42 PROTECTION OF PL \XTS — 1924-25 



TWO IMPORTANT INSECT ENEMIES OF THE MAPLE 



Bv C. B. Hutchings 



Entomological Branch. Dept. Agriculture, Ottawa. 



The maple has been associated with Canada from the earliest of records. 

 It thrives luxuriently in our forests and parks everywhere, and is planted more 

 extensively in Eastern Canada for its shade, beauty and ornamentation than 

 any other tree. The maple is not only one of the best Canadian hardwoods in 

 point of importance, but its sap is used commercially in the manufacture of 

 sugar and syrup, providing a substantial revenue of several million dollars 

 annually, as the following figures will show:^ — 



1924 .... Sugar 9.385.415 lbs at 20.3c §1,907.599 



Syrup 1,970.696 gals, at 20.72 4.083,542 



S5.991,141 * 



To obtain these products it was necessary to tap over 22,600.000 trees. 

 Besides its many enemies of fire, fungi, wind and animals there are no less than 

 over one hundred insects which infest the maple. They attack different parts 

 of the tree; some of these bore into the wood, some tunnel the bark, others 

 girdle the twigs and destroy the leaves. Xot infrequently the injury is severe 

 enough to kill the tree. I am going now to refer, specially, to two species which 

 are considered as very serious enemies: 



1. The Sugar Maple Borer, Glycohius speciosus Say. 



2. The ^Nlaple Leaf Cutter, Paraclementia acerifoliella Fitch. 



The Sugar Maple Borer 



The first mentioned may be said to be one of the worst insect enemies that 

 attack the maple. The injury produced by it takes the form of girdling of the 

 trunk which may bring about the death of the tree in some instances. During 

 the past summer I visited a number of sugar maple bushes in Ontario and Que- 

 bec and without any exception the work of the borer was evident in every one. 

 In some eases as high as 60% of the trees showed infestation; some of these 

 trees were dead and others in a poor and dying condition. 



Adult 



The adult of the maple borer is a Cerambycid beetle about one inch long 

 and of a particular striking appearance. The body is black with several decided 

 bright ye low bands on the wing covfir^i)ae forming the letter W verj- distinctly. 



* Dom. Bur. of Statistics, Bull. Agr. Stat. Vol. 17. p. 244. 1924. 



