260 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 10 



tering adults were taken at lights as early as May 4, from which time 

 on they were abundant until June 11. None were taken after this 

 date until August 3. The lapse of time between these collections in- 

 dicates a distinct separation of broods at Manhattan, although collec- 

 tions made throughout the summer at Junction City, Kansas, seem to 

 indicate a distinct overlapping of broods at that place. The adults, 

 which hibernate in the soil at depths ranging from six inches to four 

 feet, emerge during the first warm nights of the following spring. 



Summing up the life-history of L. gihhosus, adults are present in the 

 soil throughout the winter and early spring. During the latter part 

 of April, or the first few days of May, and continuing throughout the 

 summer, they emerge at night and fly to lights, returning to the soil 

 before daybreak. During the summer of 1916, eggs were plentiful 

 at Manhattan from the last of May to late in July. Larvae were pres- 

 ent from June throughout the remainder of the summer and early fall, 

 and pupse from the last of July to the last of October. 



Natural Enemies 



The common toad (Bufo americana) is an important predaceous 

 enemy of the adults, especially at night while they are flying at lights. 

 Riley and Howard (1886, p. 189) cite the chuck-will's-widow as an 

 enemy. Beal (1900, p. 70; 1911, p. 56) found adults in the stomachs 

 of the crow blackbird and the flicker, while Judd (1902, p. 103; 1905, 

 p. 41) found them in the warbler and mentions feeding the beetles to 

 bobwhites. 



During the past summer, three species of sarcophagid flies, Sar- 

 cophaga helicis Tns., S. cimhicis Tns., and S. rudis Aid. (MS.),^ emerged 

 from dead adults. The larvae of the three parasites probably leave the 

 dead adults when mature and pupate in the soil. 



The grubs are attacked by what appears to be two distinct bacterial 

 diseases, one of which produces pink and the other black lesions on the 

 body. In rearing cages, fungi attack and kill many of the grubs. 



Remedial Measures 



No satisfactory method of control can be given for this species- 

 Fall plowing, unless it be done early enough to break up the pupal cells, 

 is practically useless, for the adults, when disturbed, can easily dig back 

 into the loosened soil. The time of pupation extends over so long a 

 period that no special time could be set to destroy the pupa by plowing. 



Because of the preference of both the grubs and beetles for soil rich 

 in decaying matter, it is evidently advisable, in regions where corn is 

 damaged, not to plant corn in freshly broken pasture land. 



1 Determined by Dr. J. M. Aldrich, of the U. S. Bureau of Entomology. 



