December, '09] JOURNAL OP ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 375 



which the climate and crop conditions offered corresponding induce- 

 ments to the weevil, and naturally including southern Texas. To 

 verify the part that Texas was expected to share, Mr. J. D. Mitchell in- 

 spected a number of old cornfields at Victoria, March 7 to 10, and in 

 every one he readily found the weevil and evidence of its work. He 

 estimated that not over 10 per cent, at most of the stalks were attacked. 

 All of the information so far obtained, however, positively defined this 

 newly-known habit of the weevil as an universal trait. 



That this weevil is capable of breeding indefinitely in cornstalks was 

 shown by its continuance of stages in the first collection of stalks ob- 

 tained last year, on September 18, until the experimental test was pur- 

 posely terminated on April 14 of the present year, covering a period 

 of seven months; and, moreover, the insect has proven its ability to 

 withstand the winter climate of Dallas, Tex., where the infested stalks 

 were kept in a breeding box in an outdoor insectary. While the spe- 

 cies has survived severer winter weather than where collected, no pro- 

 tection was afforded other than a dry screened cage under a roof. 



In order to learn the particulars by personal observations concern- 

 ing the reported attacks in green stalks, as mentioned in my previous 

 paper (27), an inspection of the corn growing on the same plantation 

 near Alexandria, La., where the weevils had been first detected in the 

 role of a cornstalk pest, was made on August 3 of the present year. 

 My search required only a few minutes at any place examined to ob- 

 tain abundant evidence of the weevils' presence, though, contrary to 

 expectations based on my first experience of last year, the lower joints 

 instead of any above the ears were found attacked. Furthermore, the 

 astonishing feature of their work was shown by severe attacks on the 

 leaves. Upon stripping these leaves from the stalks the inner side of 

 the base which encircles the stem above the node was found to be 

 shredded with burrows, generally running in courses between the 

 fibres, the work opening through the surface on account of the thin 

 structure. 



The finding of live larv£e occupying burrows in the damaged por- 

 tions of the leaves clearly places the responsibility of the work upon 

 this stage of the insect. Moreover, an adult was taken while resting on 

 a blade. In the joints the larvae were found embedded just under the 

 surface at the node, the external effect being distinguishable by a 

 blackened spot, indicating the point of entrance or oviposition. As the 

 attacks occurred more commonly on leaves than stalks, the inference 

 follows that the weevils first breed in the base of the leaves and later 

 attack the joints, probably as each in turn begins to dry. On the 

 whole, however, the stalks were in a green and sappy condition, some 



