24 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



J. B. Smith considers this borer very destructive to young apple- 

 trees in many parts of New Jersey and states that it is a more 

 serious enemy of the quince. Miss Mary Treat, of Vineland 

 N. J., writing of this insect in 1893, stated that it was unusually 

 abundant in that section and threatened to kill the trees in spite 

 of all efforts, 10 to 12 borers being found in one. Mr G. T. 

 Powell, of Ghent N. Y., reports taking 30 grubs from a tree in 

 1889, a year when they were unusually abundant. 



The work of this insect is so insidious that it is difficult to 

 gain an adequate idea of its great destructiveness, specially as 

 the sickly condition of the trees is frequently attributed to some 

 other than the true cause. 



The above brief records will give some idea of how dangerous 

 an enemy this beetle is ; and it is very likely that in future years 

 appletrees will have to be guarded more closely than in the 

 past, if they are to be protected from serious injuries by this 

 pest. 



Life history. The adult beetles have been observed abroad during 

 June, July and August. Dr Fitch states that the beetles begin to 

 appear in Washington county, N. Y., about June 20. They are 

 secretive in habit and deposit eggs in the bark near the ground. Mr 

 Zimmerman records the appearance of the beetle June 2 and 3, 1878, 

 and adds that this date is 20 days earlier than usual. Prof. Cyrus 

 Thomas, writing of this pest in 1877, states that it appeared in May 

 in Illinois, and Mr D. B. Wier, of Wisconsin, gives the date of the 

 appearance of the beetles from the middle of May to the middle of 

 June. Mr Tallman has recorded finding this species in copulation 

 on elm June 7. Dr J. B. Smith, state entomologist of New Jersey, 

 gives the date of the occurrence of the beetles from May 20 to July 15. 



The egg of this borer is a pale, rust-brown color, about Vs inch 

 long, one third as broad in the middle and somewhat flattened, so 

 that its depth is about one third its width. It is rather easy to find 

 eggshells in the oviposition scars [pi. i, fig. 2], and it will be seen 

 that they are fairly tough, without any sculpture and sufficiently 

 plastic to receive impressions of wood fibers between which they may 

 be placed. 



