94 



Weevils of the Genus Sitona 



ent pasture and amongst clover in waste places in the same locality. 

 Only one or two specimens occurred upon peas. In the north of Scotland 

 it is locally abundant amongst clover in the fields and by the roadsides. 

 In Russia and America this species is principally recorded as a pest of 

 clover and lucerne, but in Maryland, Cory (5) mentions it as attacking 

 newly planted Lima beans. Petit (12) observes that *S'. hispidula was so 

 numerous upon lucerne in Michigan that entire fields were destroyed by 

 it. Wildermuth(22) considers that the larvae of this species may some- 

 times feed upon the roots of grass, but no confirmation of this has been 

 obtained in the present research. BargagH(2) mentions the occurrence of 

 S. hispidula on Galega officinalis. 



Fig. 1. Leaf of red clover showing damage by adult S. hispidula. 



Nature of Damage. 



Damage hg adults. (Fig. 1.) The adults of S. Jiispidula feed upon the 

 leaves of clover and lucerne but are rarely present in sufficient numbers 

 to cause serious damage. They commence to feed at the edge of the leaf 

 by biting out very small notches which are usually deepest between the 

 veins, so that the eaten portion has often a jagged appearance. The 

 beetles frequently continue to feed at the same place upon the leaf, 

 thereby enlarging the original excavation and forming irregular indenta- 

 tions of various sizes. 



Damage by larvae. (Figs. 2 and 3.) Though larvae of Sitona are to be 

 found very commonly damaging roots of clover in the field it is not easy 

 to determine to which species they belong, as at present there is no com- 

 parative description of the larvae pubHshed, and also when dug up from 

 the field they are difficult to rear. The injury was therefore determined 



