288 MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
to 25, in the soil or on debris. ‘They are sticky and adhere to objects 
or to one another. They hatch in about 2 weeks and the larvae begin 
to feed, and as they grow larger they chew away the lower part of the 
stems and the taproots of the food plants, but do not injure the laterai 
rootlets. At times the larvae burrow into and devour seed before it 
has had time to germinate. The full-grown yellowish-white larva is 
about 12 mm. long, and the pupa slightly less than that. Pupation 
takes place in the soil. 
Nine species of J/agdalis are fairly common in the Eastern States. 
They all attack partly dead or dying trees or broken branches. J. 
perforata Horn and J. austera Fall attack conifers, chiefly the pines, 
and df. piceae Buch. breeds in blue spruce. J/. olyra (Hbst.) and 
the black elm bark weevil (J/. barbita (Say) ) breed in hickory trees 
attacked by the hickory bark beetle, and also in broken branches and 
slashings. Jf. salicis Horn has been reared from willow and chestnut, 
and WM. inconspicua Horn from butternut, J/. barbicornis (Latr.), M. 
pandura Say, M. barbita, and the red elm bark weevil (J/. armicol/is 
(Say) ) have been reared from elm, according to Britton and Friend 
(62). The last two are of some importance in connection with the 
Dutch elm disease in this country. While they have not been shown 
to be vectors of this disease, the fact remains that they are agents in 
weakening decadent trees. 
Acorn and Nut Weevils 
The acorn and nut weevils belong to the genus Curculio. ‘There are 
more than 40 nominal species in the United States, at least 8 of them 
of some importance in the East. The body is robust, and in some 
species the beak of the females is much longer than the body; in others 
it isthesame length or shorter. The beak of the male is always shorter 
than the body. The elbowed antennae are very long and slender, and 
in the female are inserted well back of the middle of the beak; in the 
male they are usually inserted at or near the middle of the beak. In 
this genus the mandibles move vertically instead of horizontally, as in 
most Coleoptera, and are used by the females in drilling holes—the 
length of the beak in each species (Blatchley and Leng, 49), gen- 
er ally speaking, depending on the thickness of the husk and shell of 
the host nut. The adults are generally a rich, ight brown, mottled 
and spotted with gray or yellowish- brown hairs. Brooks (63) said 
that all species closely resemble a common type. 
The beetles issue from the ground in July and August, and egg lay- 
ing continues from the time the meat in the nut begins to form until 
the nut is full grown. The eggs hatch in 1 to 2 weeks. The full- 
grown larva cuts a circular hole in the shell, emerges, and enters the 
earth to hibernate in a small cell. Pupation takes place the following 
June or July. Occasionally, in some species, the larvae may transform 
in the fall and hibernate as adults. Sometimes a small percentage may 
hold over and emerge as adults with those of the succeeding gener ation. 
Some of the species have their preferred hosts, to w hich’ they adhere 
with considerable regularity, but Curculio nasicus Say has ‘been re- 
ported from at least 5 species of oak, and the chestnut weevil (C. awr?- 
ger (Casey) ) from chestnut and at least 11 oaks. The 2 species attack- 
ing hickory and hazlenuts are specific on these species. 
