ORCHARD INSECTS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST 



31 



Boxelder Bug 



Occasionally clusters of flat bugs, black with red lines and about 

 one-half of an inch long, are found feeding on the maturing fruit 

 (fig. 35). These are 

 boxelder bugs (Lepto- 

 coris trivittatus (Say)), 

 which occur chiefly in 

 the vicinity of boxelder 

 trees. They are some- 

 times mistaken for tar- 

 nished plant bugs, but 

 may be distinguished by 

 their larger size and 

 conspicuous coloring. 

 The adults hibernate in 

 swarms in crevices 

 about trees and build- 

 ings, and the young, 

 which hatch from eggs 

 laid in the spring, feed 

 on the boxelder trees 



Control consists main- 

 ly in prevention. Box- 



Figure 34.- 



-Young pears injured by tarnished 

 plant bug. 



elder trees are of two kinds, those that bear seeds and those that do 

 not, and only the latter should be planted, as the bugs live mostly 



on the former kind. 

 If seed-bearing trees oc- 

 cur in the vicinity of 

 orchards, they should 

 be replaced with other 

 kinds of shade trees if 

 possible. The hiber- 

 nating adults may be 

 destroyed with a spray 

 of kerosene or strong 

 oil emulsion. 



Climbing Cutworms 



In the spring, or- 

 chardists sometimes find 

 that the opening buds 

 on their trees are being 

 eaten into and often 

 entirely devoured, al- 

 though no insects ca- 

 pable of causing the 

 injury are visible. A 

 careful search among 

 Figure 35. — Boxelder bugs feeding on apple. ^e l eav es or trash at 



the base of the tree will probably disclose the culprits. They are 

 climbing cutworms, smooth, grayish-brown or blackish, greasy 

 looking worms, usually curled up but ranging in length from }{ to 

 l}{ inches when stretched out. They lie quietly just beneath the 



