16 



GRAPE CURCULIO. 



The grape curculio (Craponius inxqualis Say) is one of the "snout 

 beetles belonging in the same family (Curculionidae) as the so- 

 called plum curculio. The parent beetle deposits her eggs in little 

 cavities which she eats into the grapes, and the resulting larvae feed 

 upon the pulp and seeds, producing an injury quite similar to that 

 done by the grape berry moth. The beetles cut small, rather char- 

 acteristic holes in the grape leaves when feeding, and the berries often 

 show a purplish coloration at the point punctured in e^g-laying, as 

 shown in figure 3. If infested berries be examined it will be readily 



possible to distin- 

 guish between the 

 grape curculio and 

 the grape berry 

 moth, since the grubs 

 of the former are 

 whitish and quite 

 destitute of legs, 

 whereas the larvae of 

 the berry moth have 

 well-developed legs, 

 are greenish in color, 

 quite agile, and likely 

 to escape quickly 

 upon being dis- 

 turbed. See figure 

 4, showing, at a, an 

 injured berry; c, the 

 egg-cavity and egg 

 beneath skin of 

 grape; and d, an in- 

 fested berry cut open. 



Distribution and De- 

 structiveness. 



The grape curculio 

 is a native species, 

 feeding originally on 

 the wild grape, as it 

 does at the present 

 time. It has been 

 recorded from Ar- 

 kansas, Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky, Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, 

 New Jersey, West Virginia, and North Carolina, and, according to 

 Lintner, it probably occurs in New York State. The Bureau of 

 Entomology has records of its occurrence in Pennsylvania, District of 

 Columbia, West Virginia, North Carolina, and Nebraska. According 

 to Le Conte and Horn, its distribution is "Middle, Southern, and West- 

 ern States." The insect was described in 1830 by Thomas Say, but 

 it first attracted attention as a grape pest in 1853 in the vicinity of 

 Cincinnati, Ohio. An account of the species was given in 1867 by 



284 



Fig. 3. — Grape leaf, showing feeding marks of grape curculio beetles, 

 and bunch of grapes infested with larvae. Somewhat reduced. 



