286 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Description. The adult beetle is moderately robust, olive brown, and 

 is from -y,r, to nearly ].4 inch lont;-. The preneral form of the insect is well 

 re|)resenteil in the accompanying^ illustration. The white [)U])a is about i/^ 

 inch in length, rather slender, and tapering to tip of tiie abdomen. The 

 grub or larva is nearly }^ inch in length, creamy white in color and with 

 dark mouth parts. It will be observed that the llattened head is only 

 slightly wider than the abdominal segments. The tip of the larva is armed 

 with a pair of linear, serrate chitinous bars. 



Distribution. The (lisiril)ution of this insect as given by Mr Chitten- 

 den is as follows: Mt Washington, Boston, and Jamaica Plain Mass.; 

 Adirondacks, Elke Lake and elsewhere in New York ; Alleghany Pa. ; 

 Lake Superior, Manjucttc, Detroit, Agricultural College antl Port lluron 

 Michigan ; Stony Criek \'a., and Province of Oucbec near Ottawa. 



Life history and habits. The larvae or borers winter under the bark. 

 They ijegin to transform to pujjae in the early part of Ma\-. Mr Adams 

 states that larvae had straightened out though none had assumed the pupal 

 form May 5, 1900, and that on the 27th some had changed color. Most of 

 the pupae were a pure white on this later date, though a very few had 

 commenced to color. June 3, no beetles had emerged, and more of the 

 pupae had assumed a dark color. May 29, 1899, he removed some adult 

 beetles from birch, and found many pujjae, and few larvae. June 2, beetles 

 began to issue from dry sticks, and on July 14, he found some young larvae 

 about i^ inch in length at work in the cambium layer, at which time they 

 had traveled some distance. The presence of this insect may be detected 

 by the reddish discoloration of about ^ inch in width, caused by the 

 exudation of sap and the ejection of excrement. The dying of the tops 

 of infested trees is another characteristic [pi. 40. hg. i |. The borer 

 first attacks the tops, killing the upper limbs, while the lower branches 

 remain green. Its presence is also indicated by uneven, wavy appearances 

 on the Ijark, showing more or less regular spiral ridges on the smaller 

 branches. The burrows of this insect are very irregular and interlace in a 

 most perplexing manner. Plate 40, figure 2, is a photograph taken by 



