THE INSECT FAUNA OF THE GENUS CRATAEGUS 1071 



The period between the opening of the blossom clusters and the opening 

 of the blossoms themselves is the time of oviposit ion, and the length of 

 this period probably influences the amount of injury to a considerable 

 extent. If it is prolonged by cool, cloudy weather, then eggs may be 

 placed in more of the blossom* before they open. In central New York 

 the oviposition period is about May 15. 



After selecting a suitable blossom bud, the female makes a hole in the 

 side of the calyx with her beak. Then, turning around, she thrusts the 

 egg into the hole with her ovipositor, and moves to another bud to repeat 

 the process. A clear liquid fills the hole where the egg is thrust in, which 

 soon hardens and seals the opening completely. The act of oviposition 

 requires about ten minutes when the temperature is 68 or 70, but it 

 requires an hour at 54. 



The egg is pearly white, 0.6 millimeter long, 0.36 millimeter wide, 

 elliptical, generally the same size at both ends but when tucked in tightly 

 between the anthers it may be narrower at one end to conform to the 

 space it fills. It is of almost the same size and color as the anthers and 

 is difficult to distinguish from them. The corium is smooth, unsculp- 

 tiired, and delicate, drying and collapsing when exposed to* the air for 

 one hour. 



After about a week the young, white, curved, legless larva is found within 

 the bud. It feeds on the anthers, and, as it grows, consumes all the internal 

 parts of the flower but leaves intact the wall of the receptacle and the 

 closed petals which form the roof of its house. The petals become stiff 

 as if they were starched, and do not shrink away as they turn brown. 

 After feeding for a couple of weeks the larva is dirty white, is from 6 to 

 8 millimeters long, is still legless, has a small brown head, and lies in a 

 curved position. At about this time it molts and changes to a white, 

 free pupa 6 millimeters long, with a dark caudal spine, two dark promi- 

 nent spines on the apex of the head, and several smaller spines farther 

 back on the head. After pupating during a week or a little longer, the 

 beetle makes a hole in the top or the side of its house with its beak, and 

 emerges. 



It begins to feed a few minutes after emergence, choosing for its food 

 the first young thorn or fruit in its pathway as it wanders along the 

 branch. The thorns of the current season's growth seem to be a very 

 attractive food. A hole is drilled near the base of the thorn, and the 

 beetle spends hours with its beak inserted in the hole completely up to its 

 eyes, prying and straining to enlarge the cavity within the thorn. The 

 round hole at the base of a thorn does not heal during the season's growth, 

 and the presence of such holes will indicate at any time of the year the 

 presence of the blossom weevils. The beetles attack the fruit also and 

 make several round holes in a single fruit before seeking another. The 

 holes become brown almost immediately. The writer has never found 



