Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1884-10-17
Agricultural.
The white Grub---thc length OF its
Lifc-..ths Way Hectic.

The w White Grub---the Length or It's ]
Ltfc-.-ths Way Hectic.
The white grub, which never fails to do |
more or loss damage to farmers crops has |
this year been more than usually destructive. |
The crubs are very numerous in all meadows
and pastures. In many places they have eat |
en- all the grass roots below the surface, SO
that the turf can be rolled up like a carpet. |
We have seen acres of dead sward whore the !
roots were so completely eaten that the turf
could be rolled up with the foot over the en-
tire surface. The grubs have also damaged !
the potato crop to considerable extent.
How long will they continue is question
frequently asked. The white grub OF the
most common species is the larva Of the May
beetle, June bug or Dor bug. The beetle is
thus described by Prof. G., II. Perkins of the
Burlington university; ut is about an inch
long and of chestnut-brown color It APP
pears in considerable numbers in May and
June, buzzing about With the apparent inten-
ton Of knocking itself against as many obsta
cles as possible. The larva is white worm
an inch or more in length, with a brownish
head and six legs, which occurs in greater or
less abundance in our gardens or fields, living
below the surface and feeding upon roots. 1t
lives in the arval state for several years, and
hence the white grubs are found at all sea-
sons. The perfect insect comes from the
ohrysalis at the time when they are abundant
and flies about for a few weeks. The females
burrow into the ground for few inches and
lay their eggs, and then die but the eggs
very soon hatch, and the worms begin to eat
any roots near them, eating almost anything
of the sort that may be at hand And thus
they live for about three years, growing larg-
er all the time and eating more and more, in
winter burrowing deeper, 80 as to be out of
the reach of FROST and at last, when fully
grown, they go down some two feet and
work about until an oval chamber is formed,
and in this they enter the chrysals state, and
from this place the beetles find their way out
to the surface. In summer the grubs feed
near the surface. As has been said they do
not coufue themselves to any particular kind
of root, but devour many different sorts, and
hence they are very undesirable inmates of
garden and if, as often happens, they get
into strawberry bed, they destroy many
plants and may become a serious pest. The
adult insects, contrary to what is true Of all
moths and many other insects which do not
feed in the adult state, or at any rate do little
or no mischief, eat the leaves of variety of
trees" There are other beetles whose larym
are white grubs, but the kind described above
LdcdH0sterHa ttlSca, is the one that does the
mischief here, to the grass, the potatoes, the
strawberry plants, etc. In some cases it has
damaged corn, oats and other grain.
There is some doubt about the length of
time that the grub lives before its transforma-
tion into the beetle. 1t has been proved that
closely allied European species lives four
years. Perhaps its full development into the
perfect beetle requires longer or shorter
time, according to its food, climate, etc. If
they grow larger and eat more until ready to
enter the chrysalis state, it follows that the
grubs will do the most damage the last year
of their worm life; hence we may expect
land on which they have done their worst to
be quite free from them the next season
though it might be possible that q younger
generation would be ready to succeed them.
Breaking up the ground in warm weather,
when the grubs are near the surface, has been
recommended as one of the surest means of
uSotlO1l iiB Autul IlOWlDR iHle III ll6 1all
would be of no use, as the grubs are then
deep in the earth below the reach of the
pillow. Grubs are destroyed by large num-
Der of birds and animals. They are highly
relished by all kinds of poultry and many in
sectivorous birds. The crow is especially
fond of them. His instinct seems to tell him
where to find them when they are embedded
in the soil, as we see by the deep round holes
from which he has taken them. Hogs, wea-
sells, skunks, moles and field mice also feed
upon them. All these birds and animals, it
is presumed, swallow them whole, including
the contents of the stomach, as we do oysters
which the grubs much resemble when con-
sidered as an article of food. We are not
aware that any application for killing the
white grub has been successfully made DR..
Fitch says that it is not probable that any
substance can be applied of sufficient power
to kill the grubs without also injuring the
vegetation, and suggests that if the grubs are
very numerous the patch infested should be
converted into hog pasture