82 Farmers’ Bulletin 1270. 
NEW YORK WEEVIL.” 
The large snout-beetle known as the New York weevil is more formidable in 
appearance than the plum and apple cureulios, but is of less importance. It 
seldom attracts much attention, except locally during seasons of unusual 
abundance. While known to occur in many fruit districts, its injuries have 
been confined mainly to parts of the South and the Mississippi Valley. The 
New York weevil feeds upon a wide variety of host plants, the more important 
including our common deciduous tree fruits, white and burr oak, hickory, ete. 
This weevil attacks the buds early in the spring and frequently eats into 
the twigs and tender shoots and cuts off the leaves. Occasionally young trees 
and nursery stock are quite seriously injured. 
Although the life history of this beetle has not been carefully investigated, 
it is known that the adults are active early in the spring and attack the buds 
as soon as they start to push out. The adult is a large snout-neetle, about 
five-eighths of an inch in length and of an ash gray color, 
with small, light dots on the wing covers (fig. 56). The 
eggs are deposited on burr oak and certain other trees and 
the resulting larvee live in the twigs. The larva is footless 
and light yellow, with yellowish brown head. 
As a means of combating this insect, jarring similar to 
Fig. _56.—The New ; x “ 2 
York weevil. En- that done against the plum curculio is sometimes practiced. 
larged. On small trees hand picking is advantageous if the number 
of trees is not too great. Probably a thorough application 
of Bordenux mixture and arsenate of lead made as soon as the beetles ap- 
pear would serve to repel or kill them before they seriously injure the buds. 
RED-LEGGED FLEA-BEETLE.” 
The red-legged flea-beetle every now and then appears suddenly in such num- 
bers as to cause much alarm among orchardists who have set out young fruit 
trees on newly cleared locust land or in the vicinity of recently cut-over locust 
timber. While these sporadic attacks are often of a serious nature locally, 
they are fortunately of quite irregular occurrence. The beetles attack the buds 
early in the spring, resulting at times in the death of the trees. They also 
feed later upon the foliage and blossoms, The red-legged flea-beetle is found 
in Europe and the United States and is known to have a large number of host 
plants, the more important of which include the apple and other deciduous tree 
fruits, many small fruits, and such trees as locust, hazel, dogwood, ete. 
The life history of this insect has not been fully investigated, but it is known 
that it hibernates in the adult stage. The beetles are about one-tenth of an 
inch in length, oblong-oval, with wing covers usually of a polished bright blue 
and bright red legs. The larvee are supposed to live on the roots of locust. 
The buds of fruit trees should be sprayed with arsenate of lead at the rate of 
14 to 2 pounds of the powder or 3 to 4 pounds of the paste to 50 gallons of water 
or fungicide, and the application repeated if the beetles continue their attack. 
Bordeaux mixture (44-50) serves more or less aS a repellent, and this, com- 
bined with arsenate of lead, is as satisfactory a spray as anything known at the 
present time. As a supplementary control measure, the beetles should be jarred 
from the trees on sheets, as is sometimes done in the case of the plum curculio, 
” Tthycerus noveboracensis Porster. ° Crepidodera rufipes Linnaeus. 
