358 EXPERIMENT STATION RECORD. [Vol.40 



weevil has become permanently established in Texas, Louisiana, and Florida, 

 and during the last few years has destroyed a large part of the crop. 



Its food consists of the sweet potato and other species of Ipomoea, includ- 

 ing the goat's foot morning glory (J. pes-caprce) , and more rarely a wild moon- 

 vine or moonflower (Calonyction aculeata). 



" The beetles injure the sweet potato by feeding on the leaves, vines, stalks, 

 and roots or ' tubers.' The female weevil lays her eggs in the vines, and in the 

 stalks or crowns, near the ground, as also in the roots In the field, and con- 

 tinues to work and breed in the roots in storage. The larvae on hatching tunnel 

 through the vines to the roots, the vines die, and frequently the roots become 

 badly riddled and filled with excreta, Imparting such a bitter taste that even 

 swine will not eat them. . . . Within a short time, if the insects are numerous, 

 the roots are completely destroyed, and breeding continues almost indefinitely 

 after decay has become advanced, until finally the roots become either too 

 moist or too dry and bard to permit further weevil development. 



"One form of injury is accompanied by the first-appearing weevils. After 

 feeding on the leaves, steins, and vines enough eggs are deposited at the base of 

 the vine to girdle it more or less completely, thus Impairing Its vitality before 

 it Is old enough to bear roots. Many weevils undergo transformation within 

 the base of the vine before the roots have attained much growth." 



But few Instances of its flight have been recorded and present knowledge in- 

 dicates that its spread can scarcely be effected by flight, its spread being pos- 

 sible through commercia] movement of its food plants. The weevil is more or 

 less active throughout the year in the Gulf States. "In the field the beetles 

 assume greater activity as soon as the young slips begin to appear in the seed 

 bed. They feed first on the leaves and stalks of young plants, eating irregular 

 holes in the leaves and making excavations in the stalks, which are particularly 

 conspicuous near the surface of the ground. After the stalks reach BUffident 

 size and begin to become woody, tl. are deposited on the roots just below 



the earth line. The usual course taken by the female is to follow the vine to 

 the roots and to deposit the eggs there. . . . The young larva? eat into the 

 flesh of the potato, leaving an irregular mine or burrow lined with excrement. 

 They burrow and teed throughout the root until their full growth is reached. 

 then construct a more or less oval cavity at the end of the burrow, usually 0.25 

 to 0.5 in. of the surface of the root, and there transform to pup:r." Upward- of 

 300 eggs may lie deposited. From 1 to S days are required for the hatching of 

 the egg, 2 to 4 weeks for the larval, and 8 days for the pupal stages, a total of 

 from about ;?0 to V2 days for completion of the life cycle. 



Control measures considered include clean culture, crop rotation, planting 

 the new crop remote from the seed bed, disinfection of the roots, spraying witli 

 arsenicals, and quarantine. It is pointed out that it can be eradicated in limited 

 regions where it has not yet secured a firm foothold, and then by quarantine can 

 be kept out of the onlnfested territory. 



The pea sitonid, N. A. Kemxer (K. Landtbr. Abad. Hamil. och Tidskr., 56 

 (1917), 2fo. 5, pp. 450-458, figs. 5: GentraUuMt. Jordbruktfdrtok Flygbl 6$ 

 (1917), pp. -'/. figs. 5). — A brief Illustrated article on Sitona liiicatus. 



Beekeeping in Florida, V. Siikiim; {Fla. Buggist, 1-2 {1918), No. 4-1. pp. 

 49-52). — A brief discussion. 



Beekeeping in war time. W. Hebbod-Hempsaix (Xch* York: Churl's Scrith 

 ncr's smis, 1918, pp. 32).— A practical booklet on up-to-date methods of bee- 

 keeping. 



Beekeeping in British Guiana, P. M. In WeEVKB {Jour. Bd. Apr. Brit. 

 Guiana, if {1918), No. ■?. i<p. 86-98). — In referring to the enemies of bees in 

 Biitish Guiana, the author states that the Yakman ant {Botton burcliclli), the 



