4 DEPARTMENT BULLETIN 1267, U. S. DEPT. OP AGRICULTURE 



Mississippi. — Agricultural College, Brookhaven, Canton, Durant, Greenwood, 

 Gulfport, Kosciusko, Natchez, Ocean Springs, Winona. 



North Carolina. — Bostic, Gastonia, Greenville, Monroe, Mount Pleasant, Pan- 

 tego. 



South Carolina. — Cheraw, Union. 



Tennessee. — Clarksville, Greeneville, Milan, Savannah, Sevierville. 



Texas. — Austin, Beaumont, Fedor, Galveston, Jackson County, New Braun- 

 fels, Port Arthur, Victoria. 



Virginia. — Achilles, Coles Point, Kinsale, Naxera, Odd, Sharps, Tappa- 

 hannock. 



LIFE HISTORY 



GENERAL, ACCOUNT 



EuetJieola rugiceps hibernates in the soil as an adult in or near its 

 normal feeding grounds. It reappears with warm weather, which 

 in Virginia is in late April or early May. At Tappahannock, Va., 

 the earliest dates on which the beetles were found abroad were 

 April 23, 1915, and May 1, 1916. The exact time of their appearance 

 is unquestionably determined by the prevailing weather conditions, 

 being accelerated by high temperatures and retarded by low ones. 

 Thus far the beetles have been found flying only at night, when they 

 are frequently attracted to lights, but it is not an uncommon occur- 

 rence to find them crawling upon the surface of the ground in day- 

 light. 



The adults begin to feed as soon as they leave their hibernating 

 quarters. Their normal food evidently consists of certain grasses, 

 particularly those belonging to the genus Paspalum, but should 

 these plants be scarce they readily turn their attention to corn, if 

 any fields be near. 



Mating apparently occurs considerably in advance of egg-laying, 

 though it also undoubtedly continues throughout the season of great- 

 est activity, since pairs have been observed m coitu after the egg- 

 laying season was well advanced. 



Oviposition was observed at Tappahannock chiefly during June, 

 the earliest eggs being found on June 5. The beetles deposit their 

 eggs a few inches below the surface of the ground wherever they 

 happen to be feeding. It therefore appears that this insect spends 

 practically its entire existence below ground. The beetles feed, mate, 

 and oviposit, and the larvae complete their development below ground. 



Under ordinary summer conditions the eggs require from two to 

 three weeks to hatch. When first hatched the larvae measure about 

 3 millimeters and when full grown about 32 millimeters or \\ inches. 

 The larvae require from six to eight weeks to reach maturity at/Tap- 

 pahannock, Va. Full-grown larvae were found from August 2 to 

 October 2, but were most abundant the last week in August and the 

 first week in September. The pupa stage lasts about two weeks 

 under normal weather conditions. The first pupa found in the field 

 at Tappahannock was August 16 in 1915 and August 12 in 1916. 

 The latest field record was November 2, 1916. 



The majority of the old beetles die or disappear in midsummer; 

 some stragglers, however, nearly always overlap the new generation. 

 Such stragglers may be easily distinguished by their dull, opaque 

 black, the new ones being highly polished. 



Adults of the new generation were found at Tappahannock as 

 early as August 24, but the majority appear during the last half of 



