77 



OVIPOSITION. 



AGE OF BEGINNING OVIPOSITION. 



Normal oviposition seems never to take place until after fertilization 

 has been accomplished, but it usually begins soon after that. Obser- 

 vations upon the age at which the first eggs are deposited can be made 

 more easily and more positively than those upon the age at which fer- 

 tilization takes place. In a general way, therefore, the observations 

 here given may be considered as also throwing light upon the time of 

 beginning copulation. 



In the breeding of weevils from eggs deposited by hibernated females 

 a number of observations accumulated upon this point, and another 

 series was made in the fall of 1902. The results of both series are 

 given in Table XVI. 



Table XVI. — Age of beginning oviposition. 



WEEVILS OF FIRST GENERATION, 1903. 



Date adult. 



Date of first egg. 



Number 

 of fe- 

 males. 



Elapsed 

 time. 



Weevil- 

 days. 



1903. 



1903. 

 June 17 to 18 



3 



1 

 7 

 1 

 2 

 4 



I 



Bays. 

 9.0 

 9.0 

 5.0 

 4.0 

 7.0 

 5.0 

 5.0 

 4.0 



27.0 



June 10 . 



June 19 



9 





June 16 



35.0 



June 12 



. ..do . . 



4.0 



Do 



June 19 



14.0 



June 13 



June 18 



20.0 



June 13 to 14 



do 



25.0 





do 



16.0 









Total 



27 





150.0 



Average time after adult . . 





5.5+ 













WEEVILS BRED IN FALL OF 1902. 



September 4 to 5 . 



September 9 



October2 



November 9 to 10 

 November 11 



1902. 



Total 



Average time after adult 



1902. 



September 17 



September 16 



October 16 



November 16 to 17. 

 November 19 



12.5 

 7.0 



14.0 

 7.0 

 8.0 



37.5 

 35.0 

 56.0 

 49.0 

 24.0 



201.5 

 9.0+ 



The average time of 5.5 days, as shown by the first generation, is 

 probably about a da}^ and a half longer than the minimum average 

 period during the hottest weather, while the 9-day average found from 

 September 4 to November 11 is considerably short of the maximum 

 average just before hibernation. 



In general the observations made in 1904 upon this point agree 

 closely with the foregoing, so they need not be added. 



EXAMINATION OF SQUARES BEFORE OVIPOSITION. 



In the course of a great man^^ observations upon oviposition it was 

 found that females almost invariably examine a square quite carefully 



