1 86 BULLETIN 407 



But now that elm has supplanted hickory for this purpose, the economic 

 loss has been considerably reduced. Material used in the manufacture 

 of porch furniture is frequently so injured by these larvae that it is very 

 easily broken. 



The damage inflicted by the. hickory borer on black walnut, a wood 

 used to a considerable extent at the present time in the manufacture of 

 furniture, and especially, of gun-stocks, is bound to result in an increase 

 in the cost of this material. 



The effect of the insect's work on osage orange is almost as injurious as 

 on hickory. This wood possesses much natural durability, and posts 

 and poles made of it remain sound for many years, even under conditions 

 favorable to decay. This natural durability is greatly decreased by the 

 hickory borer's work. Fence posts of this wood, lying in piles, are often 

 actually so honeycombed that they are fit only for firewood. 



Invariably, severe damage results when the cut material is left in the 

 woods during the danger period. Not only do the burrows in the wood 

 decrease its value, but they also afford a means of access to fungus 

 diseases and moisture, which soon render the wood useless except for 

 firewood, and its value for even this purpose is much reduced. 



DESCRIPTIONS 



The adult 

 Gahan (1908 a) described the adult insect as follows: 



Dark brown above, marked with pale yellow or yellowish- white pubescent bands 

 two on the head, four on the pro thorax, and seven on the elytra; the first thoracic band 

 placed at the anterior border and very narrow; the first and second elytral bands almost 

 directly transverse, the third W-shaped, the fourth and fifth angulated and interrupted, 

 the sixth consisting of a rather strongly arcuated band on each elytron, the seventh 

 forming a border to the apex; body beneath banded with yellowish pubescence; meta- 

 thoracic episterna marked each with two yellow spots, the interval between which is 

 of a dark brown colour and as wide as or wider than either of the spots; legs reddish; 

 antennae dark brown, sometimes more or less reddish in parts. 



d* Antennae rather thick, extending past the apex of the elytra; third to sixth joints 

 subdentate posteriorly at the apex; pronotum with a small punctate area on each side 

 rather close to the anterior border; sides of pro thorax very finely and densely punctate. 



9 Antennae extending to the middle of the elytra, not quite so thick as in the male. 

 Length 10-22, breadth 3-7 mm. 



The females are easily differentiated from the males by the shorter legs 

 and antennae, and more robust, compactly built body. 



Gahan recorded two varieties of this species: one from Texas, with 

 pubescent bands an ashy white instead of yellow, and with the pronotum 

 of the male marked anteriorly with a small punctate area on each side 

 of the mid-line in addition to the lateral punctate area; and the other 

 from Villa Lerdo, Durango, Mexico, with the pubescent bands ashy 



