330 



SOME SOl'TH INDIAN INSECTS. ETC. 



Distribution. Godavari, Malabar. August to October. 



Lifehistory. With its snout the weevil digs deep pouches into 

 the tissues of the underside of a mango-leaf, on either side of the 

 midribi and lays its eggs singly in these cavities. The translucent 

 oval egg is about \ mm. long, and from 10 to 20 eggs may be laid 

 in a single leaf. The eggs laid in this manner, the weevil now 

 proceeds to cut right through the leaf near the stem, so that the leaf 



Fig. 187. -Eugnamptus marginatus ovipositing in a mango-leaf; about half 



tin natural size. I o the right i- seen a single > ^.i: more highly magnified. 



(< (riginal.) 



■ alls from the tree. The young grubs, on emergence from the egg, 

 mine into the leaf, eating all that portion between the epidermal 

 layers. The legless full-grown grub is about 4^2 to 5 mm. long, 

 flattened ; dirty green in colour, spiracles at the end of short lateral 

 spine-like projections. When full-grown the grubs emerge from 

 their mines in the leaf and burrow just below the surface of the 

 soil, where they form oval chambers in which they pupate, the 

 weevils emerging after 7 to 8 days. The weevil also eats small holes 

 in the leaves. [Y.R.R.l- 



Foodplant. Mango. 



Status. A pest which may attain considerable importance when 

 in large numbers; in badly-infested trees practically all the young 



