118 



Insect Pests. 



oval yellow e-rr. I have never found more than one in each shoot, 

 hut accoi-dingTo Kollar this or an allied species (Inicrpinidatus) may 

 place two egc?s. After doing this the female with energy cuts off the 

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

 ground. In nianv cases kept under .,l,ser\-ation the top was seen to 

 be cut only partly through, so that the shoot 

 liangs 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 

 liatches in a few days, and the wdiite footless 

 maggot feeds upon the pith and in a month it 

 reaches maturity. It then leaves its shelter and 

 pupates in the soil, in a small earthen cell. In 

 dry weather large numbers of them doubtless 

 die, owing to the shoot and pith rapidly shrivelling 

 up. As far as 1 could obsei'\-e the pupa remains in the snil until the 

 following spring. 



The only treatment consists of jarring oft' the Vieetles and raking 

 together the fallen shoots and burning them. Only nursery stock 

 and bush trees seem to be attacked. 



THK Al'l'LE TWir, CUTTEl: 

 (X 3.) 



THE ALLIED TWIG CUTTERS. 



[Ii/ii/iirJiitcs iiifcrfii iic/iitiis. Steph.) 



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

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

 Although widely distributed in Britain there are no records of its 

 damaging i'ruit trees. 



It is steel blue in colour, the thorax finely punctui'ed and slightly 

 pubescent ; elytra with punctate stria', the interstices also furnished 

 with a single row of punctures ; antenna-, I'ostrum and legs deep steel 

 blue ; length ji,, inch. <Jn the Continent it seems to do serious 

 damage at times. 



JaJi i/:ii'Ji ill s Jill II. ri// lis. (-ienn. 



Allied to the two former, but may be told from i iifi i-jm nrfuf/is bv 

 having a deep central furrow mi the thorax and from curiili us bv the 

 ptreseiice (if scutellary stria:.'. 



it is I'ccorded by Canon Fowler nn various /'('//("('yv-, especially 

 the medlar. 



