THE HUISACHE GIRDLER. 
of information has been placed on record of Oncideres cingulata 
Say. It appears that some of the early writers on the Onciderini 
mentioned only the genus Oncideres in writing of the depredations 
of the insects concerned. 
The first information received by the Bureau of Entomology in 
regard to the injurious appearance of Oncideres putator in this coun- 
try was in 1899 at Calabasas, Ariz. The report came from Mr. 
Morgan R. Wise, who sent specimens of mesquite (Pros o pis juli- 
flora) which had been girdled by the beetle, together with the state- 
ment that this tree was much injured by the girdler. The previous 
year the beetles had accomplished much damage, so that this year 
the girdled dead twigs snapped off. It was the opinion of the cor- 
respondent that, if this condition was continued, ultimately the 
mesquite tree would be exterminated by being so badly crippled as to 
preclude the possibility of its bearing fruit. Mr. Schwarz says that 
the beetles damage mesquite in western Texas and New Mexico, as 
well as in Arizona. 
The genus Oncideres has been discussed by a number of authors, 
but the writer has been unable to find, in literature on this group, 
any memoranda on the biology of the species in question. Dr. W. 
Muller 1 discusses the habits of Oncideres in South America, but 
mentions no specific characteristics, nor does he mention the occur- 
rence of Oncideres putator. He states, however, that the species 
which occur in Brazil frequently sever branches of a diameter of 2 
inches or more. 
Leng and Hamilton 2 state that Oncideres putator is probably 
synonymous with 0. cingulata Say. 
The species was originally described by Thomas, 3 but no biological 
notes are included in the description. 
FOOD PLANTS. 
So far as the writer has been able to observe, the species has in 
southern Texas five food plants, but the huisache appears to be pre- 
ferred and the other trees have never been found to be injured in any 
way comparable with the huisache. The following is a list of the 
plants or trees on which the species has been found feeding, as well 
as depositing : 
Huisache (Acacia famesiana), mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa), 
huajilla (Acacia oerlandieri) , ratama (Parkinsonia aculeata), and 
Mimosa lindheimeri. The host plants are here given in the order 
of preference by the insect, and no great amount of injury has been 
1 Miiiler, W. fiber die gewohnheiten einiger Onoideres-Avten. In Kosmos, Zeitschrift 
fiir die gesamte Entwicklugslehre, v. 19, p. 36-38, 1886. Stuttgart. 
2 Leng, C. W., and Hamilton, John. The Lamiinse of North America. In Trans. Amer. 
Ent. Soc, v. 23, p. 101-178, March, 1896. Oncideres, p. 140-141. 
3 Thomson, James. Physis, v. 2, no. 5, Paris, Aug., 1868. Revision des groupes des 
OncidSrites, p. 41-92. Oncideres putator, p. 81. 
