curculio

noun

cur·cu·lio (ˌ)kər-ˈkyü-lē-ˌō

plural curculios

: any of various weevils

especially : one that injures fruit

Examples of curculio in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Peaches, plums and other tree fruits are very susceptible to damage from plum curculios, cucumber beetles, stink bugs and various fungal diseases. —

ExpressNews.com, 5 Mar. 2020 Plum curculio worms may show up in fruits if the trees are too deep in the ground — so get all the root flares dramatically exposed by removing mulch and soil. —

Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 11 May 2020 This is to prevent entry of the plum curculio worms into fruits. —

Howard Garrett, Dallas News, 26 Feb. 2020 That should help prevent entry of plum curculios and other insects. —

Neil Sperry, ExpressNews.com, 16 Jan. 2020 The waxy globs are congealed sap that indicated plum curculio (worms) were in the fruit. —

Neil Sperry, ExpressNews.com, 17 Oct. 2019 In the 1890s many smaller growers struggled to afford expensive and elaborate controls to combat pests such as San Jose scale and plum curculio. —

William Thomas Okie, Smithsonian, 14 Aug. 2017

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'curculio.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.