NO. II LARVAE OF THE ELATERID BEETLES GLEN I49 



The third segment of the antenna is very short, apparently being 

 less than one-half as long as the second segment. This might be a 

 specific character. At present, the separation of the larvae of pyrrhos 

 and protractus is best made on the basis of geographical distribution. 



Apparently the material examined was part of a collection made 

 in a cornfield that was damaged by wireworms. This is the only infor- 

 mation available on the biology of the species. 



Material used in study. — According to the ledger records of wire- 

 worm rearing at the United States Bureau of Entomology Laboratory, 

 Hagerstown, Md., specimens given the accession numbers 6066 to 

 6080, inclusive, were collected together at College Park, Md., April 24, 

 1916, and were identified, probably by J. A. Hyslop, as Ludins pyrrhos 

 (Herbst). Larval exuviae of 3 specimens, labeled 6066, 6067, 

 and 6069, and a much desiccated whole larva, labeled 6075, were found 

 and examined. The notes indicate that specimen No. 6068 was reared, 

 and an adult of Ludius pyrrhos (Herbst) bearing this number has 

 been reported by M. C. Lane to be in the collection at the Wireworm 

 Laboratory, Walla Walla, Wash. Mr. Lane confirmed the identifica- 

 tion of this adult. Unfortunately, the larval exuvium of No. 6068 

 was not available, but the evidence strongly suggests that the material 

 that was examined was of this species. The larval material is now in 

 the U. S. National Museum. 



LUDIUS PROTRACTUS (LeConte) 



Corytnbites protractus LeConte, Proc. Acad. Nat. Sci. Philadelphia, p. 85, 



1859. 

 Ludius protractus (LeConte), Van Dyke, Proc. California Acad. Sci., vol. 20, 



p. 410, 1932. 



Van Dyke (1932, pp. 392, 410) states that this species is widely 

 distributed along the Pacific coast from British Columbia to northern 

 California, and that it is a meadowland species. This suggests that 

 the larva lives in the soil. The specimen examined was found as a 

 pupa on June 19, which indicates a rather early seasonal development. 



Additional larval material is necessary before a complete detailed 

 description can be given and before reliable structural characters are 

 known for the separation of protractus and pyrrhos. 



Material used in study. — Only the larval exuvium of a reared speci- 

 men was available for examination. W. J. Brown, of Ottawa, con- 

 firmed the identification of the reared adult. 



I ; Towle District, Placer County, Calif. ; June 19, 1932 ; collected as a pupa 

 which emerged immediately; H. H. Keifer. (U.S.N.M.) 

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