PROC. ENT. SOC. WASH., VOL 21, XO. 3, MAR., 1919 57 



numerous the seed may be badly riddled but the germ is often 

 not injured by the larvae whose presence in the seed cannot be 

 detected except by cutting into their galleries unless they have 

 started to leave the seed for pupation. This transformation 

 is usually accomplished in the ground but larvae sometines pupate 

 in rotten seeds. The pupal period lasts about two weeks and the 

 adults do not harden very rapidly. It is supposed that eggs are 

 laid in the young fruit otherwise one would expect to find a 

 noticeable entrance hole in the seed covering. If the larvae 

 shown in the injured avocado fruit illustrated by Wilson Popenoe 

 1919 (Plate XI) are in truth this species, as I believe they probably 

 are, its habits of attack in the growing fruit must be similar to 

 that of C. nenuphar in peach, but nothing to indicate this was seen 

 in the material reaching my hands from the following sources: 



A. vS. Hoyt of Los Angeles, Cal., examined quantities of seed from 

 a dealer in Mexico City finding larvae and pupae of Heilipus 

 lauri and a Scolytid (mentioned below) but among the few 

 specimens of the former now in the National Collection there 

 are two larvae now believed to be this Conotrachelus but which, 

 when received were mistaken for young larvae of the Heilipus. 



O. F. Cook collected seed of a "hard shelled" avocado at Coban, 

 Alta Vera Paz, Guat., many of which were infested with Cono- 

 trachelus larvae and Caulophilus larvae, pupae and adults. These 

 were received by me June 9, 1914 and from them pupae were 

 secured in July and early August, and adults were reared. 



Wilson Popenoe purchased seed in the markets in Guatemala 

 City which was received in Washington in several lots, two adults 

 being reared in Feb. 1917 and twelve more in Feb., Mar. and 

 early April 1918, the latter from seed purchased in November 

 19lt. In this lot there was much parasitism by a Chalcid (En- 

 cyrtid) whose black pupae formed a raspberry-like cluster all 

 standing upright in the pupal cell of their host. Larvae are also 

 preserved from seed grown in Panajachel, Guat., about Jan. 

 5, 1917, but I have seen no adults from this lot. Avocados are 

 brought into the markets by the natives from long distances, 

 I am informed, so the specimens here described may be native 

 in some other section of that country although undoubtedly 

 established about cities. 



Conotrachelus serpentinus Boh. 1X37 was described from Cuba 

 and has been mentioned by Jaq. Duval 1S.")0, by Suffrian 1872 

 and by Gundlach 1S91? What seems to be the same species 

 from Florida was described by LeConte ls7x as a new species, 

 C. ventralis under which name Schwarz 1890 recorded it as found 

 by him exclusively upon Per sea carolinensis ( = - P. borbonid), 

 within Psyllid galls on which, lie believed the larvae developed. 

 Blatchley and Leng 191(i re-describe the species under the name 



