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JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 
[Vol. 17 
after the larvae had hatched, and according to the writer’s observa¬ 
tions, the young molt for the first time three or four days after hatching. 
In many respects the larvae with six pairs of legs are different from 
more mature forms: they are not so lively, their movement being more 
like that of the members of the family Poduridae than the adult Scuti- 
gerella; the scutes instead of being notched, are rounded posteriorly and 
possess numerous long setae; the cerci turn down and the spinning 
apparatus apparently does not function, and the second antennal joint is 
cylindrical in shape and twice as long as the normal urn-shaped joints. 
After the first molt, however, the little animals with seven pairs of 
legs become fully as active as the adults, and the scutes, although no 
more in number than before molting, take on the normal shape of those 
of the adult; the cerci function normally and the antennae become 
thirteen jointed, and in appearance and function are like those of the 
adult only they are shorter. 
Growth takes place by the intercalation of a pair of legs and a somite 
just in front of the last somite, that which always bears the sense organs. 
Food Plants. The tender shoots of asparagus, the germinating 
seeds of lima and common beans, vetch, peas, muskmelons, cucumbers 
and the succulent roots of sugar beets, garden beets and radishes have, 
in certain localities of California, been the principal hosts of this garden 
centipede. They also have been found attacking the fleshy roots of 
corn, morning glory, wild mustard, rhubarb, alfalfa, wild lettuce, 
needle grass and foxtail, but only to a limited degree. 
In Oregon and Utah, however, it has in certain localities kept all 
vegetation from growing. In a letter dated August 31, 1923, I. M. 
Hawley of the Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah, con¬ 
cerning the garden centipede states as follows: “I consider it our worst 
pest in the State as it is in our main truck section in Davis County where 
land is very expensive. It is not uncommon to plant most any kind of 
seed two to five times and have them take it every time. I have seen an 
asparagus bed where it killed it completely and even weeds could not get 
a start.” A. L. Lovett of Oregon Agriculture College, Corvallis, Oregon, 
in a letter dated November 23, 1923, makes a similar statement of its 
work in Oregon, as follows: “It seems to be rather erratic, occurring in 
such numbers in limited areas as to destroy all sprouting seeds, even 
keeping patches cleared of weeds.” 
While the little animals seem to thrive on an abundance of succulent 
plant food, the writer has found them to exist very well for several 
months where no succulent material was present, and has been able to 
