220 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



The granary weevil is one of the true grain weevils of the family 

 Calandridse. It is a short, stout-bodied beetle, being about one-sev- 

 enth of an inch long. The thorax is marked with punctures ar- 

 ranged longitudinally. From the head there projects, in front, a 

 long snout-like proboscis, bearing the mandibles, and a pair of el- 

 bowed antennae. The body is hard, and of a uniform chestnut-brown 

 color. 



The eggs are deposited singly in the grain. The female punc- 

 tures the grain with her snout, and in this cavity places an egg. 

 The egg hatches into a very small, white, footless grub, which eats 

 further into the grain, and in which it attains its growth and com- 

 pletes its transformation, emerging as an adult. In the smaller ce- 

 reals but one larva occupies a single grain. In a grain of corn how- 

 ever, food is found for several. In the Southern States six or more 

 broods are probably raised annually. According to Mr. Chittenden, 

 Assistant Entomologist, United States Department of Agriculture, 

 the time required for the completion of the life cycle from egg to 

 adult in the latitude of Washington is forty-one days. The length 

 of time of the life cycle varies much according to the season and cli- 

 mate. The granary weevil is injurious, both in the larval and adult 

 stages. Flour made from badly infested wheat, according to Dr. 

 Riley, has been the occasion of much suffering, and even death. 



The Rice Weevil. The loss caused by the work of this insect 

 in Florida equals, if it does not exceed that caused by the Angumois 

 grain moth. Together they are responsible for the greater part of 

 the injury done to stored grain. The rice weevil takes this name 

 from the fact that it was first found in rice, but the name is rather 

 misleading, in that it feeds upon many kinds of grain and cereal 

 products. It is doubtless indigenous to India, from where it has 

 become well distributed through commercial relations, to many 

 grain-growing parts of the globe. It was brought to America from 

 Europe, and it now enjoys quite a general distribution in this coun- 

 try where it is to be found in every State and Territory, including 

 Alaska. Its ravages in the North, however, are not so severe as in 

 the South. 



The rice weevil bears a close resemblance to the granary weevil, 

 both in size and appearance. It is somewhat smaller, however, and 

 differs from it, in that it is of a dull brown color, and in having the 

 wing-covers marked with a reddish colored spot on each corner. The 

 thorax of this species is densely marked with pits. 'On the wing- 

 covers the pits are arranged longitudinally. As with the granary 

 weevil the head bears a snout, on which are born elbowed antenna. 

 The larva, when full grown, is about one-eighth of an inch long, foot- 

 less and fleshy, being quite similar to the larva of the granary weevil. 

 The pupa is whitish, about an eighth of an inch in length, very much 

 resembling that of the preceding species. 



In this State this insect does more damage to corn than to other 

 cereals. It is to be found in the field early in August. But it is 

 when the corn has been gathered and housed, however, that the rice 

 weevil does its greatest damage; here in the warm atmosphere it 



