264 >•"£« YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Painted hickory borer 



Cyllcnc pic t us Drury 



A blackish, golden marked beetle, about }{ inch in length, is fre(iiiently bred from 

 hickory logs. 



This species is soiiiewliat common in New York State, and occurs 

 rather frequently in hickor\-, it brin^ brought to notice occasionally on 

 account of the beetles emerging in mitlwinter or early spring from firewood 

 and appearing in houses. This species in the adult condition resembles 

 very closely the insect so common on black locust, and the two beetles may 

 be easily separated by the fact that the hickory borer is rarely abroad, 

 except in the sijring, while the locust borers commonly occur in large num- 

 bers in the fall. The two forms were confused in earlier davs and for a 

 time it was believed that tlu-y Ijolh belonged to the same species. The 

 demonstration that these two beetles were really distinct species was largely 

 the work of I)r Walsh and to him we owe a carefully tabulateil list of 

 differences between tlie two forms. 



Early history. This borer is recorded by l)r Walsh as being rather 

 rare in Illinois in 1866, anil he- adds that during 17 years' steady collecting 

 he had met with l)ut three; specimens. lie states that it appeared to be 

 (piite common near Fhilatk'lphia, where it was said lo inhabit the walnut as 

 well as the hickorw 



This l)orer has Ijcen recorde-d by l)r Packard as occurring not only 

 in hickory but also in black walnut, and 1 )r I.ininer in 1893, added 

 butternut to the list of food plants. I'rof. Lawrence Hnmer writing in 

 i<Sc)3, statetl that the hickories of Nebraska are ver_\- subject to attacks 

 by this species, and l)r .\. 1). Hopkins recortls this species in dead 

 branches and small nuilberry ami hickory trees in West X'irginia. He 

 obtained aehdts A]), g and 14, pu|)a and lar\a Ap. cj, and in 1894 he 

 fouml a full)' matured pupa Sej). 24, exidence that this l)eelle may emerge 

 in the fall. Messrs Webster and Mall\' have recorded the ])r(?sence of 

 this borer in Osage orange posts, 1', feet in length anil 4 inches in 



