Insects Injurious to tlie Apple. 



107 



to feed upon the leaves (if the apph; I'oi' the rest of the snuinier 

 mouths. Soino naturalists say they ilo not eat llie leaves Iml exist 

 upon the adi[ioso tissue stored up in their body. About the middle 

 of the autumn they look aljout for .some shelter in which to hibernate 

 duriii;.^' the winter months, such, for instance, as under the r(jugh 

 bark of the trees, lieneath stones and any rubbish on the uround ; 

 fronr \\'here they will come fortli in the following;' spring ready to 

 attack the blossom again. 



'Jdie adult beetle (Fig. 00) is described as follows by Fowler ; — 

 " Pitchy-black or fuscous-black witlr ashy pubescence ; head thickly 

 puliescent witli an impression on tlie forehead ; rostrum long, slender 

 and curved; antenna' long and slender, reddish, dus]-:y at ape.-v ; 

 thorax pitchy, sometimes rufo-piceous at sides, with rather scanty, 

 coarse, wliite pubescence ; scutellum tliickly ]iubescent ; elytra 

 pitchy, sometimes 

 pitch y-f e rr u g i n o u s , 

 with alternate bare and 

 white fascia', the one 

 behind the middle conr- 

 posed i:)f whitish pubes- 

 cence being (jldique 

 and much the most 

 conspicuous, punct ured 

 stria' distinct and ratlier 

 strong, interstices very 

 ch.isely punctured ; legs 

 more or less pitchy, 

 but variable in colour ; 



femora always more or less dusky, anterior pair with very strong 

 tooth, intermediate and posterior with much smaller teeth; length, 

 3 to 4 mm. (aliout ;i- to }■ inch)." 



Eoughly speaking we can recognise this Blossonr AVeevil l;iy the 

 pale V-shaped mark on the wing cases. 



The attack of this lieetle nury be told tirst of all by the ]iresence 

 of the beetle itself in the early spring upon the apple branches ; 

 a good iarrnig will so.jn cause them to fall off and show their 

 presence. The surest sign is the scorched appearance of some 

 of the flowers and their often failing to open, whilst other 

 blossoms are fully expanded. The larva:' are unable to live m an 

 opened bud, hence in tine weather, when the Idossoms expand 

 rapidly, many of the young larvai die before they have damaged 

 the Ijud, and in many cases the blossoms may expand Ijeforc even 



1 /.'. l-:,lr,„le, 



:j1.— .M'l'I.F. HI 

 .VNI> "r.U'l'Uli 



issoM \\KK\"IL (llatilial siZf :u 

 HI.(iSSiJ>[, MliiWIN'"; K.\IT U'.> 



