THE CLOVER-ROOT CURCULIO. 33 



The adult beetle endeavors to escape injury or capture by feigning 

 death. If a clover plant upon which this beetle is resting be touched, 

 the beetle drops to the ground and lies there an inactive and almost 

 invisible object. It is only when in motion that one is able to see it 

 readily, since its color harmonizes so well- with its surroundings. 



The larval period varies from seventeen to twenty-one days, the 

 latter being apparently nearer the normal. 



The pupal stage is passed in an earthen cell, which is oval in out- 

 line, about three-sixteenths of an inch (5 mm.) long, and half as 

 large in diameter. The time required for the pupal stage is from 

 eight to ten days, easily determined independently" of the other two 

 stages by collecting nearly mature larvae in the field and rearing them 

 to adults. 



The larval period was determined by getting the combined length 

 of the egg, larval, and pupal periods and subtracting from these the 

 number of days required for the egg and pupal stages. This method 

 was followed because of the difficulty experienced in getting the 

 newly hatched larva? to live after being transferred from the vial 

 in which the eggs were hatched to a clover plant on which they could 

 feed, and also because of the fact that the more fully developed 

 larva?, when disturbed to any extent, nearly always died. Thus, to 

 avoid this, a record was kept of the day of egg deposition in a cer- 

 tain cage and then the beetles were removed and the cage left undis- 

 turbed but watched carefully until adults appeared. The time re- 

 quired for this was from thirty-eight to forty-three days, thus making 

 from seventeen to twenty-one days for the larval stage. 



Miss Ormerod (1882) has found that in England Sitones lineatus 

 and S. puncticottis, two closely allied species, have a fall brood. Mr. 

 R. W. Christy, corresponding with Miss Ormerod, stated that as late 

 as October 21 he was unable to find larva? of S. puncticottis, but that 

 during the month of November they were in abundance; while Prof. 

 F. M. Webster, in Indiana (Webster, 1886), has made the same 

 observation in regard to S. flavescens. Thus it seemed probable that 

 a fall brood might also occur in S. hispidulus, but subsequent obser- 

 vation proves that in the neighborhood of Washington this is not 

 the case. 



On September 23 the writer made a thorough but unsuccessful 

 search in a field of clover near Grant road, District of Columbia, 

 for the larva? of this insect. Adults were found in abundance around 

 the clover crowns, but when placed in confinement these failed to 

 deposit eggs. However, a number of females collected October 7 

 deposited a dozen or more eggs during the following night. From 

 this time on collections were made every ten days and on each oc- 

 casion, when placed in vials and left overnight, the females depos- 



