236 THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 



feed. Young trees may thus be completely girdled by their wide flat- 

 tened burrows. As the larvae develop they work into the older and 

 firmer wood. When ready to pupate they work upward to the bark, 

 eating nearly through. After pupation the adults emerge early in the 

 spring and begin egg laying. The trees selected are usually unhealthy ' 

 or are afflicted with wounds and sunburns. Upon or around such 

 affected places the eggs are laid. The presence of the larvte in healthy 

 tissue may be told by the discoloration of the bark and the exudation 

 of sap from the burrows. 



Distribution. — Throughout the entire State, but causes more dam- 

 age in the foothill sections. 



Food Plants. — Especially injurious to weak or wounded trees, but 

 occasionally attacks young nursery stock. It is especially destructive 

 to the apple, but also attacks the pear, plum and occasionally the peach 

 and raspberry. 



Control. — Though this pest burrows in the trunks and limbs of 

 large trees it is most destructive to young trees, the bases of which are 

 often completely girdled. Therefore young trees should be protected 

 from sunburn and injury to prevent attacks of the borer. A very good 

 preventive is to paint the trunks and larger limbs with a solution 

 prepared by reducing soft soap to the consistency of paint, by the 

 addition of a strong solution of washing soda in water. This should 

 be applied early in the spring (May or June) and again in the middle 

 of the summer (July or August). The young burrowing larva may 

 be destroyed with a knife-blade or crooked wire. 



Natural Enemies. — Internal parasites play an important role in the 

 control of this pest in the East. A small chalcid and two ichneumonid 

 parasites {Bracon charus Riley and Cryptns grallator Say), prey 

 upon the larvte, while woodpeckers also dig out great numbers of them. 



The work of these natural enemies is responsible for its not doing 

 more damage. 



THE BEAN WEEVIL. 



Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) (Family Bruchidse). 



{Bruchus ohtcctus Say.) 



(Figs. 233, 234.) 



General Appearance. — The adult weevils are very short and robust, 

 measuring about one eighth of an inch in length. The odd shape is due 

 to the wing covers being shorter than the abdomen, and the head being 

 carried at right angles to the body. The color varies from gray to 

 brown with a velvety greenish tinge. The eggs are white and less than 

 a millimeter long. The grubs are very small, a number of them being 

 able to occupy a single small white bean. They are light cream colored 

 and robust. The pupa are first light, gradually becoming darker with 

 age. 



Life History. — The adult beetles after hibernating or breeding in 

 stored beans over winter appear in the spring about the time the beans 



