58 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Jan. 2, 1920. 



leaves folded over, and saw, on examination* that they were gummed 

 on either half. On separating the two halves, he found a patch of eggs stuck 

 to the surface with the secretion that held the leaf together. 



A week later both the Inspector and I, having enclosed a number of the 

 weevils in a mosquito-net bag sewn round apple tree branches in our respective 

 gardens at Epping and Croydon, found, on examining the enclosed foliage, a 

 number of folded leaves containing eggs. These eggs are semi-transparent, 

 with a greenish patch at one end, elongate, cylindrical, with the extremities 

 rounded and the sides slightly flattened through the pressure of the leaf. 

 They measured li mm. in length, and were placed side by side in rows. The 

 numbers in each patch varied as follows : — 97, 66, 62, 37, and 33. On 17th 

 November we found the tiny beetle larva? hatching out and crawling about 

 over the leaves and the sides of the jar in which they were enclosed. 

 They ai-e curious dull white to semi-transparent maggot-like grubs, with small 

 brown heads and well defined segments in the thorax and abdomen. Though 

 legless, they were very active in drawing themselves along by the jaws, con- ■ 

 traction of the segments, and a fleshy pad taking the place of pro-legs on the 

 under-surface of the anal segment. Watching their movements under the 

 lens, one could see that once they started it would not take them long to reach 

 the base of the tree trunk, and to enter the soil to start their work upon the 

 roots. 



"While digging in the soil under the infested apple tree on 21st August, 

 Mr. Gallard obtained a perfect female beetle in an earthen cell about 18 inches 

 beneath the surface of the ground. Several large larvse were obtained at 

 the same time about 6 inches deeper in the soil, but no pupae have been 

 found. Later on (-Ith September) he found three adult beetles (one male 

 and two females) resting on the limbs near the top of the apple tree. The 

 following list by Mr. Gallard of the perfect beetles collected from the apple 

 trees in the infested orchard will give some idea of how the pest would have 

 increased in this orchard if we had not been carefully looking over the trees 

 at regular intervals and collecting all the adult beetles : — ith September, 

 3 perfect beetles; 12th September, 10; 15th September, 5; 26th September, 

 12; 26th September, 22 ; 5th October, 24; 6th October, 6. Total, 82. 



The beetles vary much in size in the sexes, the female being nearly a third 

 longer than the male and twice the bulk. In general form and structure 

 they are alike, except that the abdomen of the female is much larger and her 

 wing covers are rounded on the sides, convex on the dorsal surface, and turned 

 down and pointed at the apex. The sculpture in the sexes is the same, 

 the dorsal surface of the head between the eyes to the tip of the snout forming. 



Description of Plate. 



1. Larva of Leptops /to/;ei (Apple Root Weevil). 



2. Female beetle (dorsal view). 



3. ,, ,, (side view). 



4. Male beetle. 



5. Tip of abtlonien of male beetle. 



6. Tip of abdomen of female beetle. 



