River Falls journal. [volume] (River Falls, Pierce County, Wis.) 1872-2019, 1877-06-14
CULTURAL
BY J. ROSENBERGER 4 son.
ENTOMOLOGY.

As the science of entomology, as
connected with horticulture, is very
little understood by the masses, it
seems fitting to devote few articles
to this one subject. We will give
some extracts from a lecture delivered
before the Wisconsin Horticultural
Society, at Madison last winter, by
Prof. w. w. Daniels, of the State
University. Our subject this time is
THE RoUND-HEADED APPLE-TREE BoRER.
The following description is from
Riley's first Missouri Report
s'The average length of the larya
when full grown is about one inch,
and the width of the first segment is
not quite one fourth of an inch. It's
color Is light yellow, with tawny
yellow spot of more horny consistency
on the first segment, which under a
lens is found to be formed of mass
of light brown spots. The head is
chestnut-broWn, polished and horny,
and the jaws deep black. The pupa
Is of rather lighter color than the lar
va. and has transverse rows of minute
teeth on the back, and few at the
extremity of his body and the perfect
beetle has two longitudinal white
stripes bet xeen three of dark CHINA
mon color. The two-striped saperda
makes its appearance in the beetle
during the months of May and June,
and is seldom seen by any but the en-
tomOlogist who makes a point of hunt
ing for it, from the fact that 1T re-
mains quietly hidden by day, and flies
and moves only by night.
The female deposits her eggs during
the month of June, mostly at the foot
of the tree, and the young worms
hatch and commence boring into the
bark within a fortnight afterwards.
These young worms differ in no essen
tial from the full grown specimens,
except in their minute size; and they
invariably live, for the first year of
their lives, on the sap-woOd and inner
bark, excavating shallow, fat cavaties
which are found full of their Saw-duSt-
like castings. The hole by which the
newly-hatched worm penetrated is so
very minute that it frequently fills up,
though not till few grains of cast
ence of the worms may be detected,
especially in young trees, from the
bark, under which they lie, becoming
darkened, and sufficiently dry to form
cracks. Through these cracks some
of the castings of the worm generally
protrude, and fall to the ground in a
little heap, and this occurs more es-
pecially in the spring of the year,
when by the rising sap and frequent
rains, such castings become swollen
and augment in bulk.
Ii is currently supposed that this
bOrer peneurate5 into the hard wood
of the tree after the first year of it's
existence, whereas the hat-headed spe-
cies is supposed to remain for the
most part Immediately under the bark;
but find on these parts no rule can be
given, for the flat-headed species also
frequently penetrates into the solid
heart-wood, while the species under
consideration, is frequently found in
a full-grown state under the inner
bark, or in the sap-wood. The usual
course of its life, however. runs as fol-
lows: As winter approaches, the
ground worm descends as near the
doubtless remains inactive until the
following spring. On approach of the
second winter. it is about one-half
grown. and still living on the sap-wood,
and it is at this time that these borers
do the most damage, for when there
are four or five in a single tree, they
almost completely riddle it. In the
course of the next summer, when it
has become three-fourths grown, it
generally commences to cut cylindri-
cal passage upwards into the solid
wood, and before having finished its
larTal growth, invariably extends this
passage right to the bark, sometimes
cutting right through tree TO the OPP
posite side from which it commenced,
sometimes turning back at different
angles. 1t then stuffs the upper end OF
the passage with saw-dust, like pow,
der. and the lower with curly fibers of
wood, after which it rests from its la
bors. 1t thus finishes its gnawing
work during the commencement of the
third winter, but remains motionless
in the laryal state, until the following
spring. when it casts off its skin once
more and becomes pupa. After rest
ing three weeks in the pupa state, 1t
becomes a beetle with all its members
and parts soft and weak. These
gradually harden and in a fortnight OF
more it cuts its way through its saw
dust-like castings, and issues from the
tree through perfectly smooth and
round hole. Thus it is in the tree q
few days less than three years.
no BE coSTIEUED.)