464 MISC. PUBLICATION 657, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
leaves have opened, because some species of trees bleed if cut early 
in the spring. (Also see page 24.) 
The moth of the pitch-mass borer (Parhurmonia pini (Kellicott) ) 
is blue-black with the collar, a band on the fourth abdominal segment, 
the under side of the abdomen, and the anal tuft orange. The fore- 
wing is opaque and blackish, with a metallic blue or green reflection. 
The hind wing is thinly covered with black scales, and is transparent 
along the inner margin. The wing expanse is from 1 to 114 inches. 
This. species is found in Georgia and Tennessee, and north to (Canad. 
The food plants include white pine, pitch pine, and spruce. 
The eggs are deposited on the bark of the tree trunk in midsummer, 
usually near a wound or just below a branch. After hatching the 
larvae spend 2 or 8 years boring in the inner bark and sapwood causing 
2 considerable exudation of pitch which accumulates at the entrance 
to the gallery. The galleries are more or less transverse and wind- 
ing. Pupation takes place in the mass of pitch at the entrance to 
the gallery, and just prior to the emergence of the moth the pupa 
works itself partly out of the pitch mass so that the moth may emerge 
without becoming entangled in the pitch. The moths issue in June 
or July. Although this insect does not kill the tree, its galleries cause 
defects which lower the value of the trees for lumber. Artificial 
control is not practical in the forest. Mechanical means may be used 
in ornamental or shade trees, but are recommended only when severe 
infestations occur (p. 27). 
The moth of the persimmon borer (Sannina uroceriformis Wlkr.) 
is bluish-black, the palpi and base of the tegulae are sometimes orange, 
and the fourth segment of the abdomen is reddish on top, with a narrow 
blackish center line. The wings are opaque except for a small trans- 
parent area near the base of the hind wing. The wing expanse is 
about 1 to 114 inches. 
This species ranges from the District of Columbia to Kansas and 
through the Southern States. The larvae bore into the solid wood 
of the tap root and stem of persimmon, sometimes extending their 
burrows in the roots from 16 to 18 inches below the ground. They 
become fully grown late in April or May. Pupation takes place in 
cocoons composed of silk and frass in the burrows. The moths 
emerge from May to July depending on the climatic range. H. R. 
Johnston, of the Division'of Forest Insect Inv estigations, reported i in 
May 1938 that damage in a nursery in Tennessee appeared to be more 
severe in grafted plants. The nurseryman reported a loss of about 50 
percent of his persimmon plants in 1937 as a result of injury by this 
insect. For control] see page 28. 
The moth of the ash borer (Podosesia fraxini (Lugger)) is black 
with a wing expanse of % to 114 inches. The antennae are yellow- 
ish at the tip, the forewings are opaque, blackish brown, with a violet 
reflection and a red cross bar at the end of the discal cell, and the hind 
wings are transparent with a narrow black border. It is generally 
distributed, and has been recorded as attacking white, red, green, and 
European ash and sometimes the mountain- ash. The larvae bore into 
the trunk and branches, but more commonly into the trunk just below 
the surface of the soil. They are serious pests of shade trees and 
windbreaks, particularly in some of the prairie regions. Young trees 
are more seriously injured than large trees. Cutting and burning the 
infested parts is the only remedy. 
