150 JOURNAL OP ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 2 



side of the railroad opens to its invasion a considerable number of 

 very fine fields and will give the weevil an opportunity to work south- 

 ward, onto some of the most fertile farming land in the state. The al- 

 falfa raised in Salt Lake County is nearly or quite all used in the 

 county, so that one serious means of spreading the insect is almost 

 obviated. Where animals are being shipped from the county, for 

 instance at the time of such events as the State Fair, abundant oppor- 

 timity may be given for the insect to pass to some other uninfested 

 district or even out of the state. Man}?- of the fruit orchards are 

 surrounded on one or more sides by alfalfa fields and the migrating 

 weevils have been found concealed in fruit packages. The principal 

 means of distribution of the weevil at the present time is that of mi- 

 gration by the adults in the summer and fall. 



Life-History and Habits 



The egg-laying period lasts for several weeks, due apparently to the 

 long period over which adults are emerging from hibernation. The 

 eggs are laid on the plant, and most of those found have been in or 

 near the growing tips. The eggs are oval, pale yellow, .2 mm. long, 

 darkening to a greenish yellow before hatching. I have reason to be- 

 lieve that some of the weevils lay some eggs in the fall near the ground 

 on the stems. 



The young larva? are pale green, changing after their first meal to 

 a green slightly paler than that of the leaves on which they feed. The 

 color is so deceptive that unless larva? are numerous it often takes con- 

 siderable searching to locate them. When two thirds or more grown 

 they are more easily seen. Usually while feeding the anal end is 

 curled around a part of the leaf or bud in the same manner as in some 

 other species of the genus. At this age they are easily disturbed and 

 often fall to the ground before the plant has been touched. There 

 are at least four distinct stages in the life of the larva, each lasting 

 from eight to ten days. The full-grown larva is 4 to 6 mm. long and 

 has a distinct broad white dorsal stripe. 



The full-grown larva drops to the ground and among the fallen 

 leaves or at the base of the stems spins an open-work lace cocoon much 

 finer than the case of F. punctatus. x\fter several days, depending 

 somewhat on the weather, a greenish white pupa is formed and in from 

 10 to 14 days the adult weevil appears. After two or three days it 

 hardens, turns brown, and then cuts its way out of the cocoon, crawls 

 up a stem and begins feeding. 



The beetle varies from 4 mm. long in the male to 5 or 5.5 mm. in the 

 female. When freshly emerged they are brown with a distinct darker 



