lU 



noticed simultaneously in that Territory and in Colorado in 1898, when 

 it did serious injur}'^ to crops. The beetles are gregarious, sometimes 

 occurring " in swarms like blister beetles." Their brownish gray eggs 

 are deposited in irregular masses, usuall}^ on the under sides of leaves. 

 The}^ hatch in about six days, and their larvre or young commence 

 feeding at once, continuing for nine or ten da3's, when they dig their 

 wa}' into the ground, a few days later coming forth as beetles. Al- 

 though the Ijeetles do much injury, the principal damage is sometimes 

 accomplished by the larvae, hundreds being found on a single small 

 plant, which is either consumed or so injured that it shrivels and dies. 

 In 1902 this insect did considerable injur}^ to sugar beet in Colorado.'* 

 It feeds on several wild plants, blites {Dondla americana and D, 



Fig. l.—Monoxia puncticollis: a, femalo beetle; b, eggr; r, h.rva, dorsal view; d, larva, lateral view; 

 cf-, claw of male; 9, claw of female— all much enlarged, male and female claws more enlarged 

 (author's illustration, Division of Entomology). 



depressa), Eussian thistle {Salsola tragus)^ and saltbush {Atrijylex 

 argentea)^ is double-brooded according to Prof. C. P. Gillette,^ and 

 occurs throughout the summer. 



This species is related to the imported elm leaf -beetle, but is larger 

 and differentl}^ marked. The beetle is quite variable, both as regards 

 the markings and size, the length being from one-fourth to one-third 

 of an inch. It is of oblong form, narrow in front. The color varies 

 from pale yellow to entirely black, while the elytra or wing-c(»vers are 

 more or less distinctly striped. The surface of the thorax is coarsely 

 and irregularl}' punctate. Five varieties or races are recognized. 

 The beet-feeding form is illustrated in figure 1, a. The larva, shown 

 in the same illustration, e^ r/, measures when full grown about one-third 



«Bul. 40, Div. Ent., pp. 111-113. 



«* Twenty-fourth Rept. Colo. Agric. Expt. Sta., 1902, pp. 108-111. 



