lm the nut grower. We have a few
quite serious insect problems, perhaps none more serious than that
occasioned by our old acquaintance, the "chestnut worm." That problem,
however, is being solved rapidly in many localities by the chestnut
blight.

Thus far in the work, I have devoted most of my time to a study of the
species attacking the fruit of nut trees, and I may mention three groups
that have been given special consideration. First, the group to which
the chestnut worm, or chestnut weevil, belongs. There are two very
similar species of these weevils which attack chestnuts, one which
attacks hickory nuts and pecans, one which attacks hazel nuts and
numerous species which attack acorns. The adults of these weevils are
medium-sized beetles, yellow, brown or gray in color, and all have
enormously long snouts. The mouth is located at the point of the snout
and the beetles use these snouts to bore through the covering of the
nuts after the kernel is partially or fully formed. When the puncture
into the nut is completed one or more eggs are inserted by means of an
extensile, thread-like tube, or ovipositor, of the same length as the
snout. The eggs hatch into the familiar worms found in ripe chestnuts,
hickory-nuts and hazel nuts. The large hole in the shell of the nut is
made by the full grown worm as it escapes to enter the ground, where it
completes its transformation into a beetle. An interesting thing in
connection with these weevils is that each species confine its attacks
to one particular kind of nut. Even those species that attack acorns
show a decided tendency to distinguish between oak species and confine
themselves as groups very largely to particular species or botanical
groups of oaks. There is, therefore, no danger that any of these weevils
will multiply, for example in an oak forest, and then migrate into
nearby plantations of chestnut, hickory or hazel. Hazels might be used
for interplanting among chestnut or hickory trees with no danger that
the hazel nuts would become infested by the weevils that develop in the
chestnuts or hickory nuts. This habit of the weevils is greatly to the
advantage of the person who would plant a particular kind of nut outside
its natural range, or at a considerable distance from any other trees of
its kind. He could do so with reasonable assurance that the weevil
attacking his species of nut would not occur upon his trees until
brought into the locality by artificial means.