Curculio

   Curculio, also called snout beetle, is any of several stout-bodied beetles that cause widespread damage to fruit and nut crops. Like other weevils, curculios have long, slender, usually curved snouts, which they use to puncture fruits and nuts in order to eat the pulp and to lay their eggs.
   One of the most destructive species in the United States is the plum curculio (Conotrachelus nenuphar), a mottled dark-brown insect about one-fifth of an inch long. Plum curculios emerge in the spring to feed on blossoms and young fruit. The females deposit their eggs in a hole inside developing fruit and make a crescent-shaped gash around the hole. The larvae, which hatch in 3 to 12 days, spend about 3 weeks feeding on the pulp before they enter the ground to pupate. In addition to damaging apples, peaches, and other fruit, curculios carry brown rot, a plant disease.
   Other destructive curculios in North America are the dark-red apple curculio (Tachypterellus quadrigibbus) and the grape curculio (Craponius inequalls).