< ae ae Hare, 
| Adult. (Plate V., Fig. 1.)—The beetles are small, from 6 mm. to 
_ % mm. in length. General color rusty red with black markings. The 
body is closely punctured and covered with fine short yellowish hairs. 
The head, a fusiform spot on the thorax, an oblong spot near the base 
of each wing-cover, and an irregular larger band crossing both wing- 
covers behind the middle, and the under side of the abdomen are black. 
_ ‘The legs are brownish yellow. 
- Notwithstanding the abundance of this species, comparatively little 
is yet known of its life history. Larve placed in breeding cages by 
Professor Comstock April 24 were found July 4 to have reached the bee- 
__ tle stage in earthen cells in the sod. Comstock and Slingerland were not 
able to say, however, whether the beetles soon emerged after this trans- 
formation or whether they hibernated in the earth. Our own records 
_ show so large a number of collections of hibernating beetles of this species 
- made from a variety of situations, that there can be little doubt that 
- free hibernation is their habit. For example, November 1, 1883, they 
__were taken under boards lying upon the ground. On the 7th of No- 
vember, 1884, they occurred with other hibernating insects at Normal, 
_ Ilinois; and on the 14th and 15th of the same month they were col- 
lected from driftwood along the Mississippi River near Quincy. De- 
-_ cember 3, 1884, they were found in hibernation under leaves and rub- 
_ bish in strawberry fields, December 2, 9 and 16, 1889, they were under 
- boards on grass lands, and December 4 under leaves of dock and other 
plants in corn fields. December 23, 1891, and February 25, 1892, they 
were taken by us in the woods under leaves; and April 8, 1890, from 
roots of old corn and from under boards. March 31 and April 24, 1884, 
they were still in hibernation in strawberry fields, but by April 27, 
1892, specimens were taken on-the wing at dusk. They are much the 
commonest in our collections made in May and July. 
E: Comstock found the larve quite abundant in April in sod-land on 
_  ~the-Cornell University farm. | 
The larvee of eighteen small lots collected by office assistants in Ili- 
nois, divide readily into two well-distinguished sizes, and only two. 
Those of the smaller size, 6.2 mm. long, were taken March 26, June 5, 
. 11, 26, and 29, and in November, without date specified; and those of 
the larger size, averaging 8.8 mm. in length, were found May 19, 29, 
and 30, June 16, 17, and 20, July 8, August 18, and October 26. 
From these data it seems probable that this species emerges in 
summer and early fall, probably laying its eggs in part the same season, 
as indicated by my small larve taken in November, and also, from timo- 
thy sod, the 26th of March; that it hibernates in sheltered places and 
continues abundant until June of the following year, doubtless breeding 
meanwhile, as shown by the number of young larve occurring in June; 
and that it lives two seasons in the earth before pupation—a supposi- 
tion necessary to account for the distinction in size noticeable in larve 
collected together at various dates, practically throughout the entire year. 
2 It follows: from the foregoing that late fall plowing, commended 
as a general defence against wireworm attack, would probably be sub- 
_ stantially without effect against this species. Breeding experiments 
