- 7 - 
effect on the length of the preoviposition period. The average preoviposi- 
tion period was 4.9 days for beetles fed on peanut foliage and 16.4 days 
for those fed on grass. 
Table 1. — The effect of different foods on the length of 
the preoviposition period of the white-fringed beetle, 
Florala, 'la., 1938. 
Length of preoviposition period 
Food 
Number of 
Average 
Range 
beetles 
(days) 
(days) 
Peanut 
20 
4.9 
1-9 
Cotton 
17 
6.6 
1-13 
Strawberry 
7 
8.4 
3-18 
Pecan 
20 
9.4 
■ 2-24 
Blackberry 
14 
13.1 
7-26 
Grass 
11 
16.4 
7-29 
The preoviposition period as given here is the length of time elapsing 
between the emergence of the adult and the deposition of the first eggs. 
It does not take into consideration the period the beetle remained in the 
soil after becoming an adult. 
Oviposition perio d. — The average length of the oviposition period 
for 32 individuals in 1937 was 71.9 days; the periods ranged from 9 to 122 
days. Three of these beetles were fed on peanut foliage and 17 on cotton 
foliage during their entire life span, and 12 were fed on cotton foliage for 
a period and then on peanut foliage. 
The oviposition periods for beetles fed on various kinds of foliage 
during 1938 are shown in table 2. The average length of the oviposition 
period for beetles fed on cotton foliage was 93.9 days and only 10.2 days 
for those fed on grass. One beetle fed on cotton deposited eggs during a 
period of 133 days. The average oviposition period for beetles fed on 
strawberry, blackberry, and pecan foliage did not vary greatly, being 52 
days on strawberry, 50.1 days on blackberry, and 47.9 days on pecan. 
