INSECTS INFESTING THE FEA. 



333 



the larva (Fig. 338c), as soon as hatched, burrows through the 

 pod and into a pea. Here it remains until it becomes fully 

 grown, feeding upon the interior of the pea. When about to 

 pupate, it gnaws a round hole under the shell of the pea, leav- 

 ing the latter untouched. It assumes the pupa form (Fig. 

 338d) in the Autumn, and is changed to a beetle (Fig. o38ft) 

 during the Winter or early in the following Spring. The beetle 

 gnaws a hole in the shell of the pea, through which it makes 

 its escape, although it not infrequently remains in the pea 

 until the latter is planted. During all this time it seldom 

 injures the germ of the pea. so that })eas infested by it will 

 grow with almost as much certainty as those not infested. 



Fig. 338. ^''^- 3^^8.-Pea 



Weevil ; r, the larva, 

 side view, enlarged 

 (natural size indi- 

 cated above) — color, 

 yellowish ; d, the pu- 

 pa, back view, en- 

 larged (natural size 

 indicated below and 

 to the right — color, 

 j^ellowish ; 6, the weevil, enlarged (natural size indicated below) 

 — color, rusty-black and white ; _r/, an infested pea. 



The beetle, or weevil, is about two lines long, and is of a 

 grayish color, the wing-cases being marked with alternate 

 stripes of gray and black, and behind the middle of each is an 

 oblique white stripe. The exposed tip of the abdomen is 

 covered with a whitish down, and is marked with two ])lack 

 spots placed near the center. 



Since writing the above, I have met a gentleman from a sec- 

 tion of this State where the pea weevil is doing considerable 

 damage. He expressed his belief that the pea weevil was pro- 

 duded by "spontaneous generation," as he had never seen the 

 beetle in his field when the crop was growing. The existence 

 of the weevil in the perfect state is of short duration, and as it 

 probably works only at night, this would account for its not 

 being seen. 



Remedy. — Use No. 115. 



