Apple Blossom Weevil

(Anthonomus pomorum), an insect of the family Curculionidae, order Coleoptera. The apple blossom weevil, a pest of apple trees and occasionally pear trees, is distributed in apple-growing regions. It measures approximately 5 mm in length and is dark gray, with light diagonal stripes on the elytra. The insects feed on swelling buds. The eggs, which average 45 in number, are deposited in young buds. The larvae eat out the contents of the buds, sticking the petals together with their discharges. The buds do not open; they turn brown and wither. The young weevils complete their feeding by readily skeletonizing the leaves.

Control measures consist in the use of insecticides at the start of bud opening and the removal of dead bark, refuse, and the like, under which the insects winter.