316 The Life History of " Wireworms'' 



Mandible noticeably longer and more incurved than that of either 

 A. ohscurus or A. sputator (Text-fig. 1 d). Apex long and sharply pointed, 

 brown, the remainder yellow. Retinaculum longer than in the two species 

 mentioned and distinctly curved backward towards the base. The sub- 

 apical tooth is present as in other Agriotes larvae, but is long and narrow, 

 extending as a kind of flange from the retinaculum nearly to the apex. 



Nasale or clypeal process consisting of a single robust, somewhat 

 pointed, tooth. Sub-nasal process projecting beyond the mouth cavity, 

 margined with four or five sharply pointed teeth. 



In the antenna the third or supplementary segment is of equal length 

 to the conical ventral process. Both are longer than the 1st or 2nd 

 segments, which are of about equal length. 



Prothorax half as long again as either the meso- or meta-thorax. 



Tergites of the' body rugose, the rugae being principally transverse 

 but running in all directions. Setae in general arranged as in other larvae 

 of the genus, but there are six long, straight, out-standing ones near the 

 apex of the 9th abdominal segment which are somewhat longer in pro- 

 portion to the rest and stiff er than the corresponding setae of A. ohscurus 

 or A. sjmtator at this age. 



The spiracles under a high magnification may be seen to have a dis- 

 tinct, though colourless, margin to the orifices, but they cannot at this 

 stage be distinguished with certainty from those of the other two species. 



The 9th ahdom.inal segment is gradually pointed but constricted before 

 the apex at, and for at least a month after, hatching. 



Cauda somewhat similar to that of A. sputator but rather more finely 

 tapered. At hatching it is scarcely more coloured than the surrounding 

 cuticle. Sensory pits, though present, are very shallow and their margins 

 are not pigmented at first. 



ATHOUS HAEMORRHOIDALIS, F. 



This species is generally distributed and common throughout the 

 country. The larvae are found in similar situations to those in which 

 A. ohscurus and A. sputator are found, but not in such great num- 

 bers. Consequently, though it feeds on the roots of similar plants, the 

 damage done by it, as a species, is small in comparison. Perhaps the 

 greatest damage done by the larva is to potatoes and to tomatoes in 

 greenhouses. The length of the life history is long, probably as long as 

 that of A. ohscurus. Pupation occurs in August and tlie beetle emerges 

 after a period of about three weeks. It remains in the soil during the 

 winter, emerging therefrom in May. 



