in front and at the sides beneath. A narrow dark line extends 
along the middle of the head, widest posteriorly, where it is 
divided by the very narrow white suture, which forks at the 
middle, sending* two narrow straight branches to the anterior 
angles of the head. 
Here the short, white, three-jointed antennae are situated, the 
first joint about twice as wide as the last, and the second joint 
very "short. The eyes are wanting. The mandibles are dark, 
with black tips, and the other mouth appendages are white. 
The thoracic segments all bear short two-jointed legs, each 
about as long as the segment to which it is attached. They 
are pale brown, armed with short, stout spines and terminating 
in a single claw and a flattened, membranous, oval appendage, 
which extends some distance beyond the tip of the claw. The 
top of the first segment is coriaceous and yellowish brown, while 
all the others are soft except the last, upon which is a circular 
brownish patch of leathery consistence. Beneath this segment 
is a prominent retractile wart or tubercle, serving as a false 
leg. The segment is entire and rounded posteriorly, where it is 
set with a few long hairs or slender spines. 
Just before pupating, the larva becomes very much shortened 
and thickened, assuming more the form of a common grub. 
The abdominal segments now become much more distinctly 
marked, and the head takes a vertical position. The length in 
this, which may be called the semi-pupa stage, is only about 
one fifth of an inch, and the greatest breadth .045 of an inch. 
The body now tapers more posteriorly than before, the last two 
segments being conspicuously narrower than the preceding. In 
other respects the larva remains unchanged. 
The only objects w r hich I have noticed in the ground about 
the roots of corn, which are likelv to be mistaken for the corn 
root worm, are very young earthw T orms, the larvae or grubs of 
small gnats and other flies, and young wireworms. On a careful 
examination the first two of these may be readilv distinguished bv 
the fact that they are entirely destitute of legs, while, as already 
remarked, the root worm has three pairs of jointed legs just back 
of the head. In this respect it agrees with the young wire- 
worms, which are (also like the root worm) destitute of append¬ 
ages to the other segments of the body. Their crust is, however, 
firmer than that of the latter species, the head is longer, flatter, 
and thinner, the body also usually somewhat flattened, and the 
last segment commonly either notched or variously toothed. 
Pupa (Plate XIV., Fig. 8).—The characters of the newly formed 
pupa are well shown by the figure, but as some changes occur 
previous to the escape of the beetle, a description of the latest 
stage is given. The length is .18 of an inch, and the greatest 
width about .1 of an inch. The color is pure white throughout^ 
with the exception of the brownish red eyes, which now show 
through the skin, and a pair of brown, horny, curved hooks, 
attached to the tip of the abdomen, about equaling in length 
