The twig girdler, O. cingulata (Say), is the most important eastern member of 
the genus. Its hosts include hickory, pecan, persimmon, elm, oak, honeylocust, 
hackberry, poplar, basswood, dogwood, sourwood, and various fruit trees. As a 
pest of pecan in the South it has been incorrectly referred to as Oncideres texana 
Horn, the pecan twig girdler (74/). Adults (fig. 134A) are grayish-brown and 
about 15 mm long. The front of the head is clothed with fine golden hairs; the elytra 
are clothed with fine gray hairs and are marked with scattered yellow spots. Full- 
grown larvae are up to 18 mm long. 
; Courtesy Duke Univ. Sch. For. 
Figure 134.—The twig girdler, Oncideres cingulata: A, 
adult; B, young hickory tree deformed by repeated 
attacks. 
Adults emerge in late summer and feed on the tender bark and tips of twigs of 
their host. The egg laying and larval habits are as described earlier for the genus. 
On heavily infested large trees dozens of branches may be girdled and severed; 
often, many of them hang on for long periods before dropping to the ground. Such 
trees are not only damaged severely but also are ragged and unattractive. Hickory 
seedlings are especially prone to attack and damage, often becoming distorted 
following attack (fig. 134B). Young pecan trees grown in plantations for timber 
purposes have had up to 22 percent of the terminals girdled in a single year (662). 
Honeylocust seedlings in nurseries are also subject to serious injury. Collecting and 
burning infested twigs and branches during the fall or winter is an effective method 
of control, provided that the trees to be protected are located at some distance from 
heavily infested stands. 
Oncideres pustulatus LeConte attacks sweet acacia, acacia, and mesquite in the 
Rio Grande Valley and other parts of the Southwest. 
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