LIFE HISTOEY AND HABITS. 35 
There seemed to be a rather plain dividing Hne between those with 
the buff wing covers and those with the brown ones, so they were 
separated. About 1,,500 or 2,000 could be referred to the former 
class. Some of these were sent to Dr. Chittenden for determination, 
and concerning them he wrote as follows : 
No. 495 (?) is Limonius sp. near calif ornicus . It does not appear to agree perfectly 
with the californicus with which I have compared it, and is not represented in our 
duplicate collection. 
The relationship of these beetles will be worked out in the future. 
The true adults of Limonius californicus also varied considerably 
in color, as some were found which were a relatively light brown. 
These color variations occurred in all sizes and both sexes, so color 
seems to have no bearing on the sex of the adult. 
FEEDING OF THE ADULTS, AND FOOD PLANTS. 
When the beetles were first collected the character of their food 
was unknown, and in an endeavor to find their natural food all the 
different kinds of foliage found in the beet fields were tried, but with- 
1 out success. Adults by the hundreds were placed in cages contain- 
ing tender young beet plants, and while they climbed all over the 
plants they were never seen to feed on them, nor could any feeding 
marks be found on the plants. A close watch was kept on the 
adults collected in the field, and at last, as has been stated before, 
^ they were noted feeding on the old left-over beet roots, now half 
> dried and partially rotten. When these were substituted for the 
beet foliage in cages, feeding was begun at once. A few instances 
were noted where the adults had eaten into the roots to such an 
extent that the head and thorax were hidden. Such cases, how- 
ever, were rather exceptional, and the beetles may be considered as 
light feeders. In addition to this, their feeding, from an economic 
. point of view, may be disregarded. 
The adult has been noted feeding on the following substances: 
Old beet roots. 
Alfalfa roots ( Medicago sp. ). 
Johnson-grass roots (Sorghum halepense). 
Wild beet roots (Beta sp.). 
II Young beet roots. 
The old beet roots are the favorite food, and it is only occasionally 
that beetles are noted feeding on the other substances listed. 
The beetles seem to be able to locate food readily and at quite a 
distance. In the laboratory whenever a shce of beet was placed in 
the cages the adults would be clustered about it in a very short time. 
In the field the beetles were always found at the old beets and 
always occurred in the greatest numbers where the beets were most 
plentiful. 
