179 



their bodies and the accumulated excrement or frass, which is cast in 

 the form of long, fine, curling black strings. 



After attaining full growth the larva ceases to feed for a day or more 

 and then transforms to i)ui)a. If the buds are opened at this time it will 

 be noticed that the inhabitants are very active, wriggling about con- 

 stantly. These motions are continued by the pupa, which is exceed- 

 ingly irritable if touched. 



The Pupa.— A hollow cocoon-like receptacle or pupal cell is formed by 

 the larva of the accumulated frass or castings, in the construction of 

 which it uses some sort of sticky secretion or exudation, and this is then 

 rolled smooth by the wriggling larva and pupa within. The constant 

 motion of the insect as larva and pupa also serves to prevent it from 

 becoming fastened to the sides of this receptacle. Within this cell the 

 pupal stage is passed. This stage is shown at Fig. 14/. A large propor- 

 tion of specimens taken in the field had assumed the pupa state by the 

 first week of June, and before the end of the week nearly all the imagos 

 of this lot were disclosed. Pupae were found this season from the lat- 

 ter part of May till the first week in July. 



Issuance of the Imago. — The larva ordinarily remains on the side of 

 the bud where the Qgg was inserted, and the adult beetle, when hatched, 

 has only to cut through a thin layer of the dry calyx and corolla. The 

 imago issues from a circular hole cut out on one side and usually at a 

 point equally distant from the top and bottom of the bud. The place 

 of issuance is often concealed more or less by an overlapping sepal of 

 the outer row. Mature beetles, as has been said, began to issue dur- 

 ing the first week of June, and nearly all the beetles of the lot from 

 which these bred had developed within a week thereafter. From ex- 

 amination of the few buds of wild strawberry obtained, it is believed 

 that the insect will average a week or more later on these, as no imagos 

 were found until June. 



The Insect probably single-brooded. — As to the number of annualgen- 

 erations the following facts would appear to indicate only a single 

 brood. 



First, j^^one of the bred specimens in our vivaria were actually ob- 

 served i7i copula, although they apparently paired in a few instances; 

 consequently oviposition did not take i^lace. 



Second. The new brood of beetles which hatch in June disappears soon 

 after maturing, and it is more than likely that they begin to hibernate 

 at this time. 



Third. This insect is in all probability, like many allied species, re- 

 stricted to a single group of plants, the family Rosacciie, and the possi- 

 bility of a second brood necessitates a larval food-plant outside of this 

 family, as no Rosaceae bloom in this locality after the Wild Blackberry 

 ceases to bear flowers. 



Fourth. Late appearances of the beetles, such as have been recorded, 

 are exceptional, judging from oui' own experience, and, although diffi- 



