ORCHARD, GARDEN, AND FIELD INSECTS 131 



The Plum Curculio, sometimes called the plum weevil, is a 

 little fellow about one fifth of an inch long, that, notwith- 

 standing its diminutive size, does, if neglected, great damage 

 to our fruit crop. It injures the fruit by stinging it as 

 soon as it is formed. The word stinging when applied to 

 insects, and this case is no exception, means piercing the 

 object with the egg-layer (ovipositor) and depositing the 

 egg. Some insects occasionally use the ovipositor merely 

 for defense. The curculio has an especially interesting 



FIG. 124. PLUM CURCULIO 

 Larva, pupa, adult, and mark on the fruit. (Enlarged.) 



method of laying its egg. First she digs a hole, places 

 the egg in it, and pushes it well down. Then she makes a 

 crescent-shaped cut with her snout in the skin of the plum 

 around the egg. This mark is shown in Fig. 1 24. As this 

 peculiar cut is followed by a flow of gum, you will always 

 be able to recognize the work of the curculio. Having fin- 

 ished with one plum, this industrious worker shows similar 

 courtesy to other plums until her eggs are all laid. The 

 maggot -like larva soon hatches, burrows through the fruit, 

 and causes it to drop before ripening. The larva then enters 



