7(; 



Another, taken in a different place, in July, 1885, contained pre- 

 cisely the same food as the preceding. These specimens were 

 evidently eating the anthers of the plants on which they were 

 found. 



□Examples of EpiccBrus imhricatus, sent to the office May 29, 

 1885, as injurious to the foliage of the pear, were found by ex- 

 periment to feed freely upon pear leaves, and also to lay their 

 eggs upon these leaves, concea^ng their deposit by gumming an- 

 other leaf to the surface. Specimens of this beetle obtained in a 

 sweet-potato field May 28, 1888, were found by dissection to have 

 fed chiefly upon leaves of grass, and possibly also on some other 

 parallel-veined vegetation. Confined Avith blue grass and Setaria 

 (pigeon grass) in a breeding cage, the former was not touched, 

 but the latter was freely eaten, circular notches being bitten out 

 of the edges of the narrow leaves. Three pairs were noted m 

 copula between May 28 and June 6, but no eggs were obtained, 

 and the beetles, refusing to feed, gradually died. 



An example of Lixus concavus found on weeds July 7, 1885, 

 had the stomach empty, but the intestines filled with vegetable 

 tissues, nearly all spiral vessels, — the undigested residue of the 

 leaves of plants. Another specimen, taken from wild sunflower 

 (Helianthus) August 28, had the crop filled with leaf structures, 

 mostly jointed hairs, many of them with inflated bases. Occasion- 

 ally a portion of leaf surface was seen covered with hairs of this 

 description; and a considerable quantity of spiral tissue likewise 

 occurred. This beetle had seemingly been gnawing off the stout 

 hairs from the surface of the leaf.* 



Finding my horticultural friends who wished to experiment with 

 the arsenical poisons for the destruction of curculios {Conotrache- 

 lus nenuphar) on the peach and plum in doubt as to the feeding 

 habits of the adult, and uncertain, therefore, whether the species 

 was subject to poisoning by this method, I confined with leaves 

 of the plum in June a number of living specimens. The next day 

 one was observed making a deep oblong excavation in the mid-vein 

 of the leaf, similar work being ap})arent on the other veins and 

 on the petioles and stems. The beetles were also eating the sur- 

 faces of the leaves, but less generally. Later, many small holes 

 were made through the leaves, especially the younger terminal ones. 

 In July, removing the leaves and substituting green plums, I pres- 

 ently found these peppered with cavities, some of which contained 

 eggs, and others not. When both leaves and green fruit were of- 

 fered the beetles, both were eaten, - the fruit, perhaps, most freely. 

 I neied hardly add that ex|)<'rinioiifs Avitli poison wore entirely suc- 

 cessful. 



"L'tJ-UH tenniiiniix w«.' br^d tliiB seiiHon from liirvif found in the ntenis of smart weed (/'o///(70- 

 rriim pfinufvlravlnim) Jiilv '.M, nu'RH occuninK Ht \\w same timt'. TlieHi' bc(>tle8 emerged from 



