98 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [Mar., 'iS 



Mar. 6, all out but 6 females. Lot No. 8. 



(The 6 females had been de- Dec. 5, 2 males disappeared, 

 stroyed by the larva of a pre- Dec 10, all of them beneath the 

 daceous beetle). surface. 



Feb. 22, i female appeared. 

 Lot No 6 Mar. 5, all of them were out. 



Dec. 4, first ones disappeared. Lot No. 9. 



Dec. 10, all of them were out of Dec. 2, i male disappeared. 



sight. Dec. 10, the last one disappeared. 



Feb. 22, one female came out. Feb. 21, I female came out. 



Mar. 6, all of them were out. Mar. 2, they were all out. 



Lot No. 10. 



Lot No " 7 " Dec. 4, 8 males, i female disap- 

 Dec. 2, first one disappeared. peared 



Dec 12, all of them were beneath Dec IIt a jj O f t ] :em had disap- 



the surface. peared. 



Feb. 22, 5 females came out. Feb. 23, 4 females came out. 



Alar. 2, they were all out. Mar. 2, all of them were out. 



Summarizing the above, the insects went into the ground dur- 

 ing the nine days, Dec. 4-12 inclusive, and they came out dur- 

 ing the fourteen days, Feb. 21 to March 6 inclusive. The 

 longest period possible for a beetle to have remained under- 

 ground was ninety-two days while the shortest period possible 

 was seventy-one days. 



They showed a decided preference for going down along 

 the roots of biennials the coffee bean is a favorite plant for 

 their winter quarters. In the hibernating condition the legs are 

 drawn up next to the body, the wing covers tightly closed, and 

 the antennae drooped. When taken out of the ground a hiber- 

 nating beetle is very much asleep. While it can be handled 

 roughly without the least show of life there is a tenseness of 

 the muscles that betrays the real condition. Possibly the quick- 

 est way to awaken a beetle from this condition is to put it in 

 the sun. 



COLOR PHASES. 



It seems pertinent to add to the above a few observations on 

 the baffling question of "color phases" which seem to appear 

 so distinctly and to disappear so completely among the spotted 

 forms of the Diabroticas that they are almost like a mirage. The 

 color phases of the Belted Cucumber Beetle seem to present a 



