14 
CLOVER. 
forwarded on the lOtli of April ceased feeding, and formed hollow 
chambers in the earth by the 8tli of May ; and at the end of May and 
beginning of June some of them were turning to chrysalids. By the 
26th of June they were numerous in the ground in the Clover field at 
Boynton Hall, most of the grubs or maggots having apparently changed 
by that time. The weevils from the earliest formed chrysalids began 
to appear about the 20th of June; the changes to the chrysalis state 
happened rather later in the field than to the protected specimens. 
These Clover-root weevils much resemble the common Pea weevil, 
excepting in being rather larger, and having a few whitish spots on 
each side of the central light line, which runs along the body from the 
head to the wing-cases. (See fig., under heading Pea Weevil.) 
It has long been known that weevils of one or more species 
of Sitones frequented Clover, and maggots (sometimes known as 
“ white maggots ” have been known to be destructive to Clover-roots, 
but as far as I am aware their history had not been made out until 
Mr. Christy noticed them at their destructive work and secured 
specimens. 
With regard to damage, five acres of Blue Peas had to be ploughed 
up entirely from this cause, and the other part of the field which was 
attacked was a very bad piece; the weevils attacked them as soon as 
they appeared above ground, and kept at them till they were cut. 
Several farmers were obliged to plough up their Clover leys after the 
first cutting, the plant being destroyed by weevil maggots. The 
observer’s own Clover recovered after the maggots turned to the 
complete state as weevils about the beginning of June. 
With regard to habits later in the year, Mr. Christy mentions the 
great numbers of these weevils to be seen about. Every leguminous 
plant seemed to be gnawed and notched by them, especially in the 
neighbourhood of Peas and Beans,—“ probably when the Beans were 
cut they flew to the Clover leys, as I have seen great quantities on the 
wing in a warm day in August. At harvest-time the weevils were 
abundant on the young Clovers, the platforms of the ‘ reapers ’ being 
literally covered by them, and they could be swept out of the carts 
when carrying Beans and Peas by thousands.” 
On the 21st of October it is noted,—“ The roots of Clover now 
have no larvae near them ; I have examined a great many.” About 
five weeks later, however, they were 'again at work—on the 28tli 
of November the larvae were mentioned as feeding in a Clover field at 
the present time. Looking at this fact, together with the observation 
made by Mr. Christy in the spring, that the Clover in the attacked 
field was dying, excepting on the spots where the thraves of wheat had stood 
for a month or more in harvest-time of the previous autumn, it all appears 
to point to the quantities of weevils seen in harvest-time then laying 
