67 



6 inches down in tlie soil. Allhoug'h the hmd Avas hnnpy, they had 

 gone into the solid soil and did not shelter under the clods or stones. 

 Certainly all those I kept passed the winter in the adult condition. 



In my hil)oratory they came out of their winter quarters in March, 

 but in the open not until April 17, and the last on May 4. Some 

 early potatoes had been planted with them and they commenced egg 

 laying on May 20. All these check specimens were then killed. 

 One could tell at a glance from their dingy color that they Avere hiber- 

 nating, and as none had appeared to my knowledge by that date at 

 Tilbury it was hoped the measures taken by the board had been suffi- 

 cient. On the contrary, the beetles had survived the rough usage, 

 and fresh specimens were reported at the end of May on the same 

 land. I went there on June 2 for the board and found the beetles 

 emerging from the ground in small numbers, and was at once struck 

 by the diiference in appearance between them and those I had so 

 recently killed at home. One could easily see that they were only 

 just hatched, the elytra being soft and almost cream colored between 

 the dark lines. One of the inspectors noticed them emerging from 

 the ground that had been treated in the previous autumn with gas 

 lime and paraffin. 



There is not the least doubt that these specimens had just hatched 

 from pupa>. As is well known, the pupa?, especially in light, friable 

 soil like that at Tilbury, are found at a great depth, so that in this 

 case neither the gas lime, paraffin, nor plowing had atfected them. 

 The land was only plowed to a depth of 10 inches and many larvae 

 may well have previously burrowed deeper than that and so have 

 escaped harm. 



We thus had the insect living in two ways with us during the win- 

 ter, namely, as adults and as pupa\ The latter is, I believe, excep- 

 tional in America, although my friend. Doctor Howard, tells me it 

 has been observed by Professor Smith. 



Very few specimens were found in 1902 and these were dealt with 

 by constant hand picking. During the last two years none have been 

 seen at Tilbury, so that we may safely say that the energies of the 

 officials in charge have been rewarded with success. 



Another scare occurred in 1904, live specimens being taken to the 

 Hereford Museum, but these had been brought over by a lady from 

 the United States as curios, little knowing the penalty attaching to 

 the introduction of the live insects into this country. 



I think we may safely say that Leptinotarsa decemlineata does not 

 now exist in this country, but that it can flourish to a remarkable 

 degree has' become a w^ell-established fact. 



One point of interest I may mention in conclusion — namely, that it 

 soon found an enemy in Britain in the form of the larval seven- 

 spotted ladybird {Coccinella 7 -punctata Linn.). These larvae are 



