101 



said to be found most commonly inside the base of the corn leaf, drinking 

 the moisture accumulated there. In Riley's unpublished notes E. mclan- 

 chohca IS reported to feed on the unripe kernels and the leaves of corn 

 in the South. 



The usual food of inda seems to be the sap exuding from the wounds 

 of trees. This beetle has often been noticed in great numbers on ash, 

 elm, maple, beech, birch, red haw, and oak, and has been taken burrow- 

 mg mto the fruits of apple, peach, pear, plum, strawberry, raspberry 

 persimmon, and tomato, and feeding on cotton bolls and the seed cap- 

 sules of cocklebur and ragweed. Fruits spread out to dry are visited 

 by them, and also decomposing vegetables, and they are common on 

 flowers of thistle, goldenrod, etc., feeding on the pollen. E. sepul- 

 chrahs and mda are said to injure cotton bolls, and the former has been 

 seen burrowing into ripe apples, peaches, and pears. 



The early stages are known for inda only. The adults of this species 

 wmter over, emerging in early spring, buzzing like bumble-bees as thev 

 fly about. Eggs, laid mostly in May and early June, hatch after about 

 eleven days (Fig. 80, b, c). The natural food of the larva (Fig. 80, d) 

 IS evidently manure or other decomposing matter, but thev have been 

 accused of cutting off the roots of corn. They resemble the common 

 white-grubs very closely, but are more robust and have shorter legs. 

 There is also a triangular yellow horny plate on each side of the neck 

 shield in front of the spiracle. They live under ground, and make a 

 substantial oval cocoon there preparatory to pupation. The larva get 

 their growth in eight or nine weeks, and continue in the pupal stage 

 (l^ig. 80, e) about sixteen days, making a total period of approximately 

 twelve weeks from the time the eggs are laid to the appearance of the 

 beetles. These appear in late July in southern Illinois, are most abun- 

 dant m August, and usually go into winter quarters in September 

 E. sepulchralis, with its more southern range, makes its first appearance 

 in June and July, and is most common in September and early October. 



THE GREEN JUNE-BEETLES. 



Allorhina nitida Linn. 

 Allorhina mutabilis Gory. 

 In central and in northern Illinois the June-beetles or June-bugs are 

 brown, smooth, shining, thick-bodied beetles, parents of the common 

 white-grubs. In the southern part of the state, and from thence south- 

 ward,, this name is applied to a large, beautiful, velvety green beetle, 

 A.mtida (Fig. 82, c), the parent likewise of a thick-bodied under- 

 ground grub, but chiefly notorious as an adult because of its injuries to 

 ripe fruits. It also does considerable injury to corn, particularly to 

 garden varieties, sometimes as many as a dozen of the beetles being 



