Plum Curculio

Definition

A small true weevil (family Curculionidae) native to eastern North America and a major pest of stone fruits and pome fruits. Adults damage fruit by cutting crescent-shaped oviposition scars into developing fruit, causing abortion or distortion; larvae tunnel within fruit causing internal rot. The species is economically significant in orchards of plum, peach, apple, and cherry, and is a classic subject in integrated pest management research.

Etymology

From Latin curculio (weevil) and plum for its primary host fruit.

Example

In commercial apple orchards, plum curculio management typically combines petal-fall insecticide applications with perimeter trap cropping, timed to adult emergence from overwintering sites in nearby woodland edges.

Synonyms

• Conotrachelus nenuphar

Related Terms

• Curculionidae
• oviposition scar
• crescent mark
• Integrated Pest Management
• fruit abortion
• weevil
• stone fruit pest
• overwintering site

Usage Notes

The common name 'plum curculio' refers specifically to Conotrachelus nenuphar (Herbst, 1797), though older literature and some databases may list it under Curculio. Distinguish from other Conotrachelus species (e.g., C. posticatus on pecan) and from true Curculio species such as the chestnut weevil (C. sayi). The crescent-shaped oviposition scar is diagnostic; feeding scars alone are shallower and less curved. In the southeastern United States, a second generation may occur, unlike the single generation typical in northern ranges.