26 Provincial Board of Horticulture. 1897 



jj,g trunks, in or under the bark, within a few inches of the ground, frequently 



Round-headed placing them just above the soil surface, or even below it where the ground 



Apple-tree is cracked open so that the beetle can descend without difficulty. The insect 



Borer. makes a sliHike opening in the bark into which the egg is pushed. A few 



days later the egg hatches into a larva or grub, which gnaws its way into the inner bark or 



sapwood, where it continues to feed throughout the season. As winter approaches it frequently 



burrows downward below the surface of the ground, and rests there until spring, when it 



again works upward and outwards to the bark, lining a cavity at the end of its burrow with 



dust-like castings, and there rests until spring, when it changes to the dormant chrysalis state. 



The adult beetle emerges from the chrysalis about a fortnight later, eats a hole through the 



bark with its strong jaws, and comes forth to continue the propagation of the species. Thus 



three years are required for the development of the insect. 



The place where the larva enters may frequently be detected, especially in young trees, by 

 the sawdust-like castings that are pushed out. The eggs a1so:may often be seen, and are easily 

 d-estroyed by pressing on the bark surrounding with a knife-blade or some similar instrument. 

 The presence of the larva is shown later by the discolouration of the bark where it is at work. 

 It is about an inch long, wholly without feet, whitish, with a chestnut brown head and 

 black jaws. The pupa or chrysalis is lighter coloured than the larvfe, and has numerous small 

 spines on its back. 



The injuries of this insect may be prevented by applying late in May, or early in June, 

 and twice later at intervals of three weeks, with a strong solution of soft soap, to which has 

 been added a little crude carbolic acid. This mixture may be conveniently 

 Remedies. made by mixing one quart of soft soap, or about a pound of hard soap, with 

 two gallons of water, heating to boiling, and then adding a pint of crude car- 

 bolic acid. It will be made more effective and permanent by the addition of a small amount 

 of Paris green and lime. The solution should be thoroughly applied (a scrub brush is excellent 

 for the purpose) to the trunk and larger branches of the tree. If the bark of the tree is 

 especially rough, it should be scraped before the wash is applied, and the soil should bo 

 smoothed down about the base of the trunk, so that there will be no cracks for the insects to 

 enter to deposit their eggs. Of course, the object of this application is to prevent the laying of 

 the eggs from which the grubs hatch. As additional precaution, it is well to examine the trees 

 during the late summer and early autumn months for eggs and young grubs, which are readily 

 detected, and can easily be destroyed with a knife. In this way one man can go over an 

 orchard of five hundred or more young trees in a day. 



FLAT-HEADED APPLE-TREE BORER (Chrysohothris femorata). 



(a), shows larva ; {b), chrysalis ; (c), primary stage ; {d), the perfect msect. 



This insect is very different, both in its adult and larv^ stages, from the one just discussed. 



The adult beetle, instead of being cylindrical in form and brown in colour, is flattened and 



greenish-black. It appears, however, at about the same season as the other. 



Applet-tree ^^^ *^^ ^^^^ histories of the two species are in general much alike, the prin- 



Borer. ^^P"^^ difference being that the present species requires less time to develop, 



and attacks the tree higher up, being found all the way up the trunk, and 



frequently in the larger branches. The front end of the larva is enlarged and flattened, while 



