8o FORESTRY 



but when the beetles become very numerous they attack 

 perfectly healthy trees also beginning with those round the 

 margins of cleared areas. 



Prevention lies in the timely removal of all sickly and 

 wind-thrown trees, and in stripping the bark from logs left 

 lying in the woods over summer. 



STRIPED CONIFER-BORING BEETLE, Tomicus {Bostrichus} llnea- 

 tus. Conifers not in full vigorous strength and felled trees are 

 attacked. The female beetle bores a horizontal gallery into 

 the wood and then, following along an annual ring, she lays 

 eggs both above and below, in small depressions formed for 

 them. The larvas eat out short galleries to the upper and 

 under sides of the main passage and pupate in these. The 

 borings render the timber useless for many purposes, and its 

 commercial value is thus reduced. 



There is little likelihood of suffering from this pest if 

 reasonable care be taken in the early removal of winter-felled 

 timber from the woods. 



Conifers felled when the sap is flowing should be immedi- 

 ately barked in districts where this beetle is to be feared. 



Lepidoptera 



PINE LOOPER-MOTH, Fidonia (Geometra) pinlaria (Fig. 15). 

 From July till October the caterpillars attack the needles of 

 Scots Pine, preferring trees from twenty to seventy years old. 

 At first the needles are gnawed from the side, but later, as the 

 larvae gain more strength, the needles are bitten through and 

 the base alone is eaten. Before the approach of winter the 

 larvae let themselves down from the tree-tops by means of 

 threads, and pupate under the soil-covering. The pupa, 

 about half an inch in length, is at first green, but becomes 

 brown. 



Where there is danger from this insect, the humus matter 

 should be searched for pupae, and if many be present, the 

 leaf litter must be gathered together and burned. Insect- 

 eating birds should be encouraged. 



