THE BEETLES: ORDER COLEOPTERA 



143 



One of the most efficient of these is the tiny &y that depos- 

 its its eggs in the eggs of the Curculio. The fly eggs hatch 

 into maggots that destroy the Curculio eggs and mature in 

 a few days into other flies like the parent parasites. Conse- 

 quently several generations of these egg parasites may 

 follow one another through the season. 

 There are also other parasites that attack 

 the Curculio larvae. The fluctuations in 

 the abundance of the Curculios from sea- 

 son to season is probably due chiefly to 

 these parasitic enemies. 



It has been found that even in large 

 orchards the injuries of the Plum Cur- 

 culio may be prevented to a great ex- 

 tent by spraying the trees with arsenical 

 poisons, beginning just after the blossoms 

 have fallen. The adult beetles feeding 

 upon the leaves and young fruit are thus 

 poisoned. For a few trees this method is not always so 

 successful, and it is necessary to adopt the jarring device. 

 When a branch upon which the adult beetles are resting is 

 shaken, the insects fall to the ground, remaining quiet for 

 some time afterward. By holding sheets stretched upon 

 wooden, frames under the trees and then shaking the latter, 

 the beetles may be collected in numbers. It is also often 

 advisable to supplement the spraying, even in large 

 orchards, by the jarring process. The destruction of the 

 plums as fast as they fall and the cultivation of the soil 

 beneath the trees during the summer are also helpful 

 measures. 



A group of Snout Beetles that at times has proved 

 very destructive in the great corn-growing regions of the 

 Central West, is that of the Billbugs. These are compara- 



IN7URCD BY 

 CURCULIO 



