Economic entomology for the . economicentomolo00smit_0 Year: 1896 THE INSECT WORLD. 233 Fig. 240. Plum-curculio, Conotrachelus ?ienu- phar.—a, larva ; b, pupa ; c, adult; d, beetle at work on a young plum, show- ing a crescent mark. leaves of plum, peach, apricot, cherry, apple, and pear. When the fruit has set and become of the size of a marble, the insect makes a crescent-shaped slit, elevating a small flap from the sur- rounding tissue, and in this it lays an egg. The latter hatches in a few days, and the whitish, grub-like lar\^a bores at once to the seed capsule, causing the
Economic entomology for the . economicentomolo00smit_0 Year: 1896 THE INSECT WORLD. 233 Fig. 240. Plum-curculio, Conotrachelus ?ienu- phar.—a, larva ; b, pupa ; c, adult; d, beetle at work on a young plum, show- ing a crescent mark. leaves of plum, peach, apricot, cherry, apple, and pear. When the fruit has set and become of the size of a marble, the insect makes a crescent-shaped slit, elevating a small flap from the sur- rounding tissue, and in this it lays an egg. The latter hatches in a few days, and the whitish, grub-like lar\^a bores at once to the seed capsule, causing the fruit to fall from the tree and rot in the plum, peach, apricot, and cherry, though, except in the plum, this dropping is not uni- versal. Apples and pears do not drop as a result of curculio in- jur}-, and, except in a few varie- ties of apples, the larva is unable to mature in the fruit remaining on the tree. In apples and pears that drop from other causes, the larva develops freely. By mid- summer, growth is complete, the larv'se leave the now decayed fruits and go underground to pupate, changing to the adult, or beetle, form a short time thereafter. These go into hiding almost immediately, and are not again seen until the spring following. Remedial measures in this case have not proved entirely satisfac- tory. The larva is beyond reach of all insecticides, and can be destroyed only by persistent and thorough gathering of all fallen fruit at intervals of a few days throughout the early part of the summer. Chickens, turkeys, hogs, or sheep accomplish the same purpose less completely and lessen if they do not prevent injury. The beetles may be reached by spraying the trees before the buds open with one of the arsenites, destroying them before they have a chance to oviposit. Spraying may be continued after the fruit has set, to kill the beetle while eating out its crescents. Some part of the fruit is always injured, though a sufficiently large percentage to pay for the insect
Size: 1486px × 1346px
Photo credit: © Bookend / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: archive, book, drawing, historical, history, illustration, image, page, picture, print, reference, vintage
