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[Vol. 11 
rapidly until November when it was about 46 days. In 1916, the 
first eggs were deposited on July 10 and the first ones hatched on 
July 16. The last eggs were laid October 12 and the last egg hatched 
November 20. This gives a period of 133 days that eggs were to be 
found. 
The Larva. —Very little has been written concerning the larvae of 
Eleodes. Gissler (1878, p. 19) gives a meager description of the larvae 
of E. gigantea Mann, and E. dentines Esch. Blaisdell (1909, pp. 497- 
499) enlarged on the description of dentipes and gives a working basis 
for the description of the various larvae of the genus. Hyslop (1912, 
pp. 78-81) describes the larvae of E. letcheri vandykei and E. pimeloides. 
In many ways the. false wireworms resemble the true wireworms but 
may be readily distinguished from them by the fact that the antennae 
of the Eleodes larva are clavate and longer. The false wireworms also 
show a much greater activity than do the true wireworms. 
On hatching, the larva (PI. 5, B) of E. tricostata is 3.75-4 mm. in 
length and creamy white in color. After the first moult, the larva 
changes to black in color and this color persists, except immediately 
after moulting, during the rest of this stage. In this respect, it differs 
from any of the described Eleodes larvae. When full grown, the larva 
is about 35 mm. in length. 
The larvae are subterranean in their habits, being found during the 
summer and fall from one to six inches or more below the surface of the 
ground. It is not uncommon to find them under stones on grass-land 
but so far the writer has never observed them on the surface of the 
ground. They burrow from place to place, feeding on the roots and 
seeds of plants and probably, to some extent, on decaying organic 
matter. In the vicinity of Manhattan, the larvae appear to be con¬ 
fined to the native grass-land and practically all larvae found have 
been taken in such situations. In confinement, however, they feed 
readily on germinating wheat and corn, on bran, roots of grasses, and, 
to some extent, on manure. In addition to this, they often feed on 
their cast-off skins and on larvae that have died or are in a weakened 
condition. 
The length of the larval stage was determined for 111 larvae in 1915 
and 1916, these data being summarized in the following table: 
Length of Larval Stage 
Year 
No. of Larvae 
Min. Days 
Max. Days 
Average Days 
1915-1916 
51 
252 
291 
267 
1916-1917 
60 
68 
332 
292 
