The pales weevel has been the subject of considerable interest 
for many years, and several publications on its biology, ecology, 
and control have been issued (245, 589, 682). 
The pine root collar weevil, Hylobius radicis Buch., breeds in 
the root collars of healthy pines in southern Canada from New- 
foundland to Manitoba and in all of the Northeastern States south 
to Virginia and west to Minnesota. Of its hosts, Scotch pine seems 
to be the most severely damaged; but jack, red, Austrian, eastern 
white, pitch, and mugho pines are also attacked. The adult (fig. 
78) is dark reddish-brown to black and about 10 to 12 mm. long. 
It is marked with irregular patches of white-to-yellow hairlike 
scales, and the elytra have longitudinal rows of elongated 
indentations. 
In most localities, eggs are deposited from early May to late 
September in cavities in the inner bark at the base of the tree, or 
in the soil nearby (640). The larvae feed downward in the inner 
bark of the base of the trunk and in the bases of large roots 
below the ground line, widening their galleries as they develop. 
Galleries are also formed in the soil around the base. The follow- 
ing winter is spent in the larval stage in the Lake States. In 
Southern Ontario, it is spent in the larval and adult stages and 
occasionally in the pupal stage (246). Pupation occurs from June 
to September in cells constructed in the soil. Adults appear from 
August to October but do very little egg laying before entering 
the soil or bark crevices where they spend the winter. When they 
emerge in the spring, they feed during the day on the bark of 
duff-covered branches, mate, and lay eggs. During warm evenings, 
they feed on the bark of the upper branches and fly to other trees. 
Most of these adults overwinter a second time and then are active 
for part of the following season (785). 
Heavily infested trees may be severely injured (fig. 79). Small 
trees, from 1 to 4 inches in diameter are most severely damaged— 
smaller ones are seldom attacked. The presence of pitch flows at 
F-488105 
FIGURE 78.—Adult of the pine root collar weevil, Hylobius radicis. 
215 
