Oct. is. i&so A New Avocado Weevil from the Canal Zone 113 



PUPATION 



When the larvae are full grown, instead of leaving the seed they hollow 

 out a large spherical cell in which they pupate. Three such cells have 

 been found in one-half of a large avocado seed, and four adults have been 

 reared from a single seed. This is probably as large a number of adults 

 as can be obtained from one seed because of the quantity of food eaten 

 by the larvae and because of the fact that the larvae tunnel freely from one 

 cotyledon of the seed to the other. The minimum duration of the pupal 

 stage is 12 to 15 days. 



HABITS AND INJURY BY ADULTS 



The adults, on transforming from the pupal stage, rest in the pupal cell 

 from two to four days and then cut their way out. At the time they come 

 from the pupal cell the adults are decidedly reddish in color, with six 

 prominent yellowish spots, as given in the technical description. The 

 reddish color becomes darker with age and is finally blackish in reared 

 individuals that live over two months. 



The adults readily drank water that collected on the sides of the glass 

 cages to which they were confined. They ate and seemed to flourish on 

 half-ripe fruit, young leaves, and stems of avocado and on fresh avocado 

 seeds. In one case an individual that had been starved for a week ate a 

 few holes in guaA^a leaves. 



Injury to the fruit and to the leaves and stems is shown in Plate 7, C, 

 and in Plate 8. An interesting" thing about the fruit injury is that the 

 outer skin was first eaten off; then, as the surface of the pulp became 

 dry a day or so later, this in turn was eaten off, the result being that 

 within a week holes almost % inch deep were eaten out. On the 

 young stems the bark layers were gnawed off first and the woody areas 

 were then eaten through, so that all the parts above the injury col- 

 lapsed. Similar injury was done to the petioles of the leaves. In 

 inspection work at the Plant Inspection House of the Office of Foreign 

 Seed and Plant Introduction, Bureau of Plant Industry, at Washington, 

 D. C, avocado bud wood has repeatedly been received from Guatemala 

 showing insect scarring similar to that caused by the light feeding of 

 H. perseae on young stems. This injury on the Guatemala bud wood 

 may have been the feeding injury of H. pittieri that had "healed over." 

 In practically every way the feeding habits of H. perseae are similar to 

 those of H. lauri as recorded by Barber. 



The shortest time that any individuals of this new species (H. perseae) 

 remained alive was 10 days, all of them without food. One male without 

 food but with copious and regular supply of water remained alive 23 

 days. It was observed that when individuals were kept in dry cages they 

 soon died, even in the presence of food. The longest time any individual 

 remained alive was 116 days, this being a female. 



