568 Report of Entomologists of the 



is black, legs blac^k and yellow, and the thorax and abdomen, with 

 the exception of the stripes, yellow. 



On Long Island the beetles appear early in the spring, bnt are 

 usually first noticed in the fields about the middle. of June, when 

 they appear, as a rule, in great numbers. A variety of plants serve 

 as food until the young cucumber or melon vines appear. These 

 they eagerly seek, sometimes eating them off before they are fairly 

 out of the ground. 



The females are soon ready {o deposit eggs, wliich they place 

 upon the stalks or roots of the host plants above, or just below, the 

 surface of the ground. The eggs soon hatch, not into beetles as 

 some suppose, but into slender white grubs, which, when mature, 

 measure about two-fifths of an inch in length and are not much 

 larger around than an ordinary pin. These little grubs feed upon 

 the roots, usually preferring the pithy interior. Sometimes one 

 root will contain six or seven. 



As would naturally be supposed, the vines suffer greatly from 

 such injuries to the roots and not infrequently rapidly wilt and die. 



The grubs are mature in about three weeks, when they burrow 

 into the ground for a short distance, each one forming a small cell 

 in which to pass from the grub to the pupa state. They remain in 

 the ground about two weeks, finally coming forth as mature insects. 

 The beetles prefer the leaves, which they feed upon during the cool 

 of the day. They are usually found upon the under surface. Thus 

 the vines suffer from the attacks of this insect not only while the 

 beetles are mature, but during their larva or grub stage as well. 



In this climate the beetles may be found upon the vines through- 

 out the season. In the fall of 1S94 they were abundant on Long 

 Island during the latter part of September. This indicates that 

 there are more than two broods here. 



During the winter the beetles may be found hybernating in 

 various out of the way places. The cold makes them inactive and 

 they appear as if dead unless removed to a warm place or allowed to 

 remain until the warm sunshine of spring brings them to life again. 

 Some of the pupae also are supposed to live over winter. These 

 belong to the late brood of the previous season, and remain in the 

 ground in the little cells, as above referred to, until spring, when 

 they come forth as beetles. 



