1911] Notes on the Colorado Potato Beetle lb 



A. M., May 23 (pairs No. 1 and 2) and at 7:30 p. m., May 

 27, 1908 (pair No. 3) and confined with food immediately 

 after capture. The single pair of the first generation resulted 

 from a mass of 60 eggs deposited by hibernated beetles and 

 taken from the field on May 23, 1908 and the single repro- 

 ducing pair of the second generation are direct descendants 

 •of the pair of the first generation. 



In the case of an extra cage containing a large number of 

 adults collected in the field during the latter part of July, a 

 female was observed to deposit a mass of 103 eggs, the largest 

 single mass of eggs yet recorded. In another case, the rate of 

 oviposition was timed; a female deposited in succession in a 

 single mass in the usual manner 04 eggs in a period of time 

 occupying 3200 seconds or 53 1-3 minutes. The rate of deposi- 

 tion was regular, each single, deposit requiring 50 seconds — 40 

 seconds to pass the egg and to fasten it and about 10 seconds to 

 obtain position for the next deposit. 



Attention is called to the rapid deposition of the single 

 pair of the first generation, having a daily rate of deposition 

 of 52 eggs and on a single day (July 8) depositing as many 

 as 153 eggs in three separate batches, averaging 51 eggs each. 



THE LARVA. 



1. Duration of Larval Stadia. 



We were able to make more observations concerning this 

 phase of the beetle's life during 1908 than at previous times. 

 The records for the first fifteen lots in the annexed table (Table 

 III) comprise single larvae of the same age and parentage, that 

 is, they are all from the same batch of eggs, hatching at the 

 same average time but confined separately each individual 

 ecdysis being recorded. 



Lot No. 16, comprising 45 larvae, was from the same mass of 

 60 eggs as the larvae of lots No. 1-15, but upon hatching were 

 confined together on their food. With them, the first ecdysis 

 became general at 4 p. m., May 29; the second ecdysis began 

 at 7 P. M., May 31, but was not general until 2:30 P. M., 

 June 1, and was completed at 6 P. M., June 1, occupying 

 a period of 23 hours. On June 3, the larvae were large, 

 plump and healthy, eating voraciously, but only 30 in number, 

 15 having died. The third ecdysis began at 5 P. M., June 4, 



