171 



doors, windows and other openings should be tightl}^ closed before the sulphur and 

 saltpetre are ignited." If the fumigation with sulphur be persistently kept up, and 

 the mill be frequently swept and kej)t clean, this pest can certainly be kept in check; 

 but the treatment must be incessant. There are probably two normal broods of this 

 insect, one emerging in the spring and another in autumn ; but in a jar kept con- 

 stantly under observation, in my office (which was heated during the winter), there 

 have been, I judge, three distinct broods ; although ft-om the fact that some retarded 

 individuals have been emerging the whole time, and no special study was made of 

 them, it has been very difficult to keep track of the separate broods. These insects 

 are very retentive of life, and the following fact will indicate with what difficulty 

 they will be eradiated if they are allowed to be introduced : 



In the autumn of 1889, when studying the species, I placed a worn female in a 

 small tight-fitting cardboard box, with about half a thimbleful of cornmeal, to obtain 

 the eggs. The box was put on one side and forgotten until a week ago, when it was 

 found to contain several half-grown larvas, which, although much shrivelled, were 

 still alive, and since, they have been supplied with food, have grown ra])idly. From 

 the appearance of the contents of the box this brood was hatched from the eggs 

 laid by the female enclosed a year ago, and they have been for several months at 

 any rate without any fresh food. All Avho have had experience with this insect 

 notice its preference for dusty corners ; these, therefore, should be carefully brushed 

 out. When the caterpillars are full grown and ready to spin their cocoons, they 

 have a tendency to climb up to an angle, such as is afforded by the meeting of a wall 

 with the ceiling. Such places also should be frequently brushed. When possible, 

 spraying the walls and floors with the ordinary kerosene emulsion would have a 

 most beneficial effect. Anyone who sees this insect cannot fail to recognize it, if they 

 will examine the figure given herewith. The moth differs from the ordinary flour 

 moth found in mills (Asopia farinaUs) in everyway. The colour of the Mediterranean 

 Flour Moth is slate-gray, with dark markings, and the outline is narrow and slender, 

 the wings sometimes being slightly curled under the sides of the body when the 

 insect is at rest. The ordinary flour moth (Aso^m/armafe), which is produced from 

 the meal worm, and which has been known in our mills for many years, is a pretty, 

 triangular-shaped moth, in colour chocolate-brown and creamy-white. 



The Pea Weevil. {Bruchus pisi, L.) 



Fig. 7, B. pisi (after Curtis) kindly lent by Prof. Riley, the U. S. Entomologist. 



Attack. — A small brownish-gray, very active beetle, about \ inch long, with two 

 conspicuous black spots on the end of its body, which emerges frona seed pease late 

 in the autumn or in the spring, leaving a small round hole, through which it may be 

 seen that the greater part of the inside of the pea has been eaten away. There is 

 only one beetle in each pea. 



During the last two years I have received abundant evidence of the rapid increase 

 of this troublesome insect in the pea-growing districts of Ontario. 



Mr. T. Gr. Eaynor writes me from Rose Hall, Prince Edward County : — 



" I havo consulted the grain buyers and others about the Pea-Weevil and they say 

 that the weevils are very bad this yeai-, especially two or three miles back from the 

 lake shore. With us here there were only a few." 



