INSECT RAVAGES. 165 



served, at about the time above mentioned, in tlie nortberu and eastern 

 parts of the State. It is described as " a small black-winged bug-, re- 

 sembling the weevil, but somewhat larger." A great number of these 

 bugs have been observed in the spring of the year, and in the early sum- 

 mer, flying near the roots of the trees. They pierce the bark a little 

 distance above the ground, and lay their eggs between the bark and 

 wood ; and in a few weeks after these eggs hatch, and a worm appears, 

 which at its full growth is about an inch long. They immediately be- 

 gin to feed on the sappy parts of the tree, and do not cease eating until 

 the whole of it is destroyed. 



BEETLES IN DEAD EVERGREENS. 



It must have been noticed by every casnal observer in the saw-mill- 

 yard, that logs of evergi^evn species, as the spruce, hemlock, and pine, 

 if allowed to lie a year or two with the bark on, suffer more or less, and 

 often very seriously, from the ravages of insects, more particularly of 

 the coleoptera or IxH^tle class, which, entering at the end, burrow under 

 the bark and into the sap-wood, which they perforate and destroy for 

 every useful purpose, if allowed full opportunity. 



The obvious remedy is to remove the bark, as is largely done with the 

 hemlock, for tanning material, and might be done with the spruce, as a 

 saving process, with great profit, although, in tbe latter case, the bark 

 is worthless. Moreover, the peeling done in the forest hastens the 

 drying, thereby lessening weight and cost of transportation, and pre- 

 serving the whiteness of the woo<l, for which, in some uses, this quality 

 is valued. Of cour-se timber can be i>eeled to advantage only during 

 midsummer, when vegetation is most active ; and something is lost in 

 quality of timber by cutting at this season. 



The well-known fact that dead and decaying timber is sought by in- 

 sects as their resting place has, in some cases, been used as a means for 

 their destruction. For tliis purpose, decaying wood is placed in places 

 where protection is desired, and the insects, laying their eggs in this by 

 preference, may bo remove<l and destroyed belore their eggs hatch. 

 This method cannot, of course, be applied to much extent with us, 

 excepting in nurseries and orchards, but is worthy of notice. It 

 follows that no such opportunities should be left to insects, unless 

 thoroughly and seasonably attended to by removal, and that neglected 

 rubbish may often become a source of great injury by harboring insects 

 and favoring tbeir increase. 



Green-Striped Maple-Worm. {Anisota rubicunda.) 



This is a lepidopt€rous insect, feeding on the leaves of the soft maple, 

 and sometimes on the oaks. It occasionally becomes abundant in the 

 Western States, and in 18G7 stripped the soft maples around Peoria, 

 Galesburg, Princeton, and Mou mouth. 111., but did not attract particu- 

 lar notice the next year.^ 



REPORT TO KANSAS STATE HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



Borers in fruit and forest trees. — A report on entomology, made to the 

 State Horticultural Society of Kansas in 1875 {Transac.^ j). 233) describes 

 the habits and suggests remedies against certain borers in fruit and 

 forest trees worthy of notice. 



Flat-headed iorer (Chrysoholhris).— The larvae of this beetle is very destructive to 

 apple, pear, cherry, plum, quince, soft maple, willow, tulip, and mulberry trees, and 



1 Prof. Chas. V. Riley, in Transac. Kansas State Board of Ag, 1612, p. 297. 



