70 
FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 
t 
these crescent-slits by way of food for itsefl. It does really feed, in the perfect beetle 
state, on the flesh of the unripe plum, as I ascertained by putting a number of Curcu- 
lios into a bottle along with some unripe plums that were unwounded by any insect. 
But, instead of cutting a curved slit for this purpose, it gouges out with its beak a 
gaping, hemispherical hole, varying in size from that of a radish-seed to that of a 
small pea. I formerly supposed that it was the Plum-gouger that gouged these holes ; 
but— as will be shown below—that species taps the Plum for food on an entirely differ¬ 
ent system. 
Holes in the plum, very similar to those made for the sake of food by the Curculio, 
are likewise made by the external-feeding larva of a small brown Butterfly (probably 
Thecla falacer , Bdv. and Lee.,) of which I bred two damaged specimens on June 
15th, 1865, from larvae that fed in this manner on the plum, and had been sent me by 
Mr. JamesFerrel of Muscatine, Iowa, as “ quite numerous” on certain plum-trees. 
The Larva of the Plum Curculio (Fig. 3c), when 0.07 inch long, is 4 or 5 times as long as wide, and of 
a glassy-white color with a rust-red stomach occupying the middle one-half of its body, and a few pale 
hairs towards its tail. The head is large and horny, and tinged with yellow, and the mouth is rust-red, 
with the jaws (mandibles) large and often opening and shutting in a vicious-looking manner, as with 
many other larvse belonging to this family. 
I do not believe that there is any parasitic insect whatever that preys upon the Cur¬ 
culio. If there had been, so many Curculios as I have bred, I think that I should have 
met with it. Dr. Fitch, indeed, has figured and described a small Ichneumon-ily under 
the name of “the Curculio Parasite” (Sigalphus curculionis ,) of which he asserts that 
“ each one of these Flies punctures and destroys probably more than a hundred Cur¬ 
culio worms.” ( Acldr . Ourcid. p. 26.) But the only proof that he gives of such parasit¬ 
ism is, that he received the Parasites from a Canadian correspondent, who had bred it 
from Black-knot from which he bred at the same time a certain number of Cure alios. 
Now it so happens that my Plum Moth (Semasia prunivora , Walsh,) of which I shall 
have more to say in Chapter 13th, also breeds in Black-knot as well as in Plums ; and it 
belongs to a group of small Moths, ( Tortricidce ,) which I know to be infested by Ich¬ 
neumon-^. ies very closely allied to the so-called “ Curculio Parasite.” Nay, farther. 
From the lot of plums gathered July 27th, from which I bred 51 Curculios, I also bred 
about the same time no less than 13 specimens of this Plum Moth, and, on August 23d, 
1 specimen of the identical “Curculio Parasite ” described by Dr. Fitch. But from the 
lot of plums gathered June 24th aud subsequently, which produced the very large num¬ 
ber of 134 Curculios, besides a number that died in the larva and pupa state, I bred no 
Plum Moths at all and no Parasites at all. Taking all these facts into consideration, 1 
have every reason to believe, that this so-called “Curculio Parasite” preys upon the 
Plum Moth, and not upon the Plum Curculio. And if we are to subdue the Curculio 
by the aid of either Cannibal or Parasitic insects, we must probably look in some other 
direction than that to which Dr. Fitch has called our attention. 
Dr. Trimble, in the first volume of his work on “Fruit Insects,” (pp. 77 and 85,) 
asserts that the Baltimore Oriole or Hanging-bird (.Icterus Baltimorensis, Linnaeus) — an 
animal very obnoxious to some most intelligent Illinois fruit-growers—preys upon the 
Curculio. I believe that this is a mistake. Dr. Trimble has an unfortunate crotchet in 
his head, that every true Plum Curculio has got exactly 147 facets or lenses in each of 
its compound eyes, never more and never less ; and a veritable Curculio which I once 
sent him he would not allow to be a true Plum Curculio at all, because it happened to 
have either a greater number or a smaller number — I forget which — of facets to its 
