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The hole made through the shell in ovipositing and the gal- 

 leries and eggs within the meat are so small that they are scarce- 

 ly visible to the naked eye. No foreign flavor is imparted to the 

 nuts by the fresh eggs, and, as their small size prevents their be- 

 ing seen except on close examination, they are often eaten unwit- 

 tingly by those who go chestnutting in the fall. This is a case 

 where ignorance is bliss, for the punctured chestnuts retain their 

 sweet flavor for a while and no harm comes from the uncon- 

 scious swallowing of the eggs which the nuts contain. 



The larvae remain in the nuts until they have attained full 

 growth and then make their exit through holes which they eat in 

 the shell. The holes made by this species are circular, like those 

 made by the larger weevil, but are smaller, the difference in size 

 being sufficient to enable one to distinguish them from the others. 

 Most of the larvae emerge from the nuts late in the fall but a 

 few remain with their food until mid- winter or even until the 

 warm weather of spring. 



THE HICKORYNUT WEEVIL, Balaninus caryae Horn. 



This enemy of one of our favorite nuts has been known for 

 more than a, quarter of a century but it has come into special 

 prominence since the development of the pecan industry in the 

 southern states. In the states farther north the insect attacks 

 shellbark and other varieties of hickorynuts and seems to be 

 more numerous than formerly. Dr. Chittenden has recorded 

 that in some of the southern states the loss to pecan nuts amount- 

 ed to 75 per cent of the crop in 1903 and 1904. The greatest in- 

 jury to these nuts has probably occurred in Georgia, Mississippi 

 and Texas. 



The shellbark is the only native hickorynut that is used ex- 

 tensively as food in West Virginia, and this variety is seldom 

 more than 20 per cent affected by the weevil. Other varieties, 

 such as the pignut and mockernut, are often destroyed to the ex- 

 tent of from 50 to 75 per cent of the crop. The large, circular 

 holes frequently found in the shells of hickorynuts are made by 

 the larvae of this weevil in escaping. 



