206 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



The beetle itself is usually less than one-fourth of an inch in 

 length, varying from one-eighth to three-sixteenths inch, and when 

 freshly emerged from the cocoon within which it passes from the 

 larva to the pupa is of a plain brown color. In a few days this 

 brown becomes darker, mixed with black and gray hairs, which give 

 it a spotted or mottled appearance. Gradually these scales and hairs 

 become rubbed off, so that in spring we frequently observe individ- 

 uals that appear almost entirely black, with small, irregular gray 

 spots upon them. 



The insect winters entirely in the beetle stage, seeking shelter, 

 before the frosts of autumn commence, either in the crowns of al- 

 falfa plants, close to the surface of the ground in the field, or under 

 leaves, matted grass, weeds, and rubbish along ditch banks, hay- 

 stacks, and strawstacks. Indeed, it is oftentimes found in barns 

 where the hay is kept over winter. When this hay is being put into 

 the barn in late summer, one side of the barn has been observed to 

 be almost covered with adults, and in winter and spring, when the 

 hay is being fed out, the floor of the barn will often be swarming 

 with the beetles, like ants about an ant hill. It has been estimated 

 that fully 80 per cent of the beetles that go into winter quarters in 

 the fall live through until spring. With the coming of spring the 

 beetles make their way forth from their hiding places and attack 

 the young growth of alfalfa as soon as there is sufficient food for 

 them. In ordinary seasons they may be expected to appear the lat- 

 ter part of March, and the egg-laying period usually lasts from early 

 April until early July. 



In very early spring, before the plants have made much growth, 

 the beetles often push their eggs down between the leaves, the usual 

 place of oviposition, however, being in punctures made in the stem, 

 and some damage occurs at the very beginning of the season on ac- 

 count of the beetles puncturing the young stems and killing them 

 in their efforts to oviposit in them. 



It would seem, therefore, that the efforts of the farmer should 

 be, first, to endeavor to restrict the pest as effectually and as long as 

 possible to its present area of infestation, and, second, to use every 

 means in his power to control it, in the meantime, within this area. 



The most inexpensive and practical means of controlling intro- 

 ductions of the pest by railroads appears to be in the close surveil- 

 lance of the railroad right of way and the stamping out of incipient 

 outbreaks as soon as discovered. This, too, seems a duty likely, at 

 least for the present, to devolve upon the Federal authorities, as 

 nearly all of the States adjoining Utah are without the means of 

 carrying such a plan into operation, and a year at least would be 

 required to put into operation the legislative measures necessary to 

 meet the situation. Therefore, the greatest assistance can be af- 

 forded by the growers of alfalfa personally, especially along rail- 

 ways and near towns and villages, by keeping close watch of their 

 fields and promptly notifying the Government or State authorities 

 of the occurrence of any insect resembling this alfalfa weevil, as de- 

 scribed and illustrated herein. It is chiefly for the purpose of reach- 



