INSECTS INJURIOUS TO PEACH, PLUM AND CHERRY 577 



generation a year, the time of emergence in these different lati- 



tudes is decidedly anomalous when compared with the life 



histories of other insects. The females soon lay their eggs, pre- 



ferring to place them on the base of the trunk, but often placing 



them higher, or even on weeds or trash, or on the soil. A 



single female may lay from 200 to 800 eggs. The eggs are 



about one-fiftieth inch long, and 



slightly over half as wide, truncate 



at one end, and a light chestnut-brown 



x>r reddish-brown in color, not easily 



seen on the bark of the tree. They 



hatch in about ten days and the 



young larvae at once seek out small 



cracks in the bark through which they 



enter the soft bark of the tree. Their 



presence may be easily detected by 



the powdery, brownish rass which they 



throw out of their burrows. The young 



larvae grow rapidly and continue feed- 



ing until forced into hibernation by 



cold weather, and in the South doubt- 



less feed during warm days in the 



winter. Feeding is resumed in the 



spring, the larvae boring through the 



lower layers of the bark and causing 



FlG - 



peach borer: natural size 

 at n; an egg greatly en- 

 larged at I; and end of 

 egg greatly magnified, 

 showing micropyle at m. 

 (After Slingerland.) 



masses of gum to exude as already 

 described. Larvae of almost all sizes 

 may usually be found in late spring, and 

 the resulting moths appear irregularly 

 over a period of two to three months. The full-grown borer is a light 

 yellowish larva about 1 inch long, with a brown head and thoracic 

 legs, and five pairs of prolegs on the abdomen. The body is 

 sparsely clothed with brownish hairs which arise from small, 

 smooth tubercles. The grown larva constructs a cocoon at or 

 near the surface of the ground, usually on the trunk near the 

 burrow, but often on the soil, which is composed of particles 

 of excrement and bark, bound together with gum and a thin 

 lining of silk. In this it transforms to a brown pupa from which 

 the moth emerges in about three weeks. 



