394 INSECT PESTS OF FARM, GARDEN AND ORCHARD 



whore affected, so that they break off and the plant wilts and dies. 

 The presence of the borer is indicated by the coarse yellowish 

 excrement which it forces from its burrow and which is found 

 on the ground beneath, and by the sudden wilting of the leaves. 

 Injury is most severe at the base of the vine, which gradually 

 decays, so that it is severed and the whole plant dies. A half- 

 dozen or more larvae are often found in a single stem, and as many 

 as forty have been taken from one vine, the larvae attacking all 



FIG. 285. The squash-vine borer (Melittia satyriniformis Hbn.): a, male 

 moth; b, female with wings folded at rest; c, eggs shown on bit of stem; 

 d, full-grown larva in vine; e, pupa; /, pupal cell all one-third larger 

 than natural size. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



parts of the vine and even the petioles and large ribs of the 

 leaves when abundant. Injury is worst on Hubbard, marrow, 

 cymlings and late varieties of squash. 



The adult is one of the clear- winged moths with a wing expanse 

 of about \\ inches, the fore-wings being opaque, dark olive- 

 green in color, with a metallic lustre and a fringe of brownish 

 black. The hind-wings are transparent, with a bluish reflection, 

 and the veins and marginal fringe black. The abdomen is marked 

 with orange, or red, black and bronze, and the legs are bright 

 orange, with tarsi black with white bands. The species occurs 

 throughout the States east of the Rockies and southward into 

 Central and South America. 



