The Moths and Butterflies 
39 1 
through holes in the cane thoughtfully made by the strong-jawed larvae 
before pupation. The grape-vine-root borer, Memythrus polistijormis , looks 
much like a large Polistes wasp, having a dark body with two bright yellow 
Fig. 556. —Larva of peach-tree borer, Sanninoidea exitiosa. (After Slingerland; natural 
size and much enlarged.) 
narrow bands about the abdomen; the fore wings are brownish black, the 
hind wings clear; the larvae bore in the roots of wild and cultivated grapes 
and pupate underground. The raspberry-root borer, Bembecia marginata , 
is also very waspish in appearance, with its black body repeatedly banded 
Fig. 557. —Cocoons and empty pupal skins of the peach-tree borer, Sanninoidea exitiosa. 
(After Slingerland; natural size.) 
with yellow and transparent fore and hind wings. The eggs are laid on 
raspberry canes, and the larvae, first boring into the cane, finally work down 
into the roots. Squashes are often badly injured by having their stems 
tunneled by the larvae of the squash-vine borer, Melittia ceto, a Sesian with 
olive-brown fore wings, clear hind wings, and black or bronze abdomen, 
