IXSKCTS AFl-ECTINC. I'AUK A.NU WCJUDl.AX I) TKIiliS 297 



iiiiiii^ ami :.lr P. W. Cociuilli-tt has found ihis insect in dead j^n-apevines and 

 obtained it from an oran^vtrei- which had been cut tlown two years pre- 

 viously. He has also bred it from dry sycamore wood. I )r A. 1). Hopkins 

 states that this species infests, in addition to those oi\cn above, seasoned 

 locust and wild cherry, and he likewise records It as injiu'ious to stored han- 

 dles, spokes and hoops. Prof. V. M. Webster states that in 1891 his atten- 

 tion was called to a peculiar condition of affairs in western Ohio. A com- 

 plaint was made that the borer was eating- not only shop lloors of a manu- 

 facturer of aijricultural implements but also the posts that supported the 

 floors of the different stories. Professor Webster was able to trace the 

 origin of the trouble to a lot of oak tiniber that had been piled in the 

 yards for the purpose of seasoning and ascertained that the insect had 

 been brought into the building as the wood was carried inside for the pur- 

 pose of working it up. He states that the borer appeared to attack only 

 the sapwood of the open floor, and would riddle this no matter where it was 

 located, whether it was in the floor of a storeroom where it was quiet, or in 

 portions that were constantly shaken by the rumble of machinery. A 

 thin paper covering was left untouched on the post, while all of the sappy 

 part within was soon reduced to powder. Professor Webster states that 

 the larvae appear to burrow usually parallel with the grain of the wood 

 and that they pupated in a chamber without forming a cocoon. He bred 

 from this insect a little honey yellowish parasite, Hecabolus lycti 

 Cress., in' large numbers. 



Remedial measures. Various remedial measures were recommended 

 and tried with varying success. Professor Webster summarizes the 

 results as follows : 



Kerosene applied to the posts had little effect, and in the paint shop 

 the frequent rubbing of paint brushes over the surface of posts did not 

 appear to inconvenience the borers. The only place where they did not 

 appear to depredate was in the basements, which were of necessity more or 

 less damp. On the floors kerosene oil was effective for a time, but later 

 investigations have shown that in time this would all evaporate and the 

 beetles would then attack the wood a second time. The only application 

 that was thoroughly effective and also a protection from subsec^uent injury, 



