15 



vious year. Evidently both hogs and poultry devour the larva? in the 

 ground. 



At the time that bisulphid of carbon was first suggested as a remedy 

 for chestnut " worms " it was feared that the firm and compact shell 

 Avould hardly permit the gas to penetrate and kill the contained larvae. 

 Experience, however, has shown that this remedy is successful in the 

 case of chestnuts, and it is not impossible that it might be adapted to 

 pecans, using a larger amount of the chemical and a longer exposure 

 in a perfectly tight receptacle. We can as yet scarcely advise this 

 method on a large scale, but it should certainly be tried experimentally. 



The Hazelnut Weevil. 



{Balaninus obttisus Blanch.) 



Hazelnuts or filberts are injured in much the same manner as are 

 chestnuts and pecans and by a similar weevil. Injury was recognized 

 as early as 1841, but was attributed to 

 other species than that under considera- 

 tion. Owing to the comparatively slight 

 importance of the hazel as a nut tree in 

 this country, few notices of losses from 

 weevil attack have been recorded. The 

 weevil which affects the nut was not 

 differentiated from others of its kind 

 until 1884. In 1891 it was reported as 

 badly damaging hazelnuts in Iowa. 



The beetle (fig. 14) differs from others 

 which attack edible nuts, exclusive of 

 acorns, by its shorter, more robust form 

 and shorter beak." It is about one- 

 fourth of an inch in length, and the 



beak does not exceed half the length of the body. The vestiture 

 varies from gray to ochreous, and the elytra are moderately mottled. 



This species occurs from Massachusetts and New Hampshire west- 

 ward to Minnesota and Texas. Injury has been noted in Massachu- 

 setts, New York, Indiana, Iowa, and Minnesota. 



Of the life history little has been recorded beyond the fact that the 

 " worm " issues from the side of the nut, and that paired adults have 

 been found on hazelnuts in July. 



RE:srEDIES. 



Since hazels are not cultivated in this country to any extent, no rem- 

 edy need be employed other than gathering entire crops and destroy- 

 ing isolated bushes where it is unprofitable to gather the nuts. It 

 would be quite possible, owing to the small size of the hazel plant, to 

 control this species by jarring, as for the plum curculio. 



"The appendices of the claws are broadly rectangular, and the femora or thighs are 

 armed with large teeth. The scape of the antenna in the female is long. 



Fig. 14. — Hazelnut weevil (Balaninus 

 obtusus), adult: a, Female, dorsal 

 view ; b, head from side ; c, head of 

 male from side. Enlarged (original) . 



[Cir. 00] 



o 



