218 



INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS OF CALIFORNIA. 



Distribution. — This is a very common species in all parts of the 

 State. 



Hosts.— Cutworms and armyworms are the favorite food of this 

 beetle, but almost any caterpillar may be attacked. 



Fig. 193. — Calosoma luxa- 

 tiim simmermanni Lee. at 

 top, about natural size. 

 Calosoma cancellatum Esch. 

 at the bottom, slightly en- 

 larged. (Original) 



Fig. 194. — Calosoma scrutator Fab. Fe- 

 male, slightly enlarged. (Original) 



THE BEET CARRION BEETLE 2 ' 

 Silpha opaca Linnapus (Family Silphidae) 



Description. — The beetles are black 

 with the tip of the abdomen dull red. 

 They are decidedly flattened and elongate 

 in shape. The wing covers are very thin 

 and have a small prominence near the 

 middle of each. The length is about | 

 inch. The larvae are shiny black, flat and distinctly segmented. 



Life History. — The eggs are laid in dec< mposing plants or animal 

 1 issues, upon which the young begin to feed as soon as hatched. They 

 are nocturnal in habits, though they are often seen wandering about 

 during the day. Occasionally the larvae attack the foliage and roots of 

 plants. Pupation lakes place in the ground, within three or four 

 inches of the surface. The winter is passed in the pupal and adult 

 stages. There is one brood a year. 



Nature of Work. — The larva- feed upon the roots and leaves, often 

 devouring only the epidermis of the latter. They have been reported 

 as doing serious damage to crops in England. 11 " 



'"Chittenden, P. H., Bui. No. •)::. Bur. Ent U. S. Dept. Agric. 

 "Insi cl Life. Vol. 1. p. I'.".'.). 1 889. 



pp. 19-20, i mo::. 



