ng beneath on the ground, others being still attached by a few shreds
in a drooping manner. Further examination around the buds may reveal a
small snout beetle, which is the cause of the injury, it being about
one-tenth inch long and marked with two dark spots on each wing cover.
The females oviposit in the buds, and then cut them off when oviposition
is completed, in order to protect the larva within, which later develops
to the adult beetle.

[Illustration: Showing beetle of strawberry weevil and the damage it
inflicts.]

The strawberry weevil has been especially injurious around the vicinity
of Hopkins the past summer. It was not uncommon to find fields with from
forty to ninety per cent. of the buds cut, and as the earliest and most
mature buds, which would be the first to ripen, are among those cut,
the losses inflicted may be quite serious. The weevil not only injures
the cultivated strawberry, but is found to attack the buds of the red
raspberry, dewberry and wild strawberry. It is a singular fact that only
the staminate varieties are injured, especially those which furnish
considerable pollen, since this constitutes the chief food supply of
both larvae and adults.

_Life History._--The weevil appears as soon as the buds begin to form
and soon after deposits an egg within the bud. She then immediately
crawls down the stem and proceeds to sever the bud. The eggs hatch
within five or six days, and in about three or four weeks the footless
grubs become full-grown, coming out as adults about five days later.
This new brood, upon emerging, will attack the leaves, making numerous
small holes on the under surface, soon after picking time. As early as
August 25 the beetles were found to go into hibernation last summer,
within the strawberry fields, being found especially among the dead
leaves. The older beds were found to be more seriously infested because
of the fact that they wintered over in the small fields.

_Control._--Since the weevils do not disperse readily, and since they
hibernate within the fields, the one crop system and the plowing up of
the beds immediately after picking would probably do away with the
injury entirely. This one crop system could be followed for about two
years, when it might be advisable to return to the two crop system if
the weevils have disappeared.

On April 18, 1916, the weevils were located by the writer underneath the
straw, and beginning to move about. From observations last y