. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture. CLOVER STEM-BORER AS AN ALFALFA PEST. 5 Folsom (16), in his (liscussioii of the effect upon clover, states: The chief effect of the stem borer is, however, a mechanical one. The stems that are hollowed out fall to the ground prematurely, though not imtil they have attained a considerable size. One can find the borers most abundantly in the large prostrate stems rather than in the stems that remain erect. The plants that lodge carry their flowers to the ground, become soiled with dirt, and are not easy to mow. Thus it is obvious tha
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture. CLOVER STEM-BORER AS AN ALFALFA PEST. 5 Folsom (16), in his (liscussioii of the effect upon clover, states: The chief effect of the stem borer is, however, a mechanical one. The stems that are hollowed out fall to the ground prematurely, though not imtil they have attained a considerable size. One can find the borers most abundantly in the large prostrate stems rather than in the stems that remain erect. The plants that lodge carry their flowers to the ground, become soiled with dirt, and are not easy to mow. Thus it is obvious that practically the same condition exists in the red-clover regions as in the alfalfa regions of the Southwest, only in the case of red clover the insect has never reached the excessive numbers that occur in the extensive alfalfa regions of the Southwest. Tliis is doubtless due to the fact that only one generation annually is found in the former section of the country, while in the latter there are always three generations each year. When it is realized that this borer inhabits the whole of the United States, it can readily be seen that the annual toll taken by it from the farmers of this country runs into high figures. DESCRIPTION. THE ADULT. The beetle (fig. 1) is slender and has a shiny appearance. The head and thorax are a deep red, while the remainder of the insect is a bluish-black. The surface of the elytra is indented by regular rows of punctures. The species was orig- inally named and briefly described by Latreille (1), but considerably later redescribed in detail by Crotch (7, p. 350), whose description is as follows: ' ^ ' ^ Fig. 2.^Eggs of the Elongate, parallel, red, antennae (except the base) and apical clover stem-borer, half of the femora black, tibiae and tarsi brown, elytra bluish- green; head and thorax sparingly punctate, the latter elongate, the sides rounded in front, basal striolee short; scutellum red; elytra punctate striate, interstices impunc- tate; und
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