EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 



219 



STR A WLJERRY WEi: V IL. 



(Anthonomiis signaius.) 



A tiny beetle that punctures the flower-stems of strawberry and blackberry, causing the 

 buds to droop and die. 



On two previous occasions Michigan has sustained attacks by tliis 

 tiny beetle, once in 1883 and again in 1888. The trouble appeared once 

 more in 1905, this time at xVrcadia. Specimens were sent in on June 10 

 by Mr. 11. E. Gilbert, whose blackberries were suffering. The beetle itself 

 is a small snout-beetle, a little less than one-eighth of an inch in length 

 exclusive of the long snout. It is chestnut or black in color with a dark 

 si)ot on the outer part of each wing-cover and with a distinct Avhite, round 

 dot between the bases of the wing-covers. The beetle is believed to produce 

 but one true generation each year, but its work is soiiiewhat prolonged, 

 being perpetrated at first 

 on strawberry and later 

 on blackberry buds. 



The adult beetles, which 

 hibernate or pass the win- 

 ter hidden away in out- 

 of-the-way places, attack 

 the full-grown buds for 

 the purpose of egg laying. 

 The injury is brought 

 about by their habit of 

 puncturing or partially 

 eating away the delicate 

 stems just beneath the 

 buds, thus stopping all 

 growth and causing the 

 buds to dry up and many 

 of them to drop otf. After 

 providing for the death 

 of the buds the beetle de- 



}»osits an egg in each one, and here is found just the right condition for 

 the development of its larva. The larva feeds, for tlie most part, on 

 the pollen contained in the stamens in the buds and in due course 

 changes to a pupa and finally to an adult, emerging in late June or in 

 July. 



These little creatures attack not only the stawberry, but also both 

 wild and cultivated blackberries; thev are said to feed likewise on 

 brambles, which are close relatives. 



Fig. 17. Strawberry weevil, greatly enlarged (Original). 



REMEDIES. 



As has been stated, the beetles pass the winter in hibernation, usually 

 under rubbisli, therefore the advantages of clean culture and the burning 



