THE DARKLING BEETLES. 



125:1 



is ruined, for when the insects have time to propagate they s-ion 

 convert the flour into a gray, useless innss. A part of the annoy- 

 ance to purchaser, dealer and manufacturer is due to the t'aet that 



Fig 501. Triliolium ronfiixnm; a, beetle; li, larva; r, pupa, </, side lobe of abdomen of pupa; e, head of beetle, 

 howing eye and antenna; /, same of T. frmi'jinrmn. (After Chittenden in Bull. IV, N. Ser , II. S. Div. Ent ) 



the insects are highly offensive, a lew specimens being sufficient to 

 impart a disagreeable and persistent odor to the infested sub- 

 stance." 



2310 (lO.r.lT). TRIBOLIUM CONFVSVM Duval, Gen. Col. Eur. Cat.. 1S(is, isl. 



Slightly larger, darker ami more depressed than fcrnit/ini'ini/, from 

 which it can be easily separated only by the characters given in key. Tho- 

 rax more coarsely and shallowly punctate, with the hind angles more promi- 

 nent and the basal impressions wholly absent ; punctures of elytra less dis- 

 tinct. Length 4.5-5. (Fig. 561.) 



Marion, Orange and Vigo counties; frequent. January 17-No- 

 v ember 25. On January 17, 1896, I received from Dr. Robert Hess- 

 ler, of Logansport. Ind., a pillbox of Cayenne pepper in which 

 were a dozen or more adult specimens of this beetle. The box was 

 placed in a drawer of my desk and not opened again until March 

 20, when the beetles were as lively as ever. On September 14 it was 

 opened for the third time. Two living adults and numerous half- 

 grown larviv were found therein, together with the uneaten bodies 

 of the dead adults. The pepper being perfectly dry, the question 

 arises: How did the inserts secure sufficient moisture to live and 

 flourish when enclosed in so small a box? Both this and the pre- 

 ceding are imported species, and both are occasionally muse-.im 

 pests, preying upon dried insects, etc. The best remedy is the bi- 

 sulphide of carbon treatment, as described on preceding pages. 



