ENTOMOLOGY 31 



in young trees. One-third the larvae gnaw outward to the bark 

 * * * and issue through a round hole as mature beetles. 

 (32 3rd Revise U. S. Dept. Agr.) 



Any one of several washes in general use against boring insects 

 may be used as a deterrent. A good alkaline wash is prepared of 

 soft soap reduced to the consistency of thick paint by the addition 

 of caustic potash or washing soda in solution. A good fish-oil, or 

 whale-oil, soap, or common soft soap, is often used, and in some 

 cases any one of these is sufficient to deter the insects from deposit- 

 ing their eggs. After borers have once entered a tree there is no 

 better remedy known than to cut them out with a knife or other 

 sharp instrument. In the treatment of this insect an ounce of pre* 

 vention is worth several pounds of cure. 



The Flat-Headed Apple-Tree Borer. The adult of the flat- 

 headed apple-tree borer is a bettle measuring about one-half inch 

 in length, the upper surface of a dark metallic-brown color and 

 the under surface of a coppery bronze color. The larva differs from 

 the round-headed borer in that only a single year is required for its 

 development, pupation occurring in the spring shortly before the 

 appearance of the bettles. It differs, also, in its manner of work, 

 living for the most part just beneath the bark, where it excavates 

 broad, flat, and very irregular channels. Its name, flat-headed borer, 

 is derived from the peculiar flat expansion of the second thoracic 

 segment which is close to the head. In color it is light yellow 

 and in length measures nearly twice that of the mature insect. This 

 borer attacks diseased or dying trees by preference, inhabits all 

 parts of a tree from the base of the trunk to the limbs, and is not 

 restricted to fruit trees, but attacks a variety of deciduous trees, also. 



Infestation may be detected by the discoloration of the bark. 

 A list of the recorded food plants of this borer includes, among or- 

 chard trees, apple, pear, and peach. When the borers have entered 

 the tree, they may be destroyed by cutting them out or by killing 

 them in their burrows with a pointed wire, if they were not too deep 

 or too far from the point of entrance. 



The best wash for borers, all considered, is made by the union 

 of all the ingredients in the following way: Dissolve as much com- 

 mon washing soda as possible in six gallons of water, then dissolve 

 one gallon of ordinary soft soap in the above and add one pint of 

 crude carbolic acid and thoroughly mix; slake a quantity of lime in 

 four gallons of water so that when it is added to the above, the wholo 

 will make a thick white-wash ; add this to the above and mix thor- 

 oughly, and finally add one-half pound of paris green or one-fourth 

 pound of powdered white arsenic and mix it thoroughly in the above. 

 The remedies advised for the round-headed borer are also of valuo 

 and are generally employed against the present species. It is nec- 

 essary, however, that deterrent coverings and washes should be ap- 

 plied farther up the trunk and to as many branches as can be con- 

 veniently reached. Careful, clean methods of orchard management 

 are essential as a measure of protection, and involve the cutting out 



