IN'Sr.CTS AFl-ECTINC. I'AKK AND \V( )( 1 1 )I. AM) TKEES 28/ 



Mr M. I-". Adams, anil rciircsents the iiUricatc nianncr in which this insect 

 operates. I lu- larva enters the wood in the fall and constructs a cavity 

 which probably serves the purpose of a i)upal cell, where it undergoes its 

 final transformation in late spring or early summer. This insect, so far as 

 observed by Mr Adams, deposits no eggs in branches smaller than yi or i/^ 

 inch in diameter. 



Food plants. This species has been recorded by Mr Adams as 

 infesting the black birch, yellow birch, and the cut-leaved birch, and as 

 previously noted, Dr Lintner has observed it on poplars and Professor 

 Davis has recorded it from willow. 



Natural enemies. One of the common woodpeckers, probably the hairy 

 w^oodpecker, Dryobates v i 11 o s u s, feeds quite extensively on the 

 larvae of this pest. This bird is said to select a place on the trunk of the 

 tree in which the larvae are concealed, and makes an incision in the baik 

 such as that made by a penknife driven straight into the tree. This it does 

 till it locates the borer, when it proceeds to pick open the bark and remove 

 the grub. 



Preventive measures. It seems very probable that a portion of the 

 injury is due to carelessness in failing to remove the lower part of the 

 trunks of infested trees. Mr Adams states that in some instances the upper 

 portion of the tree was cut, and about 6 feet of the trunk was allowed to 

 remain as a support for flower vases or for some other purpose. The 

 leaving of such a trunk would be very favorable for the pest, and undoubt- 

 edly results in the breeding of large numbers. Nothing better can be 

 suggested than cutting and burning the infested trees, or portions of the 

 same, before the beetles appear in the summer. The application of an 

 insect lime such as dendroleon would hardly be advisable in the case of a 

 light colored tree like the birch. It may pay to band more highly prized 

 trees with paper during the latter part of May, allowing the wrapping to 

 remain for a period of two or three months. 



Bibliography 



1898 Chittenden, F. H. U. S. Dep't Agric. Div. Ent. Bui. iS, n. s. p. 44-51 



