WEEVILS. 221 
data, but an average cargo say of 2,000 tons wheat may be depre- 
ciated to the extent of 2s. per cental, equal to about £4,000. 
Some idea of the devouring propensity of Weevils may be 
gathered from a statement a corn merchant made to the writer. 
This gentleman, when residing in New South Wales, went into an 
Iron Corn Store, which was filled with sacks of corn, On inquiring 
what the noise was he heard he was told it was caused by Weevils 
boring and eating the grain. He compared the noise to a loud 
humming, or like machinery at work. He could hardly hear his 
own voice. 
The wheat-weevil Calandra granarius is referred to by Pro- 
fessor Westwood as an insect of minute size, not exceeding 
Yth inch in length, but which, from attacking stored up corn, 
_ frequently commits incalculable mischief. The female deposits 
her eggs in each grain, the mealy interior of which is entirely 
consumed by the larva. Professor Duncan says, ‘‘The female 
deposits her eggs on the corn when it is stored up, and the young 
grubs burrow into the wheat as soon as they are hatched, each 
individual occupying a single grain. ‘They there undergo their 
metamorphoses, and then come out perfect beetles, and lay their 
eggs fora fresh brood. Another species called the rice weevil, 
Calandra oryz@, finds a habitat in that grain. The difference 
between the two species are so slight that the one is taken for the 
other, and their mode of propagation is the same. 
In the proceedings of the Entomological Society there is a letter 
addressed toa F. L. S. on this subject. This gentleman differs 
with the opinion that Calandra granarius perforates the grain, and 
there deposits her eggs. He is certain from personal observation 
that the animal lays her eggs in the blossom of Indian corn, and 
that the corn is formed with the egg in the heart. He examined 
it with a microscope, and found no signs of perforation anywhere, 
although the chrysalis was evidently there. He further states he 
could hatch them at 110° Fahr., but that 130° would kill them. 
With regard to the latter statement I am informed that kiln 
drying, which is usually a much higher temperature than any he 
mentions, does not always kill them, and that the only effective 
way is steaming at 7olbs. pressure, which is equal to about 315° 
Fahr. Cold, however, they cannot stand ; hence it happens that 
very few weevils are alive when shipped in the winter months. 
For the rest of the statement it is no doubt true that female 
weevils deposit their eggs in the blossom of the plant, and in this 
habitat they pass through their metamorphoses. If the season be 
cold this process is retarded, the imago period is reached, and the 
insect escapes before the outer skin hardens ; but in a hot season 
the epidermis quickly hardens and imprisons the creature. And 
it is also quite true that breeding goes on after the grain is 
