328 MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
FIGURE 65.—White pine cones killed by Conopthorus coniperde. 
to wither and die when hardly half grown (fig. 65). The larvae 
feed on the scales, the developing seeds, and other tissues of the wilt- 
ing cones. The cones usually fall to the ground, and the young 
beetles emerge the following season. The damage to white pine cones 
is frequently severe. Some years 50 percent or more of the seed 
crop over large areas is destroyed, and in limited areas the destruc- 
tion may approach 100 percent. Where the infested cones fall to 
the ground, control by gathering and burning them can be readily 
practiced, but this measure is scarcely applicable over a large area. 
The white-pine cone beetle (Conophthor US coniper day aver- 
ages slightly more than 2.5 mm. in length, is shining black when 
fully mature, and is often very destructive to the cones of white pine 
(Pinus strobus l..). It occurs in eastern Canada and as far south as 
North Carolina. The red-pine cone beetle (C. resinosae) breeds in 
the cones of red pine (Pinus resinosa Ait.) and is known from Ontario, 
Maine, New Hampshire, and New York. C. taedae breeds in the cones 
of loblolly pine (Penus taeda L.) in Virginia. C. virginianae breeds 
in Virginia pine (Pinus virginiana Mill. ) in West Virginia. These 
beetles were discussed by Hopkins (236). 
Bark Beetles of Twigs and Small Limbs 
Small bark beetles belonging to numerous species of several gener: 
are grouped together under this general heading as a matter of con- 
venience. A number of the forms mentioned are not twig beetles in 
the stricter sense, since they may be found in the smaller or even 
