THE STRAWr.KRRV WEEVIL IN ^iIIXXESOTA 113 



der surface (Fig-. 1, PI. HI). The leaves are close to the ground 

 ht this time, and spraying- the under surface would he impracticahle. 

 In a new patch 120 feet away, neither beetles nor feeding punctures 

 could be found, but their presence became marked as the season 

 advanced. \\'hen the Imds become more mature the adult \vee\ils 

 obtain the greatest share of their food, and their most important 

 food, from the pollen within the buds. Thev also feed on the 

 petals after the buds open, making small round holes in them, and 

 to some extent, at the bases of the sepals and in the tissue from 

 which the anther filaments arise. In some cases, the filaments are 

 so girdled by their punctures that later they turn 1)rown. 



Copulation. — Copulation was observed to take place for about 

 five minutes, although the male will often ride around on the back 

 of the female for a much longer period. During the act of copula- 

 tion their bodies are at right angles to each other and the tips of 

 their abdomens are together. 



Oviposition — Examination and selection of uninfested buds. — 

 Oviposition was observed several times and found to take place 

 in the following manner: The female crawls about a nearly ma- 

 tured bud examining it carefully with her antennae. After a period 

 of from one to two minutes, a spot is selected in the crevice of an 

 upright sepal near the middle of the bud. If the bud is already cut. 

 with an egg inside of it, she refrains from ovipositing in it, and 

 passes on to examine other buds that have not been cut, although 

 two and even three eggs have been found in a single bud when the 

 beetles are alnmdant and many of the buds cut. If two or more hatch 

 in a bud, one is very likelv to destrov the other, so that usuall\- only 

 one larva develops. 



The act of oviposition. — Idie favorite position of the wee\il in 

 drilling a hole through the calyx, is with its head towards the base 

 of the bud. Having obtained a firm position, she proceeds to drill 

 the hole with her tiny mandibles, ^^^ith an up and down motion, 

 the head is thrust into the bud, and a place is cleared for the egg 

 by feeding on the anthers or otherwise. After this operation is 

 finished she withdraws her beak, turns about, and ])laces the tip of 

 her abdomen directly over the puncture, into wdiich the ovipositor 

 is protruded. The egg having been inserted, the ovipositor is with- 

 drawn, and the egg sometimes poked in with her snout. If the 

 beetle is disturbed during the process of drilling the hole, she re- 

 moves her snout, rests on one side of the bud, and completes the 

 hole when the disturbance is over. Sometimes the female will fail 

 to locate the hole with her ovipositor when thus disturbed. She 



