154 
1 3^ X '2-y2 to 2^ mm., the shorter diameter later enlarging to 
2 mm. 
L. cremilata. From a single female beetle placed in a breeding- 
cage July 15, 1905, three eggs were obtained three days later, 
deposited at a depth of about an inch. These eggs were oval, measur- 
ing i^ to 2}A mm. They were white when first laid, but changed 
afterwards to cream color. 
L. fiisca. Eggs were obtained June 22, 1905, from beetles which 
had been placed in a breeding-cage April 24. One of these eggs 
hatched on the 27th of June. 
L. impUcita. Adults collected at Elliott, 111., from cells in the 
earth, were placed in a breeding-cage in the insectary October 13, 
1905. They were first seen out of their winter quarters April 28, 
1906. June 12, 1906, 3 females were alive and 6 eggs were found 
by sifting the dirt. On the 20th of June only i beetle remained 
alive, and this was a female. No more eggs were found up to June 
25, but on the 5th of July 42 eggs were sifted out of the dirt, each 
in its separate ball of earth. These were from 5^ to 6 inches below 
the surface. Those most recently laid, measured 1^4 X 2 to 2^ mm., 
while those which were longest deposited measured 2X2^ mm. 
ReivATions to Weather. 
The beetles of Lachnosterna transform from the pupa in summer 
and fall, remaining, as a rule, in their underground cells, from 2 or 
3 to 5 or 6 inches below the surface, unafTected, so far as we know, 
by any degree of cold to which they are likely to be subjected in our 
climate. Their nocturnal movements after they come out of the 
earth are, however, easily influenced by the weather. During thirty- 
one nights, commencing May 14 and ending June 28, 1906, these 
beetles were studied and collected at Urbana by Mr. West. On five 
of these nights no beetles were seen or caught, although the fields, 
the lights, and all the best feeding grounds were visited. The rec- 
ords of minimum temperature for these five barren nights, and the 
rate and direction of the wind, were as follows: 
Date 
Minimum Temperature 
Rate and Direction of Wind 
(Anemom.'ter Record) 
May 19 
May 28 
41° F. 
42° F. 
38° F. 
49° F. 
46° F. 
N. E., 6 to 8 miles per hour • 
N. E., 4 to 14 miles per hour 
S. E., 6 to 12 miles per hour 
N. E., 12 miles, all night 
N. E., 14 miles, all night 
May 29 
June 11 
June 12 
