302 



Insect Pests. 



the Xut Weevils are killed at the same time. Tliis I tried at home 

 with coinplete success. 



NATITR.^L EXIvMIES. 



Whitehead (1) refers to the good done by Tits, and descrilies the 

 Great and Blue Tits hunting for the beetles. Xo definite obser- 

 vations have been made, and this statement must Ije taken with 

 caution. 



REFEftENCKS. 



(1| WhilrJirni}, Sii' C. ' Insects Injurious to Fruit Crops, p. 25 (1886). 



(2) Tasi-Jiriihrir/, E. L. ' Insektcn-kuiide. Die Ivat'er uml Hautfliigler,' p. 147 



(1.S791. 



(3) Kalteiibach, J. H. ' Die rHanzenfeiiide aus der Klasse-Insekten,' p. 633 



and p. 647 (1H74). 



(4) 0]-me)-(iiI. E. A. ' Handbook of Insects Injimous to Orcliard and Bush 



Fruits,' p. 116 (1898). 



THE NUT LEAF WEEVIL. 



{SfrojiJtoso/iiiif: C(iri/Ii. Fabr.) 



This insect is referred to \>y (Drmerod (1), bat I am not aware 



tliat it does any harm to nuts in this country. No growers I have 



consulted know anything of it, nor have I seen it on 



I S any cultivated nuts. j\Iiss Th-nrerod's notes appear 



\jk/^ to have been mainly culled from Taschenberg (2), 



^jHL Kaltenbach (o) and Stephens (4). 



f^K) Tt is quite a widely distributed insect in this country, 



^^'* according to Canon Fowler (5). It is also referred to 



in Scldich's ' Manual of Forestry ' by Fisher (l3). 



Kaltenbach refers to it as "an injurious wee^•il, 

 appearing in the spring for the most part, in great num- 

 bers, and guaws the leaves of hazels," etc. (p. 090) (3). 

 Taschenberg (p. 103) says: "The beetle appears in many years in 

 great numbers, not only on hazels, as might be inferred from its 

 scientific name, but also on birch, oak, beech, Scotch fir and piiue, 

 where from May till June they feed on the buds and leaves and the 

 bark of the young shoots, and in some localities liave destroyed young 

 trees of the above mentioned kinds." 



Ormerod received them in great numbers from Great Brington, 

 Northampton, where the>' with other lieetles wore doing great damaue 

 in 1889 to conifers. 



The beetle is (piite small, liarely 1 inch in length, black in colour, 

 with grey and brown scales, dull red legs and antenna^ ; the elvlra 



VIC: 204.— Nl'l' 



I.KAF \\'KI-:\I[, 

 ainili). (X 4.) 



