THE PEAR-TREE BORER. 
335 
yellow. The wings expand three quarters of an inch, or a 
little more. 
Some years ago, it was ascertained that a species of 
JEgeria inhabited the pear-tree in this State; and it is said 
that considerable injury has resulted from it. An infested 
tree may be known by the castings thrown out of the 
small perforations made by the borers, which live under 
the bark of the trunk, and subsist chiefly upon the inner 
bark. They make their cocoons under the bark, and change 
to chrysalids in the latter part of summer. The winged 
insects appear in the autumn, having, like others of this 
kind, left their chrysalis-skins projecting from the oriflce 
of the holes which they had previously made. In its winged 
form, this JEgeria is very much like that which inhabits 
the currant-bush; but it is a smaller species. It was 
described by me in the year 1830, under the name of 
JEgeria Pyri (Plate V. Fig. 5), the pear-tree JEgeria 
and my account of it will be found on the second page 
of the ninth volume of the “ New Eno-land Farmer.” 
Its wings expand rather more than half an inch; are 
transparent, but veined, bordered, and fringed with purplish 
black, and across the tips of the fore wings is a broad dark 
band glossed with coppery tints ; the prevailing color of the 
upper side of the body is purple-black ; but most of the 
under side is golden yellow, as are the edges of the collar, of 
the shoulder-covers, and of the fan-shaped brush on the tail, 
and there is a broad yellow band across the middle of the 
abdomen, preceded by two narrow bands of the same color. 
There are several more insects ^ belonging to this group 
in JNIassachusetts, one of which lives in the stems of the 
lilac, and another inhabits those of the wild currant, Ribes 
floricl'din. The winged male of the latter species is remarka¬ 
ble for the very long, slender, and cylindrical tuft or pencil 
at the extremity of the body. Of the rest, there is nothing 
particularly Avorthy of note. 
* See Sllliman’s Journal, Vol. XXXVI. pp. 309 to 313. 
