INSECTS. 299 



cations, to be efficacious, should be made in May or June. 

 In August, the bark should be examined, and when the 

 worms are cut out, the soap suds may be injected with ad- 

 vantage, especially if the larvae have not been reached. 

 Birds should be encouraged, particularly the Picse tribe, 

 which destroy many grubs of the wood-boring insects. 



Chrysobothris femorata, or the Thick-legged Bupres- 

 tris, is another kind of apple-tree borer, very common in 

 some parts of the West. The perfect insect may be seen 

 running up and down the stems of our trees, in June and 

 July. It is a blackish beetle, about half an inch long. 

 The hole, bored by the grub, is flat, and not cylindrical 

 like that of the Saperda. This beetle attacks the stem 

 higher up than the Saperda, but burrows under the bark, 

 and then sinks into the wood much in the same way. 



REMEDIES and PREVENTIVES are similar to those above 

 mentioned. Seek for the young worms in their shallow 

 burrows in August, before they have gone deeply into the 

 tree. 



Diccrca divaricata, (Say), or the Cherry-tree Borer, is 

 similar in its habit of boring in the sap wood under the 

 bark, and may be combated in the same way. The per- 

 fect insect appears in June and July. 



PrenocerilS supernotatus, or the American Currant 

 Borer, feeds upon the pith of the stalk. The larva is a 

 small, white grub, which changes into a slender, long- 

 horned beetle ; black, edged with chestnut-brown. The 

 wing covers are marked with two small grey dots, anteri- 

 orly, and a crescent-shaped one behind the middle. 



It is very injurious to the currant bushes in many parts 

 of the country, and constitutes a serious obstacle to grow- 



