PEA WEEVILS. Ill 



harrows twice in a place, which left a fine deep tilth of about 10 inches. 

 Farmyard manure was carted on, and the land horse-ploughed during 

 very sharp frosts." 



The enquiry of Mr. Wm. Sewell, in the following note sent from 

 Tillingham Hall, Southminster, Essex, as to whether the weevils (of 

 which he forwarded specimens) were the same kind of which many 

 were seen in harvest time, touches on a point which I have endeavoured 

 always to keep forward as a certain means of lessening amount of 

 recurrence of attack, and which is now noted a little further on. Mr. 

 Sewell observed: — " I enclose you some insects to look at; they are 

 eating the Peas this year very much, in many cases nearly destroying 

 them, particularly the early ones. Are they the same we get a good 

 many of in harvest time with the Peas ? They have never attacked 

 them at this time of year." 



Other notes were sent, as from the district of Sandy, in Bedford- 

 shire, from which, amongst other observations, I had, on the lOtli of 

 April, a note from an observer desiring information regarding these 

 beetles, which he mentioned, had attacked his winter Beans, just 

 coming up, sown in February, and threatening to ruin the crop ; and 

 the forecast was confirmed by reference of another contributor (on the 

 10th of June) to this district as " the scene of the havoc of the Pea 

 Weevil." 



Two of the kinds of these weevils which are commonly found doing 

 mischief are figured, both natural size and magnified, at p. 107. 

 These are the Sitones lineaUis and S. crinitus, and are often quite 

 indistinguishable from each other by reason of the markings being 

 rubbed off the wing-cases, so that they only look of a kind of patchy 

 black. 



When fresh and in good order the S. Jineatua is of an oclirey or light 

 clay colour, with three lighter stripes along the back, and ten atripes, 

 alternately lighter and darker, along the wing-cases. The S. crinihis 

 is rather smaller, more of a grey or rosy tint, and the wing-cases are 

 spotted with black. 



Another kind, of which the whole life-history has been more 

 especially worked out with us on Clover, is the Sitones puncticoUis ; this 

 is a little larger than the " spotted " kind, greyish or fuscous (until the 

 scales are rubbed off), and distinguishable by having a few light dots 

 on each side of the central light line which runs from the head to the 

 wing-cases in this as well as in the two above-named species. 



The method of life is for many of these weevils to live through the 

 winter, and wake up from their winter torpidity to come out and attack 

 the crops in spring. But it is not only these hybernated weevils that 

 do the mischief. They are joined in it by the weevils which develop 

 at the beginning of June (earlier or later as the case may be) from the 



