258 Report of the Entomologists of the 



stating that the larva? of the striped cucumber beetle require moist 

 earth to live in and that they feed upon the vines and fruit of the 

 squash, melon and cucimiber wherever the latter come in contact 

 with the moist earth. Possibly they feed upon the roots proper, 

 but we have no direct proof of this. 



Pupa. — Mr. Chittenden has proven that the pupal or resting 

 stage can be passed in seven days. A number of writers have 

 stated that the pupal stage lasts two weeks. The larva forms an 

 earthen cell in which it changes to a pupa, but does not form a 

 cocoon as stated by some. 



Hibernation. — According to Dr. Shimer* and Mr. Saunders* 

 the striped cucumber beetle passes the winter in the pupal state. 

 This is a mistake, as more recent investigations show that they 

 pass the winter as adult beetles as does the potato beetle. Like 

 the latter they go below the frost line to hibernate. 



Number of broods. — Most of the writers to whose work I have 

 access, state that there are several broods of the beetles each year. 

 It is true that the beetles occur in large numbers in the spring and 

 again in the fall, and if the statement that they hibernate as pupae 

 is correct, then the statement that there are at least two broods 

 each year would be correct also. ]\Iy field notes show that the 

 beetles begin to decrease in numbers toward the end of July, but 

 do not all disappear until September, and sometimes not until the 

 new brood of beetles appears. Thus beetles can be found 

 throughout the entire summer and fall. In fact, during July, 

 August and September of 1898 I was able to collect beetles every 

 week. The dissections indicate that the beetles collected during 

 August and the first half of September were mostly males and 

 diseased or imperfect females. The dissections of the females of 

 the new brood show also that the reproductive organs are not 

 developed and do not develop even as late as the middle of October. 

 Furthermore, by the dissections it was shown that a large amount 

 of fatty tissue is formed preparatory to hibernation. It addition 



8 Prairie Farmer. Aug^ist 12, 1865. 

 * Insects Injurious to Fruits: 363. 



