October, ’24] 
lane: rearing wireworms, elateridae 
579 
them from larvae. This should be done the previous spring by collect¬ 
ing as many full grown larvae as possible and confining them in soil 
cages. A simple and very effective soil cage for rearing any stage of the 
larvae can be made out of galvanized sheet iron, of guages ranging from 
20 to 30. These are best made in the form a cylinder, by rolling two 
pieces of iron of the same size to a half circle and joining them together 
with baling wire, a fold being provided on one vertical edge of each half 
to receive the straight edge of the opposite half snugly. These cylinders 
without top or bottom can be made in any desired diameter and depth, 
but two pieces of galvanized iron 23 x 18 inches in the flat, when rolled 
and one edge of each folded over and back once using up 1^ inches of 
iron, will make when joined together, a cylinder about 12 inches in 
diameter and 18 inches deep. This is set into the ground at a depth of at 
least 15 inches and filled with soil. The soil within the cylinder should 
be tamped as hard as normal soil in field, or preferably the cages should 
be placed in the ground during the previous fall, in order that the winter 
rains and snows may settle the soil normally. When the soil is left too 
loose, the wireworms are likely to burrow deeply and possibly escape 
from under the lower end of the cylinder. The described size of cylinder 
accommodates ten or more larvae easily and is not too heavy for one 
man to lift from the ground and examine. When ready for examination 
this cylinder should be dug and laid horizontally on a canvas, in which 
position the upper half can be removed and the soil examined carefully 
by screening or otherwise. 
Full grown larvae if placed in these cylinders before June first will 
pupate normally and thus with a series of cylinders the pupal stage or 
period can be determined accurately. If adults alone are desired it is 
best to leave the cylinders undisturbed until the following spring, when 
they can be removed before regular emergence date and adults re¬ 
covered in perfect condition. Adults when taken from the soil in the fall 
and kept over winter in small tins usually have a high mortality from 
molds and bacteria. 
Adults procured for rearing should be kept separate according to 
sexes till ready for mating. Sexes of the economic species of Elateridae 
can usually be determined by the more robust form of the female and her 
shorter antennae with joints slightly stouter. The male is usually 
slender, with antennae reaching nearly to the base of the thorax and 
joints flattened laterally. 
Mating of adults is best done on warm sunny days, inside or out of the 
wind. Containers deep enough so that the beetles cannot fly or climb 
