.. .-SOS- 
early as February 19 end continued through May 12 . The average survival for 
36 hibernation cages was 9.91 percent. The peak of emergence was between April 
1 and 15 and the greatest injury to plant-bed plants took place between April 
10 and 20, during a period of abnormally hot weather. Injury to plant-bed 
plants was unusual, because the type of injury was typical of that caused to 
field plants when the beetles occur in outbreak: numbers. More growers were 
concerned about flea beetle control in plant beds than during any' similar 
period in the last 5 years. Some injury was inflicted to newly set plants but 
this wan not given as much attention by growers a.s wan injury to plant-bed 
plants. The beetles did not occur in outbreak numbers on fioid plants, although 
some fields were severely injured. This was especially true of late tobacco. 
(Norman Allen, Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, U. S. D. A.) 
The tobacco flea beetle wan more abundant during 194l in the Florida- 
Georgia tobacco district then in the last two seenons and required a larger 
number of insecticidal applications for commercial control, (B. S. Chamberlin, 
Bureau of Entomology and Plant Quarantine, U. S. D. A.) 
POTATO ELEA BEETLE,*— The unseasonably early warn weather in the Connecti- 
cut Biver Valley caused tobacco to be set early, before the appearance of 
potatoeo, and the newly set plants were heavily attacked by the potato flea 
beetle ( Epitrix cucuneris (Harr,)), Dusting with power dusters was, as usual, 
widely practiced by growers of shade tobacco. Later storms caused a diminution 
of the population ’and this did not regain its normal abundance until shortly 
before harvest, too late for thorough applications of dust. Border dusting, 
however,, was effective in preventing . the inward spread of the beetle in most 
ca.ses and damage was, on the whole, less than normal on the shade-grown crop. 
On sun-grown tobacco damage was about normal in extent but was less severe in 
intensity than usual. (A. W. Morrill, Jr,, Bureau of Entomology and Plant 
Quarantine', U. S. D. A.) 
BOLL WEEVIL. — The trend toward increased boll weevil damage, which started 
in the central part of the Cotton Belt in 1940, continued upward in 1941 and 
extended over most of the weevil-infested area. An abundance of food until 
late in the season caused above-average numbers of .well-fed weevils to enter 
hibernation in the fall of l940. This was followed by a mild winter and a high 
percentage of survival. Conditions were favorable for weevil development and 
the damage was greater than in any year since 193^ in all States except Vir- 
ginia., North Carolina, and Tennessee. 
The emergence from hibernation cages in 194l, as compared with emergence 
in 1940, .was as follows! Florence, S. C., 9»& and 0.08 percent; McIntosh, 
Ela. , 17»6 and 11 percent; Tallulah, La,, 10.4 and 0,01 percent; Waco, Tex., 
14.8 and 0,09 percent. In the spring examinations of v/oods trash 1,9^0 live 
weevils per acre were found at Florence, in comparison with 176 weevils per 
acre. in 1940; at Tallulah, La., 920 weevils per acre in the 194l examinations 
and 190 weeviis in 1940. Another very reliable index of abundance of over- 
wintered weevils is the collection of weevils from trap plots of cotton. From 
a l/5~acre trap plot at Florence , 1*115 weevils were collected in 1941, as ..com- 
pared with only 21 in 1940, Emergence from hibernation was also delayed by 
early drought in the Southeast, and a larger proportion of the weevils than 
usual, emerged, after squares were available for :£pod and. conditions £**vo.r«ble 
