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curculio |
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curculio (kərky `lēō), name applied to various weevils weevil, common name for certain beetles of the snout beetle family (Curculionidae), small, usually dull-colored, hard-bodied insects. The mouthparts of snout beetles are modified into down-curved snouts, or beaks, adapted for boring into plants; the jaws are at the..... Click the link for more information. (members of the snout beetle family, or Curculionidae), especially those that attack fruit. The term is sometimes limited to the acorn and nut weevils of the genus Curculio, characterized by extremely long beaks adapted for boring. The females, whose beaks may be twice as long as their bodies, lay their eggs in holes bored in the nuts. The larvae feed on the nuts, later pupating (see insect insect, invertebrate animal of the class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda . Like other arthropods, an insect has a hard outer covering, or exoskeleton, a segmented body, and jointed legs. Adult insects typically have wings and are the only flying invertebrates. ..... Click the link for more information. ) in the soil. The plum curculio, Conotrachelus nenuphar, is a serious pest of peach, plum, cherry, and apple, causing deformed and prematurely falling fruit. In spring the adults leave their winter shelter in piles of rubbish and fly to blossoming or early fruiting trees, where they feed for a week or more before mating. Eggs are laid in the fruit in slits made by the female, and the larvae feed for two to three weeks before pupating in the ground. Curculios are classified in the phylum Arthropoda Arthropoda (ärthrŏp`ədə) [Gr.,=jointed feet], largest and most diverse animal phylum. ..... Click the link for more information. , class Insecta, order Coleoptera, family Curculionidae. How to thank TFD for its existence? Tell a friend about us, add a link to this page, add the site to iGoogle, or visit webmaster's page for free fun content. |
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In plants the down on the fruit and the colour of the flesh are considered by botanists as characters of the most trifling importance: yet we hear from an excellent horticulturist, Downing, that in the United States smooth-skinned fruits suffer far more from a beetle, a curculio, than those with down; that purple plums suffer far more from a certain disease than yellow plums; whereas another disease attacks yellow-fleshed peaches far more than those with other coloured flesh. |
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