Nov., 1909.] 
The Twig Girdler. 
3 
The Persimmon tree branches were girdled in the same man- 
ner as the Honey Locust. A grove of Persimmon trees near 
New Plymouth, Vinton County, was found in which all of the 
trees had been attacked. Figure 9 shows the method of the 
workman. This branch was one of the largest girdled branches 
found. A great many of the branches were in their natural posi- 
tion on the tree, and from the strength required to break them off 
I judge that under ordinary circumstances they would remain 
there a year longer. 
On this trip to Vinton County it was observed that the 
Hickorv and the Honey Lccust and the Linden were girdled 
and cut to about the same extent as they were in this com- 
munity. This would indicate that the beetle is widely distri- 
buted in this part of the State. 
Eggs : The eggs were imbedded between the bark and 
wood. The female makes the perforations generally under each 
successive side-shoot, but this is by no means the rule, for eggs 
are found imbedded in all parts of the branch. After the egg is 
deposited, the female closes the hole with a gummy secretion. 
The eggs are about two millimeters in length, (Fig. 1, e), of a 
whitish color, and long oval in shape. Those under observa- 
tion were probably laid in October and hatched about December. 
I have examined more than a thousand girdled branches, 
and in every case a peculiar scarring of the bark both above 
and below the notch extending about one inch in each direction 
was observed (Fig. 11 and Fig. 12). These scars were made 
by the female. After laying her eggs she digs with her powerful 
mandibles, transverse shallow grooves one-sixteenth to one- 
tenth of an inch long in the bark. There can be no doubt as to 
her purpose in doing this. It is a precaution taken to make 
doubly sure that the girdled branch will die, and do away with 
any possibility of the bark growing together and healing the 
wound. Just as far as these grooves extend up and down the 
stem, the bark dies. It is interesting to note that in addition to 
girdling the branch two inches of the bark is deadened. 
On some specimens these transverse grooves were observed both 
above and below the egg. This was especially true of the 
Hickory. The grooves extended along the probable course 
which the burrowing larva would take. This was not true for all 
eggs laid in the same branch. Several instances were noted 
where these grooves were made above and below the eggs which 
were laid away from buds and branches. It is done to deaden 
the bark and prevent growth from crushing the egg. Prof. 
Herrick mentions this in regard to O. texana, but he does not 
mention the grooves made both above and below the incision. 
We conclude that the species differ in this particular. 
