100 



BULLETIN 417^ TJ. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGKICULTTJEE. 



that it was a recently issued adult, as it is shown below under ''Food 

 consumed by adults" that the beetles often come to the surface of 

 the earth and wander about in search of food after emerging from 

 the pupa. The male that was added in the spring of 1910 was a 

 pupa in the summer of 1909 or earlier; therefore it also lived about 

 two years or more. 



The data at hand on this species will not permit the statement that 

 the adults live longer than two years. There is a possibility, how- 

 ever, that they live three years, or as long as sycophanta, inquisitor, 

 wilcoxiy and others. 



FOOD CONSUMED BY ADULTS. 



In Table 23 are given the best records secured on the food con- 

 sumed by this species. 



Table 23. — Feeding records of 3 pairs of Calosoma ccdidum, 1909, 1910, and 1911. 



Pair 

 No. 



Year. 



Feeding 

 record 



started. 



Ceased 

 feeding. 



Noctua 



clandes- 



tina 



(sixth 



stage). 



3£alacoso- 

 ma am.er- 



icana 

 (fifth and 



sixth 

 stages). 



Porthe- 

 tria dis- 

 por (fifth 

 and sixth 



stages). 



Total. 



1797 

 2879 

 5069 



1909 

 1910 

 1911 



June 13 . 



May 4... 

 June 6. . 



July 11. 

 July 29 2. 

 July 261. 





130 



183 

 57 



69 



3 121 



3 104 



199 

 3 317 



3 161 



13 











1 Female died, record discontinued. 



2 Pair entered hibernation. 



3 Besides one pupa. 



Each of the pairs cited in Table 23 reproduced; the first female 

 deposited 59 eggs, the second 16, and the third 24. The record of 

 the 1909 pair is incomplete as the male was not collected until June 

 13, on which date the record was started, and the female died July 1, 

 thereby shortening the active feeding period by about two months. 

 The average number of large-sized caterpillars devoured by each 

 pair was 226. The period of emergence from hibernation for this 

 species is from April 15 to May 15, and the period of entering hiber- 

 nation August 1 to 15, leaving an. active period extending over ap- 

 proximately three months. 



One female reared from the egg in 1909 came to the surface and 

 devoured two sixth-stage caterpillars of Portlutria dispar and 70 third 

 • and fourth stage caterpillars of HijpJiantria cunea before reentering 

 the ground for hibernation on September 11. Two males and one 

 female, reared from eggs in 1910, came to the surface of the earth in 

 from one to nine days after transformation from the pupse. The 

 males ate 21 and 28 sixth-stage caterpillars of P. dispar, respec- 

 tively, before reentering hibernation August 4. The female ate three 

 caterpillars and died. 



All the specimens of this species reared in jars or cages during 1909, 

 1910, and 1911 came to the surface in search of food in a few days 

 after transformation from the pupse. Young adults of Colosoma 

 calidum are so voracious that sometimes after coming on the surface 

 they attack one another, if caterpillars are not available. 



The habit of feeding during the first fall after entering the adult 

 stage is rather uncommon with other species of Calosoma that have 

 been studied in detail by the writers. _ 



