Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1920-08-03
Ash. h.dray Beetles on Potatoes

to the Maine Agricultural Experimen
Station packages Of tidy looking, slen
der, ash. gray beetles charged with tn
crime of devouring potato leaves. Their
is no use In attempting to deny tn
charge as any one can testify who ha
seen these rascals at work. But u
spite Of the damage they do (whic
seems serious enough With potatoes q
s1.25 more or less q peokh these beetle
are not at ell bad. They spend q shor
time In the adult stage feeding upol
leaves Of various plants. If these happel
to be weeds the farmer makes no protes
but when the leaves belong to his bean
beet, or potato plants he begins to asl
for control measures.
Before suggesting remedial measure
it's only fair to the beetle to give an &C
count of its hidden service to agriculture
which occupy its long time of growth
previous to its coming forth to reward
itself with good meal Of leaves.
To begin with 1t should be stated tina
complaints against the beetle come onl!
from those parts of the state that have II
recent years been crying out for a rem
edy for grasshoppers. Well these beetle
are the remedy. A remedy more de
structive TO the potato crop at least thar
the grasshoppers themselves. In fac
they remind US of the saying "Bewart
of wish, for 1t may be fulfilled. No
that wishing for grasshopper remed!
really brings the beetles they come as {
natural sequence on the trail of th'
grasshopper for their young feed on th'
grasshopper eggs. The more numerous
grasshoppers become, the more plentiful
their buried nests of eggs; the more
plentiful their eggs, the more abundant
becomes the food for the young blister
beetles; the more food for the young
beetles the greater their chances ol
developing In large numbers.
Thus we have this year in those parts
of the state that have been overrun witt
grass hoppers for several seasons wha
we nearly always have under such con-
ditions; ash-grsy blister beetles, having
eaten their fill of grasshopper eggs
coming forth to celebrate In the potato
patch.
If the owners of said potatoes still wist
a method of blister beetle control after
learning that these insects are among
the most effective of the natural controls
for grasshoppers We suggest the follow
ing:
/. Arsenical poisons will kill the
beetles. So rapidly do they feed, how
ever, that it Is often the case that the
plant is stripped before the beetles are
dead. Paris green being a quicker poi
son than arsenate of lead has some advan'
tage in this respect.
Q. Driving the beetles from the field
can be done by several people walking
with branch brushes which they swing
before them. The beetles move readily
and, though peculiar method, this is 9
perfectly practical control when the
beetles are very numerous. They are
usually driven to layer of straw along
side the field which is then set afire.
1t is not the purpose of this letter to
offer advice as to whether the blister
beetles should be killed. The man with
potato field fast being devoured by
beetles aud with no crop the grasshoop.
ers would much menace will probably
poison thebeetles. The people who fol
several years past have seen the grass.
hopper hordes increase at the expense OF
hay lat $40 q tony will hesitate.
The fact should be borne In mind that
each female blister beetle will, If given
her life, lay about 50O'eggs. The larvael
hatching from the eggs of strong
colony of blister beetles will 60 far
toward exterminating the grasshoppers
in given vicinity by the effective pro-
cess of eating grasshopper eggs.
After the crop of grasshopper eggs is
diminished through the efforts of the
hungry grubs OF the blister beetles, the
blister beetles themselves die out by the
simple process of starvation; no grass
hopper eggs, no food for the larval
blister beetles. This is the reason why 3
blister beetle attack is an infrequent
event. 1t is possible only where grass
hoppers have been lawfully" thick over
a period of years long enough to give the
blister beetles Q chance to develop in
large numbers.
So the situation may be summed up as
"Blster beetles or grasshoppers9-that ia
the question:.
CHAs. D. WOODS. Director.