from Maine to Texas, and has also been observed in California. It may 

 eventually be found to prey upon forest trees in all parts of the United 

 States where the black, red and white oak and locust trees grow. We 

 may safely assume that a considerable portion of the damage now attrib- 

 uted to the locust borer {Cyllcne robiniae) would, if carefully, examined 

 into, be rightfully charged to this insect. It is capable of doing greater 

 damage to Ihe trees because of the larger size of the tunnels which it 

 makes, these being from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, 

 and because the greater portion of, the larval life is spent in the heart 

 wood. On account of the \york being entirely within the body of the 

 tree, it is very difficult to discover until the insect has reached maturity. 

 As it requires three years to attain its full growth, and during this time 

 is tunneling through the heart wood, the damage may be great enough 

 to destroy the commercial value of the wood for sawn lumber. It also 

 renders the wood less valuable for posts, poles and other forms of struct- 

 ural timbers, as these large tunnels not, only weaken the stick but also 

 allow the free entrance of water to the very heart of the timber. 



Besides the three common forms of oaks and the locust, enumerated 

 above, the larvre of this moth is reported as inhabiting the \yillow, poplar 

 and chestnut. 



The pupa transforms to the adult in June or the forepart of July. 

 The adult flies only at night, remaining at rest during the day, clinging 

 to the trunks of trees, the bark of which the gray color of its wings and 

 body so closely resembles, ^^'hen in repose its gray wings are folded, 

 roof-like, over the body in such manner as to render the whole insect 

 very inconspicuous. 



The male moth is much smaller than his mate. Head and thorax 

 gray, marked with black ; abdomen black, with dull yellow sutures ; legs 

 black. The black ground color of the forewings is thickly sprinkled 

 with white scales, forming gray spots, or clouds, which are netted with 

 black lines. The hind-wings are black, with the posterior half of a rich 

 vellow color, bordered with a black line upon the hind margin. 



The female moth is paler gray, the hind-wings entirely destitute of 

 the bright yellow color of the opposite sex. The body is densely coated 

 with gray scales, the under side being hoary white; the legs are gray, 

 with black bands. 



Soon after emerging the female deposits her eggs, which, accordmg 

 to different authorities, vary from three hundred to one thousand. They 

 are dropped into cracks and crevices in the bark, without other protection 

 than the glutinous substance with which they are covered, and which dries 

 and hardens immediately upon exposure to the ah". These eggs, which 

 are of a dirty white color, with a black spot at one end, and finely reticu- 

 late, are about one-tenth of an inch long by three-fourths as thick. Because 

 of their large size the eggs are an easy prey to birds, and this perhaps 



