COLEOPTERA 539 



Fuller's rose-beetle, Pantomorus fiilleri. — This is an oval, black 

 snout-beetle, lightly covered with dark brown scales, and about 6 mm. 

 in length. It attacks roses and many other greenhouse plants. The 

 adults feed on the foliage, flowers, and buds, the larvae on the roots, 

 of its food plants. 



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

 dark brown, almost black, snout-beetle, about 5 mm. 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 sulcdius. — This beetle is 

 larger than the preceding species, measuring 9 mm. in length; it is 

 black, with small patches of yellowish hairs on the elytra. The 

 larvee destroy the roots of strawberries; and both larvae and adults 

 infest various greenhouse plants. 



The subfamily Curculionin^ is represented in our fauna by 

 more than one thousand species, among which are some very destruc- 

 tive pests. In this family there is on the lower side of each wing-cover 

 a strong fold near the outer margin, which limits a deep groove in 

 which the upper edge of the abdomen fits ; the mandibles have no scar; 

 the antennae are usually elbowed, and have a ringed or solid club; 

 the tarsi are usually dilated, with the third segment bilobed and 

 spongy beneath ; in a few cases the tarsi are narrow, but not spinose 

 beneath . 



The larvae are soft, white, maggot-like grubs destitute of feet. 

 They feed chiefly on fruits, seeds, and nuts, but all parts of plants are 

 subject to their attacks. 



In laying her eggs, the female first bores a hole with her snout, 

 then drops an egg into this hole, and finally pushes the egg to the 

 bottom of the hole with her snout. In many species the snout is 

 highly developed for this purpose; sometimes it is 

 twice as long as the remainder of the body. This is 

 well shown in the acorn-weevils and the nut-weevils, 

 which belong to the genus Baldninus. Figure 662 

 represents Balaninus rectus resting on an acorn ; the 

 specimen figured, when found, had her snout inserted 

 in the acorn up to the antenna. Of the closely allied 

 species Balaninus naslcus breeds in hickory-nuts, 

 and Balaninus probosctdeus in chestnuts. 



The following are some of the more important Fig. 60^. 



pests belonging to this subfamily: 



The plimi-curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar. — This is tiie 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 determined early in the season by a peculiar mark it makes 

 when laying its eggs in the young fruit. The female beetle makes an 



