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1909. At a few minutes past noon a female was seen to take a 

 position about half an inch from the point of a nut of the pignut 

 hickory. After turning around several times with the point of 

 the beak moving over the surface of the nut she found a place 

 for making a beginning that seemed to suit her. She then ele- 

 vated her body by extending her legs to their full capacity and 

 with the point of the beak pressed against the nut began a slight 

 up and down motion at the same time rotating the head. Grad- 

 ually the point of the beak sank into the husk. As she worked 

 dust-like chips fell although the snout was not removed from the 

 opening. At the end of an hour and 15 minutes the beak was 

 buried to the eyes. When the hole could be made no deeper the 

 beak was withdrawn for the first time and the beetle turned 

 around, the tip of the ovipositor appearing as she turned. In 

 two or three seconds, by an accurate sense of touch, the ovipositor 

 found the spot and was thrust into the orifice. During the depo- 

 sition of the egg, which occupied a little over a minute, the bee- 

 tle remained motionless. After the egg was placed she resumed 

 her former position and again inserted the snout into the open- 

 ing. She immediately began the drilling motion, with the beak 

 about two-thirds buried, and rapidly worked it in to its full 

 length. This was done in forming a branch to the original gal- 

 lery. In less than thirty minutes the branch was completed and 

 a second egg deposited. The operation was again repeated and 

 after the third egg was deposited the insect crawled away from 

 the nut. The entire operation occupied 2 hours and 14 minutes. 

 The husk of the pignut is thin but the inner shell is 

 thick and almost as hard as bone. This shell was a tenth of an 

 inch in thickness at the point where it was penetrated in the 

 operation just described. 



The egg is clear, translucent white, with a shining surface. 

 It is exceedingly delicate in texture and can with difficulty be 

 removed from its place in the nut without breaking. They vary 

 considerably in size and shape. The length ranges from .027 of 

 an inch to nearly .04 of an inch and the width is about .02 of an 

 inch. All are oblong, some being eliptical and others ovate. Ir- 



