Insects Injurious to the A-pple. 



117 



THE TWIG CUTTER. 



{RlijincliitcH cccndctis. I)e (!eer. ) 



This twi^n'-cutting weevil is undonlitedly the chief culprit in 

 cutting off the shoots of apple bushes, at least all specimens sent me 

 and all those that I have watched have lielonged to this species, 

 kindly identified for me by Mr. Gimmingham of tlie S. E. Agriculture 

 College. 



It was first brought to my notice in 1899 by Mr. F. Smith of 

 Loddington, who pointed out 

 the habits of this "small, shiny, 

 blue beetle" cutting off the 

 shoots of the apple in his plan- 

 tations. 



Many iuc[uiries liave reached 

 me from Kent concerning this 

 weevil. In 1907 it \v'as A'ery 

 abundant in my garden, whei'e 

 it did a great amount of liarm 

 to some young trees and also 

 attacked others 1 5 to 20 years 

 old. 



The beetles (Fig. 90) are 

 about -J- inch long, exclusive of 

 the snout, some ranging up to 

 I incl), they are deep blue, 

 shiny, clothed with long, upright 

 fuscous puljescence, antenucT, 

 legs and rostrum, lilack or ).)lue 

 black, femora deep blue; thorax 

 longer than broad, with the 

 sides almost straight, coarsely 

 punctured ; elytra with deep 



punctured striic, interstices flat with line punctures, scutellary stria^. 

 wanting. 



They appear in spring and may be found crawling over the trees 

 and seem to feed upon the leaves, doing, however, little or no harm. 



After being fertilised the females commence to deposit their eggs, 

 this they do in the slioots wlien (juite soft. A small hole is first 

 bored by means of the proboscis from two to four inches from the tip 

 of the shoot. In this small hole tlie female deposits a single obLmg 



'.VL'i'Ll'; SKud'l 

 (lllnlnrhitr. 



A. V. J>. Rintonl. 



r ijv TWia ouTTEi; 

 riili'iis.) 



