210 



GENUINE SNOUT-BEETLES. 



the old maxim : "there is nothing- new under the sun." He found a 

 specimen of this odd-looking being, and wondered why it should 

 possess such long legs, and of such peculiar shape. By spending 

 much time he discovered that the beetle in flying to a young oak- 

 tree near by approached the under side of a leaf and threw the 

 legs upwards when they performed the action of an anchor and 

 fastened the insect to the desired spot. When writing down his 

 observations he happened to consult a very old entomological 

 work, and found to his intense surprise — and disgust — that this 

 fact had already been recorded in the year of his birth. 



THE GRAPE CURCULIO. 



(Craponius inaequalis Say). 



This almost globular snout-beetle, illustrated in Fig. 224, is 

 by no means common in our state, but has been repeatedly taken 

 from grapes, hence should be mentioned. It is only about one- 



Fig. 224. — Craponius insequalis. Say. After Riley. 



tenth of an inch long, black, thickly punctated, and sprinkled 

 with scales forming grayish spots or dots. It seems to pass the 

 winter in the perfect state, laying eggs on the young berries of the 

 grape during June or early in July. The young larva enters the 

 berry and feeds upon it, showing its presence by a discoloration 

 on one side of the same. A dark circular dot can be detected in 

 this discolored spot, which indicates where the larva has entered. 

 Notwithstanding this injury, the affected berry does not decay, 

 but remains sound and hard, although it sometimes drops to the 

 ground before it is fully ripe. The enclosed yellowish-white and 

 translucent larva is an elongated footless grub, with a large, horny, 



