122 THE CANADIAN ENTOMOLOGIST 



following field notes are recorded by \'estal ( 1913, p. 45) : "Notes taken June 

 24. The first Strigodcniia was noticed a few days ago floating down the 

 river. They are now excessively abundant on cactus, wild rose, red clover, 

 timothy, elderberry, dewberry, dog fennel, I'crboia slricta. wild parsnip. Monarda 

 punctata, Plantayo, Saponaria, Tcplirosia, Eriycron. They are most abundant 

 on prairie plants, being quite common in the bunch-grass association and along 

 roadsides, very few being found in the forest'. July 3: 'Strigoderma is still 

 fairly abundant on different flowers. ( )n July 6, a robber-fly, Proctacanthus 

 hrevipcnnis, was caught with a StrigodC'iiia in its grasp, which it was in the act 

 of eating." In Kansas, blossoms of wild and cultivated rose plants are appar- 

 ently the preferred food of the beetles. 



The grubs were not observed feeding in nature. However, the fact that 

 they were reared on bran and wheat kernels in the same manner that the writer 

 has reared Lachnosterna grubs seems to indicate that there is no apparent dif- 

 ference between the feeding habits of this species and those of the more common 

 white grubs. 



Life Cvcle. 



Adidt. — The beetle is described by Blatchley ( loc. cit.) as follows: "Oval, 

 subdepressed. Head, thorax and scutellum dull blackish-green, shining; sides 

 of thorax usually in part or wholly pale; elytra dull brownish-yellow, often suf- 

 fused with fuscous or piceous, especially on the sides and along the suture ; un- 

 der surface and legs piceous, sparsely clothed with long grayish hairs. Head 

 coarsely, roughly and confluently punctured. Thorax one-half broader than 

 long, sides feeble curved, hind angles rounded, front ones acute ; surface coarsely, 

 shallowly and rather sparsely punctate, with an impressed median line on middle 

 third and two irregular depressions on each side. Elytra with all the striae 

 distinct, entire and deeply impressed. Length 10-12 mm." 



He further states that two specimens observed had the thorax, elytra and 

 legs wholly reddish-yellow and others had the thorax wholly bluish-black. The 

 beetles occur on blossoms from May to July, where mating probably occurs. 



A collection of 53 specimens made July 9. 1885. in Wallace County, Kansas, 

 indicates their relative abundance in western Kansas during July. Specimens 

 in the Kansas State Agricultural College collection from Columbus, Ohio, bear 

 a September label. The fenmles enter the soil to oviposit and die soon after- 

 ward. Egg-laying occurs during June and July. 



Egg. — The egg is oval in shape and nearly pearly-white in color. It is 

 about 2 mm. long and 1.2 mm. wide when freshly laid. The eggs increase slight- 

 ly in size with age and assume a more globose form until immediately preceding 

 hatching, when they are about 2.5 mm. long and about 2 mm. wide. Hatching 

 occurs early in July. 



