BIOIvOGY OF EMBAPHION MURICATUM 



By J. S. Wade, Scientific Assistant, Cereal and Forage Insect Investigations, Bureau 

 of Entomology; systematic description of the larva by Adam G. Boving, Bureau 

 of Entomology, United States Department of Agriculture 



INTRODUCTION 



Considerable damage has been wrought during the past six or seven 

 years by the larvae of Embaphion fmiricatum Say and related species of 

 false wireworms to growing wheat and other field crops throughout the 

 semiarid and middle western United States. The area of greatest 

 injury embraces approximately the western half of Nebraska, Kansas, 

 and Oklahoma, and the eastern third of Colorado and New Mexico, 

 although losses of varying magnitude have been reported in various 

 localities over the greater part of all these States. In view of the obscure 

 character of the injury, it seems quite probable that much crop damage 

 commonly charged to other causes in reality has been brought about by 

 this pest. The steady transformation in recent years of grassy prairies 

 into cultivated fields has been an important factor, because the removal of 

 native food plants causes this and related species to feed more and more 

 upon cultivated grains. The hardiness of the insect and the rapidity of 

 its adaptation to changed conditions and to new host plants indicate 

 that this species is potentially a serious menace to grain production 

 within the infested region. 



EARLY RECORDS 



The species under discussion was originally described in 1824 as Akis 

 muricata by Thomas Say (/) ,^ who stated that it — 

 inhabits Arkansa at the Rocky Mountains 



and that — 



as it does not entirely agree witli any genus the characters of which Latreille has 

 noted, it may be proper to remove it to the Blapsidae, under a separate genus, which 

 may be named Embaphion. 



This description was reprinted in 1859 in the LeConte edition of 

 Say's (x) works, with a brief supplementary editorial note indicating 

 relationship of the genus Embaphion to the genus Eleodes. A single 

 specimen from Texas was described as Eleodes contusum by LeConte (2) 

 in 1853, who stated that it — 



resembles E. muricatum Say but is longer and narrower with the broad margin of 

 the elytra more suddenly reflexed and almost perpendicular. Although so different 

 in form, this genus is only distinguished from Eleodes by the inferior plane of the 



' Reference is made by number (italic) to "I<iterature cited," p. 334. 



Journal of Agriculture Research, Vol. XXII, No. 6 



Washington, D. C. Nov. s. 192 1 



aaj , Key No. K-103 



(323) 



