210 FRl'IT INSECTS 



sumac. Although quite widely distributed in the United States 

 and occurring also in Canada, this twig-borer seems to have 

 been injurious only in Missouri and Texas. The only practi- 

 cable remedy thus far suggested is to prune off and burn all 

 infested twigs at any time before April. 



The New York Weevil 



Ithycerus novehoracencis Forster 



This large, ash-gray, black-spotted beetle (Fig. 194), one 

 of the largest of the weevils, measuring about | of an inch in 



Fig. 194. — The New York weevil (x 'Sj). 



length, is widely distributed in the United States and Canada, 

 but has been injurious principally in the Mississippi Valley 

 and the Southern states. It breeds in the twigs of oak, hickory 

 and possibly other forest trees. The weevils appear in early 

 spring and eat into the buds, gnaw the tender bark on new 

 growth, and often cut off the leaf-stalks and new shoots, work- 

 ing principally at night. Young apple, peach, plum, pear 

 and cherry orchards and nursery trees may be invaded by the 

 beetles and many trees ruined. 



These large weevils can be readily controlled either by hand- 

 picking or by jarring them on to sheets or plum curculio-catchers. 



