KEPORT OF THE ENTOjIOLOGIST. 581 



tion to its native habits, and Dr. Lintner bad placed it in his list of possible enemies 

 of the clover plant in New York.* 



Dr. Le Conte f gives the species as inhabiting the Atlantic States in abundance, 

 especially near the sea-shore, and states that the American race differs from the 

 European by the color of the scales, being more i-usty and less gray. We hare for 

 years found it plentifully here in the West, while Dr." E. R. Boardman re]?ort9 both 

 the beetles and their work in Stark County, Illinois, and Mr. Charles iN. Ainslie, 

 Kochester, Minn., makes a similar statement. 



The beetles are rather timid, and, on being disturbed, drop to the ground and 

 seek refuge among leaves and ruljbish, and it was only after considerable patient 

 watcfiing that they were observed m the act of feedmg upon the leaves. This they 

 do by simply moving the head and thorax, the body remainmg stationary, the cir- 

 cular disk' being cut when the leaf is still folded, tlie two halves facing each other, 

 the beetles eating through the back at tlie mid-vem. The haK disk thus extracted 

 from the two makes a full disk when the leaf is fully unfolded. 



On October 17 a number of the beetles, confined alive in a small vial, deposited a 

 number of eggs therein ; and on the 25th of same montli other adults, which had 

 been placed hi a breeding-cage with clover plants selected and transplanted from a 

 locality where the leaves had not been injured, also oviposited, dropping their eggs 

 about promiscuously, some Ijeing on the leaves, others scattered about on the surface 

 of tlie soil, and one stuck to the side of the cage. 



The eggs are nearly white, with a very shght tinge of yellow: slightly elongate, 

 ovate, being a trifle less than 0.4"'^ broad and a little more than 0. '!■""' in length; 

 not acuminated or depressed. 



In a temperature of 65° F. these eggs hate he ;1 m about 48 hours after being de- 

 posited, the young larva) at once disappearing. A few days later they could be 

 found feeding upon the fresh lateral shoots, or even the softer parts of the main 

 stem under tlie bases of the leaf stalks. The cnth"c plant upon which the larvae 

 were confined ^yithered and died within a few weeks, altliough it was kept well 

 watered and under favorable conditions for growing. 



A search in the fields about seriously injured plants revealed numerous small, 

 white, footless larvae in the earth, varybig considerably in size, and for the most 

 part mucli larger than those we had hatched indoors. None of the larvae were ob- 

 served in the act of feeding except one individual, a rather small one, vrliich was 

 engaged in devouring a seed. On being- placed in glass tubes x.-ith stems of the 

 plant they at once began to eat out the central portioi), leaving only the epidermis. 

 Similarly affected stems were quite common In the fields, but whether thej were 

 due to the work of this or another insect we find it still too much to say, although 

 the former is the more probable, as there has been at no tirae anything to indicate 

 that these larvae attack the root, leaf, or leaf-stem portions of the plant, however 

 near the latter might be to the surface of the gi-ound. 



Two larvae found in the fields on the 1st of November being much larger than any 

 previously observed, they were taken mdoors and fed with stems of clover, upon 

 the younger, tenderer portions of which they subsisted until the 2d of December, 

 when one of them pupated, and tvrenly days later transformed to an adult, being 

 at first nearly white, but assuming its normal color foui- days later. The second 

 larva died before pupating. 



The full-grown larva is S'^™ long; head small, testaceous, with brovsm mandibles; 

 body white, wx-inkled, first segment little larger than head, second and third larger, 

 fom-th to ninth nearly equal, gradually decreasing to thnteeuth, which is very small 

 and nearly pointed. 



These larvae when at rest in the earth lie in a hook-shaped position, the head and 

 thoracic segments being kept at almost right angles to the fourth segment, v,'here 

 the rather abrupt curve begins. Prior to pupating they form a small earthen ccU, 



On December 9. the ground being froj:en to the depth of from 2 to Si mches, af- 

 fected plants, w^ith the soil in wliich they were rooted, were dug tip and brought 

 indoors. After beipg thawed out this was carefully examined, and Sitones laiwa) 

 were found therein, varying in size from 1""^ in length to full grown, the major 

 part being under 2.50'"'" in length; but two fully grown were found, and these 

 were in their cells preparatory to pupating. One larva, LoO"^"" long, began feeding 

 as soon as thoroughly warmed. Two adults v,-ere also found, but no pupae. One 

 of these was kept in a breeding-cage, in a warm room, and was still aUve on the 

 ISth of the following February, Avhen I left for an absence of a couple of months. 



* The Insects of the Clover Plant, Report N. Y. Agiicultural Society, Vol. XL, for 

 1880. Author's edition, p. 4. 



f The Rhynchophora of America north of Mexico, Proc, Am, Pliil. Society, VoL 

 XV, No. 96, p. 115. 



