310 REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE 



of apple which I had placed in the bottle.] But, as there 

 seem to be exceptions to all rules, so there are to this ; yet the 

 exceptions are only just about sufficient to prove the rule, 

 for as far south as St. Louis, not more than one per cent of 

 the beetles lay any eggs at all, until they have lived through 

 one winter ; or, in other words, where one female will pair and 

 deposit a few eggs the same summer she was bred, ninety -nine 

 will live on for nearly ten months and not deposit till the 

 following spring. In more northern latitudes I doubt if any 

 exceptions to the rule will be found. 



As to the other mooted point, namely, whether this. insect 

 ever hibernates under ground in the larvae state, I am perfectly 

 satisfied that it never does, but that it passes the winter invari- 

 ably as a beetle, under all sorts of shelter in the woods; 

 generally, however, near the surface of the ground. Indeed, 

 it often makes for itself a hole in the ground, seldom however 

 deeper than its own body. In short, there is very little to alter 

 or modify in the established facts in its natural history which 

 I gave you last year. The egg instead of being " oval " as 

 there stated, would be better described as " oblong-oval," meas- 

 uring exactly 0.03 inch in length, and being nearly three times 

 as long as wide. It should also be remarked here that when 

 deposiiing her eggs in apples, the female often neglects the 

 usual symbol of Mohammedanism which she so invariably 

 inscribes on stone fruit; and that where this mark is made on 

 apples, it more easily becomes obliterated. 



During their beetle life these insects feed continually jnst as 

 long as the weather is mild enough to make them active. 

 While fruits last they gouge holes in it, and after peaches have 

 gone, apples are badly attacked. They also gnaw large holes 

 in the leaves, and, when n'^thing else presents, will feed on the 

 bark of the tender twigs. 



Let us be thankful, therefore, that there can no longer 

 reasonably be difference of opinion, or discussion on these 

 questions which, though of no very great practical importance 

 were yet of great interest to us all. 



