THE LOCUST BORER. 7 



!ip])OJirs now thiit its jittack is conHiicd ciitirclN' to Robiniii. It is not 

 iiocossary that a tree or branch shoiihl ho some inches in diameter 

 before it is daniatifed, for the writer has found fnll-*»-rown larva' in 

 sprouts and brandies K>ss than one-half inch in dianietei'. 



In the writer's opinion, all attempts to t'ultivate locust in tlu^ eastern 

 United States should not he tihandonrd on account of the })orer, althouj^h 

 this has been recommended l)ysome recent writiM's. It has been stated 

 that the locust would probabl}' not be injured b}- the borer in the 

 southern limit of its ranj^e and in the country west of the Great 

 Plains. While this may be true, precaution should be taken to pre- 

 \ent its introduction into such localities, since it is not improl)able 

 that if the insect be introduced and )»ecome established it may prove 

 even more destructive there than in its natural home, as was demon- 

 strated in the Mississippi ^'alley. 



Nearly all methods heretofore recommended are subject to practical 

 application to shade ti'ees and small plantations only: therefore there 

 is special need for suj^gestions of practical methods of combating" the 

 insect and preventing losses in large commercial plantjitions and in 

 natural forest i^rowth. and it is hoped that this [)aper will contribute 

 something <>f value along this lin<'. 



OBSERVATIONS BY THE WRITER, 1890-1905. 



Adults were collected on golden-rod tloweis at Piedmont. Md.. and 

 Mineral County, W. Va., on August 2"). 18!M», and on golden-rod and 

 locust leaves at Morgantown, W. Va.. September 1(» and 17, 1S!*1. 

 Young larva- were found mining in living bark of trees at Kanawha 

 Station, W. Va., May 1. 1S1>1. and on May 20 the same larva' had 

 entered the wood, but a great many had died. 



It was fre(piently noted that th(^ locust in the forests of Chestnut 

 Kidg<Mn Monongalia and Pendleton counties, Laui'cl Hill in Pi'eston 

 County, and especially on Rich Mouiifaiii in Randolph County. \\ . \'a., 

 showed but slight damage by the borers. Similar observations were 

 made in many other sections of the State, while in near-by and widely 

 separated sections the damage was found to have been severe and contin- 

 uous during the life of some of the older trees. In 18!»S it was observed 

 that badly damaged shade trees near Morgantown. W. Va,. which 

 had been severely pruned in Maich and April, had iiu-overed, and the 

 crowns were renewed by dense, vigorous, healthy growth, which sug- 

 gested this nu^thod of treating badly damaged shade trees. 



On October H. 11h»4, it was found that the locust in the \ icinity of 

 Chevy Chase, Md.. was but slightly damage<l l>y the borer, although 

 beetles were found m numbers on golden-roil and feeding on sap from 

 wounds in bark of living siunac 'Phis habit of feeding on sap is of 

 special inteiest from the fait that it suggests the possibility of killing 



