206 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Jan., 



perishedi it proved to have established itself in the region 

 near Boston, and finally spread over a territory of over 200 

 square miles, mostly to the north and northwest of Boston. 

 I have been informed by men connected with the work of 

 extermination that had the appropriation been granted, and 

 the work continued for a while longer, extermination would 

 have been possible, but since the work was discontinued the 

 insect has now spread and reached the former maximum limit 

 of distribution. IMoreover, a colony has been found in Prov- 

 idence, R. I. This insect devours the foliage of all kinds of 

 fruit, shade, and forest trees, coniferous trees even being not 

 excepted. As ^is insect's larva crawls under rubbish to 

 make its cocoons, it will not be at all strange if some of them 

 are brought upon railway trains into the surrounding states. 

 This seems a question of national importance and almost too 

 large for a single State to grapple with. It is well to be on 

 the lookout for it in Connecticut, and if discovered early 

 prompt measures may be able to exterminate the first few 

 colonies, though it is only a question of time when it will be 

 established here and distributed over the State. 



Maple borer (JPlagionotus speciosus). 



Our shade trees are injured by a borer which cuts a tunnel 

 partly in the bark and partly in the sap wood, often girdling 

 the tree. The tunnel is usually cut in a spiral form, going 

 upward and around the tree. The eggs are deposited upon 

 the bark in July by a handsome beetle about three-quarters of 

 an inch in length, being black with bright yellow markings. 

 These beetles may be found during the first part of July upon 

 the trunks and branches of maples. The sugar maple and the 

 silver maple are both attacked. The life history of this insect 

 has not been thoroughly worked out. It has merely been 

 found that the larvae after being hatched from the eggs begin 

 to tunnel in the manner already described, and in that way 

 cause severe injury to the trees. Some trees even have been 

 injured to such an extent that they have died. We can nearly 

 always find this insect, if present in a tree, by the chips or 

 sawdust thrown out from the borers. Whenever we find these 

 if we look we will find a small opening into the bore where 

 the larvae begin to work. If an oil can be filled with bisul- 

 phide of carbon and the nose inserted into this bore, and a few 

 drops placed inside and then the burrow stopped up at once, 



