62 DESTEUCTIVE INSECTS OF VICTORIA: 



no means confined to these two portions of the colonies. 

 The apple trees are attacked by boring into both stem and 

 thick branches, the damage being done by the insect 

 boring small holes into the wood, in which the egg is 

 deposited, the larvae (or grubs) at once commencing to 

 eat in an horizontal direction (see Plate IV., Fig. 1, 

 which explains the matter better than any description 

 could do) right into the wood of the tree, Avhicli, if 

 undetected, soon cause the trees to wither and die, the 

 grubs and the perfect insect remaining in the tree for some 

 time after the tree has ceased to live. 



Prevention and Remedies. 



As soon as the damage done is observed, the tree, if 

 very badly bored, should be at once cut, or grubbed out 

 and destroyed by burning, es23ecial care l)eing taken that 

 none of the larvse (which are small white grul)s) escape. 

 The next best thing to be done is to apply a strong solution 

 of kerosene emulsion, say 1 in 12 or 14, by means of a good 

 spray-pump ; but, as the holes are placed horizontally, the 

 liquid must be used with considerable force, so that it may 

 be driven horizontally as far as possible into the holes, 

 when not only will the grubs and beetles be destroyed but 

 the bark will be rendered, for a time at least, obnoxious 

 to the beetle, and would, in all probability, be the means 

 of preventing the insects depositing their eggs or other- 

 wise working on or in the bark of the tree. Remove, by 

 scraping, all loose bark. As in the case of the Codlin 

 Moth, the less shelter afforded to insects the less will be 

 the danger of their attacks, and the easier it will be to 

 detect any inroads of borers, &c., and to treat the trees 

 for same. As this is another instance of an indigenous 

 insect adapting itself to imported fruit trees, it behoves 

 fruit-growers to pay special attention to the immediate 

 destruction of all badly infested native timber, as the 

 latter may prove to be a ^practically unlimited source of 

 trouble to those whose orchards hajDpen to be in the 

 vicinity of forests or timbered country in general. In 



