59 



an inch in length, and may be distinguished from other species in 

 our fauna by a number of characters, among which are its per- 

 fectly smooth thorax, i^ale elytral margin, acute sutural angles, and 

 comj)letely separated middle coxse, this separation being due to a 

 prolongation of the mesosternum meeting the metasternum. The 

 thorax is dull yellow, with three piceous spots, and the elytra are 

 darker brown, somewhat coarsely and densely punctate. 



This insect occurs abundantly throughont northern Europe and 

 Siberia, and in the northern portion of our own continent from the 

 Hudson Bay region southward to the District of Columbia and 

 Virginia. It is recorded also from Texas, California, and Oregon, 

 but does not seem to have been recognized in neighboring States. 

 It seems probable that it was introduced 

 many years ago from the Eastern Hemis- 

 phere. 



An account of the earlier stages of this 

 species, with notes on its habits and illus- 

 tration of larva, pupa, and adult, were 

 given as early as 1T75 by Baron De Geer." 

 Later writers have also described the 

 earlier stages, the list including Bargagli, 

 Gadeau, Weise, and Quilter.'' The de- 

 scription by the last-mentioned author, in 

 the writer's opinion, can only be doubt- 

 fully referred to this species. He states 

 that the larva? occur on Pohjf/oninn arn- 

 phibhun in England, concludes that the 

 parent deposits eggs at the root of its food plant, and that the larvae 

 are consequently aquatic, coming up out of the w^ater to pupate on 

 leaves and stalks of aquatic plants. He also describes the beetles as 

 turning black in two or three hours after transformation, which is 

 not true of this species. 



Of the earlier stages in xVmerica, the late F. G. Schaupp described 

 the larva in 1883, briefly characterizing the eggs and pupa.«" More 

 detailed descriptions have been furnished by A. D. MacGillivray.'* 

 The eggs are ovate, shining yellow, and are laid in small patches 

 of from 6 to 20 on the upper surface of the leaf. Larva^, pupa^, 

 and beetles in all stages of growth Avere observed near New York 

 City in July. The larva is bluish-black above, and yellow on the 



. _ ^^4^ 



o Memoires pour servir a L'hlstoire des Insectes, yol. V, pp. 326-329, PI. 10, 

 figs. 1-6. 



6 The Entomologist. Vol. XX. pp. 178-181, 1887. 



c Bui. Brooklyn Ent. Soc, Vol. VI, p. 54. 



A Bill. 68, N. Y. State Mus., 1003, pp. 325, 326. 



Fig. 19 .—(xultrucella nymphoece, 

 about six times enlarged (orig- 

 inal). 



