BULLETIN NUMBER 23, DECEMBER, 1893. 79 



ily on roots of wheat which I grew for them. In April, 1869, they 

 formed tough, hard cells of earth, aiul by the middle of May had changed 

 to pupae (Figure 6, li), the adult beetles issuing in June. 



Around Washington these larvae are observed almost every autumn, 

 .and are not infrequently brought to me by j^ersous who find them crawl- 

 ing in large numbers on the ground. This is particularly the case on the 

 sidewalks adjoining the lawns of the Capitol grounds, where they are 

 .sometimes so numerous that bushels of them may be swept together. 



The beetles lay their eggs, unquestionably, underground, and though 

 •the egg has not yet been observed or described, there is no question in my 

 .own mind that the beetles are attracted to any soil which is heavily 

 mulched and where there is manure or decomposing vegetation. I have 

 seen them swarming and buzzing lazily over the ground on the New Jer- 

 .sey coast wherever the sand was covered with sea-weed or marsh grass, 

 settling down every once in a while to enter the ground or get beneath 

 the mulching. There is every reason to believe from the size of the larva 

 .iind the habits of the beetles, that the eggs are laid during any of the 

 summer months, and even during September. The early life-history of 

 the larva has not been studied, but it is well-known that as it attains full 

 growth it injures the roots of vegetation. Yet my own impression is that 

 during most of their growth these larvae are comparatively harmless, 

 feeding largely on vegetable humus and deriving the greater part of 

 their nourishment in this way. The contents of the very large alinien- 

 ■tary canal in color and consistence, would indicate this habit. 



The exact length of the insect's life in the larva state is also not accu- 

 rately known, and this is one of the points which is now being investi- 

 gated at the Station. In late autumn two distinct sizes are noticeable, 

 though larva? of almost every size may be found. The prevalence of 

 these two sizes would indicate that the larva requires perhaps two years 

 for full development, yet I am more inclined to attribute the difference in 

 size to differences in the period of egg-laying and hatching and to believe 

 that the insect may go through all its transformations in a single year. 



It will thus be seen that there are many points yet to be ascertained in 

 fhe life-history of this insect, common as it is, and that some of these, 

 when ascertained, may give us a clue to a better management of it. 



REMEDIES AND PREVENTIVES. 



Undoubtedly one of the best available remedies which we have, and one 

 which is by no means extravagant in cost in a strawberry bed where 

 plenty of water is convenient, is the application of a dilute kerosene emul- 

 sion. The experiments which I had tried a few years ago on the lawn in 

 front of the east wing of the Capitol at Washington, (see Insect Life, Vol. 

 I., No. 2, pages 48-50, Aug., 1888), showed that one part of the standard 

 kerosene emulsion diluted with fifteen parts of water, and subsequently 

 well washed down into the soil by copious applications of water, will kill 

 .all the grubs which it touches, and at the same time will penetrate suflEi- 

 -ciently deejD into the ground to reach those grubs which are furthest 

 ■down. Moreover it is found that even at a strength of one part of the 

 «eniulsion to eight parts of water, the grass is not injured. In addition to 



