WIREWORMS ATTACKING CEREAL AND FORAGE CROPS. 17 



Gyll. (fig. 5) and M. fissilis (Say) as among the important corn pests 

 of Illinois. Webster found M. communis a very serious pest in 

 Indiana and Ohio ; Comstock and Slingerland consider M. communis 

 one of the worst wireworms in New York State ; and Swenk records 

 serious depredations of M. cribulosus Lee, M. com/munis, and M. 

 fissilis in Nebraska. 



In 1907 Mr. E. O. G. Kelly found a species of Melanotus attacking 

 corn in North Dakota. In 1910 Mr. W. W. Yothers, of this bureau, 

 investigated a very severe outbreak of these wireworms at Corry, Pa. 

 At the time he visited the fields as many as 7 to 15 larva? were to be 

 found in nearly every hill. This field had been broken from sod in 

 1908. In 1912 Mr. Kelly found the larva? of Melanotus communis 

 so numerous at Wellington, Kans., that they entirely destroyed his 

 experimental corn plantings. He also found the larvae of this species 

 attacking kafir seed at Mulvane, Kans., in the spring of 1912. In 

 places they had completely eaten out the seed for spaces of from 

 4 to 6 feet in the drill rows. In 1914 we received reports of damage 

 by wireworms belonging to the genus Melanotus from seven localities 

 in Indiana, seven in Wisconsin, six in Maryland, three in Michigan, 

 three in Iowa, and one each in Alabama, Ohio, Virginia, Kentucky, 

 North Dakota, Vermont, and West Virginia. 



Several species occur on the west coast, and M. communis is re- 

 ported as a pest to wheat in Garfield County, Wash., 1 but the writer 

 is inclined to believe that the pest in this case was either a false wire- 

 worm or a species of Corymbites. 



Mr. Pergancle records 2 this species as attacking lettuce roots, 

 wheat, and potatoes. 



LIFE HISTORY. 



The adults of these wireworms are flying about in late April, 

 May, and June, when they undoubtedly deposit their eggs in the 

 grasslands. The larva? spend two to five years in the soil. That any 

 have so short a life-cycle period as two years is not at all certain. 

 We have, however, in our outdoor insectary, larva? received from 

 Inman, Nebr., April 19, 1912, subject to very nearly natural con- 

 ditions. These larva? were well grown when received and were at 

 least of the 1911 generation. At the date of this writing (October, 

 1914) they are larva?. They have passed the summers of 1911, 1912, 

 1913, and 1914 in the soil, and if they pupate next summer (1915) 

 the adults will, without doubt, remain in the pupal cells until the 

 spring of 1916, making, in this case, five full years from egg to egg. 

 These beetles pupate during July and early August. 



1 Scobey, J. O'B. Wireworms. Wash. Exp. Sta. (State Agr. Coll. and School of Sci.), 

 Bull. 4, p. 75, May, 1892. 



- IT. S. Dept. Agr., Div. Ent., Notes, v. 4, No. 2884. 



61121°— Bull. 156—15 3 



