Sept. 15, 1924 
Bruchus quadrimaculatus Fab. 
305 
CONCLUSIONS 
The knowledge that the average 
length of life of Bruchus quadrimacu¬ 
latus is prolonged considerably in con¬ 
finement by access to water and much 
more by access to sugar water sug¬ 
gests that the same species may be 
able to find a more suitable food in the 
field. Whether this food consists of 
only small particles of dew on the 
leaves, of nectar in the blossoms, of so- 
called honeydew on the leaves and 
stems, or of some other substance, 
remains to be learned. However, 
there is a decided difference between 
the problem of controlling weevils if 
they live less than 20 days on an 
average and 30 days as a maximum 
and the corresponding problem if they 
live an average of 50 or 60 days with 
88 or more as a maximum. These 
problems will be discussed in another 
paper. 
Weevils in their normal condition 
in the warehouse live a shorter time 
without food than when they have 
access to water or sweetened water. 
The difference in the average length 
of life of the weevils receiving no food 
and those receiving water varied from 
less than 3 days with the lone males to 
11 with the lone females. Access to 
water lengthened the lives of the pairs 
about 10 days. Sugar water length¬ 
ened their lives from 13 to 27 days as 
an average for different groups of 
weevils. 
Access to water increases the average 
number of eggs laid by about 30 per 
cent, and access to sugar water in¬ 
creases the number of eggs about 50 
per cent. 
Food reduced the number of eggs 
laid during the first few days of ovi- 
position, but lengthened the time over 
which eggs were laid. Viable eggs 
were laid over twice as great a period 
of time by weevils receiving sugar 
water as by those without food. 
Frequent mating such as occurs nor¬ 
mally under storage conditions reduced 
the length of life of both males and 
females. Females which mated only 
once during the first few hours after 
emergence deposited large numbers of 
fertile eggs. 
Virgins deposited only small num¬ 
bers of infertile eggs and in no case 
produced fertile eggs. 
LITERATURE CITED 
(1) Kunhikannan, K. 
1919. pulse beetles. Ent. Ser. 
Dept. Agr. Mysore State. Bui. 
6, 31 p., illus. 
(2) Larson, A. O., and Simmons, P. 
1923. NOTES ON THE BIOLOGY OF 
THE FOUR-SOPTTED BEAN WEEVIL, 
BRUCHUS QUADRIMACULATUS FAB. 
Jour. Agr. Research 24: 609-616, 
illus. 
(3) Paddock, F. B., and Reinhard, 
H. J. 
1919. THE COWPEA WEEVIL. Tex. 
Agr. Exp. Sta. Bui. 256, 92^ p., 
illus. 
(4) Sanborn, C. E. 
1912. GARDEN AND TRUCK CROP 
insect pests. Okla. Agr. Exp. 
Sta. Bui. 100, 76 p., illus. 
(5) Wade, O. 
1919. THE FOUR-SPOTTED COWPEA 
WEEVIL (BRUCHUS QUADRIMACU¬ 
LATUS, fab.). Okla. Agr. Exp. 
Sta. Bui. 129, 14 p., illus. 
