107 



with the report of their borinj; into young corn ; and on May 31 Mr. 

 William H. Ashniead found the larvje in nuTnbers in young corn in 

 Somerset County, ^Id., where they occurred in c()mi)any with one 

 of the wire-worms {J)ra,steriHs elegans Fabr.), Mr. Ashmead in his re- 

 l)ort (Insect Life, hi, p. 54) erroneously referred the larva to IHahro- 

 tica vittata, and the mistake was uot discovered until the article Avasin 

 print. Early in October, 1800, Mr. Webster forwarded a larva, without 

 much doubt of this insect, which he had just taken in the act of eating 

 iuto the stem of Wheat in early sowti fields. The larva sent was identi- 

 fied by compaiison with specimens in our possession. This discovery 

 adds a very interesting fact to our knowledge of the food-plants of the 

 larva of this insect. 



The adult is known to be a very general feeder, and our unpublished 

 notes show that it has been found feeding on the blades of Corn, eating 

 long slender holes, as observed, and Mr. Pergande has observed them 

 feeding on mold and on the leaves of Solfunim caroUneit.se. They have 

 also been found in the vicinity of Washington, feeding on the ears of 

 green Corn, and Mr. Webster reports that he has found them eating the 

 l)artly matured kernels of wheat. In Bulletin 22 of this Division, p. 52, 

 Mr. Webster alsorei)orts their feeding on Wheat, Cabbage, Cauliflower, 

 and Beans in April, and on volunteer Oats in December. This autumn 

 we have found it for the first time a grievous nuisance in our garden, 

 as it has destrctyed the choicest roses just as they were about to open. 



Its seriously defoliating young apple trees, reported in Insect 

 Life, i, p. 58, is recorded on the authority of Mr. William B. Alwood, 

 but from the investigation of similar injury the year following by Mr. 

 Marlatt (Insect Life, i, p. 305) it appears that Mr. Alwood had over- 

 estimated the damage occasioned by this insect — the injury in great 

 part being chargeable to Laehnosfenia. 



The early stages of Di ah rot ica li^ punctata are scarcely different from 

 those of D. longicornis, which have been so admirably described by 

 Professor Forbes in his first report as State entomologist of Illinois. 

 The ef/(/ (Fig. a) is larger, being 0.03 by 0.02 of an inch as against 0.025 

 by 0.015 in the case of longicornis. In color, instead of being dirty 

 white, it is dull yellowish. The hexagonal pits are exactly like those 

 on the eggs of longicornis but are ])erhaps smaller, as there are 30 to 35 

 in its entire length as against 20 only in the smaller egg of longicornis. 

 The minute depressions which occur in the bottom of the pits of the 

 latter species are also found in the eggs oi 12-punctata . (See fig 5 a.) 



The larva diff'ers from that of longicornis only in being somewhat 

 larger. Before changing to the pupa it attains a length of 0.5 inch as 

 against 0.4 in the case of longicornis. In some specimens there are two 

 minute tubercles near the apex of the anal plate above, but these are 

 uot constant and are sometimes entirely wanting, as is always the case 

 in longicornis. 



Briefly, the larva is linear in shape, the first two segments tapering 



