1086 THE BOOK OF GARDENING. 



Apple-Bark Beetle {Xyleborus dispar). — Though associated 

 in name with the Apple, this Beetle by no means restricts itself 

 to that tree, but is found also upon Pears, Plums, and other 

 trees. The insects are dark brown or almost black, and the 

 females measure about 3mm. in length, the males being much 

 smaller. The damage they inflict is by boring into the main 

 stems or into the branches, and in the case of young stock the 

 injury is frequently fatal, as the trees are completely tunnelled. 

 The eggs are laid in late spring, and if the gardener later notices 

 minute shot-like holes in the - trees, he should suspect the 

 presence of these insects. Such holes are really the exits 

 from the galleries. In Canada, where the insects are 

 plentiful, a wash made of soft soap and a strong solution of 

 washing-soda, the whole of the consistency of paint, is applied 

 on a warm, fine day. This, when dry, which takes place in 

 a few hours, forms a tenacious coating. A peculiarity in con- 

 nection with these insects is that in the galleries they make 

 grows a peculiar fungus, known as Ambrosia, and upon this they 

 feed. 



Cockchafers and their Allies. — Besides the Common May 



Bug, or Cockchafer (Melolontha vulgaris), the Lesser May Bug 



(Phyllopertha horticola) and the beautiful Rose-Beetle (Cetonia 



aurata), already noticed, are also destructive to many fruit trees 



and flowers. The first two are injurious in both the Beetle and 



grub state; but the last is a pest only as a Beetle. Rosaceous 



plants are most affected, and the Beetles feed upon the stamens 



and petals of the flowers of Apples, Pears, Strawberries, &c. ; 



upon the fruits ; and frequently upon the leaves. At any rate, 



this is so of both the May Bug and the Lesser May Bug. The 



larvse of these two insects feed also upon 



the roots of Strawberries, grass, Fir-trees, 



and a number of other plants. The grubs 



of the Cockchafer when mature rest in the 



position shown at Fig. 696, though when 



young they are able to progress by crawling. 



They are most difficult to get rid of, as 



directly frost appears the pests work down 



Fig. 696.— Grub of m tne soil to a place of safety. They live a 



Cockchafer. long time as larvae — three to four years — 



and even when they have arrived at the 



perfect insect stage they do not for some time afterwards 



emerge from their underground retreat. 



In the case of the May Bugs, little can be done by way of 

 remedies, except to shake the trees over boards covered with a 

 sticky preparation, afterwards collecting and destroying the insects. 

 Rooks, Starlings, and the domestic fowl all do an immense 

 amount of good, though the first-named in the case of infested 

 lawns tear up the grass to get at the aldermanic grubs. 



