142 



FARM FRIENDS AND FARM FOES 



-Food Puncture 

 Larva 



Puncture 



PLUM 

 CURCULIO 



the flowers, and the green plums to satisfy its hunger. The 

 females also cut crescent-shaped holes in the skin of the 

 young fruits and deposit an egg beneath each of the cres- 

 cent marks. In from 

 three to seven days these 

 eggs hatch into little 

 grubs that feed upon the 

 pulp of the fruit, gradu- 

 ally working toward the 

 pit. They become full- 

 grown in two or three 

 weeks. The infested 

 plums by this time are 

 so injured that they generally fall to the ground. Then 

 the larvae leave the fruit, and burrow into the soil about an 

 inch, where they change to pupae. Three or four weeks 

 later, they change again and come forth as perfect beetles. 

 There is but one brood of the worms 

 each season. The adult beetles hiber- 

 nate under such shelter as they can find 

 at the surface of the soil. 



The Plum Curculio is. by no means an 

 unmixed evil. In many localities it per- 

 forms an essential service by thinning 

 the plums, thus saving the fruit grower 

 much expense. Besides plums, it attacks 

 peaches, cherries, apricots, nectarines, 

 apples, and pears. In the case of the 

 last two a large proportion of the larvae 

 appear to be unable to develop in the 

 green fruit, but the injuries by the adult beetles often cause 

 the fruits to be dwarfed and gnarly. 



There are several natural enemies of the Plum Curculio. 



