354 REPORT OF STATE BOARD OF HORTICULTURE. 



springtime, just l)efore transformation, it works back again into the bark, 

 and there constructs its pupal chamber. In the pupa state it is said to 

 remain for about three weeks,* when the beetle cuts its way out, leaving an 

 elliptical exit hole in the bark, which distinguishes its work from that of 

 the round-headed borers, which make round holes in their exit, these holes 

 corresponding to a cross-section of the beetle which makes them. In the 

 north the winter months are passed as larvae, but further south, in the Dis- 

 trict of Columbia, according to recent observations, pupation may take place 

 as early as November the first year.* 



NATURAL ENEMIES. 



Among natural enemies, woodpeckers are effective destroyers of this 

 species, as are also ants, which devour larvae and pupae under the bark. A 

 number of parasitic insects also prey upon it and assist greatly in restricting 

 its too great abundance, f 



REMEDIES. 



The remedies advised for the round-headed borer are also of value and 

 are generally employed against the present species. It is necessary, however, 

 that deterrent coverings and washes should be applied farther up the trunk 

 and to as many branches as can be conveniently reached. As this, however, 

 necessitates additional labor and extra expense, other preventive measure* 

 are recommended. 



Trap wood for beetles — For this purpose any sort of tree known to be freely 

 attacked by this borer, e. g , oak, maple, or any fruit tree, may be used. If 

 a few limbs or trunks of newly felled trees be placed at intervals, say, of 

 thirty or forty feet, on the outskirts of orchards, where they would be freely 

 exposed to the sun, the beetles would be attracted for the deposition of their 

 eggs, and all that would then be necessary would be to destroy the trap wood 

 by burning before April or May of the following year. This plan has not 

 been practically tested, but the writer has no doubt that it would prove use- 

 ful in securing immunity from this pest in the orchard, provided that no dis- 

 eased fruit trees be left for food. 



Cultural carefulness — Careful, clean methods of cultivation are essential 

 as a measure of protection, and involve the cutting out of dead, dying and 

 injured deciduous forest and shade trees known to be chosen as food by this 

 beetle, as well as orchard trees. Care should be exercised in transplanting, 

 and especially in pruning, and the use of fertilizers should not be neglected, 

 that the trees may be thrifty and better able to withstand attack. Proper 

 regard for these measures should give practical exemption from injury. 



*0. V. Riley, Proc. Ent. Soc. Wash., Vol. Ill, p. 92. 



tThe list includes the Bracouids, Bracon charus Kiley and B.pectinator Say, Spathiu* 

 paUidus Ashni., aud the Ichneiimonids, Lnbena apicahs Cr. and L. grallator Say, and 

 one or more species of Chalcidida?, noticed by Filch, as occurring in New York, and br 

 Riley, in Missouri. 



