828 



The Cherry Stem Borer. 



[JAN., 



THE CHERRY STEM BORER, SEMASIA 

 WOEBERIANA, SCHIFF. 



Walter E. Collinge, M.Sc, F.L.S., F.E.S. 



During the early part of 1908 my attention was drawn to the 

 damage occasioned to cherry trees in various parts of Kent by 

 the larvae of a small moth commonly known as the Cherry 

 Stem Borer, and later to similar damage to cherry trees in 

 Hertfordshire. The pest increased during 1909 and 1910, and 

 as the known remedial measures have only proved partially 

 successful, various experiments have been made, an account 

 of which is now given. 



This insect has long been known to economic entomologists, 

 Kollar 1 gave an account of it in 1837 ) it is ; also mentioned by 

 Taschenberg, 2 Stain ton, 3 Kaltenbach, 4 and other writers. 

 Wilkinson 5 records it from the Edinburgh and Belfast 

 districts, and Theobald mentioned it in 1897, 6 in his annual 

 reports for 1906, 1907, and 1908, and again in his work on 

 Fruit Tree Pests. 7 I have failed to find any reference to 

 it in the writings of Westwood, Curtis, Whitehead, or 

 Ormerod. 



I am informed that it has been seen in past years in some 

 parts of Worcestershire, but I have no personal knowledge of 

 it beyond its occurrence in the two counties mentioned above. 



, Trees Attacked and Damage Done. — Whilst the cherry 

 seems to be more prone to attack than other trees, this insect 

 has also been recorded as attacking almond, apple, laurel, 

 nectarine, peach, and plum trees. 



The damage done consists of borings made through the 

 bark into the sapwood. Often these are very small, but when 

 a tree is badly attacked large cavities are formed, two to four 

 inches in depth and about the same width, extending from 

 about one to three feet in length. Trees so infested are fre- 

 quently attacked by fungi, the lower part of the stem quickly 

 rotting and finally dying. 



Life History and Habits. — The moths of the first brood 

 appear in May and June, and the females deposit their eggs 



1 A Treatise on Insects injurious to Gardeners, etc., Eng. Trans., 1840, p. 236. 

 2 Prak. Insekten-kunde, 1879, ii., p. 220. 3 Man. Brit. Butterflies and Moths, 1859,. 

 vol. ii., p. 241. 4 Pflanz. Klasse der Insekten, 1874, pp. 150, 168, and 193. 

 5 British Tortrices, 1859, p. 196. 6 Journ. Bd. Agric, 1897, p. 165. 7 Insect 

 Pests of Fruits, 1909, p. 188. 



