II 



This insect has been confused by many with the painted hickory 

 borer, {Cyllene ptctus), from which it differs in the following manner- 

 Antenna; and legs are more slender and shorter; posterior end of the 

 body tapers to a less blunt point. There is also a considerable difference 

 m the host tree and time of emergence of the adults, the hickory borer 

 inhabiting the hickory and appearing in May and June (adults of this 

 species were captured near Columbus, May 1st, 1905), while the locust 

 iDorer feeds in the stems of locust trees and does not emerge until late 

 in August or September. 



t)uring September the adult beetles may be found feeding upon the 

 flowers of the golden rod, where their colors so successfully mimic those 

 •of the flowers as to partially protect them from insectivorous birds. 



Shortly after emergence they pair, and the female, accompanied by 

 her mate, creeps over the bark of the locust trees, searching the crevices 

 with her antennae, and dropping therein snow-white eggs, in clusters 

 of seven or eight, and at intervals of five or six minutes, until her entire 

 stock is safely stored. The eggs soon hatch and the larvae burrow into 

 the bark, feeding upon the soft inner bark and remaining there during 

 -the wintei-. At this time many of them have- attained a length of half 

 an inch. In the spring active operations are resumed, but the larvae 

 Taurrow through the inner bark into the sap wood. They are voracious 

 feeders and grow very rapidly. The general 'course of their winding bur- 

 rows is in an upward direction from the place of entrance. In this latitude 

 the work. of the larvae is first noticed about May 1st by the oozing of the 

 sap from the burrows, and later by the sawdust which is thrown out. 

 One can readily determine when the larvae have reached the sap wood by 

 the change in color of the chips. Those from the bark are brown, while 

 those from the sap wood are white. For a time they force the chips out 

 as fast as made, but the passage often becomes clogged and the burrow 

 filled with the fibrous material. In such cases the larvae make another 

 ■opening through the bark. They become full grown about July 20th, 

 and soon pupate, the adult beetles leaving the trees early in September., 



The body of the mature larva is about one inch in length, cylindrical 

 or slightly flattened, whitish in color, with three pairs of brownish-black 

 legs on the thoracic segments; legs conical, short and terminating in a 

 slender point; mouth parts brownish-black. 



REMEDIES. 



On account of the nature of the work of the larvae, very little can 

 be done in combating the pest, except applications made to prevent egg 

 laying. With this end in view, numerous substances have been tried by 

 different experimenters, but no specific has been found. Washing the 

 trunks of valuable trees with soft soap solution late in August or Sep- 

 tember has been recommended. The eflFectiveness of this preparation 



