The searchlight. [volume] (Culbertson, Mont.) 1902-current, 1911-06-16

tBy FRED f. BROOKS. West Virginia |
University Agricultural Experiment |
Station.) |
The plum curculo is a snout beetle |
about one-fifth OF an inch long Its |
color is a mixture OF black, brown and |
white. with the darker shades greatly |
predominating. On the back are sew
eral prominent humps which give the
insect roughened appearance and
make It difficult to distinguish while
on the tree from the bark or from a
dry bud. II is armed with curved
snout one-third as long as the body.
The insect is a native OF this coun-
try and is distributed over practically
all the United States east Of the Rocky
mountains. Before orchards were
planted within it's range II undoubted.
~ fed and bred on wild plums. crab
apples and hawthorns. but with the
settlement of the country II turned its
attention more TO cultivated fruits. al.
though II continues to breed on the
wild. native varieties. II 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 II attacks. there Is
little doubt but that IL 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.
II Injuries the fruit by puncturing
holes through the skin with it's snout
both for the purpose of feeding and
egg-layinE. The feeding punctures
may be made in apples at almost any
time during the summer. but the egg
punctures 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 a
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. 1t is a good plan to use In
connection with the operation some of
the other measures suggested here. IL
the best possible results are TO be OBJ
tanned.
The apple curculio has been con.
fused often with the plum curculio. but
in reality It 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
Otner sptcies. inc shout 10 'aiiieu
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 other 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 we'll &C
/ 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