F-519947 
FIGURE 83.—Adult of the red elm bark weevil, Magdalis armicollis. 
base. Trees under 12 feet tall killed by insects or disease appear 
to be preferred; however, slash left during thinning or pruning 
operations and the dead, lower branches of old trees in closed 
stands are also attacked. Adults feed on the new shoots of pines, 
usually on trees growing in young, open stands. Deep pits are 
chewed at the bases of needle fascicles. 
Several other species of Magdalis are also encountered in eas- 
tern forests. M. austera Fall. and M. hispoides LeC.—on the 
needles of white pine in the Northeast (596). 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 substiga Fall.—on young Scotch pines; M. olyra (Hbst.) 
—on weakened hickories; M. salicis Horn.—on willow and chest- 
nut; and M. barbicornis (Latr.) and M. pandura (Say)—on elms. 
The genus Curculio L. is represented in eastern United States 
and eastern Canada by 15 species, many of which are important 
pests of acorns, hickory nuts, chestnuts, and pecans, and the seeds 
of several other nut-bearing trees. Damage is often severe. The 
entire seed crop of certain tree species is destroyed in some years. 
Injury is caused by the larvae which feed on the contents of the 
acorns or nuts and destroy them. 
Gibson (290) revised the species of Cwrculio occurring in 
North America, north of Mexico. Many of the old names found in 
current literature were changed and many species described by 
previous workers were placed in synonomy. Up-to-date informa- 
tion on the distribution and hosts of valid species was presented. 
The taxonomy, biology, and ecology of several eastern species 
were discussed by Brezner (98). 
The life history and habits of all species of Cuwrculio are basic- 
ally similar: Adults are found from early April to late November 
in southern United States and from early June to late October in 
the northernmost parts of the species’ range. They usually appear 
2 to 3 weeks before acorns and nuts begin to ripen. The female 
drills a hole through the shell of an acorn or nut and excavates 
one or more small chambers near or in its inner surface, then 
220 
