THE BEAN LADYBIRD. 7 



braska, and Oklahoma, and later in southern California. There may 

 even exist a wider distribution than is now known in Texas, since the 

 localities inserted on the map plainly show such a possibility. 



LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 



SEASONAL HISTORY. 



In the Arkansas Valley of Colorado, and in regions having a 

 similar climate, two generations or " broods " of the bean ladybird 

 develop annually. 



The winter is passed in the adult stage, the beetles hibernating 

 under tufts of grass, weeds, old vines, rubbish, and similar material, 

 in or about the fields and gardens in which they developed. The 

 overwintered beetles emerge from their hibernating quarters about 

 the middle of June and, after a brief interval of feeding, mate and 

 begin to deposit eggs. 



The first eggs hatch in about a week and the adults of the first 

 generation develop shortly after the middle of July. After an in- 

 terval of a week or ten days eggs are deposited by the first genera- 

 tion of beetles and from these the first adults of the second genera- 

 tion develop. This occurs during the latter part of August or early 

 September. A portion of the adults of the first generation and all 

 those of the second generation deposit no eggs until June of the fol- 

 lowing year. The beetles go into hibernation during the last days of 

 September and the first of October and, as previously stated, remain 

 dormant until about the middle of June of the succeeding year. 



It is somewhat remarkable that the beetles remain in hibernation 

 during the last days of May and the first half of June when high 

 temperatures, from 90° to 95° F., often prevail. 



The egg-laying period of the overwintered beetles, which includes 

 individuals of both the first and second generations, extends from 

 shortly after the middle of June until about the 1st of August, 

 although occasionally some of these beetles live and deposit eggs 

 throughout the summer. The egg-laying period of the beetles of the 

 first generation which deposit eggs during the first season extends 

 from soon after the middle of July until well into September. 

 Reproduction, then, continues from about the middle of June until 

 the beans are destroyed by killing frosts in late September or early 

 October. The insects usually cause a maximum amount of damage 

 during July and August. The larvae, especially those more than 

 half grown, are voracious feeders and, as a rule, cause vastly more 

 injury than do the beetles. 



REPRODUCTION AND DEVELOPMENT. 



The life-history studies of the bean ladybird were conducted in 

 Colorado in an open-air insectary at Rocky Ford. The insects were 

 confined in cloth-covered battery jars and fed on the foliage of 



