0 



especially if young and not long planted out — at different times during the year, as well 

 as in the spring. 



3. The Buprestis Apple-Tree Borer (Chrysobothris' femorata, Fabr.) — Though 

 the apple-trees in many portions of Canada possess an immunity from the attacks of the 

 Two-striped Borer, there are few, if any, localities where more or less damage is not 

 inflicted by the Buprestis Borer, whose habits are very similar, and equally destruc- 

 tive. Like the preceding, it is the larva of a beetle, but of a totally different family ; 

 the former belongs to the long-horned beetles ( Cerambycidce ), distinguished by their long- 

 jointed antennse, while this is a Buprestian, belonging to a family (Buprestidce) whose 

 members have very small and inconspicuous antennse, and are remarkable for their 

 brilliant metallic colors. As may be seen in the accompanying 

 illustrations, the grub of the former (Fig. 2) is thick and cylin- 

 drical, while that of the latter (Fig. 3) is flattened, and especially 

 distinguished by the broadness of the fore part of its body. The pa- 

 rent insect is represented at the right hand side of the illustration (Fig. 

 3). By bearing these figures in mind, the reader will find no difficulty 

 in distinguishing the one pest from the other, should he be unfor- 

 tunate enough to be troubled with either of them. 



The natural history of the Buprestis Borer may be briefly related as follows : — The 

 egg is deposited by the female beetle in the chinks and crevices of the bark some time 

 during the early part of summer ; from this the young grub soon hatches, and works his 

 way into the soft sap-wood immediately beneath. Here he eats away, while the cavity in- 

 side becomes larger and larger, and he increases in size himself, gradually working upwards 

 until he becomes pretty well grown, when he bores into the solid heart of the wood, and 

 forms a fiattish burrow, corresponding to his own fiat form. Some assert that this borer 

 never leaves the sap-wood, to go into the harder interior ; but we have several times cub 

 them out of the very centre of the trunk of a young apple-tree, while others were at work 

 nearer the surface. "When several attack the same tree, as they generally do, their bur- 

 rows, of course, approach very near each other, and oftentimes so practically girdle it as to 

 cause its speedy death ; in any case, they very much injure its vitality, and bring on de- 

 cay. We know, indeed, of two young orchards, where more than half of the trees have 

 been greatly injured by this insect, while some were killed outright ; and we have heard 

 of a number of others that were similarly affected. In the spring of the year the grub as- 

 sumes its pupa or quiescent state, and comes out as a perfect beetle in the end of June, or 

 during July, when — unlike the previous species, which loves concealment — it may be 

 found basking on the tree-trunks in the hot sunshine. It is very lively when danger 

 threatens, and .will take wing in an instant if an attempt be made to catch it. Its black- 

 ish-brown color, and rough surface above, so much resemble the bark of the tree, that it 

 would easily escape the notice of ordinary observers ; but beneath it is of a beautifully 

 burnished dark copper color, looking as if made of metal, and under the wing-covers it is 

 bluish green. The Two-striped Borer attacks the tree, as a rule, only near the root, 

 though occasionally at the fork above ; the Buprestis Borer is not so particular as to his 

 locality, but attacks the whole trunk, and sometimes the limbs. They both prefer young 

 trees, probably because the bark is thinner, and more easily penetrated by the young grub. 



The presence of the grub in the tree may be detected by the discoloration of the 

 bark, and its flattened, dried appearance. All such spots should be opened with a knife, 

 and the inmate ruthlessly butchered on the spot. In young orchards all the trees should 

 be carefully examined two or three times during the year, especially in early spring, and 

 in the autumn, and all affected ones be promptly treated with an application of the knife. 

 This, however, is a somewhat slow and tedious process ; it is much easier to prevent the 

 attacks of the insect than to get rid of him when he has once effected a lodgment. An 

 excellent mode of doing this is by the application of soap, as recommended above in the 

 case of the Two-striped Borer, only remembering that the whole trunk is liable to attack, 

 and must therefore be soaped, and not merely the portion above the collar. Mr. Riley 

 states (1st Missouri Keport, p. 47) that "it attacks not only the apple, but the soft 

 maple, oak, peach, and is said to attack a variety of other forest trees; though, since the 

 Jarvse of the family to which it belongs all bear a striking resemblance to each other, it 



