i;o THE STUDY OF INSECTS 



able in color. It is represented, somewhat enlarged, in Figure 301. It 

 is omnivorous, gnawing holes in various garden vegetables, strawberry- 

 plants, and other fruits. The greater part of the insect is 

 clothed with imbricated scales, which suggested the spe- 

 cific name. 



The New York weevil, Ithycerns noveboracensis. — This 

 is a large species, measuring from f to | of an inch in 

 length. It is black, rather sparsely clothed with a mix- 

 ture of ash-gray and pale brown prostrate hairs which 

 give it a black-spotted appearance. The beak is short and 

 broad. The mandibles are prominent, not very stout, 

 IG ' 301 ' and emarginate at the tip, with an inferior cusp. The 



antennae are not elbowed; the first segment is longer than the second; 

 and the terminal segments form a small, oval club. 



This species breeds in the twigs and tender branches of oak, hickory, 

 and possibly other forest trees. The adult beetles appear in early spring, 

 and sometimes do much damage to fruit-trees by eating into buds, and 

 gnawing the tender bark on new growth. They can be caught by jarring 

 them on to sheets or by the use of a plum-curculio catcher. (This 

 weevil is placed in a separate family, Belidcz, by some authors.) 



The strawberry crown-girdler, Brachyrhmus ovdtus. — This is a dark 

 brown, almost black, snout-beetle, about £ of an inch in length, which 

 often invades dwellings in search of shelter, in the Northern States and 

 Canada. The larvae feed on the roots of the strawberry, cutting them 

 off near the crown. The adults feed on the foliage. In the adult, the 

 hind wings are wanting and the elytra are grown together. 



The black vine-weevil, Brachyrhinus sulcatus. — This beetle is larger 

 than the preceding species, measuring % of an inch in length; it is black, 

 with small patches of yellowish hairs on the elytra. The larvae destroy 

 the roots of strawberries; and both larvae and adults infest various green- 

 house plants. 



The plum-curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar. — This is the insect that 

 stings plums, often destroying a large portion of the fruit; the larva is 

 also the well-known " worm " of " wormy " cherries. This species is the 

 most destructive insect that infests plums, cherries, and other stone 

 fruits; it also breeds in apple. Its presence in an orchard can be deter- 

 mined early in the season by a peculiar mark it makes when laying its 

 eggs in the young fruit. The female beetle makes an incision, with her 

 snout, through the skin of the fruit. In this incision she lays a single 

 egg, which she pushes with her snout to the bottom of the cavity that 

 she has prepared. She then makes a crescent-shaped incision in front of 

 the one containing the egg. This last cut undermines the egg. leaving it 

 in a little flap. The larvae feed within the fruit. In the case of the plums 

 the infested fruit falls to the ground; but not so with cherries. When 

 full-grown the larvae go into the ground to transform. This species in- 

 fests nectarines, apricots, and peaches, as well as plums and cherries. 



The strawberry -weevil, Anthonomus signdtus, infests strawberry, 

 blackberry, raspberry, and dewberry. The female beetle, after laying an 

 egg in the flower-bud, causes it to fall by cutting the pedicel; the larva 

 develops within the fallen bud. 



The cotton-boll weevil, Anthonomus grdndis, is one of the most serious 

 insect pests known in the United States. It infests only cotton. The 



