80 



THE PRACTICAL ENTOMOLOGIST. 



they are infested by the "Curculio," this peculiari- 

 ty gives the fruit-grower a better chance to check 

 the multiplicatiou of the species. In the one case, 

 fallen fruit must be destroyed almost immediately, 

 to work any benefit; in the other case, it may lie 

 undisturbed on the ground for some weeks without 

 its making any difference. 



The thorax of the " Plum-gouger " is ochre-yel- 

 low; the head and hinder parts slate-color, the lat- 

 ter with irregular white and black spots. In com- 

 mon with the other species of the genus to which it 

 belongs, its snout usually projects forwards, or at 

 the most, is bent perpendicularly downwards; 

 whereas that of the "'Curculio" usually hangs per- 

 pendicularly downwards, like the trunk of an ele- 

 phant, but is capable, as before stated, of being 

 folded backwards between its front legs. The 

 Plum-gouger is further distinguishable from the 

 ''Curculio" by its wing-cases being smooth and 

 dull-colored, without any shining glossy humps on 

 them. 



Dr. Hull writes me word that this insect is an 

 old acquaintance of his, but that it is not anything 

 like as common near Alton, Illinois, as the "Cur- 

 culio'' — occurring, as he estimates from the insects 

 captured in jarring his plum-trees, only in the pro- 

 portion of about 1 to 50. Near Rock Island, in 

 Northern Illinois, it is certainly to the full as com- 

 mon as the "Curculio," both on tame and on wild 

 plum-trees. In Central Illinois it is also about 

 equally common, both at Springfield, according to 

 Mr. Francis, and near Bloomington, in the Or- 

 chards of Dr. Schroeder and Mr. Wm. Holmes. 

 It has also occurred near Crescent City, Iowa, on 

 the plum-trees of Mr. H. A. Terry. So far as is at 

 present known, the insect is peculiar to the Valley 

 of the Mississippi, and has not been met with in 

 the Atlantic States. Dr. Hull remarks to mo, that 

 "it appears to be especially fond of the Smith's 

 Orleans Plum, though other plums are also attack- 

 ed by it, the yellow or green-skinned sorts the 

 least." 



As we should naturally anticipate, from the fact 

 that this insect is physically incapable of folding 

 up his snout and his legs into so compact a mass as 

 the "Curculio" does, he does not drop to the 

 ground quite so readily as the "Curculio." Ac- 

 cording to Dr. Hull, "it requires severe jarring to 

 bring him down." Possibly, one reason why this 

 gentleman found proportionally much fewer "plum- 

 gougers" on his Plum-trees, thar other fruit-grow- 

 ers have done in other parts of Illinois, is, that a 

 larger percentage of the "Curculio'' are dislodged 

 by his '"Curculio-catcher" than of the "Plum- 

 gouger." Of course, where each separate limb of 

 a large Plum-tree is successively jarred by a pad- 

 ded mop-stick or other such instrument, a Snout- 

 beetle, that does not drop very freely and readily, 

 will be more likely to come down, than where the 

 trunk of the tree only is butted or jarred, as is the 

 case when the " (^irculio-catchcr" is used. 

 THE FOUR-HUMPED CURCULIO. 

 {Antkonovius 4-(/ibbus, S:iy.) 



This insect was named and described long ago 

 by Say, as common everywhere in the United 



States. It is of a dull-brown color, shading into 

 rust-red behind, and may be readily distinguished 

 by the four projecting humps on its wing-cases, 

 none of which, however, are shining black, as in 

 the case of the common "(,'urculio." The males 

 have considerably shorter snouts than the females, 

 which is also the case with a genus of Snout-beetles 

 (Balamnus), with long snouts as fine as a horse- 

 hair, which infest the acorn and the hazel nut. 



Speaking of this insect in the Prairie Fanner 

 of July 18, 18G3, I stated that " I had always found 

 it on the crab and the hawthorn, and that, perhaps, 

 it may sooner or later attack the apple." In the 

 very next year I received many specimens' from 

 Mr. Wm. Cutter, nurseryman, of Beverly, Illinois, 

 together with some of the apples punctured by it, 

 and the following account of its operations: — 



Tlie first we noticed of them was on the 26th of May, 

 when they had marked but little of the fruit. To-day 

 (.June 12th) they have punctured full one-half <>f it, on 

 trees of ours that promised ten to fifteen bushels tliis year. 

 On the lower limbs, hanlly an apple has escaped them, 

 many having eight or ten holes in them ; but on the top 

 branches tliere is scarcely a single apple touched. To- 

 day, it was no trouble to find ten or twelve of them by 

 looking over the trees ; so we tried shaking them on to a 

 sheet, but found it impossible to jar them oil'. Full one- 

 half of those we find have their long snouts plunged deep 

 into the fruit — and we have noticed six on a single tree. 

 The holes they make are perfectly round, and .appear to 

 be made for the purpose of eating, as we can see no eggs 

 in them. There are no crescent-shaped marks on the 

 apples, such as those made by thp Little Turk, and our 

 apple-trees seem to be entirely clear of all Turks and 

 Gougers, except this one sort. We think we see some 

 signs of their worlc on pears — but cherries, and what few 

 peaches we have, are not touched by them." 



Having, by way of experiment, gathered thirty 

 or forty crabs that had been perforated by this 

 same insect, I found that fully three-quarters of the 

 holes contained neither eggs nor larvae ; in eight 

 of the holes I found an egg ; and in three of them 

 young larvae recently hatched out. Whence it re- 

 sults that most of these holes are bored, as Mr. 

 Cutter suggests, "for the purpose of eating," and 

 that eggs are deposited only in a few of them. The 

 Plum-gouger seems to have the same habit; for 

 Dr. Hull has found as many as 40 or 50 punctures 

 ou a single Smith's Orleans plum, and yet very sel- 

 dom finds more than one egg in one plum. 



Having sent a specimen of this " Four-humped 

 Curculio" to Dr. Hull, (as well as of my "Plum- 

 gouger,") and inquired whether the species infest- 

 ed apples near Alton, I received the following 

 reply : — 



So numerous are they, that I do not recollect to have 

 seen a single apple the past season, grown at this point, 

 that did not contain from one to twenty or more punc- 

 tures made by this insect. He appears to vie with the 

 Plum Curculio in rendering apples of as little account S3 

 possible. 



I have never traced this insect through its trans- 

 formations, and do not know how long the larva 

 remains in the infested fruit — whether it retires 

 underground to transform or transforms within the 

 apple — or whether the perfect beetle makes its ap- 

 pearance the same season or in the following spring. 

 Neither do I know whether apples containing these 

 larvae fall prematurely from the tree. Mr. Cutter 

 observes, that he found it impossible to jar these 



