40 THE PLUM-GOUGER. 
out to their full extent all of her legs, braces them, and then 
draws her beak or rostrum to as nearly a perpendicular 
position as possible, then by gnawing and with a twisting 
motion soon works her snout into the young fruit until 
it is buried a trifle above the bases of the antenne, the latter 
being held close against and directed upward along the ros- 
trum upon the head while the hole is being made. She now 
draws out her beak and deliberately turns about, and after 
a few preliminary thrusts of the ovipositor inserts the latter 
into the hole just made with the beak and deposits a single 
egg that is of the same diameter as the puncture. The egg 
is of a dirty whitish, somewhat transparent color, and is 
plainly visible with an ordinary pocket lens, being uncovered 
and nearly flush with the surface. It soon becomes covered 
by a healing of the injured fruit.’”’ Eachfemale deposits only 
one egg in a young plum; if more are found it is the work of 
several females. The larva that hatches from such an egg is 
never exposed, hence can not be killed by sprays with arseni- 
cal poisons. In entering the fruit a transparent or gummy sub- 
stance collects over the puncture, as is well shown in the il- 
lustration. Thelarva feeds not upon the flesh of the plum,but 
upon the flesh of the kernel inside of thestone. Hereit under- 
goes its transformations from a larva to a pupa and to the 
adult insect, which later leaves as soon as strong enough to do 
so, and searches for hibernating quarters in and about the 
orchard. Many of the plums that contain the worms drop 
and should be removed and destroyed, but many others re- 
main on the trees long after the beetles have left, and some of 
them are even still fit for culinary purposes. There is very 
little use in spraying. Jarring early in the season, at the 
time the trees are in full bloom, or even a little sooner, will 
bring down many of these injurious beetles, and ifthis is done 
early in the morning they can be readily gathered and killed. . 
The jarring has to be done in a forcible manner, as the 
beetles cling very tightly to the tree. 
Another species so closely resembling the above species as 
to be almost indistinguishable, is found upon the sand-cherry. 
It has similar life-habits. 
