LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS: THE EGG. 47 
All of the above records, with the exception of those from Illinois, 
are brought together in Table XI. A total of 12,602 eggs is shown 
from the 7 localities. At College Park, Md., the maximum number 
of eggs deposited was 426 and the minimum 62, with an average of 
274.55 eggs per individual. At Youngstown, N. Y., the range is from 
257 for the maximum to 72 for the minimum, with an average of 
161.75. At North East, Pa., 122 was the greatest number of eggs 
deposited by an individual and 48 the lowest, with the average only 
78.70. At Washington, D. C., under laboratory conditions the 
maximum number of eggs laid by a single curculio was 557, the 
highest of all records for this insect, and the lowest 126, averaging 
for the 4 individuals under observation 306. At Myrtle, Ga., the 
maximum was 154 and the minimum 1, although this latter record 
should perhaps be disregarded; the average was 76.44 eggs per 
female. The records at Siloam Springs, Ark., include a large number 
of eggs, namely 4,724, from 29 pairs, one of the beetles confined fail- 
ing entirely to oviposit. The maximum number of eggs by 1 female 
was 388 and the minimum 4, giving an average for all pairs of 162.76 
eggs. At Douglas, Mich., the greatest number deposited by a single 
female was 201, and the lowest 25, with an average for the 18 indi- 
viduals of 78.56 eggs. 
In comparing the number of eggs deposited by the different indi- 
viduals for the respective localities and the averages of all beetles for 
a given locality, great variation is to be seen. Certain females, 
perhaps sickly or otherwise abnormal, deposited very few eggs, 
although feeding freely. Others oviposited assiduously throughout 
their existence. The final average number of eggs per female for all 
localities is 144.85, ranging from 1 to 557 eggs. Although the ovipo- 
sition period is greatly extended, yet the bulk of the eggs is deposited 
rather early in the season. As shown under the heading of percent- 
ages of eggs deposited by the second, fourth, sixth, and eighth weeks, 
the proportion deposited by a given time varies much in the different 
localities. There is, however, a general agreement that the great 
majority of the eggs have been placed by the end of eight weeks. 
The averages of all localities, shown at close of Table XI, in view 
of the considerable number of observations doubtless indicate about 
the rate of oviposition which may be expected in orchards. Approxi- 
mately one-fourth of the total eggs are laid during the first two 
weeks, one-half during the first month, three-fourths within six 
weeks, and 88 per cent of the total within eight weeks after fruit is of 
size to be usable for oviposition purposes. 
