June 2, 1920.] Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. 



421 



Thre^ Native Beetles attacking Orchard 



Trees* 



WALTER W. FilOGGATT, F.L.S., Government Entomologist. 



The following notes have been written to illustrate the damage that three of 

 our forest beetles have caused in orchards during the last six months. The 

 photographic illustrations will give a very good idea of the nature of the 

 damage caused by each species. Mr. T. McCarthy, who visited the infested 

 areas and carried out the field investigations, proposes to deal with their 

 development and life histories, when he has finished his studies of their habits. 

 The average orchardis-t usually waits until the insect pest has done all 

 likely damage to his trees or fruit before he claims the assistance of the 

 entomologist, whereas some measure of control in the first stages of infest- 

 ation would probably have killed or driven away the invading insects before 

 very much harm had been done. A few suggestions applicable for next year's 

 probable infestation may nevertheless be welcome. 



The Shining Green Cockchafer [Anoplognathus chloropyrus Drapiez). 



This beetle was figured and described by Drapiez from New Houth Wales 

 in 1819, in a Belgian journal. 



It belongs to a typical group of our Coleoptera, which comprises a number 

 of large handsome lamellicorn beetles, usually reddish brov^n, biscuit brown, 

 or richly metallic. They often appear in the early summer in immense 

 swarms, and clustering over the foliage 

 of trees and shrubs soon denude them of 

 evei'y leaf. Most of them confine their 

 attentions to the native vegetation. I 

 have seen this species in countless thou- 

 sands covering the tops of the young 

 gum trees on the ranges in the Bathurst 

 district, where they are more or less in 

 evidence every summer. Though in this 

 instance the damage is caused by the 

 perfect insects, in other cases, under suit- 

 able climatic and soil conditions, it is 

 the active grubs or larvae that are the 

 pest. These are the large white grubs 

 often turned up when digging in the 

 suburban garden. The larva of an 

 allied species {Anoplognathus analis) 

 was described and figured in the pages 

 of this Gazette in 1901, as a serious 

 pest eating off" the roots of strawberry 

 plants at Castle Hill. 



Dorsal view of the Shining Green 

 Cockchafer Beetle. 



