90 THE HErOiJT OF THE Xu. 36 



a thread. AA'ithin the severed buds the whitish grubs which hatch out from the 

 eggs, feed on the pollen and other interior parts. They become mature in about 

 two weeks, pupate, and emerge as adults during the latter part of Jui e and 

 tliroughout July. The new adults feed for a short time on the pollen of various 

 llowers and, then in midsummer, they seek their hibernating quarters. There is 

 only one generation a year. 



The Adult. 



Desckiptiox. Oval, robust, brownish-red to blackish, thinly c'.othed with 

 whitish pubescence, condensed on a medium line of the thorax and scutellum; 

 elytra dark red, the denuded fascia and scutellar space darker. Antennal grooves 

 directed against the eyes, funicle seven-jointed; antennae dull yellow, club darker. 

 r>eak longer than the head and thorax, slender, feebly curved, striate and punctate 

 on the sides, carinate above. Thorax Avider at the base tlian long, sides feebly 

 rounded, narrowed towards the apex; disc densely and rather coarsely punctate. 

 l*]lytra one-fourth wider at the base than the thorax, one-half longer than Avide ; 

 striae rather deep, their punctures large, close set; intervals convex, finely pundu- 

 late. VcJitral segments nearly equal, the third longer than the fourth: pygidium 

 convex, not grooved. Front femora with one tooth, hind tibiae with a short spine 

 at the tip, claws armed with an acute tooth. Length, 2-3 mm. (Adapted from 

 Bhitchley). 



F]mergekce in Spring and Habits. Tlie weevils appear in strawberry lields 

 in May, about the time the first buds are formed. Last spring they were first 

 observed in the Vineland district on May 14th. At this time the buds of Senator 

 Dunlap were in evidence, but the buds of Williams had not yet been produced. 



The insects eat out holes in the buds and feed on the pollen within. Often 

 several punctures are made in a single bud, so that when the blossom opens tlie 

 ])ctals present the appearance of having been shot full of holes. The weevils also 

 feed on the stamens of open blossoms and occasionally they eat out holes in the 

 foliage. 



So far as we could judge strawberry weevil adults are capable of flying only 

 a few feet. 



Egg Laying. Li ovipositing the female chews a small hole through the bud, 

 inserting the snout to the base. She then turns around, locates the puncture 

 with her ovipositor, and deposits the egg within — usually among the stamens. 

 In observing this' process of oviposition we noted that sometimes two holes would 

 l)e made, but that only one egg would be laid in the bud. After ovipositing the 

 weevil crawls down the stem and cuts it, so that the bud either falls immediately, 

 or, as is more commonly the case, is left hanging by a mere thread for a few days. 

 The stem may be severed at the base of the bml, or further down. Infrequently 

 the stem of the cluster may be severed. 



In the field the adults were observed ovipositing first on strawberry, and later 

 on blackberry and raspberry from May 14tli to June 26th. However, it should 

 be stated that by the time the raspberry buds appeared most of the adults had died. 



The reproductive capacity of the female was not determined. 



Effect of Cold Weather ox the Weevil. This spring it was observed that 

 during the cold, wet spell of weather prior to May 19th, the weevils were compara- 

 tively inactive, and little injury was done to varieties such as Glen Mary, which 

 were in full bud during that period. 



