Extended iiKjuiry show that the weevils always remain within the squares or on 

 the bolls, and never feed on the leaves, nor are they ever seen on the latter. 



The weevils were i'ouud at San Tomas. and just north of Brownsville, infesting 

 tields of sea-island cotton as badly as the upland variety. There seems no hope, 

 therefore, of finding a variety of cotton that will not he attacked by it. 



If the weevil has another food plant, it will probably be found in the Mouclova 

 region of Coahuila. No wild malvaceous plant could be found in the regions visited, 

 and the insect was not found on any other plant than cotton. Information obtained 

 from Monclova states that the insect has never been known there on any other plant. 



Ovipusltion. — The weevils dejiosit their eggs first in the buds, which are to be 

 found within the squares. When the buds are all infested, the females oviposit in 

 the smallest bolls, then in the next largest, until all are attacked that are still green. 

 Judging from the egg-laying habits of the genus, the female makes the hole in the 

 bud or boll with her beak, and then turning around, applies the tip of the abdomen 

 to the hole and dei^osits an egg therein. The same female may deposit a consider, 

 able number of eggs. 



Appearance of an infested field. — As the weevils attack first of all The buds within 

 the squares, these usually die and drop ott'. Therefore, as soon as a field becomes 

 well infested, the presence of the insect can be told at once by the fact that few or 

 no blooms are to be seen on the plants. A field may be in full bloom, but as soonaa 

 the insect gets well spread over it and accomplishes its work hardly a, bloom will 

 be seen. Soon after the squares are attacked they mostly turn yellow and fall to 

 the ground. 



Method of hibernalion. — A considerable i)ercentage of the weevils winter over in 

 the bolls, in the cells which they have formed therein, either as transformed weevils 

 or as pnpu', or perhaps even as larva-. That they may sometimes winter as larv;e 

 seems proven from the finding, as above mentioned, of very snuill larva- from the 

 last of November to the middle of December. They ]irobably winter more fre- 

 quently as pupa^, the latter having been found in the bolls up to the middle of 

 December. Newly transformed adults were found plentifully in the bolls also during 

 late fall and early winter. 



But there are many other iudiA'iduals belonging to earlier broods which have 

 issued and certainly will not reenter the bolls to hibernate. The qiaestion is, Where 

 do these hibernate? In San Juan Allende, where the fields are irrigated, there are 

 many cracks in the earth, caused by the rapid drying of the soil after irrigating. 

 On a cold day there it was found that some of the weevils had crawled into these 

 cracks, and many weevils hibernate in such cracks and under clods of earth, under 

 leaves, and other refuse. 



Weevils were also found in Allende on the cold day aljove referred to (November 

 23) around the base of jdants, under dry fallen leaves. 



In fields where neither cracks, clods, nor fallen leaves exist, as happens often in 

 southern Texas, where the plants remain green until late in winter, many weevils 

 ]irobably winter in the squares and under the leaves at the base of the bolls. At 

 Alice and Benavides, Tex., the plants were perfectly green December 12, there 

 having been no frost. In a field there, on that date, many weevils were found inside 

 the squares, as many as four in one square ; also at the bases of the bolls. Many 

 weie neither feedingnor ovipositing, but were perfectly inactive. The squares aff"ord 

 excellent protection to the weevils in cold or in rainy weather. During rainy 

 weather in San Juan Allende (November 28) weevils were found numerously huddled 

 in the S(|uarcs by threes and fours. 



Live weevils were found at Brownsville inside old bolls in March, showing that 

 the insect can successfully withstand quite severe cold. The Weather Bureau records 

 show that twice during the past winter severe frosts were experienced all over the 

 infested region. Up to April 1, altliough diligent search was made, no hibernating 

 beetles were Ibund under leaves or in cracks in the jirouud tiround Brownsville. 



