REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST I9O9 IO3 



Hickory bark borer (Eccoptog aster quad(rispi- 

 n o su s Say). An examination of the hickories in Prospect park, 

 Brooklyn, in company with arboriculturist J. J. Levison, showed 

 that a large number of the magnificent hickories in that extensive 

 park were so seriotisly affected by this pernicious borer that it will 

 be necessary to cut out many trees in order to save the remainder. 

 This bark borer must be ranked as one of the most dangerous 

 enemies of the hickory, since it has destroyed, in recent years, 

 thousands of trees in central New York and is still continuing its 

 nefarious work. The great trouble with outbreaks of this char- 

 acter is that many of the trees are practically killed before trouble 

 is suspected. For example, an examination in September of many 

 supposedly fine trees in Prospect park revealed the fact that num- 

 erous borers had entered the trees and that millions of grubs had 

 nearly completed the girdling by running tortuous channels in the 

 inner bark and sapwood. Aside from a few brown leaves here and 

 there at the tips of branches killed by beetles feeding in the petioles 

 and a few extremely inconspicuous fine borings scattered in 

 the crevices of the bark, there was practically nothing externally 

 to indicate the condition of affairs. This dark brown or black, 

 rather stout, cylindrical beetle about 3^ of an inch long invariably 

 starts its gallery under a protecting scale of bark and owing to the 

 regularity of the cracks in hickory, these hidden points of entry are 

 usually in series one above another. To make matters even worse 

 the obscure initial attack is very likely to occur about the middle or 

 the upper portion of the trunk where observation is extremely dif- 

 ficult. The beetles begin their galleries the latter part of June or 

 throughout July. At the time of our investigation many of the 

 grubs were more than half grown, while a few had nearly attained 

 full size. 



There is only one thing to do in the case of a serious infestation 

 such as that detailed above. All badly infested trees or portions 

 of trees should be cut and the bark at least burned before the fol- 

 lowing April in order to prevent grubs now in the bark from ma- 

 turing and changing to beetles which another season might continue 

 the destructive work in previously uninfested trees. Thorough 

 spraying of specially valuable trees the latter part of INIay or early 

 in June with arsenate of lead used at the rate of 6 to 8 pounds to 

 50 gallons of water should be of considerable service in killing the 

 beetles when they gnaw their way into the twigs and leaf stalks. It 

 is possible tliat uninfested trees in a section where this post is 



