174 



Hamilton reared it from acorns of bear oak and there is 

 little doubt that further breeding from infested nuts, which is 

 the most accurate method of determining the host plants of any 

 of the species, will show that other kinds of acorns are sometimes 

 attacked. Hamilton records also the remarkable rearing of this 

 species from a gall on a golden-rod. 



The beetle resembles the mottled acorn weevil except that 

 the beak is much shorter, it being, in the female, from a fourth 

 to a third shorter than the body and in the male about half as 

 long as the body. 



On May llth, 1906, I found three beetles of this species in 

 the earth under a chestnut oak tree in the woods. A few days 

 later four others were found in a similar situation. I have fre- 

 quently jarred them from plum trees in May and early in June 

 and have found them on chestnut oak on July 14th. They begin to 

 oviposit in acorns about the middle of August and continue on 

 the trees until the middle of October, the 16th of October being 

 my record for the last adults on the trees. 



In boring holes into the acorns for oviposit- 

 ing, the cup is rarely, if ever, perforated. Most 

 of the punctures are made through the shell just 

 beyond the border of the cup. This is especially 

 true of the punctures for the first eggs of the 

 season. Later, the nut may be attacked near the 

 point. Oviposition is performed by first making 

 a branched gallery that extends into the meat of 

 the nut as far as the beak will reach. After 

 this, several side-galleries are made which extend 

 into the kernel and then curve back to the 

 shell, piercing it for about half its thickness. These lat- 

 eral branches number from one to five and an egg is placed in 

 the end of each. The point where the egg reposes shows as a 

 slightly discolored spot on the outer surface of the acorn and 

 if the shell be removed the eggs may be found sticking in its 

 inner lining. 



.The egg is smooth, creamy white, irregular in siz^ and 



