534 



observed by Mokrzecki in 1898. The author has never observed that, 

 as stated by NordUnge, this pest partly cuts off the buds, so that they 

 remain hanging by a small strip of the bark and -wither. The adults 

 later attack the flowers and, in May and June, the young fruits, which 

 frequently wither in consequence. The females oviposit in the 

 developing fruits of apples and apricots and, less frequently, of plums. 

 The number of eggs in one fruit is differently given by various authors, 

 Linderaan records 4, Mokrzecki, 10 to 15, and Portchinsky, 20. The 

 larvae hatch in 7 or 8 days and eat into the kernel of the stone, or feed 

 on the parenchyma. The larval period lasts 3-| to 4 weeks, pupatioii 

 taking place in the earth. The adults often appear in autumn and injure 

 the buds of fruit trees, the tips of young shoots and also the petioles 

 of leaves and fruit. These beetles winter underneath fallen leaves or 

 the bark of trees, w^hile others remain in the earth till the next spring. 

 The larvae contained in the withered fruit remaining on the trees over 

 the winter, develop very slowly and only mature in the following spring, 

 when they pass into the earth to pupate ; the rotting of such fruits, 

 which would have made the development of the larvae impossible, 

 is prevented by the fungus, Monilia fructigena, Pers., which mum- 

 mifies the fruits. Spraying with lime, and the collection and destruction 

 both of fallen and mummified fruits are urged as remedies, the last 

 two being the more effective. The habit of ovipositing chiefly on 

 neglected, wild trees can be successfully utiHsed in control, by making 

 use of such trees as traps. 



Rhynchites giganteus, Kryn., is found in the governments of Ekateri- 

 noslav, Charkov, Podolia, Kiev, Poltava, Taurida, Southern Saratov, 

 in the Taganrog district of the province of Don, and in North and South 

 Caucasia. The fife-history of this pest w^as first studied b}^ I. J. 

 Shevirev. In Ekaterinoslav and Kiev, Taganrog and Caucasia, it 

 appears in the first half of May, disappearing at the end of August 

 or beginning of September. , These weevils breed mostly on pears, 

 although the author has also observed them on cherries, though no 

 damage to these fruits was noticed. They first injure the buds and 

 later feed on the skin of the fruit. The females oviposit in the fruits 

 and the larvae hatch in 8 or 9 days and pass into the seed capsule 

 where they feed on the seeds. They frequently also make a burrow 

 from the capsule into the pedicel. The fruit generally drops after the 

 larvae have emerged. The author found from 2 to 14 larvae in one 

 fruit. The larval stage lasts according to him three weeks, and 

 according to Shevirev, four weeks. When mature, they enter the 

 earth, where they hibernate and pupate in spring. Hard winter 

 varieties of pears are especially attacked, while soft, quickly maturing 

 ones are less used for oviposition purposes, but are largely sldnned. 

 Besides shaking the trees, which is only practicable in May, it is 

 advisable to spray with Paris green (6 oz. of green, 12 oz. of lime, 2| lb. 

 of rye meal, in 27 gallons of water) not less than 3 or 4 times during 

 the summer, beginning early in June, The fallen fruits should be 

 destroyed. 



Rhynchites auratus, L., is found everywhere in South and South-East 

 Russia, in Caucasia, in South-Western Siberia and in Central Asia. 

 The weevils usually appear at the time of the swelhng of the buds, 

 reaching their maximum numbers shortly after the blossoming and 



