THE CHERRIES OF NEW YORK 95 



oyster-shell scale (Lepidosa plies ulmi Linnaeus), and the soft scale {Coccus 

 hesperidum Linnaeus), are all more or less common. 



Several borers occasionally infest cherry trees of which the peach 

 borer ^ {Sanninoidea exitiosa Say.) is the most troublesome. Larvae of the 

 peach borer are frequently found in both Sweet and Sour Cherries, more 

 particularly in Sweet Cherries, in eastern orchards. Fortunately this 

 pest is not as rife with the cherry as with peaches and plums. Its work 

 may be prevented by thorough ciiltivation, by mounding the trees and, 

 according to some, by the use of a covering of tar or of obnoxious or 

 poisonous washes. Usually preventive measvires are not effective, however, 

 and the borer must be destroyed — best done by digging it out with a knife 

 and wire. Since the pest is easily discovered through the exudation of 

 gum mixed with sawdust or excreta, close to the surface or just beneath 

 the ground, its presence can be detected in time to prevent its doing much 

 damage. The lesser peach borer ^ (Sesia pictipes Grote & Robinson) often 

 attacks old or weakened cherry trees, working in the growing tissues of 

 the trunk anywhere from the grotxnd to the main branches. The worm 

 is much like the common peach borer, known by aU, but is smaller, rarely 

 reaching the length of four-fifths of an inch when full grown. The flat- 

 headed apple tree borer ^ (Chrysobothris femorata Fabricius) is a common 

 pest in wild cherries and sometimes seriously attacks the cioltivated species. 

 It is treated as is the peach borer. 



The shot-hole borer* {Eccoptogaster rugulosus Ratzeburg), though 

 seldom injuring healthy trees, is very often a serious menace in old or 

 decrepit cherry trees. It may be looked upon, however, as an effect 

 rather than a cause. The peach bark-beetle^ {Plilceotribus liminaris 

 Harris) is very similar in its work to the shot-hole borer and like it attacks 

 only diseased and decrepit trees. 



All cherry-growers are familiar with the small, dark green, slimy slugs 

 which feed on the surface of the leaves of the cherry, possibly more com- 

 mon on the foliage of pears, eating out the soft tissues and leaving but 

 the skeleton of the leaf. If the slugs are numerous the tree may be 

 defoliated or if the leaves remain the foliage looks as if scorched. The 

 adult of this slug is a sawfiy (Caliroa (Eriocampoides) cerasi Linnaeus) 



' Beutenmuller, W. Sesiidae of America, etc. 266-271. igoi. 



- Ibid. 2gi-2g2. 1901. 



'Riley, C. V. An. Rpt. State Entoml. Mo. 1:46-47. 1869. 



'Lowe, V. H. N. Y. Sta. Bui. 180:122-128. 1900. 



*Wason, W. F. The Peach-tree Bark-beetle, U. S. D. A. Bur. Ent. Bui. ftilfii-ioi. 1909. 



