Sept., igoi.] Webster: Southern Corn-Leaf Beetle. 129 



I have been able to obtain them, are as follows : Washington, D. C. 

 (Chittenden) ; Columbus (J. S. Hine), Marietta,* and Cheshire, 

 Ohio (Webster); Kentucky (S. J. Hunter), Kentucky, opposite 

 Cincinnati, Ohio (Dury, 25 years ago) ; Paxton,* Indiana; Urbana, 

 Champaign county, and Clay, Jackson, Union and Pulaski counties, 

 Illinois (Forbes) ; Kirkwood,* Cadet,* Missouri City,* Missouri ; East- 

 port, Iowa (Wickham) ; Lawrence, Douglass county and Hartford, 

 Lyon county, Kansas (Hunter); Vinita, Indian Territory (Wickham) ; 

 Tucson, Arizona (Wickham); Las Cruces,* New Mexico; El Paso 

 (LeConte), Dallas,* Columbia,* Columbus * (Wickham), Victoria,* 

 Brownsville* (Wickham), Texas; Somerset Landing (Webster), 

 New Orleans (Forbes), Shreveport,* Louisiana; Vicksburg,* ]\liss- 

 issippi ; Archer,* Capon,* Enterprise,* Florida; Fortress Monroe,* 

 Virginia. LeConte includes the species in his list of Coleoptera of 

 Kansas and Nebraska, and also in his list for eastern New Mexico, 

 but does not give exact localities. See map, Plate IX. 



The first information that I had of this insect, in destructive 

 abundance, in Ohio, came from Mr. Alva Agee, of Cheshire, who 

 wrote me under the date of June 2, 1900, to the effect that "The 

 miserable fellows helped to eat up a field of corn." 



As Mr. Agee had accompanied his complaint with specimens of 

 the insect, there was no doubt as to its identity, and on June 4th I 

 sent my assistant, Mr. Newell, to investigate the matter. It was found 

 that the area of serious depredation was not confined to a single field, 

 but covered a territory about three miles square, rather rough and un- 

 even in its topography, with the worst infested fields located upon the 

 hills and ridges, and consisting, uniformly, of lands that had the 

 previous year been devoted to pasture, or else had several years prior 

 to the present been allowed to lapse into a semi-wild condition. 

 Farmers in the neighborhood had observed the work of the insect for 

 about four years. 



The beetles commence their work, in this locality, about the first 

 week in May, or as soon as the corn plants appeared above ground. 

 They feed during early morning or toward evening, during clear days 

 when the sun shines, but during cloudy days they may be observed 

 thus engaged at any time. If there are passing clouds, they will feed 

 while the sun is obscured, btit as soon as the clouds pass from before 



* Specimens in the United States Nat. Museum. 



