the sweet sap. Not un- 
frequently these beetles settle in the flower-heads of thistles, 
and feeding there become beneficial. 
Poisoning their food is out of the question, and the 
only method we possess of reducing their number is to 
gather them in nets and bags werever they occur in such 
clusters. Jarring the trees upon which they are found in 
numbers quite early in the morning over large sheets of 
muslin will bring many beetles down, and these can be 
readily gathered and disposed of. During the warmer por- 
tions of the day they are very active, much more so than 
most other beetles, and can not be captured. When drying 
fruit for the winter a screen of mosquito netting will pro- 
tect it against these and most other insects attracted by 
such tempting food. 
THE POTATO-BEETLE. 
(Doryphora decemlineata Say). 
This well-known insect was described last year and it 
was shown in that article why it had been so uncommon 
