Forest Insects 



THERE are many little insects which live and 

 feed on the leaves and twigs and wood of trees. 

 Though small, the harm they do is very great, 

 and numerous trees are killed each year by these 

 "tree borers" and "wood wasps." They look 

 like large flies, and usually the holes they make 

 in the tree-trunk are large enough to be seen. 

 The insects burrow in the wood and work their 

 way into the tree, making small rooms in which 

 to lay their eggs. In a short time the wood is 

 filled with such holes, and often the tree dies. 



Flies and moths lay their eggs on the tree's 

 leaves. When the tiny eggs have hatched, the 

 many little caterpillars feed and thrive on the 

 soft, juicy leaves. The caterpillars of butter- 

 flies and moths eat the whole leaf, so that the tree 

 sometimes loses all of its leaves early in the 

 summer. Then there are beetles that eat only the 

 tenderest parts of the leaf; the veins and outside 

 of the leaf are left. "Leaf hoppers" drink the 



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