Bulletin 151, Truck and Garden Insects


page 151), are the chief cause of the difficulty of growing a crop
of late-fall roasting ears in central Florida.

 COWPEAS
 COWPEA POD-WEEVIL, OR COWPEA CURCULIO
 (Chalcodermus aeneus)
 This black beetle (fig. 86, a), except in color, resembles the
cotton boll weevil and, as it often feeds on young cotton in the
early spring, it is frequently mistaken for that species. It is
an exceedingly severe pest on cowpeas. Early in the season it
feeds on the leaves of the plant, but as soon as the pods begin
to set it turns its attention to them. The females lay their eggs
in the developing seeds, making a puncture thru the pods. They










 bT
 ,- d,
 FIG. 86.-Cowpea pod-weevil: a, Adult; five times natural
 size; b, larva; d, pupa. (From U. S. Bur. of Ent.)

also feed on the pods, making a feeding puncture similar to the
egg puncture. These punctures make unsightly brown spots on
pods and seeds, but the greater injury is done by the grubs
that hatch from the eggs in from 4 to 6 days. This pale yellow
larva (fig. 86, b) eats the seed. It requires a week or two to
reach full size. It then bores a hole in the side of the pod and
escapes to the ground. The adult is about 1/ inch long and has
deeply-pitted wing-covers.
 Control.-Rotation of crops should be practiced. Land that
has grown a crop of heavily-infested cowpeas should not be
planted at once to a late crop of cowpeas. Neither should such
land be planted to beans. When the insects are feeding on the
leaves early in the season, they can be poisoned with lead arsen-
ate. Use 1 pound of the powder or 2 pounds of the paste to
50 gallons of water. The destruction of the early brood will
materially reduce the number attacking the pods later. On a small
garden patch or on other particularly valuable fields the insects