THE COLEOPTERA 139 



treatments, however, will accomplish considerable in this line. The 

 usual measures taken are as follows: 



(1) Remove all opportunities for the successful wintering of the 

 adults, as far as possible. Rubbish, stone walls, and trash of all sorts 

 should be removed. Plum orchards near woodland are poorly located 

 from this standpoint. (2) The curculio prefers shade in which to work, 

 and larvae even inside fallen fruit are unable to survive any long exposure 

 to direct sunlight. The trees therefore should be so pruned as to let the 

 sunlight through all parts, and fallen fruit should be exposed to the sun 

 by proper treatment of the ground under the tree. (3) Fowls and hogs 

 will eat many of the larvae in the fallen fruit and larvae or pupae in the 

 ground, and should be allowed to run under the trees; or thorough, shallow 

 cultivation under the trees should be given from the time the larvae begin to 

 leave the fruit until at least 6 weeks later, to destroy the insects there. 



(4) Spraying with arsenate of lead either alone or combined with the 

 self-boiled lime-sulfur has been fairly successful if the applications be 

 thorough and at the right times. For plums spraying with 2}^^ lb. of 

 lead arsenate paste (13-^ lb. of the powder) in 50 gal. of water or lime- 

 sulfur as soon after the blossoms fall as leaves begin to develop, and the 

 treatment repeated 8 or 10 days later has proved the best method. 

 Cherries can be treated in the same way. With peaches, 2 lb. of the 

 arsenate in 50 gal. of water, to which the milk of lime obtained by slaking 

 2 lb. of quick lime has been added, is sprayed as soon as the "shucks" 

 are beginning to shed from the blossoms. About 3 weeks later a spray 

 of 2 lb. of the arsenate in 50 gal. of the self-boiled lime-sulfur is made. A 

 third treatment about a month before the fruit begins to ripen, using the 

 lime-sulfur only, is also often given. • For apples the precautions neces- 

 sary in spraying stone fruits with arsenate of lead need not be taken. 

 Here the treatments commonly given for the Codling Moth (see Chapter 

 XXIX) are also effective at those times for the Curculio, though later 

 similar applications may also be necessary if the insects are abundant. 



(5) Where only a few stone-fruit trees are involved, jarring them early 

 in the morning, after spreading white cloth under them, is a good treat- 

 ment. The beetles at that time of day are sluggish and drop onto the 

 cloth when the tree is given a sudden blow, and they can then be gathered 

 and destroyed. This should be begun as soon as the blossoms have all 

 fallen and continued until the beetles no longer appear. 



The Plum Gouger {Coccotorus scutellaris Lee). — This plum pest like the last, 

 is a native of this country and is found from New York west to the Rocky Moun- 

 tains and south to Texas. It appears to be destructive, however, mainly west of 

 the Mississippi River. The adult (Fig. 134) is somewhat larger than the Plum 

 Curculio. The head and thorax are dull yellow and the elytra are lead-gray in 

 ' color, and the surface is without any humps or other irregularities. In many 

 regards the habits of the Gouger are hke those of the Plum Curculio, but it leaves 



