436 



JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 



[Vol. 4 



larger percentage of eggs deposited in the early afternoon, the rate of 

 oviposition is faster in the later period. There is apparently little 

 preference on the part of the weevils between the two morning periods. 

 The record of Aveevil 1. c is omitted from this table, as it died during 

 the second day, and its record is therefore incomplete. 



TABLE I 



SUMMARY OF PERIODIC DIVISION OF OVIPOSITION 



Period 



Time 

 in two 



Average eggs 

 per weevil 

 per hour. 



5 p. m.-7.30 p. m. 

 7.30 p. m.-4 a. m . 

 4 a. m.-9 a. m — 

 9 a. m.-l p. m. . . . 

 1 p. m.-5 p. m 



5 hours 



0.63 

 0.07 

 0.26 

 0.27 

 0.55 



Total, Daily, and Maximum Oviposition and Oviposition Period 



Since only enough eggs from the first weevils of each generation 

 were needed to insure a supply of female weevils for the subsequent 

 generations, these weevils were not fed beyond a few days. No data 

 were therefore obtained on their total oviposition. Data of this sort 

 were obtained only for the hibernated weevils and the latest weevils 

 of the first generation. 



Oviposition of hibernated weevils. — After the discarding of weevils 

 H. 1 and H. 4 nine hibernated weevils were left for carrying on the 

 observations. These began ovipositing within from one to six days 

 after being placed in the cages. The oviposition period lasted from 

 fourteen to fifty-three days, during which time the weevils deposited 

 from 51 to 304 eggs. The average oviposition was 203.33 eggs and 

 the average period 34.44 days. The average daily individual ovi- 

 position varied from 3.4 to 7.66 eggs, with a total average of 5.9 

 eggs per day. The maximum number of eggs deposited by any weevil 

 during one day was twenty. In all probability, had these weevils 

 been at large, the oviposition period would have been longer and the 

 average daily and maximum oviposition smaller, as the great 

 abundance of squares and the elimination of the search for them 

 undoubtedly conduced to rapid oviposition. Probably also the 

 inability of the confined weevils to remate had some effect on the ovi- 

 position. The life of the weevils after the completion of oviposition 

 varied from death on the last day of oviposition to ten days after the 

 last egg, although only two of the nine lived more than three days. 



The results of these observations are summarized in Table II. 



