Weevils in Beans and Peas. 5 
LOSSES OFTEN DISCOVERED TOO LATE. 
Injury to edible legumes usually is observed first after the crop 
has been in storage for several months. Many believe that once the 
crop has been harvested it needs no further attention. Seeds put 
away at time of harvest are sometimes not examined again until 
the following planting season, when they are found “buggy” or 
“weevily ” and badly damaged. The town or city gardener has 
proudly put away for winter consumption beans grown during the 
previous summer, only to find them worthless as food and full of 
Fig. 2.—Field peas in bloom. Adult pea weevils begin laying their eggs on the young 
pods in the field. It should be remembered that the bean and pea weevils begin their 
attack on the seed while the crop is developing in the field. Photo by Vinal. 
holes and honeycombed by grubs when later he opens the jar or 
sack in which they have been stored. Wonder is often expressed 
that seeds apparently sound when put away for the winter, and 
kept always well covered, should be found later injured by weevils. 
Because small round holes (see title page and Fig. 1) and weevils 
appear later in seeds seemingly perfect when harvested, a belief is 
current among many that bean and pea weevils develop spontane- 
ously from the germ of the seed. That there is no foundation for 
such a belief is shown by the facts following. 
HOW BEANS AND PEAS BECOME INFESTED. 
Bean and pea weevils, hke many other insect pests, pass through 
several marked changes in form and habits before reaching maturity. 
The story of development is shown in Figure 3. The weevil that is 
