NEW POTATO WEEVILS FROM ANDEAN SOUTH AMERICA 
By W. Dwight Pierce, 
Agent and Expert , Investigations of Insects Affecting Southern Field Crops , Bureau of 
Entomology 
During the year 1913 a number of shipments of South American pota¬ 
toes for experimental propagation by the Department of Agriculture 
have been intercepted by Messrs. E. R. Sasscer and H. L. Sanford, 
inspectors of the Federal Horticultural Board, because of more or less 
serious infestations by weevils. In most of the shipments the weevils 
were alive. Those received early in the summer were partly immature, 
while in later shipments they were all mature. When the material was 
shipped it was supposedly free of insect pests, and in fact it is quite 
possible to find a potato apparently whole which contains a weevil 
within. Mr. C. H. T. Townsend, the Entomologist of Peru, writes that 
the work of the weevils is often undetected until the potatoes are cooked 
and served on the table. It can therefore be seen how readily a shipment 
of South American potatoes received for planting purposes might be 
passed by quarantine officers and perhaps be the source of a very danger¬ 
ous pest to the American potato industry. 
As a result of the finding of weevils in many shipments of potatoes, 
the Federal Horticultural Board has taken action excluding South 
American potatoes from the United States. This article has therefore 
been prepared with the view of assisting the inspectors in their work and 
also to place on record descriptions of the weevils in question. 
The three species of weevils so far found are very different in appearance 
and can be readily identified from the illustrations published herewith. 
A notice of the finding of a species of weevil known as Rhigopsidius 
tucumanus Heller in potatoes shipped by Mr. W. F. Wight from points 
in Peru, Bolivia, and Chile has been published. 1 Since the publication 
of this note two other species, each representing a new genus and a new 
species, have been discovered. 
The second species found in shipments of potatoes from Peru was 
obtained alive on July 9, 1913, by Mr. Sasscer in a potato sent by Mr. 
Wight from the mountain districts of Peru. The adult weevil was 
found just under the skin of the potato in a small cell which had evi¬ 
dently served as a feeding cell for the larva. From the material received 
it is judged that the larva does not bore extensively in the potato. 
1 Sasscer, E. R., and Pierce, W. Dwight. Preliminary report of the finding of a new weevil enemy of the 
potato tuber. Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., v. 15, no. 3, p. 143-144, pi. 4-5, Oct. 2, 1913. 
Journal of Agricultural Research, 
Dept, of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. 
(347) 
Vol. I, No. 4 
Jan, 10, 1914 
