LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS: THE EGQ@. 39 
the pear, the young fruit of which upon falling dries, becoming more 
or less flinty. Many hundreds of Kieffer, LeConte, Duchess and 
other varieties of pears have been collected, but in only a few cases 
were adults reared therefrom. 
LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS. 
THE EGG. 
NUMBER OF EGGS DEPOSITED. 
The number of eggs deposited by the curculio was long a matter 
of conjecture. Riley’s estimate (First Missouri Report, p. 54) of 
from 50 to 100 has been generally quoted in the absence of definite 
observations. He further states that eggs are deposited at the rate 
of from 5 to 10 a day, the activity of beetles varying with the tem- 
perature. Prof. A. J. Cook, by dissection, found that a single female 
may contain 30 eggs. Dissections during early May, 1887, by Mr. 
W. B. Alwood showed the presence of only 1 or 2 fully developed 
eggs, although many immature ova were found. Late in May, how- 
ever, 4 to 10 eggs were found in each female. Riley and Howard’ 
in 1888 expressed belief in Riley’s earlier estimate, as based on the 
rate of development, dissections, and observations. 
The first attempt to obtain more exact information on this point 
was apparently in 1902, during the spring of which year Messrs. 
Quaintance and Smith’? made observations in Maryland on 9 females 
confined separately during their lives and supplied daily with fresh 
plums. Careful examinations of the fruit were made and the number 
of eggs deposited by each female daily recorded. 
The record is shown in abstract in the table below, from date of 
capture, May 14, to time of death of each individual. 
TaB.eE I1].—Kgg-laying records from 10 plum curculios, College Park, Md., 1902. 
Eggs laid each week by each individual. 
No. of individual. May June July | Total. 
May | May} 28- |June| June} June} 25- | July | July | July | July | 30- 
14-20. |21-27. | June | 4-10. |11-17. |18-24. | July | 2-8. | 9-15. |16-22. |23-29.| Aug. 
3. iL 5. 
Soe eee eee 37 75 43 20 24 14 14 6 3 10 21 9 276 
(de en ane 65 91 40 26 11 Dal ees taaal lees aera tte ete to cee saie'| erste ll <& obo 235 
Vine SSE ESSEC SEAR EC] Bare) Eos Ris ee eee ee Fe See else Sel (Seca) penne) Reese el baaree Meee a) Sree ee 
Beech See one Se 62 | 102 59 51 28 B) vee Ae ote Se cap anitee toe |arance beetes 304 
1) Doe oe aeeee 70 104 64 45 36 25 14 9 6 20 30 13 436 
Geeeee soos tema’ aos 64 67 56 51 27 19h) ett Eeicee ny [er as Seal (ee es | ee ee 270 
Meee ete ns Fests 17 C1 eee, Pm) meee Sel 2 a Se | ee een) Rees 62 
Bee teens «ode os 45 83 12 a Re ey eel (ell Fa gs all en tg al Re eee 142 
Mee Ban See = ara 3 65 | 114 61 60 39 25 10 + eee 5 102 |2oe- = 397 
a ea eee 71 79 77 36 27 25 Sileewsce 3 13 TOL bees Ss 349 
otalscs5 496 760 | 414 289 192 98 46 23 12 48 71 22 2,471 
1 Rept. Ent. U.S. Comm. Agr., 1888, p. 59. 
2U.S. Dept. Agr., Div. Ent. Bul. 37, n. s., pp. 105-107, 1902. 
