no 



AGRICULTURE. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



INSECTS OF THE ORCHARD. 



THE BORER. This is a beetle that does much damage to 

 the trunks of trees. It is about half an inch long, of a shining 

 greenish-black color. It lays its eggs in summer in the rough 

 bark near the ground or near the crotches of large limbs. From 

 these eggs come the larvae, which, when full-grown, are nearly an 

 inch long. As soon as hatched they begin to bore into the tree, 

 where they remain one or two years. From the larva state they 

 pass into the pupa state, and from this the beetle again comes 



forth. If many of these bore through 

 the under bark and into the living 

 wood they must injure a tree just as if 

 it were girdled. What is to be done? 

 We can dig out the borers and kill 

 them, but already much damage 

 will have been done. We can keep 

 the rough bark scraped off with a 

 dull hoe, so that there will be no 

 convenient cracks and holes in which 

 to place the eggs. We can also give 



Fig. 56. The flat-headed borer 



a, the larva, b the pupa, d the the trunks Of the trCCS B gOOd COat- 

 perfect beetle. It injures many . 



kinds of trees. ing of whale-oil soap, then soft soap 



or whitewash in the spring and early summer. As the bark 

 on young trees is soft and the young trees are most easily 

 injured we should look out for borers in young orchards. 

 THE OYSTER-SHELL BARK LOUSE. On the bark of the 

 apple tree are frequently seen little patches that appear like 



