‘ MORTALITY DURING HIBERNATION. 133 
died and decomposed and thus escaped notice. Their escape from 
the cage was scarcely possible, as this was kept tightly closed all the 
while. A similar experiment was made at Siloam Springs, Ark., in 
the fall of 1908. October 9, 1,280 beetles reared from peaches were 
distributed in four battery jars and kept out of doors under shelter. 
An examination on November 2 showed that 965 beetles were alive 
and 308 dead, with 7 unaccounted for. These 965 beetles were then 
placed in a cage in a moderately exposed place out of doors and 
covered to protect from beating rains. The cages were supplied 
with a quantity of small chips, dried leaves, paper, and muslin. The 
insects passed the winter in this condition, but unfortunately the 
cage met with an accident in the spring and final results were not 
obtained. In the course of rearing work at Barnesville, Ga., during 
1910 many beetles were obtained, some of which were used to obtain 
data on their mortality before hibernation in the fall and during the 
winter. As shown in Table LX-XIII, 10 different lots of beetles were 
thus carried through the fall and winter in boxes covered with wire 
screen, the total number of individuals under observation being 2,378. 
Up to November 4, 1910, the time of final examination in the fall, a 
total of 487 beetles had died, with 112 unaccounted for and listed as 
escaped. A total of 1,779 beetles were placed in cages as shown for 
the winter. At date of final examination in the spring, March 8, 1911, 
648 live beetles were found, with 619 dead and 512 missing; the last 
probably decomposed. The average percentage alive is seen to be 
36.42. The percentage of mortality of the different lots does not 
seem to give consistent evidence as to hibernation material and 
exposure best suited to them, as will be noted from the table: 
Taste LXXIII.— Mortality of hibernating beetles of the plum curculio, Barnesville, 
Ga., 1910-11. 
Lost while feed- 
ing up to Noy.4,| ‘Total 
- Period of emer- 5 1910. ut in 
Lot No. gence. Emerged. Food. Leaner 
| cage. 
Died. | Escaped. 
1910. | 
ae ee Sept. 16-30.....-.- 138 | Peach foliage and apples. .-...-- | BY Oe eee os 134 
28 See June‘ls—22..2...=-- 573 | Peach foliage, peaches, and 294 57 222 
apples. 
{ae ene Oct. 1-Nov. 3.-..-- LOD ts. Sotecenareee eee eee seers ae Ble sot sare oars 99 
Benne eof alc Aug. 6-Sept.6..... 311 | Peach foliage only............-. 72 9 230 
ome on Sac. 3 June 30-July 16... 181 | Peach foliage, peaches, and 38 18 125 
apples. 
aa eee Sept. 7-9.......... 216 | Peach foliage only.............. 6 4 206 
testes June 23-29........ 294 | Peach foliage, peaches, and 38 9 247 
apples. 
Cee ae Sept. 10-15........ 127 | Peach foliage and apples... .... 6 2 119 
eee toe Oct. 11-221.......- LSLT |Wascae OOne 2 Se Fess hee eek. 14 i! 302 
Oreesae es ITEC WLY ee Sk ee 120 | Peach foliage only after Aug. 30. 13 12 95 
DLE 554 ee PFO) foil PRR ARSC eC URE oO ae 487 112 1,779 
1 Jarred. 
