﻿337 
  

  

  Znamensky 
  (A. 
  v.). 
  riOMKOBbm 
  AOJirOHOCMK"b. 
  [Sciaphobus 
  squalidus, 
  

   Gyl.]— 
  « 
  TpYAbl 
  riOJlTaBCKOM 
  CenbCK0-X03flMCTBeHH0M 
  OnblTHOM 
  

   CTaHUiM.» 
  [Studies 
  from 
  the 
  Poltava 
  Agricultural 
  Experimental 
  

   Station], 
  Poltava, 
  no. 
  20, 
  1914, 
  32 
  pp. 
  5 
  figs., 
  2 
  plates. 
  

  

  In 
  a 
  short 
  preface, 
  N. 
  V. 
  Kurdjumov 
  points 
  out 
  that 
  this 
  paper 
  repre- 
  

   sents 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  three 
  years' 
  work 
  conducted 
  at 
  the 
  Station 
  under 
  

   his 
  supervision, 
  first 
  by 
  I. 
  V. 
  Nikitin 
  and 
  then 
  by 
  the 
  author. 
  The 
  

   former's 
  investigations 
  have 
  supplied 
  valuable 
  data 
  as 
  to 
  the 
  parasites 
  

   of 
  S. 
  squalidus, 
  while 
  the 
  latter 
  has 
  succeeded 
  in 
  discovering 
  various 
  

   important 
  points 
  in 
  the 
  bionomics 
  of 
  the 
  larva. 
  

  

  I. 
  K. 
  Paczoski, 
  in 
  1897-98, 
  first 
  recorded 
  the 
  damage 
  caused 
  by 
  this 
  

   weevil 
  in 
  Russia 
  ; 
  in 
  1903, 
  Mokrzecki 
  recorded 
  the 
  insect 
  amongst 
  the 
  

   pests 
  of 
  the 
  vine, 
  and 
  since 
  1910 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  mentioned 
  in 
  the 
  reports 
  

   of 
  various 
  other 
  entomological 
  stations 
  (Kiev, 
  Smiela, 
  Stavropol 
  and 
  

   Kishinev) 
  ; 
  but 
  at 
  the 
  same 
  time, 
  no 
  mention 
  of 
  the 
  insect 
  occurred 
  

   in 
  many 
  reports 
  from 
  districts 
  (Kursk, 
  Ekaterinoslav, 
  Poltava, 
  

   Charkov) 
  where 
  it 
  exists 
  in 
  vast 
  numbers 
  and 
  does 
  enormous 
  damage. 
  

   In 
  European 
  Russia 
  the 
  insect 
  is 
  found 
  over 
  the 
  whole 
  of 
  the 
  South, 
  

   including 
  the 
  Crimea 
  and 
  the 
  North 
  of 
  Caucasus 
  ; 
  it 
  has 
  been 
  found 
  

   in 
  the 
  governments 
  of 
  Kursk, 
  Kiev, 
  Charkov, 
  Poltava, 
  Cherson 
  and 
  

   Bessarabia, 
  but 
  probably 
  it 
  exists 
  also 
  in 
  many 
  others. 
  In 
  many 
  

   districts 
  infested 
  by 
  S. 
  squalidus, 
  there 
  occur 
  isolated 
  localities 
  which 
  

   are 
  free 
  from 
  it, 
  while 
  all 
  surrounding 
  orchards 
  are 
  suffering 
  from 
  

   swarms 
  of 
  the 
  insects. 
  S. 
  squalidus 
  appears 
  generally 
  in 
  the 
  second 
  

   half 
  of 
  April, 
  but 
  in 
  1913 
  it 
  occurred 
  in 
  the 
  first 
  half 
  of 
  that 
  month. 
  

