PEA AND BEAN INSECTS 



55 



is about i 

 white and 



of peas because of the depredations of this pest. A similar 

 condition obtains in many parts of Germany. The pea weevil 

 is less abundant in the northern part of its range and a large 

 proportion of the seed peas planted in the South are obtained 

 from the northern states, Canada and northern Europe. 



The pea weevil (Fig. 40) is considerably larger than the 

 other species infesting the pea and the bean. It 

 inch in length, brownish in color mottled with gra> 

 dark brown. There is a white spot on the 

 middle of the hind margin of the prothorax 

 and the wing-covers are crossed by a more 

 or less indistinct whitish band towards the 

 tip. The wing-covers do not extend to the 

 tip of the abdomen and the exposed part 

 is white with two large black spots at 

 the tip. When viewed from above, the 

 l)rothorax has the appearance of being 

 slightly notched on the sides. The base of 

 the antennae and the front and middle tibiae and tarsi are 

 reddish brown. There is a sharp tooth on the underside of 

 the hind femur toward the tip. 



The weevils appear in the field about the time the peas are 

 in blossom and after feeding slightly on the foliage, the female 

 deposits her elongate, fusiform, yellow eggs singly on the sur- 

 face of the newly formed pods. The egg is attached by a 

 viscid substance that on drying becomes white and glistening. 

 As many as fifteen to twenty eggs may be laid on a single pod. 

 The eggs hatch in about twelve days and the young larva 

 •bores into the pod. In case it does not happen to enter the 

 pod directly over a young pea, it may burrow through the 

 tissue of the pod as a miner until it reaches one of the seeds. 

 The hole through which the young larva enters soon heals over 

 and is indicated merely by a small brownish dot. The newly 

 hatched larva is yellow with a black head. The prothorax is 



Fig. 40. — The pea 

 weevil (X 6). 



