94 'i"HE APPLE LKAF HOPPER 



THE AEGERIID ASH BORER, 



Podrscsia (Acgcria) fra.viiii Lugger. 



"T T ^ " " ■' ' ' '^■'- 



Fig. 87. The larva of the Aegeriid Ash Borer. Original. 



This is a whitish caterpillar, with a few hairs sparingly scattered 

 over its body, which bores in the solid wood of the Ash, greatly weak- 

 ening the trees, and sometimes causing them to break. It is particu- 

 larly destructive where ash trees are grown for wind-breaks in Min- 

 nesota, South Dakota and IMontana. The entire trunk and larger 

 branches are susceptible to attack. The larva becomes a dark-colored 

 clear-winged moth with yellowish markings. The eggs are laid by the 

 female on trunk and branches. A real estate company with large hold- 

 ings at Columbia Heights complained to us during the summer of 1908 

 regarding this pest, claiming that quite large ash, with trunks three 

 to five inches in diameter, planted as shade trees, were being riddled. 

 Examination showed this to be the work of the above borer. We ad- 

 vised the following treatment : 



Remedy : Inject with medicine dropper into the opening of each 

 burrozv about one-half teaspoonfiil of bisulphide of carbon, inunedi- 

 ately plugging fJie opening zcith nntd, clay or putty. The gas generated 

 is deadly to insect life. Avoid bringing a light near this liquid. 



THE STALK BORER AS AN ASH INSECT. 



5^pi-:":Vv«^ 



Fig. 38. Pai>aJi>ewo/i<?'c«Ya, larva, pupa, and moth. Original. 



In July, 1908, there were sent to us from a large nursery many 

 cuttings of young ash from nursery rows, with the statement that hun- 

 dreds of young trees were so afifected that they broke down with the 

 slightest wind, and were thus rendered valueless. The holes where 

 this worm entered were plainly visible on the shoots. This borer 

 proved to be one of our old friends?, the Stalk Borer, Papaipenia fur- 

 cata, which has a predeliction for garden flowers, but has also evidently 

 found young ash trees to its liking. 



We wrote this party that possibly the borer could be killed by 

 introducing a wire into its burrow, or, in some cases, might be cut 

 out, avoiding wounding the tree any more than is necessary. We also 

 suggested spraying the growing trees in the early spring with some 



