1921] Wellhouse: Hawthorne Blossom Weevil 143 
they fly away. They continue their activities on cloudy or 
rainy days and at night if the temperature is sufficiently high. 
The period between the opening of the blossom clusters and 
the opening of the blossoms themselves is the time of oviposition, 
and the length of this period probably influences the amount 
of injury to a considerable extent. If it is prolonged by cool, 
cloudy weather, then eggs may be placed in more blossoms 
before they open. The oviposition period comes about May 15 
~at Ithaca. 
After selecting a suitable blossom bud the female makes a 
hole in the side of the calyx with her beak, then turning around 
she thrusts the egg into the hole with her ovipositor and moves 
to another bud to repeat the process. A clear liquid fills the 
hole where the egg is thrust in, which soon hardens and seals 
the opening completely. The act of oviposition requires about 
10 minutes when the temperature is 68° or 70°, but requires an 
hour at 54°. 
The egg is pearly white, .6 mm. long, .86 mm. wide, elliptical 
generally the same size at both ends, but when tucked in tightly 
' between the anthers it may be-narrower at one end to conform 
to the space it fills. It is almost the same size and color as the 
anthers and difficult to distinguish from them. The corium is 
smooth, unsculptured, delicate, drying and collapsing when 
exposed to the air for one hour. 
After about a week the young white curved legless larva is 
found within the bud. It feeds upon the anthers and as it grows 
consumes all the internal parts of the flower, but leaves intact 
the wall of the receptacle and the closed petals which form 
the roof of its house. The petals become stiff, as if they were 
starched, and do not shrink away as they turn brown. After 
feeding a couple weeks, the larva is dirty white, 6 to 8 mm. long, 
legless, has a small brown head and lies in a curved position. 
At about this time it moults and changes to a white free pupa 
6 mm. long, with a dark caudal spine, 2 dark prominent spines 
on the apex of the head and several smaller spines farther 
back on the head. After pupating during a week or a little 
longer, the beetle makes a hole in the top or side of its house 
with the beak and emerges. 
It begins to feed a few minutes after emergence, choosing 
' for its food the first young thorn or fruit in its pathway as it 
wanders along the branch. The thorns of the current season’s 
