14 
BULLETIN 436, TJ. S. DEPARTMENT OE AGRICULTURE. 
all her eggs in a single day, or in two or more successive days, or she 
may deposit only a part of them and then rest from four to five days, 
after which another large number may be deposited; then, after 
another period of three or more days, a third deposition of eggs may 
occur. 
Table VI. — Egg-laying record of 13 females of the desert corn flea-beetle (Chaetocnema 
ectypa) at Tempe, Ariz., 1915, by L. J. Hogg. 
IS 
11 
1 
22 
16 
3 
5 
1 
5 
8 
1 
23 
6 
13 

1 

o 

6 

1 
13 


1 




10 


Ifi 
Female No. 7 


1 



31 
| 1 







11 
Female No. 12 


3 





2 

1 


12 

4 
12 
6 
4 
8 
1 



4 
12 
28 
7 

14 

13 




36 
21 
10 

11 
7 

13 



1 
15 
1 


5 
4 


22 
28 
Female No. 6 
Female No. 16 
Female NO. 1 
Female No. 4 
5 



1 
3 




10 
3 
12 
6 







19 
15 


14 
4 
Female No. 9 

6 
30 
33 
o 

15 
Note. — This table shows the record of a female from the day she started opposi- 
tion until the day she finally completed the same and does not show her length of life, 
either before or after oviposition. 
The females are quite prolific, often laying from a dozen to over 
100 eggs each. During June of 1915 the writer recorded four females 
which laid, respectively, 19, 57, 20, and 29 eggs, while three females, 
all confined in the same cage, laid a total of 145 eggs, averaging 48 
eggs each in a period of 12 days. Mr. L. J. Hogg during August of 
the same year made oviposition records upon 16 females which he 
had under observation, the number of eggs for each female being as 
follows: 23, 40, 85, 101, 69, 20, 45, 11, oo, 17, 126, 36, 
39, 25, 
23, 14. 
LEXGTH OF LIFE. 
In cages the adults usually died within a week or 10 days after 
oviposition was completed, but in some cases the length of life of the 
adult beetles was often prolonged. As shown in Table V, it varied 
from 15 to 83 days, the average for these eight specimens being 
33.6 days. 
It is suspected that in the field, under natural conditions, where 
they are better able to protect themselves from the sun and from the 
moist ure which was nearly always more or less present in small vial 
cages, the length of life might be even longer than that recorded in 
this table. 
METHODS OF FEEDIXG. 
The adult beetles usually feed during the cooler parts of the day 
in the warm summer months and during the warmer parts of the 
day in the cooler spring and fall months. During the summer they 
protect themselves by getting down within the infoliations of the 
plants, where they may secure tender succulent food and at the same 
