I92 REPORT OF THE FOREST, FISH AND GAME COMMISSION. 



The Scotch pine is often much injured by moths and beetles. Among the 

 former the large Pine Moth {Bombyx pini) does perhaps the most damage. The 

 caterpillars of this moth appear in August, eat upon the needles of the pine, go 

 into winter quarters under the surface of the soil, come forth again in March, 

 reascend the trees and feed upon the foliage till about the end of June. In bad 

 years the trees are defoliated, and even the buds are devoured, in which latter 

 case the crop is killed. 



The Pine-shoot Tortrix {Tortrix buoliand) is also troublesome. The eggs of 

 this moth are laid in the terminal buds, which, in spring, are eaten and. hollowed 

 out by the caterpillars. The trees are not usually killed, but are made very 

 crooked, as some one of the lateral shoots then becomes the leader. 



The Scotch pine is subject also to fungus diseases, which soon reduce the 

 wood to a quality fit only for firewood. One of the worst of these {Trametes 

 radiciperdd) causes a red-rot, attacking the roots and extending upward into 

 the stems. 



Another parasite {Trametes pini) is very abundant in the pine woods, causing 

 a so-called bark-shake, ring-shake or heart-shake. The injury begins at a wound 

 where, for instance, a branch has been broken off. It grows through the entire 

 tree, manifesting itself on the outside by a brown, bracket-like growth. 



The fir is chiefly injured by a fungus disease called " Krebs " (Acidium 

 elatinum) which shows itself in a swelling that often entirely encircles the tree. 

 The "Witches Broom," a thick, distorted growth of the branches, is caused by 

 the same fungus. 



The spruce is often injured during the first few years of its growth by a 

 beetle called Riisselkafer (Hylobius abietis), the larvae of which eat the bark, often 

 removing it entirely around the tree. Various devices are in use for collecting 

 the beetles, the following, being perhaps the most practicable: Pieces of bark 

 about eight or ten inches square are taken from trees and laid fresh on the ground, 

 the cambium side down. The insects come at night, go beneath the bark to get 

 the cambium and are caught and destroyed by the workmen early in the morning. 



The Nun Moth (Liparis monachd), so called on account of its plain black 

 and white colors, does great damage to the spruce. It also attacks pine, beech, 

 oak, birch and nearly all other species of trees. The damage to the broad-leaf 

 trees is, however, seldom fatal. The eggs are laid in July or August, on the stem, 

 beneath the scales of the bark. The caterpillars hatch out in April or May of 

 the next year, ascend the tree and commence feeding on the foliage. They 

 devour entirely the needles of the spruce, but bite off the pine needles at about 

 the middle and eat only the lower portion. 



