Insects Attacking the Pecan 177 



BORERS 



The commonest species of borers attacking the trunks and 

 larger limbs of the pecan are the flathead borers {Chryso- 

 hothris femorata, Fob.) and the Cossid borer {Cassula nvag- 

 nifica, Stecker.). The flathead borers are the more destructive. 

 The adult of this species is a flat dark beetle. The larvae bore 

 into the bark and feed on the cambium, which is the most 

 vital part of the trunk. When a number of the larvae attack 

 a tree, especially a small one, they are likely to destroy the 

 cambium layer all the way around and kill it outright. The 

 attacks of this borer may be located by cracks and depres- 

 sions! in the outer bark. About the only remedy known at 

 this time is to dig out the borers and paint the wounds with 

 pine tar or white lead paint. 



The adult of the Cossid borer is a moth sometimes spoken 

 of as the roundhead pecan borer. The larvae bore deeply into 

 the body of the tree. Their attacks are easily located by 

 quantities of reddish-brown castings at the base of the in- 

 fested tree. Pupation takes place in the burrows and the 

 moth comes out in the spring. These borers can be destroyed 

 easily in the burrows by injecting a few drops of carbon 

 disulfide by means of a medicine dropper, and then plugging 

 the hole with a small piece of wax or stiff moistened clay. 



'Svood-lice" or termites 



{Leucotermes californica, KoUer.) 



Termites — wood-lice or white ants, as they are called — feed 

 largely on dead and decaying wood, and may be found under 

 the bark of felled trees and in the decaying twigs scattered 

 about in the litter where a fair degree of moisture is main- 



