BIOLOGY OF THE LOTUS BORER. 3 
that before the coming of the white man the Indians cultivated it 
for its edible seeds and rootstocks in many places along the Cumber- 
land and Tennessee Rivers. 
The first examination showed that the plants were heavily in- 
fested by the very insect the writers desired to study. Throughout 
the rest of the season of 1919 frequent careful studies were made of 
the conditions at Kimberlin Heights, and quantities of material were 
brought to the laboratory for closer study and for rearing purposes. 
At the time of the first visit, July 19, the main blooming season 
was closing. There were still a few flowers and scattering buds. 
None of the seed pods had ripened, but the oldest ones were fully 
grown. A count showed that there were 472 pods in all stages in the 
plantation. Of these, 80 (17 per cent) showed work of the larve 
and were collected and examined individually. They contained 39 
empty pupal shells, 23 pupe, and 2 larve in the prepupal stage. 
Moths began to emerge at once, or, more properly, continued to 
_ emerge from the pupe until July 28, when the last one appeared. 
On July 19, larve, evidently the progeny of the earliest moths, were 
found feeding on the leaves. These larve were mostly small, only a 
few half grown, and none mature. When taken to the laboratory for 
rearing they began to pupate July 28, and the first moths of this gen- 
eration emerged August 4. From this time on there was a continual 
_ overlapping of generations, larve both from the later moths of the 
_ first generation and from those of the second being inseparably mixed. 
_ From these larve and from others collected on July 28, moths con- 
_ tinued to emerge until August 27. On August 5 no very small larve 
could be found. The youngest observed probably were in the third 
instar, but several egg masses were found, so it seemed probable that 
the last moths of the first generation had not yet disappeared. On this 
_ same date it was also found that the larve of this generation instead 
of seeking pupation quarters in the seed heads were burrowing in the 
upper ends of the petioles of the older leaves, preparing there a pupa- 
tion chamber, and that a few had already pupated. One empty pupa 
shell was found in this location, which seemingly indicated that the 
second generation of moths had just begun to emerge. More pupe 
and prepupal larve subsequently were found in the petioles, and 
larvee, in gradually lessening numbers, still feeding on the leaves and 
in the petioles, were found until September 18. Three were found on 
this date, but thereafter the most thorough search of the lotus and of 
all likely hiding places in the vicinity of the pond failed to reveal a 
trace of their whereabouts. 
A further and more careful study in this locality was planned for 
1920, but for some obscure reason the lotus was very much less vigor- 
ous. Comparatively few leaves and buds appeared and only a few 
small larvee were found in colonies on June 29. 
