Several other species of Magdalis are also encountered in eastern forests: M. 
austera Fall and M. hispoides LeConte are found on the needles of eastern white 
pine in the Northeast (987). The adults bore through the scales of succulent, young 
needles, causing the distal portions of the injured needles to turn yellow and break 
off. M. austera substriga Fall is found on young Scotch pines; M. olvra (Herbst), on 
weakened hickories; M. salicis Horn, on willow and chestnut; and M. barbicornis 
(Latreille) and M. pandura (Say), on elms. 
The genus Curculio is represented in eastern North America by 15 species (478). 
These attack the seeds of nut-bearing trees. Most attack acorn, but several species 
are important pests on hickory, chestnut, and pecan. Injury is caused by the larvae 
eating the contents of the nuts (/50). Damage can be severe; the entire seed crop of 
some tree species is destroyed in some years. C. caryae is considered the major 
insect problem in commercial pecan culture (/83). 
The life history of curculios is essentially the same for all species. From 2 to 3 
weeks before the nuts ripen, the adults appear. The female lays her eggs in 
chambers chewed in the nut near the inner surface of the shell. Usually one egg is 
laid in each chamber. After hatching, the larvae feed for several weeks. When 
mature, they leave the nut to form pupal cells underground. However, pupation is 
usually delayed | or 2 years and sometimes as long as 5 years. The pupal stage lasts 
up to 3 weeks and maturation of callow adults may take another 20 days. 
In the adult stage, species of the genus can be differentiated by snout shape and 
length, characteristics of the mesosternal intercoxal process, antennal insertion, leg 
structure, and hair and scale pattern (478). 
The pecan weevil, C. caryae (Horn), breeds exclusively in the nuts of the genus 
Carya. Except for the more northerly and eastern portion, this weevil is found 
throughout the range of hickories. Adults are dark reddish-brown and densely 
covered with golden to dark-brown hairs and scales. The body length varies from 
7.5 to 12 mm. The female snout is longer than the body and down-curved in the 
apical quarter of its length. The male snout also curves down but 1s rarely longer 
than one-half the body length. Adults emerge in July and August. Eggs are laid in 
maturing nuts and the larvae leave the nuts in September and October, sometimes 
when the nuts still cling to the tree. Most larvae spend two winters in the pupal cell 
before pupation. C. caryae is a serious problem in commercial pecan orchards. 
Early maturing cultivars offer some promise of reducing damage; however, weevil 
emergence, dependent on rainfall, is erratic, so in some years the crop is heavily 
infested (/84). Most orchardists depend on insecticidal control. A number of 
compounds are registered for use (966). 
The large chestnut weevil, C. caryatrypes (Boheman) (the largest Curculio in 
the East), and the small chestnut weevil, C. sayi (Gyllenhall), breed exclusively in 
chestnut. At one time they were common, but since the passing of the American 
chestnut they have become rare. They have been reduced to remnant populations in 
orchards and isolated trees of introduced chestnut species, but they can be a serious 
problem that requires insecticidal control in these instances (968). 
The hazelnut weevil, C. neocorylus Gibson, breeds exclusively in hazel species. 
It is a dark reddish-black weevil with somewhat lighter legs and antennae. The body 
is covered with yellow to gray scales and hair that may have bands of darker scales 
on prothorax and elytra. They are 6.0 to 7.5 mm long. 
All other species of Curculio found in the East feed on oak. Some, like C. fulvus 
Chittenden, utilize only one species, live oak; others such as C. nasicus (Say) and 
C. iowensis (Casey), use three or four species. At the other extreme are species like 
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