40 THE PLUM-GOUGER. 



out to their full extent all other legs, braces them, and then 

 draws her beak or rostrum to as nearly a perpendicular 

 position as possible, then by gnawing and wnth a twisting 

 motion soon works her snout into the young fruit until 

 it is buried a trifle above the bases of the antennae, the latter 

 being held close against and directed upward along the ros- 

 trum upon the head while the hole is being made. She now 

 draws out her beak and deliberately turns about, and after 

 a few preliminary- thrusts of the ovipositor inserts the latter 

 into the hole just made with the beak and deposits a single 

 egg that is of the same diameter as the puncture. The egg 

 is of a dirty whitish, somewhat transparent color, and is 

 plainly visible with an ordinary pocket lens, being uncovered 

 and nearly flush with the surface. It soon becomes covered 

 by a healing of the injured fruit." Each female deposits only 

 one egg in a young plum; if more are found it is the work of 

 severa\,females. The larva that hatches from such an egg is 

 never exposed, hence can not be killed by sprays with arseni- 

 cal poisons. In entering the fruit a transparent or gummy sub- 

 stance collects over the puncture, as is well shown in the il- 

 lustration. The larva feeds not upon the flesh of the plum, but 

 upon the flesh of the kernel inside of the stone. Here it under- 

 goes its transformations from a larva to a pupa and to the 

 adultinsect, which later leaves as soon as strong enough to do 

 so, and searches for hibernating quarters in and about the 

 orchard. Many of the plums that contain the worms drop 

 and should be removed and destroyed, but many others re- 

 main on the trees long after the beetles have left, and some of 

 them are even still fit for culinary purposes. There is very 

 little use in spra^dng. Jarring early in the season, at the 

 time the trees are in full bloom, or even a little sooner, will 

 bring down many of these injurious beetles, and if this is done 

 early in the morning they can be readily gathered and killed. 

 The jarring has to be done in a forcible manner, as the 

 beetles cling A'ery tightly to the tree. 



Another species so closely resembling the above species as 

 to be almost indistinguishable, is found upon the sand-cherry. 

 It has similar life-habits. 



