The Mena weekly star., 1921-05-26
FOUND STRIPED | CUCUMBER BEETLE
Harry Call Brought County Farm Demonstrator to Grannis Where In-
 sects Were Working-General Treatment Suggested.

At the request of several farmers in ihe neighborhood of Grannis MT. T. J. WiIbanks, cashier of the Grannis bank sent in a hurry up call Wednesday, for the county agricultural agent, as a
 sudden outbreak of insects were play
 ing havoc with the cucumber crop in that section. Mir. Broyles dropped his regular work and went to Grannis on < the afternoon train Wednesday, where he soon identified the pest as the highly destructive striped cucumber beetle
 The county agent states that while many fields are becoming badly in- fested only 8 few fields have sus- tained serious injury He says: @The beetles that are now present are those that hibernated over winter. These come from weedy or trashy places around the fields where they have spent the winter and usually make their appearance about middle of May. After feeding voraciously for few days these early beetles begin deposit ing their eggs singly in the soil about the bases of the plants where if un- disturbed they hatch in from one to two weeks into slender white larvae tor worms), with dark ends The lar vac soon becomes active, feeding upon the small roots and borrowing up the stems Many growers as the season E advances and the larvae becomes ae- tive, fancy they have wilt in their fields, when the plants begin willing ana dropping from their attacks. The. larvae period lasts from two Go five weeks depending upon the warmth of the season. When full grown. at which time they are about :. three-tenths of an inlh in length, they 8 enclose themselves in a pupae, or case, and remain in this state from five to eight days, at which time they emerge as adults The adult beetle is about two-ffths of an inch in length, with black head and yellow above, with three black stripes running length wise it's wing covers.
 Because of it's habits of feeding this pest is not easily controlled, and no specific remedy is available. The beetles are far more injurious, how tseT, than the larvae. They feed usually on tho underside of the leaves and on the stems of the young and lender plants, sometimes completely girdling the stem, or eating away the underside of the leaf leaving the veins and top tissue. I have frequently seen these beetles burrowing into the soil, aud attacking the young plants just as they are beginning to push their way above the surface. Tt may be readily seen from these habits that any poison applied must thoroly cover the whole plant, espec- idlly since they will leave any plant or portion of plant that is sprayed for plant or portion of plant that IS unsprayed. During wet weather when sprays may be washed off by frequent rains, the plants should be Gusted with some powder such as air siaked lime, wood ashes, road dust or land plaster. Three or four spoons ful of crude carbolic acid or turpen- tine should be added to each peck of the powder The dustings should be repeated every three or four days and the plants given light application, as
 too much dust upon the plants may
 prove injurious.
 When the weather is favorable the
 plants should be thoroly sprayed, so nat all parts of the plant above and fellow are reached with the following mixture:
 Powdered arsenate of lead 11s lbs.
 Laundry soap (for sticker
 1T, Water) ...........l1 12 lbs. Water ..................25 25 gal. For small gardens use 10 tea spoonsful of the powder to gallon of water. As arsenate of lead does not dissolve readily it should be placed in small amount of water and stirred
 until thoroly dissolved when it may be poured into the mixtures"