BOARD OF HORTICULTURE 150 



the legs become brown." In about eight days the wing cases develop, and the 

 body becomes light brown. which in a day or two changes to dark brown." 



Seasonal Historj' 



The strawberry root-weevil is Single brooded. The adult beetles may remain 

 alive and active for more thau a year. There are then, for a Short period of time, 

 two generations of beetles present. These beetles are busily engaged feeding on 

 the foliage of the strawberry and other hosts, raggiug and Stripping it. The 

 insects pass the winter in both the adult and grub stage. The beetles hibernate 

 in all conceivable sorts of places. Many of them become restless in early Sep- 

 tember and begin seekiug a place for hibernation. Very ofteu in this search they 

 enter dwellings and prove a source of no little worry to the housewife by crawling 

 over and under everything and dropping from the walls and ceiling into dishes 

 and vessels not intended for their occupancy. Many of them remain in the field, 

 hibernating in the soil up dose al)out the crown of their host, or crowded down 

 into the sheaths about the central whorl of the crown. They also hibernate under 

 heaps of leaves and debris about the field, in fenee corners, under boards and 

 loose bark. They have been found in bundles of shingles, in bundles of bedding, 

 and in crates of nursery stock and other transportable material. This may accouut 

 in a large measure for their spread to new localities. The grubs pass the winter 

 in the soil about the roots of their hosts. A portion of them are mature in late 

 fall and even form in the soil what will constitute the pupal cell. The majority 

 of the grubs pass the winter as nearly mature larvae, feeding to a limited extent 

 on their host. A very few grubs occur during the winter as ouly half-grown 

 larvae, and these naturally prolong the period of pupation and emergence of the 

 adult weevils in the following spring. The first pupae occur in early May. Our 

 earliest Observation of a newly emerged weevil is May 21. In the Single instance 

 v>'here I successfully reared a beetle from the larva, the pupal stage was eight 

 days. During late May and June the majority of the new generation of beetles 

 emerge. Even earlier than this the overwintering brood of beetles assume a 

 traveling habit and crawl for a con.siderable distance. The new generation of 

 l)eetles also travel. and during ^lay the housewife is again worried by the pres- 

 ence of this beetle in the house. About two weeks after tlie new generation of 

 beetles commence to emerge the first eggs are found. The majority of these eggs 

 are deposited promiscuously through the soil from one-half to three iuches below 

 the surface and extending from dose about the crown out in a radius as great 

 as that covered by the foliage of the plant. Later in the season, as the soil dries 

 out, eggs are deposited about the central growing whorl of the crown. usually 

 well down among the sheaths. They are also found in cracks and crevices fre- 

 quented by the beetles and in the tunnels that sometimes occur about the base 

 of the plants. The largest number of eggs deposited by a female in confinement 

 was 43. In dissections, eggs were found in numbers from 23 to 67, with an 

 average of 42. It is believed that the average egg production is higher than 

 this, however. The egg period in the field extends over a period of several weeks. 

 The beetles themselves . f eed at night and during the da.v crowd down in dark 

 sheltered places. They will often be found in numbers under a clod, in a crevice 

 or crack in the soil, in these tunnels mentioned above, or crowded down about 

 the crown of the plant itself. 



The eggs begin hatching in about nine days ; in our Observation the Incubation 

 period was from nine to 24 days, with an average of about 14 days. The egg is 

 comparatively hardy, will stand eonsiderable handling and jostling about and, 

 unlike the egg of many insects, will hatch even in dry soil. The egg-laying period 

 extends apparently well into the season, at least until July 20. By far the 

 majority of the eggs are deposited, however, during June. The young grubs are 

 fairly hardy and acti^-e. They can live in dry soil for 36 hours without food and 

 can travel over loose dry soil at the rate of eight inches in 16 hours. 



