16 



BULLETIN 922, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



Table VI. — Amounts (inches) of clover foliage eaten by beetles of Hyper a -punctata. 



DURING PREDORMANT PERIOD. 





Num- 

 ber of 

 beetles 

 per 

 cage. 



Date of 

 emer- 

 gence. 



Date 



stopped 

 feeding. 



Total 

 feeding 

 period 



Amount of foliage eaten during — 





Cage No. 



May. 



June. 



July. 



Total. 



Sex. 



D363a 



D363b 



1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 1 

 2 

 2 

 2 



May 25 

 May 26 

 May 28 

 June 3 

 June 4 



...do 



June 13 

 June 15 

 June 17 

 June 27 

 ...do.... 

 ...do.... 



June 20 

 June 14 

 June 20 

 June 27 

 June 30 

 ...do.. • 

 July 5 

 July 8 

 July 7 

 July 10 

 July 8 

 July 10 



Days 

 26 

 19 

 23 

 24 

 26 

 26 

 23 

 24 

 21 

 24 

 22 

 24 



1.36 

 1.19 



.25 



1.08 



2.46 



3.13 



4.9 



5 61 



4.39 



3.07 



3.56 



2.51 



1 06 



2.39 



1.46 



0.93 

 .84 

 .52 



2.19 



2.6 



3.73 



2.44 



3.65 



3.38 



4.9 



5.61 



4.39 



4.00 



4.4 



3.03 



3.25 



4.99 



5.19. 



<? 

 c? 

 S 



9 



9 

 9 

 9 

 9 



A 



<?9 

 c?9 



D363g 



D363n 



D363s 



D363t 



D363aa 



D363ad 



D363ag 



D568a 



D568c 



D568d 





Total average per beetle. . 





23.5 



.93 



2.37 



1.2 



3.28 















DURING REPRODUCTIVE PERIOD. 



Cage No. 



Num- 

 ber of 

 beetles 

 per 

 cage. 



Amount of foliage eaten during- 



Sep- 

 tember. 



Octo- 

 ber. 



Novem- 

 ber. 



Decem- 

 ber. 



Total 

 period. 



Sex. 



D363a. . 

 D363b.. 

 D363g.. 

 X>363n.. 

 D363s.. 

 D363t.. 

 D363aa. 

 D363ad. 

 D363ag. 

 D454e.. 

 B454h.. 



0.152 



.104 

 .080 

 .045 

 .436 

 .249 

 .285 



0.792 

 .754 



1.240 

 .922 

 .640 

 .818 

 .461 



1.221 

 .806 

 .844 

 .376 



0.498 

 .228 

 .430 

 .283 

 .459 

 .440 

 .503 



0.149 

 .032 

 .232 

 .155 

 .346 

 .280 

 .195 



.505 

 1.341 



.563 



.138 

 .690 

 .136 



1.591 

 1.014 

 2.006 

 1.440 

 1.490 

 1.974 

 1.408 

 1.506 

 1449 

 2.875 

 1.075 



Total average per beetle. 



.0965 



.239 



.011 



.7155 



NATURAL ENEMIES. 



The most important check on the abundance of Hypera punctata 

 is the fungous disease Empusa sphaerosperma Fres., which kills the 

 larvae in vast numbers during the months of April and May and again 

 in October and November. This disease is epidemic, and contagion 

 so rapid and thorough that in from two to four weeks it is almost im- 

 possible to find living individuals where previously there were 

 thousands. 



The sick larvae of all ages crawl up the herbage during the night, and instead of 

 again concealing themselves near the ground on the approach of light, as the healthy 

 ones do, ascend as high as possible, and if on grass, coil themselves in a horizontal 

 position about the apex of the blade, or if on other objects, take a position as nearly 

 similar as the shape of the object permits. If disturbed before the middle of the fore- 

 noon the majority are still able to crawl, although sluggishly; by noon most of them 

 are quite dead, but unchanged in appearance. . . . Late in the afternoon, the body 

 has changed from the normal yellowish or pea green and smooth appearance to vel- 

 vety gray. The next morning there is only a small, blackened and shriveled mass 

 remaining, while the surrounding foliage is powdered with a whitish, clinging dust, 

 composed of the spores of the fungus. (J. G. Arthur (1, p. 285-289).) 



