THE MONTHLY BULLETIN. 681 



more water. In case a perenuial stream is near by, utilize this advan- 

 tage to the utmost ; in its absence, study your locality to learn if you 

 have artesian water, or water in the underground reservoirs that may 

 be pumped, and prepare as soon as possible to secure for all your crops 

 sufficient moisture for the best production at all times, and especially 

 during seasons of excessive heat. 



In the few cases where extra water is impossible, we may still hope 

 with our favorable soil and climate and the best cultivation, to secure 

 ample crops of grain and of some deciduous fruits. 



THE WESTERN TWIG BORER. 



(Amphicfirus punctipennis Lee.) 

 Order — Colsoptera. Family — Bostrychidse. 



By E. O. EssiG, Secretary State Commission of Horticulture. 



Since publishing the article on the branch and twig borer, Polycaon 

 confertus Lee, in The Monthly Bulletin, Vol. II, pp. 587-589, July, 1913, 

 the writer has received twigs of apricot trees showing similar but more 

 severe attacks of an insect with inquiries as to the cause. In this 

 instance, the burrows were much longer than those made by the branch 

 and twig borer, and the attacks much more damaging to the twigs. 

 Specimens of the beetle causing the injuries were taken from the bur- 

 rows and sent to Mr. Charles Fuchs of the California Academy of 

 Sciences, who determined it a.s Amphicerus punctipennis Lee. 



It is the aim of this article to give simply the data at hand, in order 

 that others may recognize the insect and send it to this office with all 

 data relative to it, in order that we may make a more thorough study 

 of the life history, distribution, food plants, destructiveness, and control 

 for future publication. 



Work. 



The work of this beetle greatly resembles that of the branch and 

 twig borer, and may often be mistaken for it. The burrows are usually 

 made at th^ axils of a bud or in a fork (Fig. 372), but this is by no 

 means as common a characteristic as with the former, as is shown in 

 Fig. 371. Here the burrows are made irrespective of any particular 

 place on the twigs. The burrows vary from one to three inches in 

 length and are about one eighth of an inch in diameter. The smaller 

 twigs are either so weakened by the short burrows that their weight 

 causes them to break, or they are completely hollowed out by the long 

 burrows so that they simply hang by the bark and dangle from the 

 tree. The tunnels are usually partially filled with the frass made by 

 the beetles, and the entrances ai'e ofen sealed with a large globule of 

 gum which has been produced by the injury. (Fig. 372.) 



Apparently the beetles bore into the twigs for food and protection 

 and not to deposit eggs. 



Damage. 



From what is known of this species, it appears to prefer dead or 

 dying wood to breed in. D. W. Coquillett first bred it from dead fig 

 twigs and later from dry canes of grape. Dr. Edwin C. Van Dyke has 



