| Plum curculio | |
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Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Suborder: | Polyphaga |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Family: | Curculionidae |
| Genus: | Conotrachelus |
| Species: | C. nenuphar |
| Binomial name | |
| Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst, 1797) | |
Theplum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar) is atrue weevil native to the regions east of theRocky Mountains in theUnited States andCanada. It is notorious for destroying fruits if left uncontrolled.
A female curculio uses a number of hosts to lay hereggs in, includingplums,peaches,apples,pears, and otherpome andstone fruits as well asblueberries.[1] After the female has chosen a suitable host, she will build an egg chamber under the fruit skin to receive the egg. She then turns around and places the egg in the cavity. Next, she slices a curved slit underneath the egg cavity, leaving the egg in a flap of flesh and causing a crescent-shaped scar on the outside of the fruit. Without this curved slit, eggs are killed by pressure from the growth of the host fruit. There are fourlarvalinstars.
There is aunivoltine "northern strain" and multivoltine "southern strain" of plum curculio, with the two strains being largely reproductively incompatible due to differentWolbachia strains affecting each population.[1] The line between the northern and southern strains of plum curculio is aroundNew Jersey andWest Virginia.[1] In the univoltine strain, the overwintering adults lay eggs around late April to May and die. The eggs develop into larvae, then pupae, and emerge as adults around mid-July to August and then gooverwinter.
Plum curculio larvae are typically 6 to 9 mm long when fully grown, when they reach thepupal stage measuring about 5 to 7 mm; all adult characteristics are visible in this stage prior to transformation. Adult plum curculio are about 4 to 6 mm long and have a small, rough snout colored with black, gray, and brown specks. Four pairs of ridges cover thewings; however, because of the middle humps they appear to have only two ridges.
The plum curculio can be found inapple,nectarine,plum,cherry,peach,apricot,pear,quince, andblueberry. It may also survive on wild plum,hawthorn, andcrabapple. Females may oviposit on other plants, regardless of if the beetle larvae can survive on them.[2] It is found most commonly in areas east of the Rocky Mountains and in easternCanada. The beetles are most active during the spring time when the weather is warm, damp, and cloudy. They are often seen in heavy leafed trees, and overwinter in woods.[3]
Plum curculio beetles can cause irreparable damage to a fruit harvest. In badly damaged fruit, one can identify large scars and bumps due to feeding. Most internally damaged fruit (through burrowing into the fruit) drops prematurely.
Control of the plum curculio is fairly easy to maintain. Traps, often containingbenzaldehyde, can be used to determine the presence of the plum curculio in an orchard.[3] Application of proper insecticide during the pink and petal-fall stages of apples, also the petal-fall and shuck-split stages in peaches and cherries is usually enough to reduce plum curculio damage to a minimum. An important preventative measure is destroying the fallen, damaged host fruits before the adults emerge. Pest management at petal fall is also of particular importance. There have also been examples of using atrap tree or bush in apple or blueberry systems for plum curculio control.[1]
Data related toPlum curculio at WikispeciesAuthority control databases: National |
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