310 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



EGGS OF THE PARANDRA BORER IN NATURAL POSITION 

 THE WOOD OF APPLE VERY MUCH ENLARGED 



IN 



VARIETIES OF SIZES OF PARANDRA BORERS 

 ARE TO BE FOUND IN AN INFESTED TREE 

 AT ANY ONE TIME. THE BORERS PICTURED 

 ARE NATURAL SIZE 



Spondvlidae, a small family closely related to the Ceram- 

 bxcidac or "round-headed" borers. 



The Paraitdra borer is one of several species of wood- 

 borers from which trees are in very little danger of 

 injury so long 

 as they are kept 

 in sound and 

 vigorous condi- 

 tion. The larva 

 of Parandra, 

 or the borer, is 

 a heart-wood 

 borer and is 

 one of the most 

 common bor- 

 ers or grubs 

 found in shade 

 trees. It nor- 

 mally attacks 

 the lower 

 trunk, usually 

 within a few feet of the ground, or rarely the larger 

 limbs of some species of broad leaved trees. The work 

 of this borer is quickly followed by that of other borers 

 and the decay of the infested 

 wood and the frequent breaking 

 down of the tree at the point of 

 the greatest injury to the trunk. 

 Damage by this insect to shade 

 trees is probably greater than 

 any other wood-borer for it com- 

 pletely honeycombs the heart* 

 wood and later the living sap- 

 wood. As they burrow through 

 the wood, the borers closely 

 pack the fine boring dust behind 

 them ; this boring dust is red- 

 dish or dunnish yellow in color, 

 and has a clay like consistency; 

 it is characteristic of this borer. 



Other insects and fungi soon 

 appear to accelerate decay and 

 within a few years the portion 



of the tree in- 

 fested will con- 

 sist of merely 

 a thin shell of 

 sound wood 

 surrounding a 

 d e c o m posed 

 heart. A tree 

 so affected may 

 continue to live 

 but will be in 

 danger of fall- 

 ing or being 

 broken off dur- 

 ing a gale at 

 any time and 

 some times in 

 its sudden, 

 crashing down- 

 fall it takes a 

 human life 

 with it. 



When a tree 

 is first attack- 

 ed the beetles 

 insert their 

 eggs into the surface of the wood of scars or dead spots. 

 The eggs are laid, principally in July and August, prob- 

 ably at night, in large numbers closely grouped and in- 

 serted deeply into the wood. After the eggs hatch the 

 larvae or borers extend their burrows throughout the ad- 

 jacent sapwood and heartwood. The larvae, which are 

 typical roundheaded borers, mine throughout the wood 

 for a period of three years extending their galleries 

 upward and downward and after a short resting stage 

 pupal stage transform to adult beetles within the wood. 

 Whereas the grub or borer is one of the commonest, the 

 adult beetles are rather scarce, although they are some- 

 times seen flying, attracted to electric lights during July 

 and August. Observations indicate th^t the adults do 



SHOWING CLEARLY THE DEEP BURROWS 

 MADE BY PARANDRA IN WOOD 



AN OLD APPLE TREE BROKEN IN A STORM AS THE RESULT OF INJURY TO THE HEART 



BY PARANDRA BORERS 



