INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE PEAR. 



ATTAOKITO THE TEUNK. 



No. 65. — The Pear-tree Borer. 



JSgeria pyri (Harris). 



This IS a whitish grub, resembling that of the peach-tree 



borer, but much smaller, which feeds chiefly upon the inner 



layers of the bark of the pear-tree. Its presence may be 



(Jetected from its habit of throwing out castings resembling 



fine sawdust, which are readily seen upon the bark of the 



tree. Before the larva changes to a chrysalis it eats a passage 



through the bark, leaving only the thinnest possible covering 



unbroken. Retiring towards the interior, it changes to a 



chrysalis, and late in the summer the chrysalis wriggles itself 



forward, and, pushing against the paper-like covering which 



conceals its place of retreat, ruptures it, and, projecting itself 



from the orifice, the moth soon bursts its prison-house and 



escapes, leaving nothing but the empty skin behind it. 



The moth (Fig. 146) is somewhat like a small wasp, of 



a purplish or bliiish-black color, with three golden-yellow 



stripes on its abdomen ; the edges of the collar. 



Fig. 146. the shoulder-covers, and the fan-shaped brush on 



the tail are of the same golden-yellow hue. The 



wings, which, when expanded, measure more than 



half an inch across, are clear and glass-like, with 



their veins and fringes purplish black, and across 



the tips of the fore wings is a broad dark band with a coppery 



lustre. The under side is pale yellow. 



Remedies, — The trees should be examined in the spring, 



and if evidences of the presence of these larvae are found, 



they should be searched for and destroyed. As a preventive 



measure, paint the trees with the mixture of soft-soap and 

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