TWENTY-NINTH REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 23 



Whether the presence of this beetle in the State indicates a 

 future of higher populations and increased difficulty, similar to 

 other areas in the Northwest, is problematical. It has appeared in 

 the State many times in the past and would seem to have ample 

 opportunity to have established itself and reached maximum popula- 

 tions long ago. Our first records go back to March, 1912, and it has 

 appeared periodically since then. Further, a seed company reports 

 its presence in the Bitterroot Valley twenty-five years ago. How- 

 ever, this does not minimize the importance of obtaining weevil- 

 free or adequately fumigated peas for seed, or of watching fields 

 planted either for seed or for canning purposes, and taking adequate 

 protective steps in case economic infestations are found. 



Control of the pea weevil is discussed in Montana Extension 

 Circular Series A-30. 



bean weevil. — The bean weevil (Acanthoscelides obtectus 

 (Say) ) is a beetle closely related to the pea weevil, but differing 

 in its hosts and habits. The pea weevil will overwinter in stored 

 peas, but will not reproduce in them. On the other hand, the 

 bean weevil continues to breed in stored beans through the period 

 of storage if temperatures are sufficient. While our records are 

 doubtless incomplete, this pest seems to be much less common in 

 Montana than the species attacking peas. We have two records, one 

 from Bozeman, and one from Billings. It can be controlled by the 

 usual fumigation procedures. 



plum GOUGER.-The plum gouger (Anthonomus scutellaris Lee.) 

 is the primary pest of plum fruits in the State. It apparently is 

 present throughout the State, for it has been reported all the way 

 from Broadus in the southeast to Poison in the northwest. It is a 

 medium-sized weevil, bluish-brown to brown in color, with the head 

 and thorax lighter, and with a rather conspicuous slender snout. 

 The characteristic injury to the plums is more conspicuous than is 

 the weevil itself. The skin is punctured, and the pulp beneath 

 fed upon. The eggs are laid in holes somewhat similar to the feed- 

 ing punctures, and upon hatching the young larvae bore directly 

 into the pit, feeding there until they are fully grown. Pupation 

 takes place in the pit and the adults emerge in late August or in 

 September. They feed very little that season, and soon find shelter- 

 ed quarters for winter hibernation. In the spring they emerge 

 and feed on the buds and leaves. 



To control these pests the trees should be sprayed with the 

 usual lead arsenate sprays before the blooms have opened, and at 

 ten-day intervals until the fruit is well developed. 



plum curculio.^ In the First and Second Reports of the State 

 Entomoligist, Cooley reported that the plum curculio (Conotrachel- 

 us nenuphar Herbst) was possibly present in the Bitterroot Valley 

 in western Montana. In 1922 apples at Hamilton bore typical scar 

 injury of this pest. Not until June 1942, though, were specimens 



