April, ’18] 
McCOLLOCH: FALSE WIREWORMS, ELEODES 
219 
The habits of the beetles have been studied to a limited extent in the 
field. All of the Eleodes are more or less nocturnal or crepuscular and 
tricostata is no exception. They may be found abroad early in the 
morning and towards evening or on cloudy days. During the day¬ 
time, however, they are generally found under rocks, boards, logs and 
manure where they are rather inactive. Once the cover is removed^ 
however, they run with great rapidity. Feeding, mating, and egg 
laying take place generally at night, both in the field and in the rearing 
cages. 
The adults have been found feeding in the field on Solidago, Eu¬ 
phorbia marginata, prairie clover, and evening primrose. In the labora¬ 
tory, they fed on bran and soaked wheat in preference to any other 
food supplied. They also fed readily on growing wheat plants, es¬ 
pecially when the plants were only a few inches high. Some of the 
beetles fed sparingly on roots and leaves of grasses and on decaying 
organic matter. They are also cannibalistic to some extent, feeding 
on dead beetles or those in a weakened condition. 
The beetles of E. tricostata live for a long period. One female col¬ 
lected early in July, 1915, lived until May, 1916, while many beetles 
maturing in June, 1916, lived until June and July, 1917. The longest 
period thus far recorded is for a female that lived 391 days. There 
seems to be a tendency for the females to live longer than the males. 
Blaisdell (1909, p. 29) records keeping adults of E. dentipes alive for 
over four years. 
Length of Life-Cycle 
The length of the life-cycle normally occupies about one year. 
Taking the average length of the various stages, it required 328 days 
from the time the eggs were laid until the adults emerged. In the same 
way, using the minimum length of each stage, the life-cycle was 85 
days, and taking the maximum length of each stage, the life-cycle 
was 423 days. 
Predaceous Enemies 
The members of the genus Eleodes are not preyed upon by a large 
number of piedaceous enemies. This is probably due to the fact that 
the adults of most of the species secrete an oily liquid having a strong 
offensive odor. This is thought to be a protective secretion as it is 
excreted only when the beetles are disturbed. Gissler (1879) describes 
the glands which produce this fluid and states that they are found in 
both sexes. Williston (1884, p. 169) says that E. tricostata seems to be 
devoid of these secretions. 
Blaisdell (1909, p. 29) says that skunks will feed on Eleodes and that 
chickens devour them readily as do the ground owls. The butcher 
