THE GREEN JUNE BEETLE. 25 



of July and through the month of August in the soil at a depth of 

 6 to 8 inches. The eggs hatch in from 10 to 15 days, and the larvae 

 pass their lives in the soil, feeding and molting twice by autumn. 

 By late fall the larvae have become three-fourths grown — in some 

 instances nearly full grown — and pass the winter in the larval form, 

 either inactive or active, depending on temperature conditions. 

 Early in the spring the larvae resume feeding until the latter part 

 of May and the first week in June, when they finally form cells in 

 which they transform to pupae. The pupal or dormant stage lasts 

 about three weeks, and the adults begin issuing from about the middle 

 of June onward. 



LARVAL FOOD HABITS. 



Experiments to determine if larvae feed on the roots of plants 

 must necessarily be taken for what they are worth, for the reason 

 that confining the larvae in a given area, as in flowerpots or boxes, 

 places them under conditions subject to the will of the experimenter, 

 and the larvae invariably will net results subject to the conditions 

 imposed on them. These results, therefore, may be misleading. 



In confinement wheat plants were grown to provide food for the 

 larvae, and Kiley (20) states that the larvae feed on the roots of the 

 plants. The following experiments for the purpose of determining 

 this factor were conducted by the authors. An equal number of 

 larvae were confined in 8-inch flowerpots under the following con- 

 ditions : 



Experiment No. 1. — In a flowerpot containing pure sand the larvae 

 were very restless and worked the sand over thoroughly, evidently 

 looking for food, or a means of escape. Some of the larvae succeeded 

 in moving the broken pieces of stone at the bottom of the pot and 

 escaped in that way. 



Experiment No. 2. — In a flowerpot containing pure sand, with a 

 growing cucumber plant, the larvae fed on the soil surrounding the 

 plant roots and on the roots of the plant, even gnawing the stem 1 

 or 2 inches above the ground. 



Experiment No. 3. — In a pot containing garden soil they fed on 

 the organic matter. 



Experintent No. 4- — About 25 larvae were placed in a large battery 

 jar with moistened earth, October 12. On the 17th, believing that 

 the larvae might be more hungry than when received, some beet roots 

 were placed in the jar with the leaves remaining. These leaves 

 touched the surface of the earth, and when they were examined two 

 . days later it was found that the stems had been cut in most cases, 

 and that the leaf and stem together had been drawn down into, the 

 cells of the larvae 5 or 6 inches below the surface. 



