272 ENTOMOLOGICAL NEWS. [July. '7 



threads with particles of earth interwoven. The larva re- 

 mained as such in this cell for five or six days before transform- 

 ing to a pupa. The pupal stage lasted about two weeks and 

 the adult emerged within sixteen to twenty days after the larva 

 entered the earth. After emerging, the adult feeds upon the 

 leaves and tender shoots of the phlox plant. For the first few 

 weeks after emergence the adult eats the leaves voraciously, 

 but later in the summer it feeds only occasionally. The 

 beetles were first noticed in copula August 15, and the 

 first eggs were laid on the upper surface of the leaves sev- 

 eral days later. The adults continued to pair and lay eggs 

 until about September 15, at which date the beetles begin 

 to die, leaving only eggs to carry the species through to the 

 next year. Individual females usually lay three or four 

 masses of eggs, each mass consisting of about fifty eggs. Three 

 females laid, respectively, 80, 148 and 185 eggs, an average 

 of 137 eggs per female. 



Egg. Eggs are laid in black masses (Fig. 8) of forty or 

 more, the mass being round or oval, with a finely punctured 

 surface. The individual eggs are polygonal in cross section, 

 and measure between Y-Z and I mm. in diameter. 



Larva. The rather stout, cylindrical larva (Figs, i, 2) 

 measure 14 mm. in length and 3.75 mm. in width. The 

 entire body is covered with numerous tubercles, from each 

 of which arise from few to many setae. The color of the 

 full grown larva varies from dark brown to almost black 

 on the dorsal surface and a lighter brown on the ventral. 

 Immediately after a molt the color of the larva is tempor- 

 arily bright yellow. 



The small inconspicuous head is dark brown or black, being 

 darker than the general color of the body. The antennae are 

 situated at one side of and near the base of the labrnm. There 

 is one pair of ocelli, which are situated above and slightly to 

 one side of the antennae. Around each ocellus is a dark ring. 

 Setae are scattered abundantly over the head. The labrum 

 is of the type typical for most chrysomelid larvae and bears 

 four prominent setae, as well as a number of small and fine 

 hairs. The mandible (Fig. 9) is quadridentate, its surface 



