INJURIOUS AND BENEFICIAL INSECTS OF CALIFORNIA. 297 



Distribution. — Inyo County is the only place in the State where the 

 weevil has proven a pest. Its occurrence elsewhere has never been 

 reported. 



Food Plants.— Wild California sage is the native food plant, but 

 for two years apple trees 213 have been seriously damaged by the destruc- 

 tion of the buds. 



Control.— Thorough spraying with arsenate of lead when the buds 

 begin to swell may prove sufficient to hold the pest in check. An 

 application of Bordeaux mixture at this time may suffice as a repellent. 

 So far control measures have not been justifiable, in that the cost of 

 spraying would be many times greater than the actual loss due to the 

 work of the weevil. 



FULLER'S ROSE BEETLE 



Pantomorus fulleri (Horn) (Family Otiorhynchidae) 

 (Aram ig us fulleri Horn) 



(Fig. 292) 



Description. — The weevils vary from gray to very dark brown, with 

 an oblique white stripe on the sides of the wing covers near the pos- 

 terior end. They are wingless. The length varies from § to J inch. 

 The eggs are ovoid or elliptical, pale yellow, smooth, about 1-25 inch 

 iong and are laid in irregular rows in masses of from ten to sixty. 

 The larva? are white, § inch long and legless. The pupge are white and 

 slightly shorter than the grubs. 



Life History.— The eggs are usually deposited in masses between 

 the loose bark and the trunks of the trees, near the base, just above 

 the ground, upon the stems of smaller plants or upon the ground near 

 the base of the host. They hatch in about a month. The young larvae 

 are subterranean in habits and feed upon the roots of many plants. 

 When full-grown they pupate in the soil from two to five inches below 

 the surface and emerge as adults. These are very slow, sluggish 

 weevils which are unable to fly and must crawl from the ground up the 

 trunk or other portion of the host touching the ground. They feed 

 upon the foliage. The winter is spent in the adult stage, the weevils 

 being in evidence and often feeding practically throughout the entire 

 winter in the southern part of the State. 



Nature of Work. — The larvae entirely destroy the roots of many 

 plants, causing death. As the work is underground, the cause of the 

 trouble often remains a mystery to the untrained observer. The work 

 of the adults, however, is very obvious, as both the work and the 

 weevils are usually to be found together. Irregular holes are eaten 

 in the middle or around the edges of the leaves, and young tender 

 shoots are often entirely devoured, especially those of newly budded 

 or grafted citrus trees. Fig 292 shows the characteristic work on the 

 older foliage. 



Distribution.— Fuller's rose beetle is destructive in the southern 

 and central parts of the Stale. It has been reported as far north 

 as Alameda County. 



ra Mo. Bui. Cal. Hort. Com., II, p. 597, 1913. 



