FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSIONER. IOI 



earth. These hatch in the course of a month, and the grubs, growing 

 slowly, do not attain full size until the early summer of the third year. 

 During the summer months they feed near the surface of the soil, but with 

 the approach of winter they descend to a depth of about two feet as a pro- 

 tection against the cold. As soon as the frost leaves the ground in the 

 spring they come up from their winter quarters and resume feeding. In 

 June or July of the third year they construct an ovoid chamber, lined with 

 a gelatinous fluid, and change into pupae. These begin to change to the 

 beetle in August or September, and remain under ground in this stage 

 until the following spring, when they emerge in large swarms to begin the 

 reproduction of their species. 



Though the larva of this insect has heretofore never been known to 

 attack tree nurseries, it has long been considered as " one of the very 

 worst and most insidious of the farmer's foes." In the early eighties its 

 depredations were so severe in Washington county, N. Y., as to cause 

 damages amounting to thousands of dollars annually. They have been 

 such a serious pest in Illinois that this State has lately appropriated a large 

 sum of money to find means for eradicating, or at least limiting the damage 

 done by these insects. A bulletin has recently been issued by the Agri- 

 cultural Experiment Station of the University of Illinois* as a report on 

 the studies and investigations that are being made there. 



They sometimes feed upon the roots of grass in such numbers that 

 large patches will turn brown and die, and the turf can be readily lifted. 

 Whole cornfields are sometimes completely destroyed, and excessive damage 

 is done to wheat, barley, potatoes, strawberries, hops, and other farm 

 products. 



The adult beetle, which is a leaf -eater, occasionally swarms in such 

 numbers as to completely strip the foliage from many of our fruit, forest, 

 and shade trees. 



The grub has a number of natural enemies which prey upon it, and which 

 should be protected in districts where the depredations of this insect are 

 severe because of their value in serving to keep its numbers down. The 



* On the Life History, Habits, and Economic Relations of the White Grub and May 

 Beetles. — Bulletin No. 116, University of Illinois, Agricultural Experiment Station, 

 Urbana, Illinois, August, 1907. 



