200 MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
The mines are loosely filled with granular frass, some of which may 
fall out and reveal their presence. This frass forms a distinguishing 
characteristic, being composed of tiny pellets and fine, powdery mate- 
rial. The usual larval feeding period is probably 3 years, but in many 
Instances it may extend to 5 years or more. Pine ‘and spruce wood- 
work and possibly the woods of other conifers, in rather dry situations 
are subject to attack and destruction by these larvae. The rafters 
and flooring in buildings, and bridge timbers are frequently so thor- 
ougly riddled as to neces ssitate replacement. The old house borer is 
becoming an increasingly serious pest in this country, eeaany with 
the more extensive use of second growth timber with its large propor- 
tionofsapwood. It does not attack the heartwood. Control measures 
for borers in seasoned timber will be found on pages 40-44. 
The cedar tree borer (Semanotus ligneus (F.)) isa rather flattened 
beetle from 7 to 16 mm. in length. The thorax is dark, rounded, and 
hairy, except for several shining spots on the disk. The elytra are 
sometimes black, but usually dark blue marked with yellow or orange. 
It is found throughout the United States, principally in cedars and 
junipers, but also in practically all coniferous trees, though rarely in 
pine. 
The larva is of shining texture having the head wider than long and 
the apex of the mandible rounded. There are no ocelli, but the cheeks, 
or gena, have many recurved bristles. The pronotum is rugulosely 
striate and the ampullae granulate. Legs are present. The larvae 
feed beneath the bark and on the sapwood of dying and recently dead 
cedars, tightly packing the mines with gr anular frass. 
The adults fly in the spring of the year, laying eggs beneath scales 
of bark of dying or recently cut trees. The galleries are excavated 
beneath the bark, deeply scoring the wood, and are tightly packed with 
eranular frass. Pupation takes place in a cell in the sapwood behind 
a plug of fibrous frass. The life cycle is completed in 1 year. Rustic 
work is often damaged. The insect may be controlled by measures 
outlined on page 38. 
The flower-loving long horns of the genera Zeptura and Anoplo- 
dera ave rather robust, sometimes elongate but usually more or less 
triangular-shaped beetles. They vary greatly in size, some being small, 
others quite large and nearly always prettily colored and hairy about 
the head and thorax. They are quick, active insects, usually found 
on flowers. The larvae are with difficulty separable from other re- 
lated genera and are treated as a group. They are elongate, cylin- 
drical, tapering posteriorly, and of rather smooth and shining texture. 
The head is circular, wider than long, strongly protruded, and the 
mandible is sharply pointed at the apex. From one to three ocelli are 
present. The pronotum is shining and the ampullae covered with four 
rows of shining tubercles. No spines are developed on the last seg- 
ments. The legs are quite large. The many species are widely dis- 
tributed throughout the United States, the larvae feeding in dead, 
usually moist, wood. 
The adults can be found on flowers from late in the spring until 
late in the summer. They lay the eggs in crevices of bark or wood in 
moist situations, and, as a rule, follow the attack of other insects. 
Little preference is shown for any particular species of host plant. 
The larvae feed from 1 to 3 years in the wood, excavating extensive 
