THE PLUM-CURCULIO. 41 



THE PLUM-CURCULIO. 



{ConotracheJus nenuphdi' Hbst.). 

 We can hardly open an entomological bulletin issued by 

 any of the eastern, central, or southern states v^ithout find- 

 ing a description of this insect, and of the remedies that will 

 kill it and save the fruit. Yet as a very general rule more is 

 claimed for such proposed remedies than is warranted by 

 facts, and many of the measures have not proved very satis- 

 factory. This is especially true of the applications of Paris 

 green andLondonpurple, which, with Bordeaux mixture, are 

 no"w-a-days a sort of cure-all. All these substances are of great 

 value, but as far as the "Little Turk" is concerned we have 

 to depend for success very largely upon other methods, which, 

 though requiring much more labor, are also much more cer- 

 tain. Though so well known it is perhaps best to give an 

 outline of the life-histor^' of this insect wdiich is illustrated 

 in fig. 23 upon plate VII. As the illustration shows, this 

 snout-beetle is less than one-fourth of an inch in length, is of 

 a brown color w^ith four sealing-wax-like elevated excrescen- 

 ces on the hard wnng-covers. The beetles hibernate among 

 all sorts of rubbish, but prefer accumulated leaves and simi- 

 lar substances. Early in spring, and long before the buds of 

 the plum-trees open, they visit the orchards, and eat the 

 tender parts of the tree, such as green bark and buds; later 

 they eat leaves, flowers, and the young fruit. Knowing this 

 habit we can kill large numbers of the curculios by spraying 

 the trees before their leaves and flowers appear. This should 

 be done thoroughly and as the foliage otherwise so very ten- 

 der as regards arsenical substances is still enclosed, there is 

 no danger of injuring the trees. When the flowers open we 

 should not spray; it is more or less useless, and we run the 

 risk of killing many honey-bees, w^hich are attracted to them 

 and very important, as without them but few fruits will set. 

 As soon as the latter have reached the size of a small marble 

 the female curculio commences to deposit her eggs; she makes 

 a crescent-shaped cut and then separates and elevates a small 

 flap into w^hich the e:gg is inserted. This peculiar crescent- 

 shaped slit has given the insect the name: "Little Turk;" it 

 is made, apparently, to deaden the flesh of the fruit, or to 



