THE SO-CALLED ' CURLEW BUG. 71 



cotton. Plate VIII shows the area where this dividing line between 

 the two crops of the previous year was located and the radical dif- 

 ference in attack by Sphenophorus between the two portions of the 

 field. This field illustrates conclusively both the fact that the 

 beetles winter in the fields where they develop and also that crop 

 rotation is effective in preventing serious injury. 



NATURAL ENEMIES. 



Mr. W. L. McAtee, of the Biological Survey, has recorded the 

 finding of Sphenophorus callosus in the stomach of the nighthawk 

 ( Chordeiles acutipennis texensis) at Wallaceville, Tex., August 4, 1907. 

 This is the only exact record obtainable of the eating of this species by 

 birds. In addition Dr. Chittenden has placed the following notes at 

 the disposal of the author: 



Among the larvae of this species in our rearing cages in late August and early Sep- 

 tember some years ago were some which had died, apparently of fungus attack, although 

 there is a possibility that the fungus attacked the insect while dying or after death. 



In another instance, during the last week of August, larvae of this same species were 

 dying and specimens were referred to Dr. Haven Metcalf , a pathologist in the Bureau 

 of Plant Industry, who stated that they were apparently free from fungi, and that 

 while there was a possibility of the presence of a bacterial disease such presence could 

 not be established at that stage. Examination, however, revealed the fact that the 

 bodies of the larvae were fairly reeking with nematodes, and it is not impossible that 

 these are the cause of the insect's fatality. 



On September 5 and 6 Mr. Walton found, in cornfields in North 

 Carolina where the corn had been destroyed (see PI. VIII), many 

 exit holes of the predaceous maggots of a robber fly, Erax lateralis, 

 between the rows of corn, and it is possible that these may have 

 devoured some of the larvae of Sphenophorus. Lamphyrid larvae 

 were noted, both by the author and by Messrs. King and Walton, 

 about the infested hills of corn. Although these are known to be 

 predaceous, none of us was able to catch them in the act of devouring 

 the larvae of the curlew hug. 



HPHIS PUBLICATION may be pro- 



-*- cured from the Superintendent of 



Documents, Government Printing Office 



Washington, D. C, at 10 cents per copy 



