120 Oh tlie Life History of " Wiretvoriiis " 



just mentioned, by its broader and somewhat flattened appearance and 

 by the presence on the dorsal surface of the ninth abdominal segment of 

 a kind of impressed shield, bearing at its posterior end two pairs of 

 prongs or cerci, which give it the appearance of possessing a bifurcated 

 tail. 



This shield is present in many other Elaterid larvae; but the orange- 

 yellow colour of A. haemorrhoidalis together with the presence on the 

 ninth abdominal segment of a single median sulcus, from which three 

 or four transverse tributary sulci branch on either side, will serve to 

 distinguish it from any larva with which it is likely to be confused, with 

 the exception of A. vittatus — a somewhat uncommon species — and 

 A. longicollis, which is rather obviously rugose above. 



Relative Abundance of Species. 



In Cheshire, North Staffordshire and South Lancashire, Ford found 

 that the common "wireworm" is the larva of Agriotes obscurus, L. 

 For England certainly and probably also for Wales and Scotland, the 

 same general statement holds good. There appear to be limited districts 

 where A. lineatus, L. or A. sputator, L. exceed it in numbers, but the 

 predominance of either of these two latter species seems to be quite 

 local. 



Athous haemorrhoidalis, F. is a common and generally distributed 

 beetle and to collectors frequently appears to be more common than the 

 common species of Agriotes. This is however a mistake, due to the habits 

 of the beetle itself, which flies more readily than the latter and, being 

 found on flowers and the leaves of trees, is more readily taken with a 

 sweeping-net. Agriotes obscurus, A. lineatus and A. sputator are more 

 frequently found upon the ground or in hiding, so that their abundance 

 as compared with Athous haemorrhoidalis is somewhat masked. 



In order to gain some idea of the relative abundance of the species 

 of Agriotes a number of well known coleopterists and economic ento- 

 mologists were asked for data of adult beetles of the genus in their 

 particular localities. 



The following gentlemen have most kindly given me the benefit of 

 their experience: Commander J, J. Walker (Oxford), Prof. G. H. Car- 

 penter (Dublin), Prof. J. W. Carr (Nottingham), Dr W. Evans Hoyle 

 (Cardifl), Dr R. Stewart MacDougall (Edinburgh) and Messrs G. C. 

 Champion (Woking), F. H. Day (Carlisle), J. Davy Dean (Cardiff), 

 J. C. F. Fryer (N. Cambs.), C. T. Gimingham (Bristol), J. N. Halbert 

 (Dublin), B. S. Harwood (Sudbury), J. H. Keys (Plymouth), W. Mans- 



