THE STU A\\l!l-:Rm- \\KI-:VIL IN MTXXKSOTA 115 



slowly crawls away, but will sometimes take Hiyht. Might appears 

 to be in a horizontal direction, the beetle ha\ ing ne\er been seen 

 to fly upward. The distance covered varied from four inches to 

 three feet. The males were observed to fly much more readilv 

 than the females. 



Feeding habits in summer. — ( )n June 16, Vi\5, four weevils 

 that had emerged the da}' l^efore. were conflned in a wire cage over 

 a strawberry plant. As the Imds had all opened, the_\- had nothing 

 but leaves to eat. In a few days the lower epidermis of the leaves 

 was found to be full of small, conspicuous round holes ( Fig. 2, PI. 

 Ill), and one of the leaves that was badly eaten was drooping". 

 Two weevils were found in a large cavity in a ri])e berrv where they 

 had been feeding (Fig. 4, PI. III). In the held, howe\er, they do 

 not attack the berries to any great extent, although a few of the 

 late berries were found with holes characteristic of the weevil. It is 

 fortunate that the weevils do not emerge sooner, as thev might thus 

 possibly be an im])ortant pest of the fruit as well. Some okl weevils, 

 also confined in a cage, made the same holes in the lower epidermis, 

 but to a lesser extent. Recently emerged weevils, confined on June 

 28, were found to have cut a few buds, but no eggs could he found 

 in them. On July 14, leaves with holes characteristic of the weevil 

 were found in the field; while on August 11, in a field where the 

 weevils were very abundant, the leaves were conspicuously dotted 

 with tiny holes similar to one shown in the photograph. On very 

 cloudv and rainy days the weevils rest quietly among the stems 

 near the crown or beneath the buds. Sometimes they are found 

 within the crown or on the ground near the crown. 



The Egg. 



Upon opening a bud, the egg is found to lie loosel}' among the 

 anthers or against the petals, or upon the receptacle, a little to 

 one side of the ei;g puncture (Fig. 3, PI. I). About a day before 

 the egg hatches, the mandibles can be clearly seen through the 

 chorion, moving back and forth. The period required for an egg 

 to hatch varies from three to nine days, depending entirely upon 

 weather conditions, but averaging five or six days. 



The Larva. 



To free itself from the egg shell, the larva wriggles and con- 

 tracts, pushing out its mandibles until it is free. One egg was 

 observed to hatch on May 5. Upon hatching, the larva is whitish, 



