MONOGRAPH OF THE GENUS SAPERDA 2$ 



The oviposition scars [pi. i, fig. 2; pi. 8, fig. i] may be readily 

 detected as longitudinal slits in the bark, ranging from H to as much 

 as H inch in length. These scars have somewhat irregular, dried 

 edges, and in early spring usually have small, rust-red borings hang- 

 ing therefrom [pi. 8, fig. 2]. Their location is made more apparent 

 by the adjacent discoloration and shrinking of the areas where the- 

 young grubs are at work in the underlying green tissues [pi. 8, fig. 3] . 

 These scars are sometimes very abundant on young trees. The 

 writer observed 1 1 of them on a portion of a smooth trunk less than 

 6 inches long and i^ inches in diameter [pi. 8], and all were within 

 6 inches of the ground, two being close to its surface. The impor- 

 tance of these marks lies in the fact that they indicate the location 

 of the young grubs, which may be reached and destroyed in the 

 fall or early spring without material injury to the tree. The split- 

 ting of the bark is primarily caused by the female in preparing 

 for deposition of her eggs, and the orifice is further enlarged by 

 the consequent shrinkage and drying following the operations of 

 the grub. On cutting into one of these scars [pi. 8, fig. 3] in early 

 spring, young grubs, ranging in size from % to ^ inch in length, 

 may be found in the shallow cavity in the inner bark and outer 

 sapwood, and in some cases remains of the eggshell may be ob- 

 served. The method of oviposition has been described by Dr C. 

 V. Riley as follows : 



The female beetle makes an incision in the bark, causing it to be 

 split from % to sometimes ^A an inch. The incision is often made 

 entirely through the bark, and the egg is thrust between the bark and 

 the liber at right angles to one side of the slip, from ^ to /4 of an 

 inch from the aperture. Sometimes the bark is but partially pene- 

 trated, in which case it is pried open on one side of the aperture for 

 the reception of the egg. In either case the egg is accompanied by 

 a gummy fluid which covers and secures it in place and usually fills 

 up the aperture. In young trees, with tender bark, the egg is usually 

 thoroughly hidden ; while in older trees it is sometimes so shallowly 

 embedded as to be readily seen. 



Mr W. Junkins, in the New England Homestead of Jan. 3, 1885, 



has also described this interesting process, as it occurs on twigs 



set in moist sand in a jar: June 15 he observed one of four females 



