Ix PESTS 173 
Roses, especially standards. Anxiously each day in 
April the amateur watches the dormant buds of some 
new and precious sort to see if they are starting. 
At last he sees that something has been biting at 
the buds, but no trace of any insect is to be found. 
Day by day the damage increases till at last the 
buds, even every bit of inserted bark, are eaten clean 
out of the stock, and still no vestige of the enemy 
itself is to be seen. This is the work of that most 
malevolent pest, the weevil. There may be plenty 
of strong Rose plants close by, but he will touch 
none of them if there is a dormant inserted bud 
anywhere where there is a chance of destroying a 
whole future plant. It is just the same with fruit- 
trees, as far as I have seen: I have never observed 
any injury to an established tree (possibly because it 
would not be noticeable), but a bud or graft is sure 
to be attacked if there are any weevils of this sort 
about. 
The reason they are not visible is because they 
only come out at night. Go with a lamp after dark 
to the infested places and you will soon find them, 
little brown beetles with long noses. I used to find 
the employment of a pretty strong pair of tweezers 
comforting to my feelings after many buds had 
been destroyed, but they will drop to the ground at 
a slight alarm and be most difficult to find. A 
white cloth spread under the Rose tree to catch 
them when they fall is a safe precaution. 
Other weevils (Phyllobius), of the most brilliant 
green colour, may be found on the Rose shoots in 
the day time. The injury they inflict is but slight, 
but they should be destroyed, as they form a 
nuisance when present in large numbers. 
