24 BULLETIN 156, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
A larva was collected at the roots of a corn plant, which, however. 
it did not seem to be damaging, at Hagerstown, Md., in June. © This 
larva pupated on July 6, and the adult emerged July 15. The 
beetle remained alive without feeding until September 12 of that 
year. On April 30 a large number of beetles were placed in a small 
root cage in which corn had been planted. On May 6 all the adults 
were removed. On July 31 the cage was examined and three full- 
grown larve and one pupa were found. This cage was again examined 
September 8, and two adults, which, judging from the color and 
hardness of the integument, were at least a week old, were found. 
Pupe collected in the field emerged July 28, and two larve col- 
lected July 8 pupated August 10, and one of the beetles emerged 
August 21, the other August 23. 
From the foregoing data it is evident that the life cycle is com- 
pleted within one season, a very exceptional condition in this group of 
beetles. The beetles leave their hibernating quarters in early spring 
and deposit their eggs early in May. The wireworms feed during 
May and June, and sometimes even throughout July. They start to 
pupate in early July, continuing pupation throughout July and 
early August. The pupal stage lasts from 8 to 13 days. The adults 
emerge from the ground in late summer and in the fall seek hiber- 
nating quarters under stones, boards, and rubbish. 
Forbes records’? a species of wireworm (Asaphes decoloratus 
(Say) ) as attacking clover in Illinois. This species is also recorded ? 
as a pest in New York State. 
Mr. Kelly is now investigating an outbreak of a wireworm (Lacon 
rectangularis (Say) ) in Kansas. This species has not heretofore been 
recorded as a wheat pest, but in a recent letter to the writer Mr. 
Kelly says: 
In one wheat field at Argonis, Kans., in the spring of 1912, as many as 27 
per cent of the plants had been bored into and ruined in some spots, with an 
average of about 18 per cent for the field. Later, however, the damage was 
much greater, and it was a question whether the grain was worth cutting. 
The collared wireworm (Cebrio bicolor Fab., fig. 7) has not as yet 
been recorded as an actual pest to any crops, but as several notes 
wherein this species has been recorded as feeding on cultivated plants 
have come to the notice of the writer, and as one of these plants is a 
cereal, we believe it pertinent to make a short note of this species, that. 
it may be readily recognized should it ever become a serious pest. 
The beetles of this species are not now considered as belonging to 
the same family as the true wireworms, but they are so intimately 
1 Forbes, S. A. Insect Injuries to the Seed and Root of Indian Corn. Ill. Agr. Exp. 
Sta., Bul. 44, p. 226, May, 1896. 
2 Comstock, J. H., and Slingerland, M. V. Wireworms. N. Y. CornelMAgr. Exp. Sta., 
Bul. 33, p. 258-262, Nov., 1891. 
