PACIFIC COAST COLEOPTERA. 67 



MrcRACis HiRTELLi Lac— Dead branches of California 

 laurel, Umbellularia Californica. 



The Brenthidae are well known to have the general habit 

 of perforating trees and of depositing a single egg in each 

 hole thus made, by this means providing that the larva shall 

 have a full supply of the wood upon which it feeds. 



The question, then, should not be: are Curculio larvae 

 lignivorous? but rather, how many have thab habit? In a 

 great group like this of Curculios, comprising many forms 

 varying greatly from one another, one can easily appreciate 

 the fact that we meet with many different tastes and habits. 

 Some are known to feed upon all kinds of grain in store; 

 one finds its food in rice, another in barley, and others in 

 maize. Many species of Balanius undergo their changes 

 in nuts, the larva feeding upon the kernels; another group 

 is to be found in Cynips galls; and one species, geographi- 

 cally distributed from San Diego to Alaska, is to be found 

 beneath seaweed upon the shores. Enough has been in- 

 stanced to show clearly that we can draw no inference from 

 the fact that two insects are found in the same natural 

 group, that for that reason their habits are similar; and it 

 is evident that a classification by habits would be of little 

 aid to the systematic entomologist. 



CHRYSOMELID^. 



DiABROTiCA 12-punctata Oliv. — This is a most destruc- 

 tive insect to our peach orchards, and is not as yet sufii- 

 ciently studied. If it resembles in habit the eastern species 

 of the genus, and feeds in the larva stage upon the roots of 

 cereals, it may be possible torrid ourselves in some degree 

 of this pest by some rotation of crops. In the meanwhile 

 sprays and washes are beyond a doubt not only useless, but 

 in most cases a positive injury. We shall have to study 

 further before speaking positively of the larval history of 

 this insect pest. 



