LIFE HISTORY AND HABITS: THE ADULT. 105 
As regards the Kieffer pear, there was always a majority of the egg 
punctures on the side, the basal third of the fruit being next pre- 
ferred, which distribution also holds good for the feeding punctures. 
Observations on apples were quite limited, but also indicate a pref- 
erence for the side for egg laying, while feeding punctures were about 
equally distributed over the base, side, and basal third, indicating a 
preference in feeding for the lower part of the fruit. 
At Barnesville, Ga., in 1910 it was observed that during the first 
10 days or 2 weeks of oviposition on the peach no punctures were 
made through the skin. Owing to the small area of the fruit surface 
at this stage of growth the layer of fuzz is very thick, and it seems 
that the snout of the beetle is not long enough to make the normal 
punctures when working through so great a depth of fuzz. Pune- 
tures were made in the fuzz 
down to the skin, which was 
usually abraded somewhat, 
causing a small area of russet 
to develop. The eggs were 
placed in contact with the fruit 
skin and the hole above them 
filled with loose fuzz. These 
punctures were conspicuous by 
reason of the difference in re- 
fraction between the normally 
erect pubescence and_ that 
which had been packed hap- 
hazard into an egg puncture. 
For peach the consolidated 
records of egg and feeding 
punctures for the season show 
a distinct majority in favor of 
the side of the fruit, with the basal third next in rank. 
The normal egg puncture consists of the egg cavity and a crescen- 
tic cut, as shown in figure 23. The egg cavity is cylindrical, about 
0.04 inch deep, and the crescentic cut is in the form of an are. The 
egg cavity, and especially the crescent, may vary widely. The cres- 
cent, however, if it is to serve the purpose intended, is cut deeply and 
extends back under the egg cavity. (See fig. 23.) Externally the 
modification of the typical puncture usually consists of a shortening 
of the horns of the crescent, often to such an extent that the crescentic 
cut appears as a short straight line. Also the position of the crescent 
when of normal form varies much in relation to the egg cavity, which 
may be considerably to one side. These variations appear not to be 
due to faulty instinct, but to the different conditions under which the 
work is accomplished. Punctures made by individual beetles in con- 
Fig. 23.—The normal plum-curculio puncture; egg at 
right. (Original.) 
