94 



quantities of asparagus for the Chicago market. In Bulletin No. 160 

 of the Michigan Experiment Station, published June, 1898 (page 428), 

 Mr. R. H. Pettit, Assistant Entomologist, records the appearance of 

 this insect in Berrien County, stating that several complaints of its 

 presence and injury were received from that district. 



This is the first instance of the occurrence of this insect in Michigan, 

 and, in fact, of its occurrence west of the vicinity of Cleveland, Ohio, if 

 we except its reported occurrence in Chicago many years ago. It was 

 anticipated that this insect would spread by natural means through 

 Upper Austral territory in Ohio and Indiana, and it was something of 

 a surprise to learn that it had reached Berrien County, which is located 

 in what has been considered the Transition life zone. This county is in 

 reality upon the border line of what we know to be Upper Austral 

 territory. 



It is somewhat surprising that the species has not been reported as 

 injurious at points intermediate between the vicinity of Cleveland and 

 Berrien County, Mich. 



It would now seem but a matter of a few years before this species 

 will be well distributed throughout the neighboring Western States 

 east of the Rocky Mountains, at least in such States as include in their 

 territory part of the Upper Austral life zone. 



BIOLOGIC NOTE ON CONOTRACHELUS ELEGANS SAY. 



During August, 1897, Mr. F. C. Pratt and the writer, while digging 

 about the roots of certain cultivated and allied plants for different 

 species of injurious root-feeding larvae, had occasion to pull up several 

 plants of the rough pigweed, Amaranthus retroflexus, and in the first of 

 these found numerous larvae and pupae of the above-mentioned species 

 in the earth about the stems. The larvae live upon the underground 

 stems, and in two localities in Maryland that were visited a large pro- 

 portion of the Amaranthus examined was infested. Larvae were most 

 numerous on mature plants within an inch or two of the surface, and 

 the stems were considerably eroded where the larvae were at work. 

 About a dozen or so individuals usually comprised the colony about 

 each plant. 



The first larvae transformed to pupae August 11 and the first imago 

 appeared on the 18th, having passed six and one-half days in the pupal 

 condition. Larvae and pupae, as would naturally be inferred, very closely 

 resemble those of our common Conotrachelus nenuphar. A cell is formed 

 for the pupa, but this was of such rude construction that it was not 

 often noticed. 



In Bulletin No. 7, United States Entomological Commission (p. 83), 

 Dr. A. S. Packard writes of C. elegans, which he calls the pig-nut leaf- 

 weevil: "We have observed this weevil at Providence (R. I.) busily 

 engaged the last of May laying its eggs in the partly rolled- up leaves 



