118 Insect Pests. 



oval yellow egg. I have never found more than one in each shoot, 

 but according to Kollar this or an allied species {interpunctatus) may 

 place two eggs. After doing this the female with energy cuts off the 

 shoot just below where the egg has been laid and it falls to the 

 ground. In many cases kept under observation the top was seen to 

 be cut only partly through, so that the shoot 

 hangs down as shown in the photograph (Fig. 95). 

 Soon the damaged shoot flags and later falls with 

 the contained maggot or egg to the ground. The 

 curious cut off and blunt shoots are very charac- 

 teristic on attacked trees. The yellow ovum 

 hatches in a few days, and the white footless 

 maggot feeds upon the pith and in a month it 

 Fiu. 96. reaches maturity. It then leaves its shelter and 



THE APPLE TWIG cDTTER pupatcs lu thc soU, lu a suiall earthen cell. In 



(Jiln/nchites caeruleus). , , i. i i i ^i 



(^3) dry weather large numbers of them doiibtless 



die, owing to the shoot and pith rapidly shrivelling 

 up. As far as I could observe the pupa remains in the soil until the 

 following spring. 



Tlie only treatment consists of jarring off the beetles and raking 

 together the fallen shoots and burning them. Only nursery stock 

 and bush trees seem to be attacked. 



THE ALLIED TWIG CUTTERS. 



[JlJijjncliitcs inter pundiit II >i. Steph.) 



This small weevil seems to work in a similar way to the previous 

 one. Kollar gives a general description of its working in Germany. 

 Although widely distributed in Britain there are no records of its 

 damaging fruit trees. 



It is steel blue in colour, the thorax finely punctured and slightly 

 pubescent ; elytra with punctate strire, the interstices also furnished 

 with a single row of punctures ; antennte, rostrum and logs deep steel 

 blue ; length J ^ inch. On the Continent it seems to do serious 

 damage at times. 



lihijncMtes 2y(tLn//us. Germ. 



Allied to the two former, but may be told from ijitciyunctatus by 

 having a deep central furrow on the thorax and from cceruleus by the 

 presence of scutellary striae. 



It is recorded by Canon Fowler on various Fomaccm, especially 

 the medlar. 



