REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I912 59 



about one square foot, while we were informed that in July some 

 boys collected over twenty grubs in one hill of corn. Adjacent to 

 this area the pulling of corn stalks in the field resulted frequently 

 in exposing two or three nearly full-grown grubs just at the base 

 of a stalk and within an inch or two of the surface. Reports of 

 injuries to strawberries and potatoes were also received. 



An investigation of the damage in several localities showed that, 

 as a rule, most of the injury was in spots where there was more 

 moisture and presumably better grass. The affected areas were 

 generally near the foot of a gentle rise and frequently in a small 

 gulley. It appeared as though the beetles, when ovipositing in 

 191 1, had been attracted to the denser patches of grass and ovi- 

 posited therein very freely. In August many grubs were to be 

 found just under the sod in cells one or two inches below the sur- 

 face, as many as five to seven or eight occurring in one square 

 foot. Investigation about the middle of October showed that com- 

 paratively few of the grubs were near the surface and that most 

 of them were from seven to ten inches below. This was especially 

 marked in grassland and by no means so evident in corn fields. 



Life history. The extended life cycle of white grubs and the 

 fact that a large proportion of their existence is subterranean, 

 makes it very difficult to work out the life history of the various 

 species in detail. This difficulty is further accentuated by the 

 possible occurrence of several closely allied forms at the same time, 

 the grubs being practically indistinguishable one from the other. 

 The parent insects, as their common name indicates, appear in May 

 or June and remain abroad about four weeks. The beetles feed 

 upon the leaves of a considerable variety of plants and display a 

 marked preference for poplar, willow, oak, chestnut, elm and 

 apple, though they may also work upon the foliage of quite a 

 number of trees and shrubs. The eggs, which hatch in a1)out four 

 weeks, are deposited in grassland, and in the case of the beetles 

 appearing in 191 1 there was an obvious selection of the richer, 

 more luxuriant spots. The slowly developing grubs feed upon the 

 roots of various grasses and allied plants. At the end of the first 

 season the. young grub may be only about a quarter of an inch 

 long, while at the close of the second season the gru1)s are about 

 a half to three-quarters of an inch long and present the familiar 

 appeararice of the depredator so commonly found at the roots of 

 strawberry and other more highly prized cultivated plants. The 

 grubs, whether small or large, burrow down into the earth on the 



