REPORT OP THE ENTOMOLOGIST 111 



ies were first noticed on June 21, when it was observed that the branches 

 of the trees and sometimes the entire tree, were so badly injured by the 

 workings of this borer that they were in a dead or dying condition. Ex- 

 amination of the affected branches showed that the larvae, shortly after 

 penetrating the bark, wandered about in the cambium layer for some time, 

 then penetrated to the heartwood of the tree. In the smaller branches 

 they would follow the pithy center almost to their tips. 



At the time these injuries were discovered a braconid parasite wa;s 

 noted in considerable numbers ovipositing in the affected branches and 

 twigs. Material was collected for the purpose of determining the extent 

 of this parasitism with the following result: 



Beetles Female para- Male parasites 



Date emerged sites emerged emerged 



June 8 .,.., 28 4 4 



June 10 17 3 1 



June 11 2 2 



July 11 1 



June 13 ...: 1 



June 15 ^ 13 3 3 



June 17 5 2 1 



.June 18 2 2 



June 19 2 



.June 22 5 2 4 



June 29 4 5 1 



July 1 3 1 



July 13 . 3 



82 25 17 



Thus from June 8th to July 13th, eighty-two beetles and forty-two 

 parasites emerged,demonstrating that fifty percent of the larvae working 

 in the stems were parasitized by this braconid. 



At the time of the beginning of this investigation, on June 8th, the 

 cutting open of a large number of branches revealed the fact that most 

 of the insects were in the pupa stage and a very few were almost trans- 

 formed into beetles ready to emerge. There were numerous half-grown 

 larvae varying in size from very small to full grown. On June 17th, a 

 proportionately greater number of the larvae were full grown. On July 

 13th, practically all of the larvae were half to full grown and had left 

 their position under the bark and entered into the heartwood. The in- 

 sects pupate in their burrows near the exterior of the tree, the beetles 

 gnawing their way out from the pupa chamber after development, this 

 being through three to five millimeters of wood. 



This insect was described by Say in 1832 as Saperda alternatjrCJouru. 

 Acad. Phil. Ill p. 504). Haldeman in 1847 (Trans. Am. Phil. X, p. 54) 

 mentioned the species, and LeConte in 1852 (Journ. Acad. Phil. ser. 2, 



