COTTON" BOLL WEEVIL IN THE MISSISSIPPI VALLEY. H 



One plant of H. militaris was transplanted to the laboratory yard 

 and a number of adult weevils were found feeding in the blooms 

 during the season. The feeding wsa apparently confined to the 

 stamens and petals. 



In addition to these field observations laboratory studies were 

 conducted in an attempt to rear weevils in Hibiscus buds as was done 

 at Victoria, Tex., in 1913. In connection with these attempts, 

 some interesting feeding records were secured. 



Thirty-two weevils that were fed with Hibiscus blooms only were 

 noted to feed freely on the petals, and four cases of feeding on the 

 immature boll at the base of the bloom were also noted. 



Four weevils were fed on Hibiscus buds alone; they fed sparingly 

 but deposited no eggs. 



In an experiment where 127 weevils were placed in breeding jars 

 with fresh Hibiscus fruits, considerable feeding was noted and 5 eggs 

 were deposited, 4 externally and 1 normally. The eggs deposited 

 externally were placed in incisions in the Hibiscus bolls and saved 

 on moist sand, but later examinations of these bolls showed no sign 

 of larval work. 



Other plants. — On September 4 two weevils were found on the 

 foliage of cultivated zinnia growing at the laboratory. 



Early in the spring hibernated weevils were confined in breeding 

 cages with blooms of violet, peach, pear, and osage-orange and left 

 until death, but no sign of feeding was found. 



While the weevils were not found breeding on the various mal- 

 vaceous plants and the laboratory attempt to get them to do so gave 

 negative results, the increasing adaptability of the weevil to them as 

 food is quite evident. 



FEEDING HABITS ON COTTON LEAVES AND TERMINALS. 



In connection with the studies on the longevity of the weevils on 

 cotton leaves and terminals as already reported, a number of interest- 

 ing observations were made on the character and extent of the feeding. 

 Normally the weevils apparently never feed upon the leaves, and the 

 feeding on the terminals is largely limited to the time before the 

 first squares appear in the spring. 



Cotton leaves. — Eighty pairs of weevils were placed in breeding 

 cages on cotton leaves during the season and observations were made 

 on a total of 747 weevil days. During this time the weevils fed 128 

 days on the leaf tissue alone, 30 days on the stem alone, and 211 days 

 on both stem and leaf tissue; in other words, 34.7 per cent of the 

 feeding was on leaf tissue, 8.1 per cent on stem, and 57.2 per cent on 

 both leaf and stem. The feeding of grandis on the leaf tissue usually 

 consisted of a limited number of small punctures but that of tliurberiae 

 was much more voracious. The latter would frequently devour 

 almost the entire leaf in a day. 



