EXPERIMENT STATION BULLETINS. 255 



the reach of ordinary remedies. They are most likely to appear upon trees 

 growing in exhausted soil, hence we should ward off their attack by sup- 

 plying proper food. If they appear, the use of several pounds of com- 

 mon salt, kainit, or muriate of potash to the tree will destroy the subterra- 

 nean form. All of the above species are destroyed by the common " lady- 

 birds." These, as mature insects, are about three eighths of an inch in length 

 and nearly as wide. They are beetles and somewhat resemble a small Colo- 

 rado potato beetle except in color, which in this insect is generally yellow 

 or red, or some intermediate shade, with from one to fifteen, generally round, 

 spots upon the wing covers. The larvae of this insect and of the lace-wing 

 and syrphus flies are also quite destructive. They should be recognized 

 as friends, and not treated as enemies. 



THE PLUM-TREE BORER. {^Aegeria pictipes.) 



The trunk and branches of plum trees are often considerably injured by 

 the larvse of this insect, which gnaw the inner bark and new wood of the 

 trees. The flat-headed apple-tree borer and the peach-tree borer are also 

 sometimes found in the plum tree. An idea of the life history of these 

 insects and the remedies for them can be obtained from the following lines 

 regarding the peach-tree borer. 



THE PEACH-TREE BORER.— (So»twma exitiosa.) 



This is one of the most destructive insects that the peach-grower has to 

 contend with, as, unless its attacks are guarded against, the very life of the 

 trees is menaced. The borers are hatched from eggs that are deposited 

 upon the trunk by moths that have a general resemblance to wasps, and at 

 ifirst sight are often mistaken for them. The male has transparent wings with 

 a spread of about seven eighths of an inch. It has a slender, bluish-colored 

 body with yellowish markings. The female has a wing spread of fully one 

 and one fourth inches, the front pair being opaque and of a glossj^ blue color, 

 the same as the body, while the hind pair are transparent with dark margins. 

 The body of the female is cylindrical and considerably larger than that of 

 the male. As a rule, the eggs are deposited close to the ground, but are 

 sometimes placed higher up on the trunk. They soon hatch, and the larvs& 

 eat their way through the bark and generally work their way toward the 

 roots. The sap, together with the castings, extrudes and forms a gummy 

 mass at the surface of the ground. The full-grown larvae measure 

 about three fourths of an inch in length, and are of a yellowish-white 

 color with black jaws and a yellow head. The larvae remain at rest dur- 

 ing the winter, but in the spring, after completing their growth, they form 

 cocoons at, or just beneath, the surface of the soil and close to the root of 

 the tree. After three or four weeks, the perfect moths appear, generally 

 during July or August, and soon deposit eggs of other broods. The pres- 

 ence of the borers can readily be detected by the gummy exudation and 

 steps should at once be taken to remove them. The tree should be exam- 

 ined in the autumn and again in the spring, and all borers dug out with a 

 sharp-pointed knife. In order to find them readily, the soil should be 

 drawn away from around the trees, but it must be replaced lest the trees 

 be injured during the winter. Under all conditions, the destruction of the 

 larvae should not be neglected, and as a rule it will be sufficient; but, in 

 localities where they are very troublesome, it is well to apply some kind of 

 wash to the trunks of the trees about the first of July, to prevent the 



