The new era., 1911-06-22

University Agricultural Experiment
6tation.) tr TF
The plum curculio 10 . snout beetle
about one-flfth Of an inch long. Its
color ia a mixture of black, brown and
white. with the darker shades greatly
predominating. On the back are sew
erai prominent humps which give the
insect roughened appearance and
make 1t difncult to distinguish while
on the tree from the bark or from a
dry bud It is armed with curved
snout one-third as long as the body.
The insect is native of this coun-
try and Is distributed over practically
all the United States east'of the Rocky
mountains. Before orchards were
planted within its range 1t undoubted-
ly fed and bred on wild plums. crab
apples and hawthorns. but with the
settlement of the country 1t turned it's
attention more to cultivated fruits. al
though 1t continues to breed on the
wild. native varieties. 1t attacks plums,
peaches, nectarines, apricots. cherries.
apples, crab apples. pears, ounces
and hawthorns,. and has even been re-
ported as breeding on persimmons. On
account of the usual abundance of the
insect and the great variety Of valu-
able fruits which 1t attacks, there is
little doubt but that 1t has been right
fully designated as the most destruc-
tive of all the insect enemies of the
orchardist in this section of the coun-
try.
It Injuries the fruit by puncturing
holes through the skin with its snout
both for the purpose of feeding and
egg-laying. The feeding punctures
may be made In apples at almost any
Nme during the summer. but the egg
pmctures are made mostly while the
apples are small. These wounds, and
the subsequent feeding of the larvae
which hatch from the eggs, cause the
fruit to become dwarfed in size. lop-
sided. knotty and otherwise mis-
shapen.
The injuries done by the plum cur
culio are not SO easily prevented as
are those of some other insects. and
yet there are a number of methods
that can be used against them with
very. satisfactory measure Of success.
In. dealing with the insect on apples
by far the most effective means Of pre-
venting loss Is spraying with one OF
the arsenical poisons, such as paris
green, or, preferably. arsenate Of lead
Even where spraying is practiced.
however. it is a good plan to use in
connection with the operation some of
the other measures suggested here. II
the best possible results are to be OBJ
tanned
The apple curculio has been con-
fused often with the plum curculio. but
in reality 1t is quite distinct from that
species in both appearance and habits.
The apple curculio is more reddish
brown in color, the form is more ro-
bust and on the back are four promi-
nent humps. the front two Of which
are much larger than any OF the humps
on the back of the plum curculio. The
snout of the apple curculio is almost
as long as the rest of the body. or
three times the length Of that Of the
other species. The snout is carried
projecting forward. instead of hanging
down like an elephants trunk. as is
the case with the plum curculio.
In attacking the fruit the apple cur
culio bores through the skin. in man.
ner similar to that of the ether spe-
cies, but after the puncture is COM
pleted and the egg laid. only an indis-
tinct speck is left on the surface to
mark the place of injury. whereas the
plum curculio makes the conspicuous
crescent-shaped mark. A glance at the
insects or at their work is sufficient to
enable anyone. who Is at all well ac-
quainted with the species. to distin-
guish between the two.
Where the apple curculio becomes
troublesome care should be taken that
no thickets Of wild crab or hawthorn