142 Annals Entomological Society of America  [Vol. XIV, 
the young fruit begins to set the infested blossoms commonly 
fall to the ground, but may sometimes be seen on the trees even 
after the beetles have emerged in June. 
They come out of hibernation and appear on the branches 
of the hosts about mid-April, feeding ravenously on the buds 
which are showing green. It is not uncommon to see a beetle 
with feet braced and beak inserted up to the eyes in a bud 
while it hurriedly eats the tender leaves within. As soon as all 
the food within reach of the entrance hole is eaten, the beetle 
seeks another bud on the twig and repeats the process. The 
puncture in the bud is round, .3 mm. in diameter, and turns 
dark as soon as the beak is withdrawn. The presence of the 
beetles may be detected by these dark round holes in the 
buds before the egg-laying period arrives. They continue 
to feed on the buds during suitable weather until the clusters 
have separated enough for oviposition in the blossoms. 
During cool weather they remain inactive, generally in the 
axils of the twigs with heads down. A few observations on 
the relation of temperature to their activities were made, and 
these indicate that the beetles remain inactive while the tem- 
perature is below 50° F. The optimum temperature is 60° to 
70° and when it is raised to 78°, they rush about like mad, 
attempting to oviposit in every bud. Under most conditions 
they seem reluctant to fly, but when placed on distasteful food 
