﻿88 
  

  

  generally 
  and 
  seriously 
  damaged 
  than 
  those 
  at 
  a 
  distance 
  from 
  

   forest 
  trees. 
  Indeed, 
  there 
  was 
  considerable 
  evidence 
  to 
  support 
  the 
  

   proposition 
  that 
  the 
  intensity 
  of 
  the 
  outbreak 
  was 
  in 
  part 
  to 
  be 
  ac- 
  

   counted 
  for 
  by 
  the 
  unusual 
  extent 
  of 
  woodland 
  pasture 
  grounds 
  in 
  

   this 
  region, 
  on 
  which 
  the 
  grubs 
  found 
  always 
  an 
  abundant 
  food 
  in 
  

   the 
  turf, 
  while 
  the 
  June 
  beetles 
  which 
  give 
  origin 
  to 
  them 
  had 
  like- 
  

   wise 
  an 
  abundance 
  of 
  food 
  in 
  the 
  leaves 
  of 
  the 
  forest 
  trees 
  still 
  grow- 
  

   ing 
  from 
  the 
  sod. 
  Crops 
  on 
  high 
  lands 
  were, 
  as 
  usual, 
  more 
  subject 
  

   to 
  injury 
  than 
  those 
  on 
  low; 
  and 
  the 
  loss 
  was 
  generally 
  much 
  more 
  

   extensive 
  and 
  severe 
  than 
  it 
  could 
  otherwise 
  have 
  been 
  because 
  of 
  a 
  

   protracted 
  midsummer 
  drouth. 
  

  

  Species 
  of 
  Grabs 
  Concerned. 
  — 
  The 
  grubs 
  collected 
  by 
  Mr. 
  Hart 
  on 
  

   his 
  visit 
  to 
  Taylorville 
  and 
  vicinity 
  September 
  6, 
  1895, 
  were 
  appa- 
  

   rently 
  nearly 
  all 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  extremely 
  common 
  species, 
  Lachnosterna 
  

   fnsc(( 
  and 
  L. 
  hirticida, 
  the 
  former 
  commonest 
  on 
  lowland 
  meadows, 
  

   the 
  latter 
  on 
  bluffy 
  uplands. 
  A 
  few^ 
  specimens 
  of 
  L. 
  (jibhosa 
  were 
  

   also 
  seen. 
  

  

  Life 
  Historij. 
  — 
  The 
  life 
  history 
  of 
  the 
  white 
  grubs 
  as 
  at 
  present 
  

   understood 
  was 
  given 
  in 
  my 
  Seventh 
  Report*, 
  published 
  in 
  1894. 
  and 
  

   no 
  additional 
  particulars 
  of 
  importance 
  were 
  obtained 
  by 
  the 
  obser- 
  

   vations 
  made 
  in 
  1895. 
  For 
  the 
  convenience 
  of 
  readers 
  of 
  this 
  article, 
  

   however, 
  the 
  statements 
  in 
  the 
  report 
  above 
  referred 
  to 
  may 
  here 
  be 
  

   summarized. 
  

  

  These 
  insects 
  hatch 
  most 
  commonly 
  in 
  grass 
  lands 
  (although 
  fre- 
  

   quently 
  also 
  in 
  corn) 
  from 
  eggs 
  laid 
  there 
  by 
  various 
  kinds 
  of 
  

   beetles, 
  all 
  commonly 
  confused 
  under 
  the 
  general 
  name 
  of 
  "June 
  

   beetles" 
  or 
  "May 
  beetles" 
  or 
  "dor-bugs." 
  These 
  large, 
  thick, 
  short, 
  

   snuft'-brown 
  beetles, 
  a 
  half 
  inch 
  to 
  more 
  than 
  three 
  fourths 
  of 
  an 
  

   inch 
  in 
  length, 
  nearly 
  as 
  thick 
  from 
  above 
  downwards 
  as 
  they 
  are 
  

   wide, 
  and 
  about 
  half 
  as 
  wide 
  as 
  long, 
  are 
  universally 
  known 
  because 
  

   of 
  their 
  great 
  abundance 
  in 
  May 
  and 
  June, 
  during 
  which 
  months 
  

   they 
  fly 
  at 
  night, 
  filling 
  the 
  air 
  at 
  dusk 
  with 
  their 
  hoarse 
  buzzing, 
  

   and 
  often 
  invading 
  lighted 
  rooms 
  in 
  our 
  houses, 
  where 
  they 
  bump 
  

   and 
  bumble 
  about, 
  as 
  awkward 
  as 
  frolicking 
  cart 
  horses. 
  In 
  this 
  

   stage 
  the 
  insects 
  are 
  but 
  short-lived, 
  the 
  males 
  dying 
  soon 
  after 
  the 
  

   sexes 
  pair, 
  and 
  the 
  females 
  living 
  but 
  a 
  few 
  days 
  after 
  they 
  have 
  laid 
  

   their 
  eggs 
  in 
  the 
  ground. 
  

  

  The 
  young 
  grubs, 
  hatching 
  among 
  the 
  roots 
  of 
  grass 
  or 
  grass-like 
  

   plants, 
  commence 
  to 
  feed 
  at 
  once, 
  and 
  live 
  in 
  the 
  earth 
  in 
  the 
  larval 
  

   stage 
  for 
  at 
  least 
  two 
  years 
  (so 
  far 
  as 
  known) 
  , 
  most 
  of 
  them 
  chang- 
  

   ing 
  to 
  the 
  dormant 
  pupa 
  from 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June 
  to 
  September 
  of 
  

   the 
  second 
  or 
  third 
  year 
  after 
  hatching, 
  and 
  becoming 
  fully 
  de- 
  

   veloped 
  "June 
  beetles" 
  again, 
  still 
  in 
  the 
  earth, 
  in 
  August 
  or 
  in 
  

   September 
  of 
  this 
  same 
  year. 
  These 
  beetles 
  do 
  not. 
  as 
  a 
  rule, 
  

   emerge 
  from 
  their 
  earthen 
  cells 
  until 
  the 
  following 
  spring, 
  but 
  

   spend 
  the 
  winter 
  at 
  rest, 
  each 
  in 
  the 
  underground 
  cavity 
  made 
  

   originally 
  by 
  the 
  grub 
  while 
  preparing 
  to 
  pupate. 
  In 
  May 
  and 
  

   June 
  they 
  come 
  out 
  and 
  pair 
  and 
  lay 
  their 
  eggs 
  as 
  already 
  related. 
  

  

  *Pages 
  109 
  and 
  115 
  to 
  122. 
  

  

  —8 
  

  

  