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points on the nut for making their attacks and some place only one 

 egg in a puncture while others make branched punctures which 

 may contain a dozen eggs. Some are very shy and can scarcely 

 be approached while engaged in egg-laying without becoming 

 frightened from their positions while others are so unsuspicious 

 that they will sometimes allow themselves to be handled with the 

 finger without pausing in their work. 



The beetles are slow to fly, preferring to drop to the ground 

 and feign death or to scurry behind some object when disturbed. 

 The operation attending egg-laying is a long and laborious one 

 and when begun late in the afternoon I have seen the female 

 leave her unfinished work at the approach of darkness and seek 

 shelter for the night on the underside of the nut and then resume 

 operations at the same opening on the following morning. 



During cool, dark weather the beetles remain in their hiding 

 places resuming activity only on warm days. 



THE LARGER CHESTNUT WEEVIL, Balaninus proboscideus Fab. 



This is the largest of the nut weevils and it is also one of 

 our most abundant and destructive species. It attacks chestnuts 

 and chinquapins, laying most of its eggs early in the season so 

 that at the time the ripe nuts drop from the trees the full grown 

 larvae, or "chestnut worms", as they are commonly called, are 

 abundant in the nuts. I have found a few eggs of this species 

 as late as the 30th of September. The larvae from eggs deposit- 

 ed so late in the season do not leave the nuts until late in the 

 winter. 



The beetle is yellow, spotted and mottled with rich, brown 

 shades. The average length of the insect, not including the 

 snout, is nearly half an inch. The snout is long and slender, 

 measuring, in the female, about five-eighths of an inch and in 

 the male about half that length. It is straight at the base with 

 a slight curve at the point. As the insect moves about carrying 

 the huge beak projecting forward it presents a rather grotesque 

 appearance. The character distinguishing this from all other 



