154 OBSERVATIONS ON THE WEEVIL. 



bunches of blossoms are readily to be distinguished. The Weevil 

 soon finds them oat, and selecting a blossom every way to her 

 mind, commences her operations. The beak or trunk, before 

 alluded to, is furnished at its extremity with short teeth, with 

 these she gnaws a very minute hole in the calyx of the future 

 blosaom, and continues gnawing until her trunk is plunged in up 

 to her eyes ; the trunk is then withdrawn, and the hole examin- 

 ed with the nicest scrutiny, by the introduction of one of her 

 feelers or outer prongs of her trident. If it seem to require any 

 alteration, the trunk goes to work again, and again the feelers ; 

 at last, being fully satisfied that the work is well accomplished, 

 she turns about, and standing with the extremity of her abdomen 

 over the hole, thrusts in her long ovipositor, an instrument com- 

 posed of a set of tubes, retractable one within the other, and 

 then deposits a single egg (never more) in the very centre of the 

 future flower. Another examination with her feelers now takes 

 place, and when she is satisfied that all is right, away she flies to 

 perform the same operation again and again, never tiring while 

 she has an egg to lay. The bud continues to grow like the other 

 buds, the little perforation becomes invisible. By and bye the 

 egg bursts, and out comes a little white maggot, with neither 

 legs nor wings, which, directly it is hatched begins to devour the 

 young tender stamens, next to these the style is attacked, and 

 eaten down to the fruit, the upper part of which is quickly con- 

 sumed; the maggot is now fully fed, casts its skin, becomes a 

 crysallis, and lies perfectly still. Up to this time the blossom has 

 continued healthy, no trace of this enemy being to be disco- 

 vered without, but when the neighbouring blossoms are expand- 

 ing their petals to the genial breath of spring, those of the 

 mutilated bud remain closed, and retain the arch ballon-like ap- 

 pearance of a bud about to burst. For a few days they preserve 

 their lovely pink colour, and then by degrees fade to a dingy 

 brown. In this state they remain, until the other apples are well 

 knit, and then the damaged blossoms, by their decided contrast 

 appear very conspicuous. On opening these brown or rather 

 rust coloured blossoms, about the 10th or 15th of June, the 

 crysallis will be found to have changed to a perfect beetle, si- 

 milar to its parent above described, which, if it had been left to 

 itself, would, in a few days, have eaten its way through the wea- 

 ther-beaten case of dried petals, and left its prison house, flying 

 about to take its pleasure, until the chilly winds m autumn should 



