1 1-0 
AMERICAN AGRICULTtjRIST. 
Fig. 1—PIGEON TREMEX (.Tremex Columba )— perfect insect. 
Microscopic Views of the Insect World 
you see the light points, 
Fig. 1, are of a bright 
yellow—the remainder 
a rich reddish brown. 
She has seven ocelli 
(little eyes) between her 
large eyes. Her saw, h, 
Fig. 3, is a most effect¬ 
ive instrument. It is 
hidden under the ab¬ 
domen, covered with a 
sheath—it is only pro¬ 
truded its entire length 
when in use; this sheath 
is strongly toothed as 
well as the saw. When 
she has selected a tree, 
she bends her body and 
commences the hole 
with her borer, j, Fig. 4. 
When the orifice is 
large enough, she uses 
her saws — first hori¬ 
zontally, then length¬ 
wise, until the opening 
suits her in length and 
breadth. The instrument 
BY MRS. CHARLOTTE TAYLOR. 
PIGEON TREMEX— Tremex Columba. 
A few years ago this insect was considered 
very rare; collectors thought they obtained a 
prize when it was added to their cabinet. Of 
late years they are rapidly on the increase, and 
are establishing themselves on fruit trees, to the 
destruction of many orchards. The one here 
represented, I caught last September, making her 
tenth orifice in a foreign plum tree, which had 
been nourished and treasured by its owner for 
three or four years, in hopes of obtaining a grat¬ 
ifying result. I hear complaints of them from 
every part of the country. 
It belongs to the division Hymenoptera, first 
family Tenthredo—subgenus Tremex. It is a 
large insect, two inches in length; wings brown 
and semi-transparent, with two cubital cells ex¬ 
tending more than two inches; the mandibles, 
b, Fig. 2, trifid and strong; the antennae, c, 
Fig. 2, have fourteen joints ; the palpi, d , Fig. 2, 
are three-jointed. The legs have singular hooks 
Fig. 2—ft, Mandibles or jaws—c, Antennae— d, Palpi. 
which enable the female to grasp with strength 
the bark of the tree on which she is at work 
with her saw, The parts of the body where 
is then closed and drawn up in part, when 
an egg slides gently down into the cavity 
prepared for it, over which falls a drop of 
frothy fluid which protects the egg until it 
is hatched, which occurs in two or three weeks, 
when the depredation commences on the tree. 
The grub is cylindrical in shape at first, growing 
two inches, with a conical point at its tail, which 
enables it to push its way through the sawdust 
'? 
Fig. 3—ft, Saw and sheath— i, Borer. 
and excrement it accumulates in its burrow. They 
frequently remain over two seasons, boring their 
runs deeper and deeper, until the tree is com¬ 
pletely sapped and destroyed. Every fir and 
pine tree, some years ago, was touched with 
one or more of these depredators, but now they 
have commenced on fruit trees, and we must be 
on the lookout to stay their progress if possible. 
During the warm weather the larvae, m, Fig. 5, 
can be seen coming to their holes and protruding 
their hea Is as if to look round the world. They 
go into transformation by closing up both ends 
of their hiding places with sawdust, and spin¬ 
ning coarse, strong cocoons; here they remain 
over the Winter, coming out perfect insects in 
the latter part of July. 
Very luckily for us, sometimes the mother fly 
bores in with her saw to such a depth that she 
can not withdraw it, and consequently dies in 
the performance of her maternal duties. But 
our greatest dependence is on a small Ichneu¬ 
mon fly—the Pimpla vividus—Active Pimpla. 
Fig. 6. 
These flies are very numerous, depositing 
their eggs in the same holes with those of the 
Tremex, which in time come out and feed upon 
her larva, going into cocoon in the same orifices, 
and coming out in time, perfect insects. 
The ovipositor of this Ichneumon, is a 
[Ma?, 
Fig. 4—j, Insect commencing to bore—ft, Egg. 
saw within a sheath, like that of the Tremex^ 
It is necessary to enable her to penetrate the 
fluid dropped on the egg, which when dry be¬ 
comes firm and solid. This fly is black, has 
clear transparent wings, yellowish legs and an- 
m\ 
Fig. 5— m, Larvae in their holes. 
tennte. Often it thrusts its ovipositor to such a 
depth, that it is caught like the Tremex, and 
dies the same miserable death. 
The best mode of destroying these insects is 
to examine the trunk of the tree very carefully, 
and wherever a hole made by one, is found, 
thrust a knitting needle into it as far as possible; 
dip it frequently into a small bottle of turpen¬ 
tine, and close up the hole with a paste made of 
wood ashes finely sifted, mixed with salt. This 
remedy has never failed when carried out with 
care. If we reflect, we can see the use of these 
apparently obnoxious insects, in keeping down 
an exuberance of vegetation, destroying super- 
Fig. 6—Active Pimpla (Pimpla vividus.) 
abundant trees in our immense forests—thus 
making room for a younger growth. 
The progress of knowledge is slow. Like the 
sun, we can not see it moving; but after a while 
we perceive that it has moved onward. 
