17 



same proportion as blackberries, and Mr. B. E. Behreud reported inju- 

 ries also to " black cap" raspberries. 



Other plants which it was thought possible might be exce])tionally 

 attacked by this insect were carefully examined, but no traces of its 

 work were apparent. The blossoms of apple, pear, peach, and cherry 

 were searched, and of wild plants, sassafras, cherry, and locust. The 

 last named is much frequented by ants, which might repel the weevils. 



Xotes 071 the Habits of the Adults. — As night approaches the beetles 

 descend to the base of the strawberry plants for shelter. Here, with 

 antennae and legs folded tightly to their bodies, they are tolerably 

 secure from nocturnal marauders, such as Carabidai and other preda- 

 ceous insects, until the morning sun awakes them to activity. 



In the field it is doubtful if this insect ever eats the leaves of straw- 

 berry, as there is usually a supply of pollen and petals suflScient for its 

 needs, but should this supply for any reason become exhausted the 

 leaves would undoubtedly suffer. In our rearing cages the insects 

 lived for some time on strawberry leaves, but when blossoms were 

 introduced the insects found them, at once showing their preference. 



Duration of the Life-Cycle. — A quantity of severed buds were gath- 

 ered in the held May 8, all of which had been cut that day or the day 

 previous. These began to disclose the imago June o, and all had issued 

 by the 8th. These data show that the life-cycle from e,gg to adult is 

 from twenty-eight to thirty days. The weather during this period was 

 unusually cool until the last few days, hence the average r)eriod of the 

 life-cycle may be said to be about four weeks. 



Process of Oviposition. — Previous efforts to observe oviposition in con- 

 finement having failed, the insects were watched in the field, many 

 individuals being observed puncturing the buds, and in the act of cut- 

 ting the stems. The female usually works head downward, and is some, 

 times alone but often accompanied by the male. The agg is laid first 

 and after severing the stem the insect always departed. After perfo- 

 rating the corolla, the insect turns around and applying the tip of her 

 abdomen to the hole deposits a single egg, then crawls to the stem, 

 places herself firmly on the upper surface, head downward as before, 

 and deliberately severs the bad containing the egg from the stem. 

 The latter is sometimes only punctured, but in bright sunshiny weather 

 a number of insects were observed, all of which cut off the stem until it 

 hung only by a thin shred of the epidermis. The stem was cut straight 

 across, the insect working rapidly and steadily until the stem began to 

 droop, when she ceased operations and withdrew down the stem. 



On cool, damp, or cloudy days, the insect is not active and does not, 

 therefore, accomplish as much as in pleasant weather. A field was 

 visited on a fair, warm day following a cool, rainy spell of two or three 

 days' duration, and an excellent opportunity was afforded for compari- 

 son. Stems could be seen that had been attacked only a day or two 

 before, a single black speck showing where the punctures had been 



