THE 



^ra^tkal ©nt^nt^I^gi^t 



A MONTHLY BULLETIN, 



Published by the American Entomological Society, for the dissemination of valuable 

 knowledge among Agriculturists and Horticulturists. 



Vol. II, No. 7. 



APRIL, 1867. 



Whole No. 19. 



®k ^radical (KntamoIajiBt. 



.^©^Published bv the Amekican Entosiological Society 

 at' their Hall, 'So. 518 South Thirteenth St., Philadelphia. 



^®~Edited by Bknj. B. Walsh, Rook Island, Illinois. 



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PHILADELPHIA, APRIL, 1867. 



THE COMMON CUBCTTLIO AND ITS ALLIES. 



There are at least three very distinct Snout-bee- 

 tles, (^Curculio family), which have been popularly 

 confounded together by various persons in various 

 parts of the country under the common name of 

 "Curculio." Yet in the eyes of an Entomologist 

 they differ from each other as widely, as do a Cow, 

 a Sheep and a Goat, in the eyes of a farmer. As 

 the habits of these three Snout-beetles differ con- 

 siderably, and as they must consequently be attack- 

 ed in somewhat different modes, and at somewhat 

 different times, by the Fruit-grower, I propose in 

 the following paragraphs to give a brief account of 

 each. Two of the three I was the first to publish 

 as destructive to fruit ; and one of these — the Plum- 

 gouger (^Anthonormis prunicida) — I was the first 

 to name and describe. 



One reason why Fruit-growing is so profitable a 

 business in the Pacific States, is that none of th^ 

 insects, so far as is known at present, exist there, 

 ev^ in small numbers. Although in California 

 thW Blest, the Chinese immigrants have already 

 erected their joss-houses, where they can worship 

 Buddha without fear of interruption, yet no "Lit- 

 tle Turk" has yet imprinted the crescent symbol of 

 Mahometanism upon the Californian plums, and the 

 Californian peaches. This, indeed, is only what, 

 reasoaing from aaalogy, we should be inclined to 



expect. For though many species, both of plants 

 and animals, occur both in the Atlantic and in the 

 Pacific States, yet, as a general rule, the plants and 

 animals of the one region of country are more or 

 less different from those of the other. 



The Snout-beetles, as a Family, are distinguished 

 from almost all other Beetles by the front part of the 

 head being more or less prolonged into a snout, 

 which, in some genera, is as fine as a hair, and in 

 others about as wide as the head itself, and at the 

 tip of which the jaws are placed. This snout, be- 

 ing part and parcel of the head, is consequently 

 immovable, except along with the head ; so that it 

 cannot be confounded with the beak or proboscis ot 

 the true Bugs and the two-winged Flies, or with 

 the tongue of the Butterflies and Moths. For in 

 all these last the part that projects in front, inas- 

 much as it consists of the variously modified organs 

 of the mouth, articulates with the head, and is 

 plainly movable with reference to what may be 

 called the Skull of the insect. With a very few ex- 

 ceptions, the Snout-beetles have all their six feet 

 (tarsi) 4-joint6d, with the last joint but one split 

 into two lobes — characters which they have in com- 

 mon with the Boring-beetles {Ceramlyx family) 

 and most of the Leaf-beetles ( Chri/somela family), 

 and which effectually distinguish them from a few 

 small groups of Beetles, which have true Snouts 

 but do not have all their six feet 4-jointed. There 

 are many hundred species of them found within the 

 limits of the United States; but at present we will 

 speak of three only. 



THE TRUE "CURCULIO." 

 {Conofrachelus nenuphar Herbst.) 



This insect may be distinguished from all other 

 N. A. Snout-beetles by having on the middle of 

 each of his wing-cases an elongate, knife-edged 

 hump, which is black and shining, so as to re- 

 semble apiece of black sealing-wax. Behind these 

 two humps there is usually placed a broad clay-yel- 

 Inw band, marked in the middle with white; but 

 sometimes this entire band is white. 



The female "Curculio" makes her appearance ear- 

 ly in the season, and as soon as the young plums are 

 a little larger than a hazel-nut. Alighting upon a 



