BUD MOTH 151 



But when all is said and done, the aphis is still a very- 

 difficult insect to control and it is fortunate that bad outbreaks 

 of it do not occur more frequently. 



Curculio. — Both the plum and the apple curculios work on 

 the apple, but the former is a far more serious pest. They are 

 both "snout" beetles, but the plum curculio is of a dark, 

 brownish-gray color and has a short snout, while the apple 

 curculio is reddish-brown and has a long, slender snout. For 

 present purposes, however, they may be considered together. 



Life History. — They hibernate as adult insects in the grass 

 or trash about the orchard and emerge in the spring about 

 the time that the trees bloom. They feed for a time on the buds, 

 leaves and even blossoms, but soon- attack the fruit, and the fe- 

 males begin laying eggs in small punctures in the skin of the 

 young apples, the plum curculio cutting, in addition, a crescent- 

 shaped incision above the incision where the eg^ is deposited. On 

 apples most of the eggs do not develop and the damage results 

 from the scars, which cause the fruit to become misshapen and 

 unsalable. With plums and peaches the larvaj usually do develop 

 and produce the white "worms" of the fruit, all too common in 

 many orchards. 



The most effective treatment for the curculio is spraying 

 with arsenate of lead, using 3 pounds of the paste or one and 

 one-half pounds of the powder to 50 gallons of water before the 

 blossoms open, and a second application of the same materials 

 within a week after the petals fall from the blossoms. This latter 

 is the same spray which is most important for the codling moth, 

 so that one kind of treatment will control these two serious pests. 



Bud Moth. — This is a very interesting insect from the 

 standpoint of its life history, which is quite unusual. The egg 

 hatches in the summer and the little "worm" is dark brown 

 with a shiny black head. It grows to perhaps an eighth of an 

 inch in length and then prepares a little nest for the winter. 

 This little nest or burrow is usually located in some crevice of 

 the bark near a bud, and considerable experience is necessary 

 to find it, as it is very difficult to detect. About the only indica- 

 tion of its whereabouts is a bit of leaf, or a small scale of bark, 



