REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST IQI2 59 
about one square foot, while we were informed that in July some 
boys collected over twenty grubs in one hill of corn. Adjacent to 
this area the pulling of corn stalks in the field resulted frequently 
in exposing two or three nearly full-grown grubs just at the base 
of a stalk and within an inch or two of the surface. Reports of 
injuries to strawberries and potatoes were also received. 
An investigation of the damage in several localities showed that, 
as a rule, most of the injury was in spots where there was more 
moisture and presumably better grass. The affected areas were 
generally near the foot of a gentle rise and frequently in a small 
gulley. It appeared as though the beetles, when ovipositing in 
1911, had been attracted to the denser patches of grass and ovi- 
posited therein very freely. In August many grubs were to be 
found just under the sod in cells one or two inches below the sur- 
face, as many as five to seven or eight occurring in one square 
foot. Investigation about the middle of October showed that com- 
paratively few of the grubs were near the surface and that most 
of them were from seven to ten inches below. This was especially 
marked in grassland and by no means so evident in corn fields. 
Life history. The extended life cycle of white grubs and the 
fact that a large proportion of their existence is subterranean, 
makes it very difficult to work out the life history of the various 
species in detail. This difficulty is further accentuated by the 
possible occurrence of several closely allied forms at the same time, 
the grubs being practically indistinguishable one from the other. 
The parent insects, as their common name indicates, appear in May 
or June and remain abroad about four weeks. The beetles feed 
upon the leaves of a considerable variety of piants and display a 
marked preference for poplar, willow, oak, chestnut, elm and 
apple, though they may also work upon the foliage of quite a 
number of trees and shrubs. The eggs, which hatch in about four 
weeks, are deposited in grassland, and in the case of the beetles 
appearing in 1g11 there was an obvious selection of the richer, 
more luxuriant spots. The slowly developing grubs feed upon the 
roots of various grasses and allied plants. At the end of the first 
season the young grub may be only about a quarter of an inch 
long, while at the close of the second season the grubs are about 
a half to three-quarters of an inch long and present the familiar 
appearance of the depredator so commonly found at the roots of 
strawberry and other more highly prized cultivated plants. The 
grubs, whether small or large, burrow down into the earth on the 
