BULLETIN 265 



THE BIOLOGY OF THE ALDER FLEA-BEETLE, 



Altica bimarginata Say. 1 



WILLIAM COLCORD WOODS 2 

 OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION. 



Almost one hundred years have passed since Thomas Say 

 (1842) first described the alder flea-beetle, Altica bimarginata 

 Say, 3 but although periodically this insect appears in enormous 

 numbers, no detailed work on its life history has yet been pub- 

 lished, despite its wide distribution. 



In the United States this beetle occurs from Maine to 

 California, and it has also been reported from Canada. The 

 following list includes all of the published distributional records 

 which the writer has found: Maine (Packard 1890, Johannsen 

 1912); New Hampshire (Harris 1869, Packard 1890); New 

 York (Linter 1887, Felt 1905, Britton 1911) ; Minnesota (Lugger 

 1899); Iowa (Sturm 1843); Missouri (Say 1824); Nebraska 

 (Bruner 1893) ; Kansas (Le Conte 1859, 1860) ; New Mexico 

 (Le Conte 1859) ; Oregon (Le Conte 1860) ; California (Manner- 

 heim 1843, Le Conte 1857, 1860, Essig 1915) ; Mackenzie River 

 Region, Canada (Le Conte 1860, Gibson 1913) ; British Columbia, 

 Canada (Gibson 1913) ; Alberta, Canada (Gibson 1913) ; Nova 

 Scotia, Canada (Gibson 1913). 



'Papers from the Maine Agricultural Experiment Station: Entom- 

 ology No. 93. 



Contribution from the Entomological Laboratory of Cornell Univer- 

 sity. 



'Member of the Station Summer Staff. 



'Altica bimarginata Say. Jour. Acad. Nat. Sci. Phila. 1824. V. 4, p. 85. 

 a/m Harris. Ent. cor. ed. Scudder, 1869, p. 267. 

 ambiens Le Conte. Col. Kans. 1859, p. 25. 

 carinata Sturm. Cat. 1843, p. 282. 



plicipennis Mannerheim. Bui. de Moscou, 1843, p. 310. 

 prasina Le Conte. Kept. Pac. R. R. Survey. 1857, p. 67. 

 subplicata Le Conte. Col. Kans. 1859. p. 25. 



