BELATED CANE BEETLES AND THEIR ALLIES. 69 



The lantana flowers are especially favoured, and it is quite possible 

 that the great al)iiiidanee and rapid expansion of this noxious plant may 

 mean a corresponding increase in the number .and distribution of 

 Ano))iaIa. 



It is a rather curious fact that males predominate in the swarming 

 clusters; thus of 3-i collected in this way 26 were males. At 5-30 a.m. 

 on 11th January. 11 beetles were clustered together on two stalks of 

 cane ; these were dissected and all proved to be males. 



Another note from our files is given : — ■ 



"It was rather surprising to find an AnomaJa resting on the back of 

 a Lepidiota rotJici female; the latter was exuding a drop of moisture 

 from the end of the abdomen as is the hal)it when ready to mate, and 

 the Anotnala was evidently trying vainly to mate with her; these were 

 collected. Another similar pair was observed ; they were watched for 

 several minutes, though it was getting quite dark, and the male 

 repeatedly tried to secure union, without success. This pair dropped 

 into the grass and it was too dark to find them." 



Ovipositing.- — No observations on this phase of the life-history have 

 been made in the field. In the breeding-cages the eggs were deposited 

 singly and loosely, as with A)iopIognatJn(s. We are ignorant of the 

 number of eggs laid ; very few were obtained from the beetles kept in 

 confinement. Of eight females dissected on 17th December, 1920, the 

 following sets of developed eggs were in the ovaries: — 22, 10, 7, 11, 20; 

 while three had none showing — supposedly these had laid. Three 

 separate notes on the duration of the egg stage give the periods, 12-17 

 days, 12 days, 13 days, an average of slightly over 13 days. 



TJte LarvcE are plentiful enough in certain situations; the volcanic 

 soil of Greenhills harbours them in moderate quantities ; refuse heaps of 

 decaying vegetable matter are favourite locations; and, too, they can be 

 procured from heavy-loam scrub-land canefields. Probably the species 

 inhabits the scrub areas or those adjacent to scrub, for the grub is. 

 noticeably rare in the forest cane lands. A¥e have never obtained them 

 in sufficient abundance to suggest that they were injurious; yei, under 

 laboratory conditions, they readily killed small cane-plants, gnawing 

 them through at the base. 



Although the larva? have not been reared through from the egg- 

 stage, there is little doubt that the life-cycle is completed within a year. 

 Thus, in confinement larvfe hatched in December were in stage III in 

 cells prepar|itory to pupating in the following ]May. Moreover they 

 develop at a very rapid rate, or at least a portion does, probably due to 

 the better conditions of nourishment. In the insectary, of grubs that 

 hatched on 16th December, some were in stage III by 17th February;, 

 and of a lot hatched on 20tli December, part was in stage III on 24th 

 February. Field evidence, indeed, serves to show that progression may 

 be still more expeditious under natural conditions. At Greenhills, on 

 30th January, 1919, ploughing in a field of ratoon cane resulted in 

 2 stage I, 3 stage II, 1 stage III ; and on 2nd January, 1919, following 

 a plough in a headland on the same estate yielded 5 stage 1, 11 stage II, 

 •i stage III ; in this season the first emergence of the adults was recorded 

 on 27th November ; thus five weeks had elapsed between the time of 

 emergence of the beetles and the finding of stage III grubs. In the 

 1920-21 season, adults were first observed on 16th November, and on 

 16th December digging in the vicinity produced a stage III larva recently 

 moulted from stage II. This abnormal development is not invariable ^ 



