172 Pecan-Growing 



not been effective in the destruction of the larvag, since they 

 will emerge through several inches of ordinary soil. 



PECAN WEEVIL 



{Balaninus caryoe, Horn.) 



The pecan weevil, also called the hickory-nut weevil, at- 

 tacks both hickories and pecans. It is distributed practically 

 all over the pecan belt, but has caused greatest damage to 

 the seedling trees of Texas. 



The adult is a small dark brown beetle tinged with gray, 

 with a long snout, very similar to the chestnut beetle. The 

 female has a very much longer snout than the male and by 

 this means punctures the nut before it reaches full maturity, 

 in the late summer, and places the Q^g in the kernel of the 

 nut with her ovipositor. The larva is a short thick grub with 

 a light brown head. It feeds on the kernel until about the 

 time the nut ripens, when it cuts a circular hole through the 

 shell and enters the ground to the depth of six or eight 

 inches, where it spends the winter in the larval or grub 

 stage. Pupation takes place in the ground, and the adult 

 beetle emerges in August and September. Egg-laying begins 

 very soon' after the beetles emerge. The work of the pecan 

 weevil is very easily recognized by the circular holes made 

 by the larvae as they leave the nuts. 



Control. 



If local conditions permit, hogs should be turned into the 

 orchard after harvest to clean up the weevil-infested nuts 

 which remain on the ground. 



Larvae in the nuts in storage may be destroyed by fumiga- 

 tion. The nuts are placed in a nearly air-tight receptacle and 



