IMPORTANT PECAN INSECTS AND THEIR CONTROL. 



45 



the male. They have long an- 

 tennoe or feelers; those of the 

 males are considerably longer 

 than the body, but those of the 

 female are only a trifle longer 

 than the body. Tlie body is 

 subcylindi'ical, and the general 

 color is grayish bro^\^l, there be- 

 ing a rather broad ashy band or 

 belt extending over the middle of 

 the wing covers. Tlie thorax is 

 about the same color as the ashy 

 band, but the head is more or less 

 reddish. Upon close inspection 

 it will bo observed that the wing 

 covers are ornamented with 

 man}'- yellowish or straw-colored 

 spots. 



-The hickory twig-girdler. Adult, or beetle. 

 Enlarged. 



Tlie 



esss, 



Fig. 55.— The hickory twig- 

 girdler: a, Beetle; 6, larval 

 mines in bark and outer 

 ivood, c, girdling work of 

 adult. (Webb.) 



which are always deposited in the 

 severed branches, are white, elongate oval in 

 shape, and about one-tenth of an inch in length. 



Tlie beetles, wliich begin to make their appear- 

 ance in pecan orchards by the last of August or 

 early in September, have very interesting habits. 

 It is only the female of the species that cuts off 

 the twigs, but both sexes feed more or less upon 

 the tender bark and wood of the tips of the 

 branches. The branches apparently are severed 

 by the female in order that congenial conditions 

 maybe provided for the development of the larvfe, 

 which are unable to subsist on wood containing 

 sap, as has been determined definitely by field 

 observations. It has been observed that the 

 female in girdling does not make a complete cir- 

 cle at once, but cuts section by section until the 

 entire twig has been girdled. The girdling ex- 

 tends thi'ough the bark and well into the wood, 

 leaving only a narrow portion of the heartwood 

 untouched. (See fig. 55, c.) Usually the weight 

 of the branch, with the assistance of the wind, 

 causes it to bend down or break off. 



The eggs are laid dm-ing or after the cutting 

 process, but never before the beetle has cut at 

 least one section. They arc inserted singly be- 

 neath the bark, or slightly into the wood, near a 