   While 
  there 
  are 
  still 
  few 
  green 
  plants, 
  the 
  weevils 
  feed 
  mostly 
  on 
  buds, 
  

   attacking 
  pears, 
  apples, 
  plums, 
  cherries, 
  apricots, 
  and 
  service 
  trees, 
  

   and 
  raspberry, 
  gooseberry 
  and 
  currant 
  bushes, 
  besides 
  many 
  forest 
  

   trees. 
  In 
  the 
  government 
  of 
  Poltava 
  it 
  was 
  never 
  found 
  on 
  Fraxinus 
  

   excelsior, 
  Gleditschia 
  triacantlius, 
  or 
  white 
  and 
  yellow 
  acacia 
  trees. 
  

   The 
  majority 
  remain 
  on 
  fruit 
  trees 
  and 
  bushes, 
  damaging 
  the 
  buds, 
  

   including 
  the 
  flower 
  buds, 
  which 
  sometimes 
  wither 
  and 
  fall 
  off. 
  The 
  

   percentage 
  of 
  injured 
  buds 
  ranges 
  from 
  36 
  to 
  50 
  per 
  cent. 
  It 
  is 
  very 
  

   easy 
  to 
  distinguish 
  the 
  damage 
  done 
  by 
  S. 
  squalidus 
  from 
  that 
  done 
  by 
  

   Anthonomus 
  pomorum 
  ; 
  it 
  eats 
  out 
  larger 
  holes 
  of 
  irregular 
  form, 
  not 
  

   round, 
  as 
  is 
  the 
  case 
  with 
  the 
  latter 
  species. 
  The 
  ovaries 
  of 
  the 
  female 
  

   are 
  quite 
  undeveloped 
  when 
  the 
  beetles 
  emerge, 
  and 
  the 
  maturing 
  of 
  

   the 
  eggs 
  takes 
  from 
  3 
  to 
  4J 
  weeks 
  ; 
  the 
  males 
  are 
  quite 
  mature 
  on 
  

   emergence. 
  Oviposition 
  starts 
  every 
  year 
  on 
  approximately 
  the 
  

   same 
  day, 
  the 
  10th 
  May, 
  in 
  1911 
  and 
  1913, 
  while 
  in 
  1912 
  it 
  was 
  two 
  

   days 
  earlier. 
  The 
  eggs 
  are 
  deposited 
  underneath 
  the 
  turned-over 
  edge 
  

   of 
  a 
  leaf, 
  or 
  occasionally 
  between 
  two 
  leaves 
  stuck 
  together 
  ; 
  the 
  

   process 
  of 
  oviposition 
  is 
  described. 
  In 
  captivity 
  the 
  females 
  oviposited 
  

   freely 
  on 
  leaves 
  of 
  Pirus 
  aucuparia, 
  Garth, 
  and 
  on 
  raspberries, 
  but 
  

   only 
  a 
  few 
  on 
  leaves 
  of 
  Urtica 
  ; 
  in 
  the 
  open 
  in 
  the 
  garden 
  of 
  the 
  Station, 
  

   the 
  same 
  preference 
  for 
  Pirus 
  aucuparia 
  was 
  noticed 
  ; 
  the 
  eggs 
  were 
  

   frequently 
  found 
  also 
  on 
  apple, 
  pear 
  and 
  plum 
  trees, 
  as 
  well 
  as 
  on 
  oak, 
  

   Euonymus, 
  Ulmus 
  pedunculata 
  and 
  very 
  often 
  on 
  Corylus 
  avellana. 
  

   Only 
  once 
  were 
  eggs 
  found 
  on 
  clover. 
  Most 
  of 
  the 
  eggs 
  are 
  deposited 
  

   during 
  one 
  week, 
  after 
  which 
  the 
  beetles 
  gradually 
  disappear, 
  so 
  that 
  

   only 
  single 
  specimens 
  can 
  be 
  found 
  at 
  the 
  middle 
  of 
  June. 
  The 
  same 
  

   mode 
  of 
  oviposition 
  is 
  common 
  also 
  to 
  Eudipnus 
  micans, 
  F. 
  , 
  the 
  eggs 
  

   (C37) 
  Wt.P86/57. 
  2.4.14. 
  1,500. 
  6.14. 
  B. 
  & 
  F. 
  Ltd* 
  Gp.ll/^<<Cj^Vaiir7«^ 
  

  

  V 
  

  

  

  