This summer I found similar beetles infesting the bark of a 
young apple tree and sent some of them to Prof. H. A. Sur¬ 
face for identification. 
Extracts from his reply are presented herewith. 
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, 
DIVISION OF ZOOLOGY, 
Harrisburg, Pa., 
July 8, 1911. 
My Dear Mr. Jacobs: The insects which you sent us are the Fruit- 
tree Bark Beetle. There is no good remedy for them. These are also 
called Shothole Borers or Bark Borers or Bark Beetles. I enclose here¬ 
with a circular concerning them. * * * * 
It is very interesting to know that you have found that numbers of 
these Bark Beetles were fed to the young martins, apparently captured 
by the older birds while in flight. This is an important point in behalf of 
bird protection and especially martin colonization. The economic features 
of these birds should be emphasized. * * * * I congratulate you up¬ 
on your success in the distribution of your martin houses. This is doing 
well and will grow. Faithfully yours, 
H. A. Surface, 
_ Economic Zoologist. 
On our residence grounds stands three martin houses, 
where in previous years, sometimes as many as eighty pairs 
of martins have nested. The past summer over forty pairs 
nested. The colony was established in 1896,—four pairs 
nesting. With each succeeding year the colony increased 
steadily until 1905, when more than half the two hundred 
birds arriving were discouraged from nesting by continuous 
cool, wet weather, and left the neighborhood, never to re¬ 
turn. Since that date, my colony has never contained more 
than fifty nests. A larger number of birds arrive at the 
houses in early spring, but later, many of them go elsewhere 
to breed, presumably to the numerous new houses put up for 
them in the city or immediate vicinity. 
One of these houses stands in the center of the lawn be¬ 
tween my residence and one of the buildings in which our 
bird-house factory is conducted; one stands in the edge of 
the garden some eighty feet south of this one, and directly 
west of this is the third house, close the street and near the 
outspreading branches of large ornamental maple trees, 
which have not yet reached so near as to menace the house 
as a favorite summer home for the martins. 
