146 



i^TJURIOUS li^^SECTS 



and covered with small rasp-like prominences. The 

 wing-covers are also rough-punctured, and while in the 

 female (fig. 96, a), they have but a slight keel-like eleva- 

 tion at the hind end, they are furnished in the male (fig. 

 96, b), with two little horns, from which characteristic 

 the specific name (two-tailed) is derived. 



The holes made in the twigs, generally have their en- 

 trance just above a bud or fork as at figure 97, c. This 

 insect is not known to bore more than an inch and a-half 

 into the twig (fig. 97, d), and the holes are generally 

 made downwards, and in the wood of the previous year's 

 growth, though they are sometimes exceptionally bored 

 upward and in three-year old wood. The beetles seem 

 to prefer some particular varieties, such as Benoni and 



a b 



Fig. 96.— APPLE-TWIG 

 BORER. 

 a Female ; h, Male. 



Eed June, to other varieties of the Apple, and though 

 they likewise occur in Pear and Peach stems, and in the 

 Grape, they have not been found in those of the Crab-apple. 



Both the male and female beetles bore these holes, and 

 may always be found in them, head downwards, during 

 the winter and spring months. The holes are made for 

 food and protection, and not for breeding purposes. In- 

 deed, common as this insect is, its preparatory stages are 

 entirely unknown, and whoever will ascertain its larval 

 history, will confer a favor on the community. 



The bored twigs almost always break off by the wind, 

 or else the hole catches the water in spring and causes an 

 unsound place in the tree. If the twig does not break 

 off, it withers and the leaves turn brown. The only way 



Fig. 97. — APPLE-TWIG BORER, 

 c, Puncture ; d, Interior of Stem. 



