86 Agricultural Experiment Station, Ithaca, N. Y, 



us in invoices of a thousand or more at a time. We were easily 

 able to distinguish live different species among those sent. The 

 species were kept in separate cages, thus enabling us to make many- 

 observations on the habits, etc., of each during the course of our 

 experiments upon them, 



1, The Wheat Wirewokm. 



Agriotes tnancus, Say. 



This species is probably the most numerous and most destructive 

 kind of wnreworon in our State ; it constituted 91 per cent, of the 

 10,000 with which we experimented. 



The beetle (Fig. 21) was described in 1823, but nothing was 

 known of its life until 1867 when Dr. Fitch described the wire- 

 worm (Fig. 19) and added a few other notes. It is widely dis- 

 tributed and has been reported as destructive in Canada and some of 

 the Western States. 



Its life-history. — It is not known where 

 any species of click-beetle la^'s its eggs. 

 It is the general opinion that they are laid 

 in the spring in the earth close to the roots 

 of the plants. 



We never found any of the wheat wire- 

 worms less than 4 mm. in length ; they 

 measure when full grown from 16 to 19 

 mm. They are of a waxy-yellow color ; 

 their general appearance is well represented 

 in figure 19 (a detailed description was 

 given in Bulletin 33, p. 257). The eye-like 

 depressions (Fig. 20, e) on the sides of the 

 last segment render it easily distinguished 

 from most other wireworme. How long 

 this insect remains in the wireworm state, 

 we failed to learn. We found that one 

 cannot draw accurate conclusions as to their 

 age from their size. Our observations iii- 

 i9.-The wheat wireworm, back dicated that this whcat wirewomi may 



and side view, enlarged Ave , i i ,i r j. i j. j.i 



diameters (after Forbes). troublc the farmer at ioast three years 



