THE COWPEA CURCULIO. 



139 



dorsal suture, evidently at the place where the pod is thinn< 

 regularly arc they made that a badly infested pod will show a dis- 

 tinct row of the punctures running along each 

 side of this suture. A few punctures are also 

 made on the ventral side of the pod in about 

 the same relation to the ventral suture. Thus 

 the egg lies on the upper surface not far from 

 the hilum, or well down on the side (fig. 68, 

 a, b, d). 



Very shortly after the beetle leaves the egg 

 the puncture fills with sap and in from twenty- 

 four to forty-eight hours a tough callous has 

 formed over the opening. In a ripe pod the 

 wound shows as a dark, slightly elevated, and 

 somewhat roughened transverse ridge. 



For purposes of oviposition the pods are not 

 attacked until the peas within them have 

 readied nearly or quite full size. Xo pods are 

 oviposited in after they begin to become dry 

 and leathery. 



Cloudy cool days or the cooler parts of 

 bright days are chosen by the beetles for ovi- 

 position and feeding. During a slow rain they 

 are very abundant and active. During the 

 hotter parts of the day they remain motion- 

 less in the axils of the plant or buried in the 

 loose earth surrounding the stem. 



At Orlando. Fla., in 1907, Mr. H. M. Russell, 

 of this Bureau, made some records of the 

 number of eggs deposited by a single female 

 record of these experiments. 



On July the following experiments were made to determine the number of • gge 

 a female would lay: 



A. A male and female wore put together in a box of cowp - 



B. A male and female wore put together in a box of cowpeas. 

 July 6 A laid 26 eggs; B laid 36 eggs 



in A laid 26 eggs; B laid 17 ej 



L2 A hud !_' eggs; B laid 20 • - 



1) A laid 15 eggs; B laid 13 « . 



17 A laid 6 eggs; B hud : egj 



L8 the A beetles escaped; B laid eggs. 



22 B hud 22eggB 



27 B hud L8eg 

 August 3 the B beetles died. 

 A hud 1 15 eggs in 10 days. 

 B laid 130 eggs in L9 days. 



Fig. 6S.— The cowpea curcu- 

 lio: a, Cowpea pod. showing 

 work of adults; b. d.- ■• 

 showing work of larvie: c. 

 eggs, a. Reduced: b. c. d, 

 about natural .-. 

 mil. > 



I quote from th 



