LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 35 



There seemed to be a rather phiiii cUviding Une between those with 

 the buff wing covers and those with the brown ones, so they were 

 separated. About 1,500 or 2,000 coukl be referred to the former 

 chiss. Some of these were sent to Dr. Chittenden for determination, 

 and concernmg them he wrote as follows: 



No. 495 (?) is Limonius sp. near calif ornicus . It does not appear to agree perfectly 

 with the californicus with which I have compared it, and is not represented in our 

 duplicate collection. 



The relationship of these beetles will be worked out in the future. 



The true adults of Limonius californicus also varied considerably 

 in color, as some were found which were a relatively light brown. 

 These color variations occurred in all sizes and both sexes, so color 

 seems to have no bearing on the sex of the adult. 



FEEDING OF THE ADULTS, AND FOOD PLANTS. 



When the beetles were first collected the character of their food 

 was unknown, and in an endeavor to find their natural food all the 

 different kinds of foliage found in the beet fields were tried, but with- 

 out success. Adults by the hundreds were placed in cages contain- 

 ing tender young beet plants, and while they climbed all over the 

 plants they were never seen to feed on them, nor could any feeding 

 marks be found on the plants. A close watch was kept on the 

 adults collected in the field, and at last, as has been stated before, 

 they were noted feeding on the old left-over beet roots, now half 

 dried and partially rotten. When these were substituted for the 

 beet fohage in cages, feeding was begim at once. A few instances 

 were noted where the adults had eaten into the roots to such an 

 extent that the head and thorax were hidden. Such cases, how- 

 ever, were rather exceptional, and the beetles may be considered as 

 light feeders. In addition to this, their feeding, from an economic 

 point of view, may be disregarded. 



The adult has been noted feeding on the following substances: 



Old beet roots. 



Alfalfa roots ( Medicago sp. ). 



.Tohnson-grass roots i Sorghum halepense). 



Wild beet roots {Beta sp.). 



Young beet roots. 



The old beet roots are the favorite food, and it is only occasionally 

 that beetles are noted feeding on the other substances hsted. 



The beetles seem to be able to locate food readily and at quite a 

 distance. In the laboratory whenever a shce of beet was placed in 

 the cages the adults would be clustered about it in a very short time. 



In the field the beetles were always found at the old beets and 

 always occurred in the greatest numbers where the beets were most 

 plentiful. 



