20 TEXAS NATURE OBSERVATIONS AND REMINTSOENOES. 



to transform into the pupa state 

 of development. 



When under the powerul rays 

 of a bulls-eye reflector in this at- 

 tempt to photographically repro- 

 duce these larvae in situ, they be- 

 came quite lively and, fearing the 

 result would be spoiled, I dropped 

 some chloroform near the furrows, 

 when they ceased moving at once. 

 The photograph shows thp larvae 



Fig. 2. (1) Plug Tobacco Infested with the 

 Tobacco Larvae. (2) Tobacco and Drugstore 

 Beetles with Larvae. (3) Drug Store Beetles 

 at Normal Size. 



in their natural positions as they 

 had not been touched. 



Near these larval tobacco beet- 

 les are seen some holes and fur- 

 rows in the cigar which the ma- 

 ture beetles and afterwards these 

 developing larvae had prepared. 

 It seems that during the fall and 

 winter the mature insects perfor- 

 ate the tobacco and also other 

 material such as food stuffs and 

 drugs, producing a round deep 

 hole not larger than the body of 

 the insect, and; then deposit, the 



ova inside the tunneled holes when 

 after a certain length of time the 

 larvae seen on the plug cut tobac- 

 co (Fig.II.) and the cigar 

 specimen .develop. This process 

 has been witnessed' off and on 

 years ago and again lately by the 

 writer when the furrows of these 

 beetles had been exposed in to- 

 bacco and some drugs, either of 

 which they feed upon but with 

 preference for the tobacco and 

 usually for the best brand of to- 

 bacco goods. 



These minute insects are occa- 

 sionally and numerously found in 

 dried vegetable drugs and house- 

 hold goods. But lately my friend, 

 the druggist, happened to find an 

 old package of orris root powder 

 in which numerous round and oval 

 shaped bodies of graiiular appear- 

 ance were present which after 

 mounting and microscopical ex- 

 amination I found to be composed 

 mainly of the cocoons of the min- 

 ute tobacco beetle and I prepared 



Fig. 3. 



Two Tobacco Beetles and -one Drug Store 



Beetle (Lower) and Larvae. 



a photograph of., them magnified 

 slightly (Fig. lY.) . Nearly all of 

 Miese beetle cocoons werfe in the 



