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Para-dichlorobenzene (p-c-benzene) for 

 Controlling the Peach-tree Borer 1 



Alvah Peterson, 

 Assistant. Entomologist 



Introduction 



The information summarized in this revised circular will give the peach 

 growers of New Jersey our latest information and recommendations on the 

 use of para-dichlorobenzene for the control of the peach-tree borer, Sanni- 

 noidea exitiosa Say. A more complete publication discussing all of our in- 

 vestigational work on the peach-tree borer is prepared and will appear in 

 the near future as a technical bulletin. 



General Information on the Peach-Tree Borer 



Wherever peaches are grown in the United States east of the Rocky 

 Mountains the trunk and large roots of the tree may be seriously infested 

 with a white worm (larva) which feeds on the outer living layers of the 

 tree. An infestation of peach-tree borers may be detected by the presence 

 of masses of gum containing sawdust-like particles (excrement) exuding 

 from the trunk of the tree near the ground. If this infestation is serious 

 trees may be girdled completely in one or more seasons. 



The larvae feed actively in the fall, spring and summer months ; during 

 the cold winter they are more or less dormant. When the larvae become 

 full grown during the summer they construct cocoons about their bodies, 

 composed of particles of excrement or bark bound together with wax and 

 silk, and turn into brown pupae. The cocoons may be found on the trunk in 

 the old burrows or in the soil adjacent to the tree. In three or more weeks 

 the adult moths emerge. 



The majority of the adults appear in New Jersey between July 1 and 

 September 15, although a few may emerge before and after these dates. 

 The moths are clear-winged and fly during the day. They resemble some 

 of the wasps. The female moth is a deep steel blue with a bright orange 

 band about the abdomen; the fore-wings are opaque and the hind wings 

 clear. The male is a trifle smaller than the female, has clear wings, except 

 the margins, three or four narrow yellow stripes on the abdomen and yellow 

 areas on the head and thorax. 



The female lays 200 to 800 eggs. Most of these are deposited on peach 

 trees and when placed on the tree most of them are located near the ground. 

 The eggs hatch in nine or ten days if the temperature is sufficiently high. A 

 newly hatched larva is about 1/16 inch long, while a full grown larva may 

 be 1% inches long. The majority of the newly hatched larvae enter the 

 tree just below the surface of the soil, some will enter the trunk above 

 ground, while others may enter several inches below the ground. For the 

 average season in New Jersey there is one generation ; in some cases, so far 

 as has been observed, the larvae probably remain in the tree for two winters. 



Prepared July 1, 1923, as a revision of Circular 126, New Tersey Agricultural 

 Experiment Stations. 



