46 LEPIDOPTERA. 



ous hairs, and they have no anal horns. They trans- 

 form in a rude, oblong, oval cocoon, constructed of the 

 chips they make in boring out their tunnels, cemented 

 by a gummy secretion. The pupje are chestnut- 

 brown, with transverse rows of short teeth on the ab- 

 dominal rings, by which they make their way out, 

 partly through the hole previously made by the larva 

 for the exit of the moth. The shell of the chrysalis is 

 often left protruding from the hole.'.' The family is 

 quite injurious to vegetation (i, 277). 



The Peach-tree borer, ^geria exitiosa Say. — This 

 insect has destroyed most of the peach trees in this 

 part of the country, and one can hardly find here a 

 peach tree that is not infested by it. The eggs are 

 oblong oval, dull yellow, and are deposited on the 

 bark of the tree near the ground. The larvae work 

 downwards in the bark of the root, where they often 

 completely girdle the tree. I have found them nine 

 inches below the surface. Their burrows become filled 

 with gum, which enables one to easily detect their 

 presence. When full grown the larva comes to the 

 surface of the ground and makes a cocoon of borings 

 fastened together with silk. These cocoons are usu- 

 ally placed against the side of the root, but they are 

 sometimes found in the ground several inches from the 

 tree. The perfect insects appear from May till Octo- 

 ber ; but nearly all the specimens that I have bred ap- 

 peared between June 28th and July 5th. 



Note great difference between the two sexes. (4, I., 

 108: 2, 331; 3, I., 47). 



Remedies. — Mounding the trees, see 5, I., 180; hot 

 water, 6, I., 27 ; remove earth with a trowel, and de- 

 stroy the larvae. 



