92 
Journal of Agricultural Research 
Vol. I, No. » 
The Arizona form has either acquired by long years of adversity an ability to sur¬ 
vive for a longer period without food, assuming Anthonomus grandis Boh. to be the 
original species; or if the Thurberia weevil is the true original form, then the ability 
to obtain a plentiful supply of early food has caused the species to lose some of its 
resistance to adversity. 
Feeding. —The adults feed upon the squares and bolls in much the same manner as 
the typical Anthonomus grandis. 
Feigning death. —The adults 
are not quite so easily disturbed as 
those of the cotton-feeding form, 
but when disturbed they feign 
death and drop to the ground or fly 
away. 
Ovtposition. —On the first day 
that any adults were seen, August 
25, in the Santa Rita Mountains, 
the males were the most abundant 
and usually were not feeding, but 
were perched on the tips of squares 
or on the foliage in an attentive 
attitude, evidently waiting for 
females. 
The egg puncture is almost always made at the base of the square, and the hole is 
sealed by a gelatinous scale exuded by the plant, over which there is often a small 
mass of excrement. On removal of this scale the egg can often be seen. A majority 
of the eggs seen were twice as long as broad, and only one was of the same proportions 
as usually found in Anthonomus grandis . In the bolls the position of the egg punc¬ 
ture is more general. 
Development. —The developmental period of the Arizona weevil on its native host 
has not been studied, but it has 
been watched by Mr. Coad at Vic¬ 
toria,Tex. ,oncotton. Theperiod 
is practically the same as for 
Texas weevils, beginning on the 
same day: In June, 16 days; in 
July, 12.5 days; in September, 
17.2 days. The period in bolls 
in September is naturally longer, 
and no specimens had been car¬ 
ried completely through at the 
time of writing this article. 
The most interesting point in 
the Victoria work lies in the fact 
that in June, when this boll 
weevil was removed from hiber¬ 
nation and transplanted on cot¬ 
ton, it was able to begin its generations immediately and to continue reproduction 
throughout the season. 
The food plant of this new variety is known botanically as Thurberia 
thespesioides , although it has also been called Gossypium thurberi and 
Ingenhouzia triloba. It occurs in southwestern Chihuahua and Guada¬ 
lajara, Mexico; in the Santa Catalina, Santa Rita, Tanque Verde, Rincon, 
Fig. 4 .—Anthonomus grandis Boh.: Head and beak: A, Fe¬ 
male; male. Much enlarged. (Original.) 
Fig. 3 .—Anthonomus grandis, var. thurberiae: Head and beak: 
A, Female; B, male. Much enlarged. (Original.) 
