ANIMALS INJURIOUS TO FOREST AND ORNAMENTAL TREES. 



37 



in nearly all the cases I have seen, the eggs have been between one 

 foot and four feet from the surface. They are stated by certain 

 observers to number as many as a thousand, though females kept in 



FIG 17. Portion of Ash Tree with larva in situ. 



confinement only deposited about three hundred and fifty each. The 

 eggs are of a brownish colour, round, with a flattened base, and 

 ribbed. The caterpillar at first is a fleshy pink colour, later changing 

 to a yellow ochre, with a blackish head and two blackish-brown mark- 

 ings on the first segment ; the centre of the back is a deep mahogany 

 red. They remain in the larval condition for three years, measuring 

 three to three and a half inches in length when fully grown. During 

 this period they gradually make their way from the bark into the solid 

 wood, perforating it in all directions with their tunnels. At times they 



