34 



CALOSOMA SVCOPHANTA. 



Food of the Larva. 



The larvro of Calosoma sijcopliauta feed fhiolly on le])iclopterous 

 caterpillars and pupa?. It may be that coleopterous or other larvic 

 or pupse which live on or near the surface of the ground are destroyed, 

 but we have no definite data bearing on tliis matter. Apparently 

 the larvae prefer large caterpillars or pupae wliich have a considerable 

 amount of fatty matter in the body cavity. This makes gipsy moth 

 larva? and pupae particularly suitable as food for these predaceous 

 larva?. In rearing work at the laboratory only a few species have 

 been fiu'nishod and these have been selected on account of their 



abundance and the 

 ease \\ith which they 

 could be collected. 

 Forest and Ameri- 

 can tent caterpillars 

 {Malacosom a disstria 

 Hbn. and M. ameri- 

 cana Fab.), gipsy 

 moth larvae (Por- 

 tlietria disjxir L.), 

 brown-tail moth lar- 

 va? (Euproctis chry- 

 sorrltcea L.), and fall 

 web worms (//y/j/K/7i- 

 tria text or ITarr.) 

 have been used to 

 the greatest extent 

 and all of these 

 species except the 

 last mentioned have 

 been attacked with 

 ecjual avidity. It is 

 probable that fall 

 webworm larv;r, on 

 account of their 

 small size, the dense hairy covering of the body, and the character 

 of their internal contents are not a preferred host of this species, and 

 we have observed that beetle larvae thrive better on more robust 

 specimens. 



Aside from the species already mentioned, sycoplianta has fed 

 freely in capti\dty on all species of caterpillars offered, among which 

 may be mentioned: Papilio pohjxenes Fab., Callosamia promethea 

 Dru., Estigme)ie acrxa Dru., Halisidota carnjae Harr., Ahjpia octoma- 

 culata Fab., Catocala sp., Ileterocmnpa sp., Ileterocompa guttivitta 

 Walk., Gluphisia septentrionalis Walk., and Hemerocampa leucof^tigma 

 S. and A. 



Fig. 1G.— Larva of Culosoma .■<yc</pliaHta feedintr on gipsy moth puyife 

 on trunk of tree, North Saugus, Mass., July, 190". (Original, i 



