INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS PAINS: 
matures each year, the beetles appearing in June. The young larvae 
feed from 4 to 6 weeks beneath the bark, then enter the sapwood and 
completely destroy it. The pupal cell is constructed near the surface 
of the wood, the adult gnawing the exit hole. 
Frequent serious loss 1s reported of ash, hickory, and oak logs left 
exposed during the flight of these insects. Only unseasoned material 
containing bark is attacked. Cuts of over one million feet of ash logs 
completely destroyed by these borers have been observed. For control 
see page 38. 
The Oberea beetles are very slender, elongate, cylindrical stem 
borers of variable size. The front is moderately convex, the eyes are 
emarginate, and the antennae are not longer than the body. The 
thorax is cylindrical and unarmed but ustially bears spots ‘of con- 
trasting color, and the last joint of the hind tarsus is rather long. 
The larvae are very elongate, slender, and cylindrical, having the 
head longer than wide, and nearly circular in cross section. The 
pronotum is posteriorly armed with strong recurved asperities and 
bears two dark, oblique, deeply impressed lines. Also the ampullae 
project prominently and bear fine erect asperities. Practically all 
the species are of economic importance, and control, where needed, 
may follow the suggestions given on page 24. The adults can be 
recognized by the color pattern n and the larvae by host plant and habits. 
Oberea ferrugimea Casey, the willow-branch borer, is a uniformly 
pale reddish beetle from 10 to 11 mm. in length, having four black 
spots on the thorax arranged in a semicircle and a dark spot at the 
humeral angle of each elytrc on. ‘The larva feeds in the stems of willows, 
hollowing out the center and ejecting the frass. The egg scars are 
characteristic, shaped like a horseshoe. The smaller branches of 
willows are sometimes killed in the Rocky Mountain and Plains 
regions. 
The adult of Oberea ocellata Hald., the sumac-stem borer, meas- 
ures from 13 to 15 mm. in length and the underside of the body, the 
head, and the thorax are red, and the thorax has two black spots on 
the disk. The elytra are black. The larva feeds in the stems and 
roots of sumac, girdling the plant at the surface of the ground. It 
occurs throughout the Eastern and Central States. After the new 
growth of the sumac is fully formed the adults appear and girdle 
these tips. Just beneath this girdle an egg is placed. The young 
larva bores down through the pith to the roots, where it feeds for 
two seasons, excavating long tunnels in the center of the roots. Much 
frass is exuded through an opening near the surface of the ground 
and from holes along the stem (fig. 54, G’) 
In the fall of the second summer the plant is cut off near the sur- 
face of the ground by an oblique incision, and the stub is plugged 
with a wad of frass. A short distance beneath this plug pupation 
takes place the next spring. In plantations of ornamentals this insect 
can be of considerable economic importance. Sumac ae are 
frequently injured by the cutting off of stems from 14 to 84 inch in 
diameter. 
Oberea myops Hald., the rhododendron stem borer, is from 12 to 
16 mm. in length. It is a pale yellow, with two black spots on the 
thorax and only the margins of the elytra darker. The head is yellow. 
The larva feeds in the stems of rhododendr on, laurel, azalea, and re- 
792440°—_49—_17 
