2g<5 NEW. YORK STATE MUSEUM 



was a very thin mixture of turpentine and asphalt, or coal tar. This was 

 applied to the posts and pillars by boring small holes obliquely inward and 

 downward and then filling them with the mixture, which would quickly 

 penetrate the powdery mass in the burrows, not only killing all life with 

 which it came in contact, but also carrying with it the asphalt, thereby 

 rendering the uneaten portion permanently distasteful to the insects. 



Bibliography 

 i8q6 Webster F. M. Ohio Agric. Exp. Sta. Bui. 68, p. 47-48 



Small red horned borer 



Ptiliiuis ntjicornis Say 

 A small dark brown beetle, about ' ,6 inch long, with bright rufous antennae, may be 

 found boring in wood of various kinds. 



This species was brought to the writer's attention July 1 1, 1900, by the 

 receipt of a number of examples from Saranac Inn N. Y., accompanied by 

 the statement that Inrch and maple floors were severely injured in soine of 

 the cottages. 



This beetle also infests trees where the wood has been exposed, and it 



has even been found in kindling wood. Mr W. H. Harrington states that 



he has seen great numbers of these insects issuing from 



maple trees which had been riddled with small holes. 



He states that these beetles are very common and 



attack various trees, both living and dead. He adds 



that when a tree, such as an oak, hickory or maple has 



been injured by blazing or peeling off the bark, this little 



beetle may frequently be seen boring into the exposed 



ed-horned wood, or if the injury be an old one, possibly numbers 



(originao may be found emerging. 



Mr W. L. Deveraux is said by Dr Packard to have found larvae of 

 this insect in great abundance in timber, logs and cord wood. He states 

 that it deposits its eggs in the summer in which the tree is cut and that 

 many generations follow each other for a number of years in the same log. 

 Dr A. D. Hopkins records this species as infesting dead or dry wood where 



