OF WASHINGTON, VOLUME XVII, 1915 193 



nated by the discovery of the male of Mauromyia pulla. A draw- 

 ing of the head of Paradmontia brevis (fig. 1, 4) is provided here- 

 with for the purpose of comparison. 



DUNG-BEARING WEEVIL LARVAE. 



BY FREDERICK KXAB, Bureau of Entomology . 



The habit of covering themselves with a coating of their own 

 excrement occurs in the larvae of several genera of Chrysomelidse. 

 Of these Blepharida and certain species of Lerna and Crioceris 

 are familiar examples. No such habit has been recorded for 

 the weevils and its occurrence is the more remarkable when one 

 considers that in this group but a small proportion of the species 

 have externally feeding larvae. The writer has observed the 

 dung-carrying habit in the larvae of two species of Ceutorhynchini, 

 Coelogaster lituratus Dietz and Perigaster obscurus LeConte. 



The first observation was made in 1902. On August 5 of that 

 year Mr. J. O. Martin and the writer were collecting on the 

 slopes of Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts. Mr. Martin called 

 my attention to some small groups of larvae of different sizes on 

 the leaves of a plant of CEnothera biennis. The larvae were of 

 the characteristic form of those of Lema, robust and much thick- 

 ened medially, and were covered with moist dung. The color 

 of the body was a pale translucent yellowish tint and the head 

 was reddish brown. The body was covered with a slimy secre- 

 tion in which the excrement was imbedded and this latter was 

 distributed so well that only the prominent lateral callosities 

 were visible. The slimy secretion probably is a product of the 

 malpighian tubes. 1 The larvae were kept alive for rearing and 

 on August 8 the largest of them had enclosed themselves in co- 

 coons of dry dung. The body of the larva, now divested of its 

 coating of slime and dung, had changed to opaque yellow and the 

 head showed a brighter ferruginous tint. The pupae were bright 

 yellow. The beetles reared from this material were kindly 

 determined by Dr. W. G. Dietz as Coelogaster lituratus Dietz. 



The following year, 1903, on July 14, Dr. Geo. Dimmock again 

 found the larvae in the vicinity of Westfield, Mass., and as before 

 on CEnothera. Some of these larvae were reared and produced 

 imagos of the same species. Others of the larvae were boiled in 

 alcohol, for preservation, and it was found that the thick coat- 

 ing of slime hardened and detached in the form of a shell which 

 still retained the imbedded excrement. 



1 See discussion of the secretions of weevil l;irv:r, this volume, 

 154-158. 



