9 
with sometimes a third partial generation which hibernates in the 
pupal condition. Considering the faet that this species has invaded 
new territory and does not live an entirely natural life, having an 
abundance of food and not being restricted to its single normal plant, 
it certainly seems possible that a third generation might be produced 
in an exceptionally warm and humid season, and especially in the 
most southern localities where it has become established. 
LIFE HISTORY. 
Hibernation takes place in the beetle stage, under the ground, some- 
times to a considerable depth, the beetles having been unearthed from 
a few inches to several feet beneath the surface. As a rule, however, 
they do not penetrate deeper than 8 or 10 inches. Exceptionally the 
beetles winter over in rubbish. 
The beetles make their initial appearance quite early in spring, at 
times issuing from their hibernating quarters soon after the first 
thaw. Az this season they fly readily during the more heated por- 
tions of the warmer days, and make aerial journeys of considerable 
extent. “In flight, the striped elytra are raised and held motionless 
from the thorax, while the gauzy wings, unfolded and vibrating, 
strike pleasantly on the eye as the sun intensifies their rosy hues.” 
These flights frequently take place before there are any potato plants 
for the insect to feed upon, so that as soon as the leaves begin to push 
their way through the ground the beetles are in readiness for the 
feast. After a few days of feeding the females deposit their eggs. 
The eggs are laid mostly on the under surface of the leaves, and 
they hatch in from four days to a week or a httle later, according to 
temperature. In from sixteen days to,three weeks the larve usually 
attain maturity. They pass through four stages or instars,‘ then 
descend into the earth and undergo transformation to pupz and sub- 
sequently to beetles, in cells which the larve form for the purpose. 
The minimum period of the pupal stage observed at Washington, 
D. C., in August, 1906, in a very high temperature with correspond- 
ing humidity, was seven days. This will be two weeks to a little 
longer in a lower temperature. The insect is to be found in prac- 
tically all stages, and particularly as beetles, during the summer 
months or as long as any solanaceous plants are available as food, 
Tt has been learned that the eggs continue developing in the ovaries 
during a period of about thirty-five or forty days, and it is probable 
that this species, in common with some others, has the ability of 
retaining the eggs until a suitable place has been offered for their 
“Observed by Messrs. A. A. Girault and A. H. Rosenfeld at Myrtle, Ga., in 
May and June, 1906. 
[Cir. 87] 
