52 



FEMALE. 



After they begin to oviposit females seem generally to feed less 

 upon one square or in one puncture than they do previous to that 

 time. They obtain quite a considerable portion of their food from 

 the excavations which they make for the deposition of their eggs, and 

 as they show a strong inclination to oviposit only in clean or pre- 

 viously uninfested squares, their wandering in search of such squares 

 keeps their punctures scattered so long as plent}^ of clean squares can 

 be found. When clean squares become scarce, the normal inclination 

 can not be followed out, and the number of punctures made in one 

 square will be greatly increased. Most of the special feeding punc- 

 tures of females appear to be made either in the early morning or 

 near sundown, the middle and warmest portion of the day being 

 given mainly to egg deposition. The total amount of feeding done is 

 really very large, as is shown by a few figures. 



MALES AND FEMALES TOGETHER. 



During the season of 1903 a large number of weevils were kept in 

 the laboratory for special stud}^, but as several weevils were confined 

 in each cage, the work of the sexes can not be positively separated. 

 A comparison of the results can best be made by means of a tabular 

 arrangement of the figures. 



Table X. — Number of punctures per weevil per day. 





Number 

 of males. 



Number 

 of fe- 

 males. 



Total. 



Average. 



Characterization of 

 lot. 



Weevil- 

 days. 



Feeding 

 punc- 

 tures. 



Egg 

 punc- 

 tures. 



Feeding 



punc- 

 tures per 

 weevil- 

 day. 



Egg 

 punc- 

 tures per 

 female- 

 day. 



Period of 

 observa- 

 tion. 



Hibernated weevils 

 in laboratory 



Hibernated females 

 in field cage 



55 



54 

 4 



27 

 5 



4,938 

 93 



3,258 

 70 



2,492 



17,406 

 284 



16,487 



263 



5,617 



5,702 

 489 



3,565 

 435 



3.5+ 

 3.0+ 

 5.0+ 

 3.8- 

 2.3- 



2.3+ 

 5.3- 

 2.4- 

 6.2+ 



Bays. 

 45.3+ 



23.3— 



Weevils of first gener- 

 ation in laboratory . 

 Females, first gener- 



31 



56.2- 

 14.0 



Males only, labora- 

 tory, summer of 1903. 



65 



38.3+ 











Total 



151 



90 



10, 851 



40, 057 



10, 191 

















FEEDING OF HIBERNATED WEEVILS ON EARLY COTTON. 



During the period in which hibernated weevils were coming from 

 their winter quarters and seeking their first food, frequent examina- 

 tions were made in fields where the cotton was most advanced to learn 

 the first-food habits of such weevils. From statements made by pre- 

 vious investigators the writer is led to believe that the season of 1903 

 at Victoria was abnormal in respect to the small number of hiber- 

 nated weevils which were to be found upon the young cotton in the 

 field. The most careful search failed to discover more than a very 



