18 
PEELIMINAEY EEPOET ON ALFALFA WEEVIL. 
some cause, perhaps simple oxidation, and appear quite different 
from the ' 'feeding holes " that are much more common. These latter 
are either saucer or cup shaped cavities eaten into the plant stem or 
punctures through the epidermis that are enlarged inside the stem. 
In one alfalfa stem Mr. Ainslie found 4 egg ''nests/' the holes being 
in i:)airs. These pairs were one-half to three-fourths of an inch 
between the separate holes, and each pair was in a separate node, the 
pairs perhaps 3 inches dis- 
tant from each other. There 
must have been 30 or 40 eggs 
at least in this one stalk. It 
was picked from a vigorous 
crown growing beside a ma- 
nure pile, and nearly every 
other stem in this crown con- 
tained eggs. These shoots 
were tall and had evidently 
grown rapidly. Indeed this 
seems to be the kind of stem 
chosen by this insect in 
which to place the eggs; 
shorter, woodier stems seem 
seldom to be selected for this 
purpose 
As observed by Messrs. 
Wilson and Parlvs, assistants 
of the bureau, the female 
beetle, after excavating the 
cavity for the eggs, inserted 
her ovipositor and laid a 
number of eggs before re- 
moving the ovipositor from 
the cavity. After this she 
began beating it up and down 
rapidly over the puncture as 
though pounding the orifice, 
sometimes but not always 
excreting a drop of watery 
material over the puncture. This secretion when hardened appeared to 
seal the opening. In some cases the arrangement of the eggs in rows 
on each side of the puncture, as described by Mr. Ainslie, was verified. 
Mr. Titus has described the egg ^ as being oval, rounded at the ends, 
and when first deposited lemon-yeUow in color. As the eggs incu- 
b«ate they become darker at one end and a deeper yellow in the other 
Fig. 4. —The alfalfa weevil: Larvas attacking a sprig of 
alfalfa, and eggs, in situ; 
(Author's illustration.) 
larva, enlarged, at right. 
1 Bulletin 110, Utah Agr. Coll. Exp. Sta., p. 34, September, 1910. 
