244 



FBUtT INSECTS 



annual loss occasioned by this insect at over 8J million dollars. 

 Although the plum curculio does not breed as freely in apples 

 as in stone fruits, still these are often seriously injured by its 

 feeding and egg-laying punctures. A large proportion of those 

 stung fall early in the season, while those that remain on the 

 trees are usually rendered knotty and unmarketable. It has 



Fig. 219. — The jjlum curculio, 

 side and dorsal view ( X 5) . 



Fig. 220. — Egg of the plum 

 curculio in position, the skin of 

 the fruit removed. Section 

 through an egg-scar of the plum 

 curculio showing the egg posi- 

 tion. Enlarged. 



been recognized as a serious pest for over a century, and fully 

 satisfactory means of control have not yet been devised. Con- 

 trol is particularly difficult because the greater part of the injury 

 is caused by the adult, a long-lived, hard shelled beetle very 

 difficult to poison because it feeds principally on the pulp of the 

 fruit obtained through a small puncture in the skin. 



The insect passes the winter in the beetle stage, hidden away 



