474 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



Saperda concolor Lec. 



Girdling the trunks of sapling poplars or running a mine around them, causing a 

 swelling twice the diameter of the tree, the larva of a cylindric slaty gray beetle j& inch 

 long. 



Life history. The insects appear from the last week in May till after 

 the middle of June and select for oviposition the smaller canes of dwarf 

 willow. The beetle gnaws a longitudinal incision through the bark about 

 y± inch in length and deposits an egg in each end. Several are usually 

 made in the same cane some distance apart and these often cause its death 

 the following year. A warty, gnarly swelling occurs around each incision. 

 The young larvae bore nearly to the center of the smaller canes, while the 

 larger ones are from one third to one half girdled, the gallery being marked 

 by a rough, annular swelling. 



Distribution. This species ranges from Canada south to Texas and 

 from Massachusetts westward probably to the base of the Rocky mountains, 

 since it has been recorded from New Mexico. 



Bibliography 



1904 Felt, E. P. & Joutel, L. H. N. Y. State Mus. Bui. 74, p. 73-76 



Saperda populnea Linn. 



A small brown or black coarsely punctured beetle about inch long may be bred 

 from galls of balsam poplar. 



This European species occurs on the Pacific coast and is of interest 

 because it has two varieties, moesta Lec. and tulari Felt & Joutel. 

 The latter variety is western, the former occurs in New York and ranges 

 from Canada to Wyoming south to Pennsylvania. Our form is a small 

 blackish beetle ranging in length from about V% to a little over T / 2 inch, the 

 larger being females. This variety occurs in balsam poplar, and though it 

 has been reported from the vicinity of New York city, this record is proba- 

 bly founded on an erroneous identification, and the species taken about 

 New York city is really S. concolor Lec. 



