IX. THE PEACH TREE BORER. 



Sannina exitiosa Say. 

 Order, Lepidoptera. Family, Sesiidab. 



Historical. 



This insect is a native American species. It did not become 

 generally known, however, until the introduction of the peach 

 into this country from Europe. Prior to that time its natural 

 food plants were undoubtedly the wild plum and cherry, as it 

 is known to attack these fruit trees readily. The fact, however, 

 that this species is now well known in every state where the 

 peach crop is an important one, indicates that it must have taken 

 readily to the new food plant early in the history of the fruit 

 as an American product. 



The original description of the Peach-tree Borer dates back 

 to the time of one of America's earliest writers on entomology, 

 namely, Thomas Say, who is known as the " Father of American 

 Entomology." His description was published in 1823, in Vol. 

 HI of the Journal of the Philadelphia Academy of Natural 

 Sciences, p. 216. He there describes the species under the name 

 JEgerid exitiosa. Mr. Say also published one of the earliest gen- 

 eral accounts which we have of this insect. This is found in his 

 " American Entomology," published in 1824. A contemporary 

 of Mr. Say, Dr. T. W. Harris, also published several articles con- 

 cerning this insect. One of the chief of these is found in his 

 " Insects Injurious to Vegetation," pp. 253-255, published in 

 1852. In this article he refers to the fifth volume of the New 

 England Farmer, in which he published a review of the life-his- 

 tory and habits of this insect, together with a general history of 

 the species, and also the names of the principal writers on the 

 subject up to that time. Soon after the publications above re- 

 ferred to by Dr. Harris, Dr. Asa Fitch published his first annual 

 report as State Entomologist of New York. Prominent among 

 other articles in this report is found a comparatively long one 

 on " The Peach-tree Borer, Mgeria exitiosa Say." This article 

 occupies pages 108 to 121 of the report, and is illustrated by one 

 wood cut representing a portion of a peach root injured by the 

 borer. 



