December, ’24] 
CHAMBERLIN: ALFALFA WEEVIL PARASITES 
627 
phytonomi. These have been designated as Pteromalids “C” and “D.” 
Pteromalid “D” appears to be the more common of the two in the 
Hyeres country, and may be a primary parasite, but probably as many 
as one hundred predatory larvae which had been fed upon Phytonomus 
eggs in wooden cells in the laboratory failed to produce this species 
either as a primary or secondary parasite. 
Anaphoidea luna Girault. 
This mymarid is an internal parasite of the egg of Phytonomus posticus 
and Hyper a punctata. Thus far it appears unimportant as a destroyer of 
eggs in green stems, but in dry stems it is much more effective. This is 
probably because the parasite can enter the dry stems and place eggs in 
the greater part of the host eggs, whereas in green stems it can only 
oviposit in one or two of the eggs next the egg puncture of the host. 
It oviposits to an equal extent in the eggs of H. punctata and very often, 
probably most of the time, places two eggs in each egg of the clover-leaf 
weevil, whereas in the egg of the alfalfa weevil only one is inserted. 
The parasites from eggs of the clover-leaf weevil are considerably larger 
than those from the alfalfa weevil, whether one or two come from a single 
egg. This insect breeds quite readily in confinement. We have taken it 
from the environs of Hyeres, France; Naples, Italy, and Milazzo, 
Sicily. 
Parasites of the Larvae 
Bathyplectes curcidionis (Thoms.) 
This internal parasite of the larva breeds freely in the laboratory on 
all sizes of larvae and is the chief parasite which has been colonized in 
Utah. It appears to be generally distributed over Europe where the 
weevil occurs. We have taken it from Lons-le-Saunier, Annecy, Cham- 
bery, Gap, Valence, Digne, Blois, Aix-en-Provence, and Hyeres, all in 
France, and from Bevagna, Acerra, Portici, Piedimonte d’Alife, and other 
places in Italy, and from Sicily. It is probably the most important of 
the larval parasites in Europe. Occasionally and locally parasitism by 
another parasite may exceed that by Bathyplectes curculionis , but the 
average parasitism over large areas has always been highest for this 
species. It is itself parasitized by many species, chief among which are 
Mesochorus nigripes Ratz. and Gelis stevenii (Grav.) 
Bathyplectes corvina (Thoms.) 
This parasite of the larva is similar in habits to Bathyplectes cur¬ 
culionis ■, but it has only one generation a year. It is much more difficult 
to handle in the laboratory than B. curculionis because most of the in¬ 
sects die within their cocoons when kept in confinement. Whereas 
