INSECT PESTS OF OHIO SHADE AND FOREST TREES 323 



and the male about three-fourths of an inch. The caterpillar is 

 about one-fourth of an inch long and has a conspicuously reddish 

 brown head. 



Life history and habits. — The moths abound in very early sum- 

 mer and deposit their eggs on the bark of the tree, preferably 

 around the roughened area of wounds and where branches have 

 broken off. After a short time the eggs hatch and the boring larvae 

 begin feeding upon the bark and sapwood, meantime throwing out 

 over the wound characteristic brown castings which form one of the 

 recognition marks of the species. The following spring the cater- 

 pillar pupates in its burrow, and later the chrysalid wriggles out 

 until the frontal half of the body extrudes from the burrow. With 

 the pupa in this position, the moth escapes, leaving the brown pupal 

 shell plainly exposed. 



Nature of work. — The boring larvae of this pest not only 

 devitalize the host, but render it far more susceptible to injury by 

 storms. Moreover, the corresponding swelling of the tissues into 

 gall-like or cankerous structures at the point of attack on the host, 

 detract seriously from the tree's natural beauty. This type of 

 injury is particularly noticeable when the upper limbs become badly 

 infested. (See Plate LXVII, Figs. 1 and 2.) 



Food plants. — Both hard and soft maple are hosts of this 

 species. 



Distribution. — This insect is found throughout Ohio and occurs 

 in many other sections of the eastern United States and as far west 

 as Nebraska. 



Natural enemies. — Since the caterpillars rarely bore deep into 

 the wood of the host, woodpeckers find therti an important source of 

 food and constitute the principal natural check of this insect. 



Control. — Since the moths prefer roughened areas for egg lay- 

 ing, protecting the trees from mechanical injury by horses and other 

 agencies is an important preventive measure. With young trees 

 it is practicable to dig out and destroy the caterpillars in late fall 

 or early spring, afterwards treating the wounds with grafting wax. 

 The carbolineum treatment found by Matheson to be effective 

 against the willow and poplar borer might be found satisfactory for 

 this species if applied about midsummer. 



THE WHITE PINE WEEVIL 



{Pissodes strobi Peck) 



Description. — The wTiite pine weevil in the a3ult stage is a 

 hard, oblong beetle about one-fourth of an inch in length. The 

 upper portions are reddish-brown to dark brown in color with 



