18 the sugar-beet wirewoem. 



life history and habits. 

 The Egg. 

 time and place of deposition. 



The eggs (PL II, fg- c) arc all deposited during the spring and in 

 the greatest inimbers about the middle or latter part of April. (See 

 diagram, fig. 4.) During the latter part of March inunature eggs 

 to the number of from 25 to 40 could ])e dissected from the swollen 

 abdomens of the females. 



On April 9 the first eggs were laid. These were placed in the 

 loose damp soil of the rearing cages, about \\ inches below the 



Fig. 'A. — Injury Ijy sugar-beet wirewonn (Linumius californicus) to field of sweet coru, llominguez,, Cal. 



(Original.) 



surface. It seems that it is intended that the eggs shall always be 

 placed singly, as out of about 8,000 eggs taken from the soil only a 

 very few cases W(^re noticed where several eggs were together. Never 

 were more than three eggs in a grou]), and these were not held together 

 in any way. 



Food plants seem to have no effect on the place of deposition, as 

 there were always as many eggs found at the edges of the cage as 

 there were surrounding the young beet plant at the center. At first 

 this was supposed to be due to the fact that the tender root hairs 

 are scattered rather generally through the soil, but later tests seemed 

 to indicate that the place of deposition is affected more by the con- 



