74 



ing apple buds to hang dead upon the trees has caused the common 

 name of "Brenner" to be applied to it. 



At intervals during the summer of 1903 such dried squares and 

 small dried bolls were picked for careful examination in the labora- 

 tory, the condition of 342 being recorded, with the following results: 



Adults present 2, escaped 23; pupae alive 29, dead 2; larvae alive 85, 

 dead 47; parasites present 44, escaped 6. Sixty-three squares which 

 failed to show weevil work and 42 small dried bolls from which the 

 corollas had fallen were probably destroyed largely by the feeding of 

 the weevils. Taking the total number of squares and bolls examined 

 as the basis of computation, it appears that 69.3 per cent of them 

 showed weevils present in some stage. Of the immature stages, 30 

 per cent were dead, 14.6 per cent having been parasitized. It seems 

 a conservative estimate therefore to say that fully one-third of these 

 exposed dried squares may be expected to produce adults. Consider- 

 ing the exposed condition of such squares this seems to be a very 

 high percentage. 



The season of 1903 was not as hot at Victoria as was that of 1902, 

 and the lower temperature prevailing may have favored the develop- 

 ment of a larger proportion of the weevils in these squares than would 

 normally emerge. The maximum temperature reached in 1902 was 

 104.3° F., while in 1903 the maximum was only 97.5° F. No examina- 

 tions of this subject were made in 1902, and therefore no positive 

 comparisons can be drawn. The observations made, however, cer- 

 tainly show that a complete drying of the square does not necessarily 

 destroy the larva, and that a square may undergo far more exposure 

 to direct sunshine than had been supposed possible without causing 

 the death of the larva or pupa within. 



LENGTH OF THE LIFE CYCLE. 



This question has been studied carefully, both in the laboratory 

 and in the field. Most of the observations made in 1902 were in the 

 laboratory, while those of 1903 were in the field. 



In the laboratory uninfested squares were exposed to active weevils 

 for oviposition, and the supply of clean squares was renewed each 

 day. The beginning of the cycle was thus known to within a few 

 hours. The squares with eggs were carefully kept and the date of 

 emergence of each adult was then noted. To the period thus found 

 must be added the time intervening between the leaving of the square 

 and the deposition of the first eggs. This gives the length of the life 

 cycle. The material upon which these observations were made was 

 necessarily other than that used in determining the length of the 

 various stages. The period in bolls is far different from that in 

 squares. The figures here given refer to squares. 



