U. S. D. A., B. E. Bui. 94, Part I. F. I. I., December 31, 1910. 
INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS. 
DAMAGE TO CHESTNUT TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH 
POLES BY WOOD-BORING INSECTS. 
By Thomas E. Snyder, M. F., 
Agent and Expert. 
OBJECT OF PAPER. 
It has recently been determined through special investigations 
conducted principally by the writer that serious damage is being 
done to the bases of standing chestnut telephone and telegraph poles 
in certain localities by the grub or larva of a wood-boring beetle, 
here called the chestnut telephone-pole borer. a The character and 
extent of the damage under different conditions of site in several 
localities have been determined, and poles treated with various pre- 
servative substances have been inspected to compare the efficiency 
of both chemicals and methods of treatment. These investigations 
have resulted in the determination of practical methods of preventing 
injury to poles by wood-boring insects. 
HISTORICAL DATA. 
The first information of serious damage to standing chestnut poles 
by wood-boring insects was conveyed in a letter, dated December 
15, 1906, from E. O. Leighley, a correspondent of this Bureau, 
reporting damage to telephone poles in Baltimore, Md., by borers. 
Mr. A. B. Gahan, assistant entomologist of the Maryland Agricul- 
tural Experiment Station, College Park, Md., who investigated the 
injury to the poles, stated that it was the work of a borer and was 
located just beneath the surface of the ground. Mr. Gahan brought 
specimens of the work and the insect to this office. The borers were 
identified as cerambycid larvae, and later were determined to be the 
chestnut telephone-pole borer (Parandra brunnea Fab.). 
On December 16, 1906, Mr. H. E..HoDkins, division superintendent 
of a telephone company, stated that the poles in West Virginia were 
"Parandra brunnea Fab.; Order Coleoptera, Family Spondylidee, 
64271°— Bull. 94, pt. 1— 10 
