UNCLASSIFIED PESTS 349 



ground to deposit her eggs. The larvse become about half- 

 grown by the end of the season ; they resume feeding the 

 following spring and become nearly full-grown by the second 

 winter. They reach maturity in July of the third summer 

 and construct earthen cells in which they transform to small 

 whitish pupae and a little later change to beetles. The beetles 

 do not emerge the same season but remain in the pupal cells 

 till the follow^ing spring. Three years are required for the 

 completion of the life cycle. 



The corn wireworm, Melanotus communis Gyllenhal, is \\ 

 inches in length w^hen full-grown, cylindrical, reddish brow^n in 

 color and the last segment of the body is provided with three 

 lobes. The beetle is about ^ inch in length and of a dull red- 

 dish brown color. In this form the life cycle may require six 

 years for its completion. Corn wireworms are most trouble- 

 some on heavy, poorly drained soils. 



The sugar-beet wireworm, Limonius californicus Manneheim, 

 has been reported as injurious to sugar-beet, lima bean, po- 

 tato, corn and alfalfa in California. The beetle is a little less 

 than ^ inch in length, and brown to dusky black in color. 

 The adults appear in the field in early spring and after re- 

 maining in a sluggish condition for some time the females 

 burrow into the ground to deposit their eggs. Most of the 

 eggs are laid between the middle of April and the middle of 

 May and hatch in a little less than a month. Three years are 

 spent in the larval state. The full-grown wireworm is about 

 f inch in length and shiny, waxy, yellowish brown in color. 



The confused wireworm, Limonius confusus Leconte, has 

 been recorded as attacking potato, tomato, onion, cabbage, 

 radish, horse-radish and corn in Illinois. A related species, 

 Limonius agonus Say, is treated as a tomato pest on page 173. 



The corn and cotton wireworm, Horistonotus uhlerii Horn, 

 is sometimes injurious in the South to corn, oats, rye, cowpeas, 

 peanuts, cotton, tobacco, sweet potatoes and watermelons. 



