426 FRUIT INSECTS 



The egg hatches in a week or ten days. The larva feeds 

 principally on the pith, working its way up or down the cane 

 for a considerable distance. When full-grown the larva is 

 about two fifths inch in length, yellowish-white in color, with 

 a brownish head and dark brown jaws. It becomes full-grown 

 in eight or ten weeks, pupates within the gall and the beetles 

 emerge in August. 



The injuries caused by this insect are never serious; affected 

 canes, unless broken by the wind, continue to grow and are 

 able to ripen their fruit as well as those not infested. The 

 insect may be killed by cutting out and burning the infested 

 canes during July and early August, but ordinarily it would 

 not be worth the trouble involved. In vineyards sprayed with 

 an arsenical in Bordeaux mixture in late May and June many 

 of the beetles are doubtless poisoned. 



References 



Ohio Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 116. 1900. 



W. Va. Agr. Exp. Sta. Bull. 119, pp. 323-329. 1909. 



The Grape-cane Girdler 

 Ampeloglypter ater Leconte 



This small black weevil is generally distributed throughout 

 the Eastern and Western states, where it usually feeds on 

 Virginia creeper. In West Virginia, however, it has recently 

 attracted attention as a minor enemy of the grape. 



The beetle emerges from hibernation in May and after 

 inserting its egg in a puncture in a growing grape-cane girdles 

 the branch below the egg and then usually eats off the tip of the 

 branch and one or more of the leaves. These withered tips 

 and leaves sometimes give the vine a decidedly ragged appear- 

 ance, although the actual injury is not great. 



The eggs hatch in about ten days and the white footless grub 



