Arizona republican., 1911-08-05
OF
 ALFALFA WEEV|L
An Insect Dreaded by Farmers.-Resul' of investigations by Government
 Expert.


 United States Department of Agricul- ture on The Alfalfa Weevil" contains matter of unusual interest to the farm CTS of the valley, and to all who are interested in this branch of research. The article was written by F. M. Web ster. a we'll known expert in charge of the department of cereal and forage insect investigation. The Alfalfa wee vii. he says. is not native to America
 The alfalfa weevil (Phytonomus mu- rinus Fab.) Is not native to America but has been accidentally introduced from Europe, western Asia, or north ern Africa, where it is common, and where. while more or less destructive 10 alfalfa, il is probably prevented by It's natural enemies from working seri- ous and wide spread ravages Just where or in what manner it was brought to this country no one knows, but it was first discovered in the spring of 1904 in small field of alfalfa near Salt Lake City, Utah, and attention promptly called to its presence there by the entomOlogist of the Utah Agri- cultural Experiment station.
 The Fully Developed Insect.
 The beetle itself is usually less than one-fourth of an inch in length, vary ing from one- eighth to three sixteenth inch. and when freshly emerged from the cocoon. within which 1t passes from the larva to the pupo, is of a plain brown color. In a few days this brown becomes darker. mixed with black and gray hairs. which give it a spotted or mottled appearance, as shown by an illustration. Gradually these scales and hairs become rubbed off. so that in spring we frequently observe individuals that appear almost entirely black. with small, irregular gray spots upon them.
 Where it Winters.
 The insect winters entirely in the beetle stage, seeking shelter, before the frosts of autumn commerce either in the crowns of alfalfa plants. close to the surface of the ground in the field, or under leaves, matted grass. weeds and rubbish along ditch banks, haystacks, and strawstacks. Indeed. 1t is often times found in barns where the hay is kept over winter. When this hay Is being put into the barn in late sum- mer. one side of the barn has been ob- served to be almost covered with adults. and in winter and spring. when the hay is being fed out, the floor of the barn will often be swarming with the beetles. like ants about an ant hill. IL has been estimated that fully so per cent of the beetles that go into winter quarters in the fall live through until spring With the coming of spring the beetles make their way forth from their hiding places and attack the young growth of alfalfa as soon as there is sufficient food for them. In ordinary seasons they may be expected to ap- pear the latter part Ct March. and the egg laying period lasts from early Ap- Til until early July.
 Where The Eggs Are Laid.
 In very early spring, before the plants have made much growth. the beetles often push their eggs down be- tween the leaves. the usual place of however, being in punc- lures made in the stem, and some dam age occurs at the very beginning of the season on account of the beetles the young stems and kill ling them in their efforts to oviposit in them. Some idea of the abundance of these eggs and the extent to which the pest may breed in vacant lots and oth- CT waste lands where alfalfa has es- capped from cultivation and grows as d weed may be obtained from the fact that in one case single plant has been found to contain 127 of these egg pune lures in the midst of the egg-laying season, with the punctures fresh andI new. AS one puncture may contain anywhere from a few to over 30 eggs. probably 10 or Is on the average, this single plant presumably contained be- tween 1.200 and 1900 eggs at the time it was observed. If these matched and half of them developed into female beetles and 30 per cent of the latter passed the winter, this plant Iright in a year give rise to over 150,000 beetles