CLOVER-LEAF WEEVIL. 



The eggs are laid in or on different parts of the clover or alfalfa 

 plant, more often in a puncture on the stem or leaf sheath or on the 

 outside of these parts in the fall of the year between September 8 

 and November 29. The eggs laid previous to October 25 hatch the 

 same fall, and hibernate as first, second, and third instar larvae while 

 those laid after October 25 usually remain over winter as eggs, and, 

 except in the case of eggs laid quite late, hatch the following March. 

 The larvae feed on the foliage of their hosts and become full grown 

 by the last of May, when they spin cocoons at or just below the 

 surface of the soil, pupating therein and issuing as adult beetles in 

 June or July. The beetles feed on foliage of clover intermittently 

 until September when they mate, and soon -thereafter egg laying 

 begins. 



Since the period of oviposition extends over a number of weeks and, 

 furthermore, eggs laid late in the season do not hatch until spring, 



SMGE 



JAN. 



FEB. 



MAR 



APR. 



MAY 



JUNE 



JULY 



AUG 



SEPT 



OCT 



NOV 



DEC. 



£ 99 



































F/rstinstar 

 Larva 







































Second /'rjstsr 

 Larva 











































Third instsw 

 Larva 









































Fourth msfcr 

 Larva 























— 













Cocoon and 

 Pupa 



























Adu/t 











































Fig. 7, 



-Diagram illustrating life history of the clover-leaf weevil and indicating the abundance of the 

 different stages during the season in the latitude of La Fayette, Ind. 



the various stages greatly overlap. The accompanying diagram (fig. 

 7) illustrates graphically the life cycle of Hypera punctata. 



The experiments made by the authors were not started until Sep- 

 tember 8, 1915, but some of the beetles collected September 1 had 

 oviposited previous to September 8. 



The eggs are laid in the fall during September, October, and the 

 first two weeks in November, although oviposition was observed as 

 late as November 29 in 1915. Females laid during periods of 64 to 68 

 days and individuals laid the following numbers of eggs: 74, 83, 108, 

 162, 166, 176, 181, 196, 287. Following the last oviposition the 

 females lived from 1 to 16 days, and all the males and females used 

 in the experiments in the fall of 1915 and kept out of doors under 

 normal conditions were dead by February 18, 1916. 



The beetles laid consistently between September 8 and November 

 15, there being a marked increase in the numbers laid between 

 October 15 and November 15. After November 15 the laying 

 records were scattered. It was noticeable that none of the eggs 

 laid after October 21 hatched previous to March 1, 1916, except 

 in one case when eggs laid October 25 hatched during a period of 



