THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST. 55 



undergo their transformations more slowly than the rest and pass the 

 winter in the ground. 



23 — That the perfect Curculio while in the ground is soft and of a 

 uniform red color, and that it remains in this state an indefinite period, 

 dependent on the weather, usually preferring to issue after a warm 

 rain. 



24 — That in a stiff clay soil a severe drought will kill many of 

 them while in this last named condition, and that larvas contained in 

 stone fruits that fall upon naked ploughed ground where the sun can 

 strike them, generally die. 



This catalogue might be lengthened, but already embraces all 

 the more important facts, and I think they sufficiently prove that the 

 Curculio is single-brooded. There is, it is true, no particular reason 

 why the earliest developed Curculios, or those which issue from the 

 ground during the fore part of July, should not pair and deposit eggs 

 again ; other than it does not appear to be their nature to do so. Such 

 an occurrence is by no means an isolated one in insect life, and aside 

 from the fact that late fruit is almost entirely exempt from them, we 

 have the experiments of Dr. Trimble which indicate that they have 

 to pass through the winter before being able to reproduce their kind. 

 The only other experiments that were ever made to prove the con- 

 trary hypothesis, are those detailed by Mr. Walsh, in his First Annual 

 Report (p. GS), and, as may be seen from their perusal they prove 

 nothing at all. To give them in his own words, I here quote them 

 in full : 



" Experiment 1st. — On June 24th, I placed in a large glass vase, with moist sand at the bot- 

 tom of it, a quantity of wild plums, every one of which I had previously ascertained to bear the 

 crescent symbol of the 'little Turk.' During the three following weeks I added from day to day a 

 number of plums, all of them bearing the same symbol, that had fallen from a tame plum-tree in my 

 garden. Ihe whole number of plums, as I subsequently ascertained, was 183, and the tame fruit 

 probably formed about a fourth part of the whole. The first Curculio came out July 19th, and with 

 the exception of July 21st and August 1st, there were more or less came out every day till August 

 4th, inclusive; after which day no more came out. The numbers coming out on each successive 

 day were as follows, the very large number on July 25th having beeu probably caused by my wet- 

 ting the sand on that morning rather copiously : 1, 18, 0, 3, 4, 2, 55, 8, 4, 3, 1, 2, 1, 0, 5, 4, 2. 

 Total, 113. On examining the contents of the vase, November 29th, I found five dead and dried up 

 Curculios among the plums, and among the sand sixteen dead and immature specimens, which 

 had obviously failed to make their way up to the light of day, besides the remains of a good many 

 individuals which had perished in the sand in the larva or pupa state, and were not counted. The 

 Grand Total from 183 infested plums was, therefore, 134 Curculios in the beetle state, and an un- 

 known number of larvae and pupas." 



"Experiment 2d. — On July 27th, or eight days before the Curculios in the preceding experi- 

 ment had ceased coming out, I placed in a vase, similar to the above, 243 plums, gathered pro- 

 miscuously off some badly-infested wild plum-trees. From this lot no Curculios whatever came 

 out till August 23d, and from that day, until September 14th, more or less came out 

 daily, with the exception of five out of the 23 days, the numbers on the respective days being 

 as follows : 3, 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 2, 2, 5, 3, 1, 0, 5, 6, 3, 2, 0, 0, 0, 1, 0, 1, 1. Subsequently, on Septem- 

 ber 18th, there came ont 3, on September 24th, 1, and on September 28th, 1 ; after which no more 

 made their appearance. Total, 50 Curculios from 243 plums, some stung and some not. On exam- 

 ining the contents of this vase on November 29th, I found a single dead Curculio among the plums, 

 making a Grand Total of 51 Curculios bred from these plums. There were no specimens, either in 



