66o 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



State, has been recorded as infesting the roots of pine and spruce, and is 

 evidently widely distributed in the northern United States and Canada. 



Blue pine borer 



Callidium antennatum Newm. 



A bluish, flattened beetle about inch long, is common in early spring on pines. 



This pretty borer was bred in large numbers from a young dead pine 

 taken at Karner, Ap. 17, 1903, at which time larvae, pupae and adults were 

 present. 



Description. The beetle may be easily recognized by its blue or violet 

 color and black antennae and legs. It is about y 2 inch long, flattened, eyes 

 coarsely granulate, strongly emarginate, almost divided ; thorax broad, 



rounded laterally ; wing covers rather 

 coarsely corrugated. This species may 

 be separated from the closely allied C. 

 janthinum Lee, according to Wick- 

 ham, by the impressions on the thorax 

 and its finer punctures. 



Life history. The beetles occur in 

 early spring, at which time they may be 

 cut out of their burrows or collected from 

 pine foliage. The boring by the larva 

 is somewhat characteristic, being a broad, 

 wavy channel just under the bark and largely confined to wood that is 

 quite dry. Frequently considerable proportions of the sapwood are eaten 

 away, so that only ridges remain as illustrated on plate 61, figure 3. The 

 life cycle is probably completed in one year. 



Food plants. This insect is a common borer of the pine, and has also 

 been recorded from red cedar. Dr Walsh was of the opinion that the 

 cedar-inhabiting form was simply a phytophagic variety. 



Distribution. This insect probably has an extended distribution in 

 America, since it has been recorded in various local eastern lists, and from 



Fig. 189 Callidium antennatum, en larged 

 (original) 



