CHAPTER VII. 



FOREST INSECTS AND FUNGI. 



There are numerous insects and fungi which attack the 

 leaves, branches, trunks, or roots of forest trees. Some restrict 

 their attack to dead or dying trees, while a smaller number are 

 able to prey upon living healthy trees. 



The insects and fungi considered in this chapter have been 

 selected because they are among the most destructive to liv- 

 ing forest trees. From the practical standpoint, the forester is 

 less interested in enemies which prey only upon dead or badly 

 injured trees. 



For a complete list of the insect and fungous enemies of the 

 New England forests, reference must be made to more advanced 

 entomological and pathological works. 



A . INSECTS. 



White Pine Weevil {Pissodes strobi) . 



This pest is found generally wherever the white pine grows. 



Form of Damage. — The weevil invariably works in the main 

 terminal shoot and causes it to wither, but seldom kills the tree. 

 Depredations begin in July or early August. The next year 

 one of the side branches straightens up and forms the leader, 

 but there is always a sHght crook in the tree. In badly infested 

 regions the same tree may be attacked repeatedly, and numer- 

 ous crooks will give it a deformed and stunted appearance. For 

 timber purposes the value of the pine is much diminished. The 

 insect seems to prefer trees under 30 feet in height, but it occa- 

 sionally attacks taller ones, and those in old fields and open 

 woods are more severely attacked than those in closed stands. 

 The injurious effects are worse in the southern range of the 

 species. 



