188 



GENUINE SNOUT- BEETLES. 



tints causing them to break and fall. The younger bark of twigs 

 is used as food and numerous boles are eaten into it; the tender 

 shoots are entirely devoured, and later they eat the leaves just at 

 their base. The beetle is shown in Fig. [96; it is from four to 

 six-tenths of an inch in length, of an ash-gray color, marked with 

 black ; four whitish lines, interrupted by black dots, are on each of 

 its wing-covers, and three smaller ones occur on the thorax. The 

 scutellum, located at the juncture of the elytra with the thorax, 

 is yellowish. Such beetles frequently occur in swarms in nurser- 

 ies, where they cause serious injury to the apple, plum, cherry, 

 pear, peach and other trees. Fig 196, Plate VI, shows their work. 



It is quite abundant in the wooded regions of Minnesota, but 

 is not seen as often as their numbers would warrant, simply be- 

 cause it is a nocturnal insect, hiding in the cracks of bark of oak 

 trees during the day, and in such places it is almost impossible to 

 detect it, as it resembles the bark very closely in color and in mark- 

 ings. 



The larva, also shown in the illustration, is found in the 

 twigs and tender branches of the burr-oak, and also in the hickory. 

 According to Saunders, when the female is about to deposit an 

 egg, she makes a longitudinal excavation with her jaws, as shown 



Fig. 196. — Itbycerus noroboraceusis, 

 Forst. — After Riley. 



Fig. 197. — Apion species. 

 After Brehm. 



