198 Maine Agricultural Experiment Station. 1918. 



The writer has seen no specimens of this beetle in collec- 

 tions which he was sure were this species outside of the Maim 

 material. But as Le Conte's description was bassd upon Kan- 

 sas material, it is probably quite widely distributed through 

 the United States. 



The Egg. 



Where deposited. The writer has never succeeded in find- 

 ing the eggs of this species in the field ; but they are probably 

 deposited on the ground at the base of the plants. In the lab- 

 oratory, the beetles have almost invariably laid their eggs in 

 the cheese cloth on the bottom of the rearing cages, and after 

 careful searches in the field, no eggs were found on the twigs. 



The habits of the larvae would tend to confirm this view, 

 for the newly hatched grubs are very uneasy, and wander around 

 several hours before they settle down to feeding. 



Hozv Many deposited. The eggs are never deposited in 

 clusters (so far as laboratory observations indicate), but are 

 laid either singly or in little groups of 2 or 3. 



The Larva. 



Hatching. The process of hatching was not observed in 

 this species. 



Coloration after hatching. The larvae are entirely yellow 

 orange when they hatch from the egg, with the same four black 

 spots on the thorax (dorsal portion of fused tubercles v-vii-viii 

 of the mesothorax and the metathorax) characteristic of the 

 flea-beetles. The larva becomes fully colored in about 2 hours. 

 Color description of the first instar larva, early. Head, prothoracic 

 and anal shields, and legs shining black ; dorsal tubercles dull black, ven- 

 tral tubercles brown ; general aspect dark brown, or almost black above, 

 and dark golden brown ventrally ; anal proleg yellow. 



Color description, of the first instar larva, late. Head, prothoracic 

 and anal shields, and legs, shining black ; all tubercles brown ; body 

 above dark golden brown, lighter ventrally ; anal proleg yellow. 



The molt to the second instar (first molt.) The process of 

 molting is the same in all of the flea-beetles studied, and is des- 

 cribed in detail under the second molt of the elm flea-beetles 

 (page 188). 



Coloration after the first molt. The coloration after the 

 first molt is exactly the same as that described below under the 

 heading "coloration after the second molt." 



