GRAIN-WEEVILS. 83 



The true grain-weevil or wheat-weevil of Europe, Calan- 

 dra {Sitophilas^ yranaria, or Curculio granarius of Linnaeus 

 in its perfected state is a slender beetle of a pitchy-red color, 

 about one eighth of an inch long, with a slender snout slightly 

 bent downwards, a coarsely punctured and very long thorax, 

 constituting almost one half the length of the whole body, 

 and wing-covers that are furrowed and do not entirely cover 

 the tip of the abdomen. This little insect, both in the beetle 

 and grub state, devours stored wheat and other grains, and 

 often commits much havoc in granaries and brewhouses. Its 

 powers of multiplication are very great, for it is stated that 

 a single pair of these destroyers may produce above six 

 thousand descendants in one year. The female deposits her 

 eggs upon the wheat after it is housed, and the young grubs 

 hatched therefrom immediately burrow into the wheat, each 

 individual occupying alone a single grain, the substance of 

 which it devours, so as often to leave nothing but the hull; 

 and this destruction goes on within while no external ap- 

 pearance leads to its discovery, and the loss of weight is 

 the only evidence of the mischief that has been done to the 

 grain. In due time the grubs undergo their transformations, 

 and come out of the hulls, in the beetle state, to lay their 

 eggs for another brood. These insects are effectually de- 

 stroyed by kiln-drying the wheat; and grain that is kept 

 cool, well ventilated, and is frequently moved, is said to be 

 exempt from attack. 



Rice is attacked by an insect closely resembling the wheat- 

 weevil, from which, however, it is distinguished by having 

 two large red spots on each wing-cover ; it is also some- 

 what smaller, measuring only about one tenth of an inch 

 in length, exclusive of the snout. This beetle, the Calan- 

 dra (Sitophilm} Oryzce,* or rice-weevil (Plate II. Fig. 8), 

 is not entirely confined to rice, but depredates upon wheat, 

 and also on Indian corn. In the Southern States it is called 

 the black weevil, to distinguish it from other insects that in- 



Curculio Oryzas of Linnaeus. 



