viii_ D^ I Jones: The Cigarette Beetle 5 



Larva. — The larva (Plate I, fig. 2) hatches by eating its way 

 through the large end of the egg, leaving an irregular hole in 

 the shell. It is less than 1 millimeter in length and is covered 

 with fine hair. The head is yellowish and the body semitrans- 

 parent whitish or cream in older larvae. The intestinal con- 

 tents seen through the skin give it a dirty color, which varies 

 with the quantity of food. It is a fleshy, wrinkled grub, its 

 body usually curved. Fine particles of tobacco and dust, which 

 adhere to the minute hairs on the body of the larva, often change 

 its appearance to brownish. The young larvae move about freely 

 and, unless suitable food can be obtained, may wander to con- 

 siderable distances. Each larva molts four or five times, then 

 forms the pupal cell, and changes into a pupa. One larva was 

 found to molt six times. The only change in appearance of the 

 larvae is in that of size. They develop slowly, requiring an aver- 

 age of fifty days in this stage. No descriptions or measurements 

 were made of the larval stages. Daily observations were made 

 and molts were recorded in the breeding experiments. 



This insect damages cigars and cigarettes by eating small 

 cylindrical galleries through the filler and circular holes through 

 the wrapper. If the larva happen to get between two cigars, 

 the wrapper of each may be slit lengthwise (Plate II, at "a"), 

 but generally it bores straight through. Galleries, evidently 

 made by a single larva, have been traced through three cigars. 

 It is through the holes in the wrapper that the adults escape at 

 maturity. 



The method of attack upon leaf tobacco is similar in many 

 ways to the attack upon cigars and cigarettes, the larvae boring 

 small round holes through the contiguous leaves. The greatest 

 damage to leaf is apparently done to the first-grade wrapper. 

 The finer and better qualities of tobacco afford better breeding 

 conditions for the larva; hence the greater infestation in these 

 grades. In many cases, first-grade wrappers must be used for 

 filler, owing to the great number of small holes in it caused by 

 the larvae (Plate IX, fig. 1). Damage to the filler tobacco is less 

 than to any other class, as this is of coarse texture and the attack 

 made by the larvae is generally along the midrib. The larvae 

 attack this part of the leaf, and do not feed promiscuously upon 

 it as is the case in the finer grades of wrapper. 



According to the general observations of those who are 

 interested in tobacco and its products, infestation first appears 

 in manufactured products on the higher and milder grades of 

 cigars. The cheap grades and some of the strong maduro cigars 

 often remain in the factories from one to two years without 



