THE COMMON INSECT ENEMIES OF THE PLUM 

 F. H. LATHROP 



Assistant Entomologist, New York Agricultural Experiment Station, 



Geneva, N. Y. 



In the production of fruit of standard 

 quality, the grower cannot afford to ignore 

 the depredations of the insect enemies of his 

 crop. This is not less true of the plum than 

 it is of other fruits, and if the grower hopes 

 to conduct his orchard operations success- 

 fully and economically, he should familiar- 

 ize himself with the appearance and habits 

 and the means of control of the common 

 injurious insects of this fruit. For the sake 

 of convenience, the species discussed in this 



paper may be grouped as follows: insects attacking the fruit, plum 

 curculio, plum gouger ; insects encrusting the bark, San Jose scale, 

 K urn pen n fruit-tree scale, Putnam's scale, European fruit Lecan- 

 ium ; insects attacking the leaves and stems, plum plant louse, hop 

 plant louse, mealy plum louse, rusty-brown plum aphis; insects 

 attacking the trunk and limbs, fruit-tree bark beetle, lesser peach- 

 tree borer, American plum borer. 



INSECTS ATTACKING THE FRUIT 



The Plum Curculio 



Plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar Herbst, is a species 

 native to America, feeding on wild plum and hawthorn, and one 

 of the most serious pests of plums in New York. It also attacks 

 prunes, peaches, cherries, and other stone fruit. 



The injury to plums is caused by the presence of the larvae in 

 the fruit by the adults for the purpose of egg deposition and for 

 feeding. Thp injured fruit which often ripens prematurely and 

 falls to the ground, will usually be found, on examination, to bear 



egg and feeding punctures and to be wormy. 



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