INSECT ENEMIES OF EASTERN FORESTS 5S7 
Horntails are frequently attacked by interesting insect parasites. 
Two species, Megarhyssa atrata (F.) and M. lunator (F.), are striking 
in appearance and usually attract considerable attention whenever 
observed (fig. 171). These are called “long stings.” They are long, 
slender, wasplike insects with four membranous wings, and the female 
of each has an extremely long hairlike egg-laying device, which ac- 
counts for the common name. This apparatus 1s, however, not a sting 
but a drill for laying the eggs within a horntail gallery deep in the 
infested wood. It is composed of three separate pieces which func- 
tion together, both in piercing the wood and introducing the egg. The 
females of the “long sting,” like those of the horntails, not infrequently 
become caught with their ovipositor deep in the wood and remain 
captives until they die. 
Famity XIPHYDRIIDAE 
The family Xiphydriidae is composed of a small number of species. 
The adults are 14 to 34 inch in length and are black and yellowish or 
reddish, or almost entirely black. The antennae are setaceous and 
have about 20 segments, the back of the head is separated from the 
pronotum by an elongate neck, the pronotum is very short medially 
and not angulate laterally. The front tibia has only one apical spur, 
which is cleft at the apex, and the sheath of the ovipositor is seldom 
longer than the last tergite. The larvae are cylindrical, whitish, and 
about 84 inch long when fully grown. The thoracic legs are fleshy, 
not well formed and not jointed, and there are no abdominal prolegs. 
The abdomen terminates in a distinct brown prong, which is semi- 
circular and concave and ornamented with teeth on the underside. 
The larvae bore into and make galleries in moderately sound to 
partly decayed wood of dead basswood, birch, hickory, American 
hornbeam, or maple. Their work may aid somewhat in the penetra- 
tion and distribution of wood-destroying fungi. Little information 
is available on the biology of these insects; however, the adults are 
known to emerge from the wood from early in the summer to midsum- 
mer, and shortly after emergence to lay their eggs in similar suitable 
wood. The following species occur in the Northeastern States: 
Xiphydria abdominalis Say attacks basswood; X. a/bicornis Harr., 
sugar maple; X. attenuata Nort., birch; X. erythrogastra Ashm., 
American hornbeam; XY. Aicor7ae Roh., hickory; X. maculata Say, 
maple; X. mellipes Harr., birch; X. provancheri Cress., birch; and 
X. tibialis Say, elm. These insects usually are not abundant, but if 
for any reason it seems advisable to combat them, the collection and 
the destruction of the infested wood is recommended. 
Famity SIRICIDAE 
The Siricidae are medium to large cylindrical insects with the head; 
thorax, and abdomen of equal width. They have long, filiform anten- 
nae with about 15 segments, well-developed wings, and the anterior 
tibiae each with only one apical spur, which is cleft at the apex. The 
adults are mostly black or metallic dark blue, or have combinations 
of black, red, and yellow. The females are provided with long ovi- 
positors and sheaths. Eggs are deposited in the bark or wood of 
many kinds of trees and shrubs. The larvae are usually cylindrical 
