Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-07-19
THE ELM LEAP BEETLE.


Tho Irj.ry While. III. Tree. Of Lancaster
Little Pest.
Lancaster Farmer.
We do not like to sound false or un-
necessary alarm, but We fear that many of
the finest elm trees of the city Of Lancas-
ter will have ultimately to fall victims to
the pestiferous attacks of this perseverins
and incOrriSible pest, for they are present
again in greatly increased numbers, and
some Of our citizens despair OF saving
their trees. We cannot say exactly
that this is their own faults, for
when Il number Of very large trees be-
come seriously infested by them from the
lOwermost to the tOpmOst branches, it
would be a herculean labor to apply q REM
edy for their destruction, no matter how
effective it might be where they are easily
accessible. Spraying the trees with liquid
Paris green, or London purple. would
prove an etfectual extinsuisher. but it
would require reservoir Of it and steam
engine to drench adozcn of trees Of from
10 to 80 feet in height. and really there
would seem to be no other way
but to cut them down. The '.Elm-leaf
Beetle (Gdleruca ranthOm0lend) first
appeared ON the trees in Lancaster city in
|
they have been gradually increasing. In
1878 they were very bad. and in 1879 much
worse. 1t is true, no great vigilance was
observed, and very little energy manifest
ed in their destruction. For the most
part, people looked on them with vacant
gaze, wondering where in the world
they came from, where they would
go to, and what would be the end Of
| them. When trees stand where there il
no grass or rubbish ut the base, but i;
pavement or hard, smooth earth instead,
| the great bulk Of these insects could be
easily destroyed when the larvH come
down OFT the trees to pupate, but they d"
not all come down, for many of them pu-
pate i'll the crevices of the rough bark on
| the trunk and larger branches. But with
| 4 stiff brush-such as is used in clean
ing out gutters-aId u wash of strong
whale oil soap, or IN alkali. these could
| be crushed, dislodged and destroyed
In our walks through the city in 1878 We
| saw places where two or three quarts of
the pup;e of these insects could have been
gathered from the base of single large
tree during tho season. Some Of them.
it is presumable, were swept tOget her and
destroyed about once day. but many were
only swept into creviccs between the
bricks of the pavement or other safe le-
treats where they remained safe from sub
sequent mOlestatiOn until they had changed
to beetles. The pup:e are very conspicuous
and also very accessible, for they are then
quiescent and of lemon yellow color. The
beetles are of clay color. with a dark
stripe on each wing cover, and about hall
or thpe-eighths of an inch in length.
These have ample wings and do not re-
main long where they evolve from the
pupr, but fly off and settle upon the fol-
age of the trees. to go through the process
of another brood. Doubtless many of the
second brood perish simply because the
trees have been SO denu'led by the fl; st
brood that they do not find sufficient fo;sl
for their development, but what do ma
tnre pass their winter Information in any
convenient place they can find. In the
city many get into the stables, OuthOuses.
or even into mansions.
These insects are Il foreign importation.
and first appeared near Baltimore about
sixty years ago, and on that occasion all
the elm trees in u park had to be cut
down before their progress could be az
rested. This, it appears, was also the case
in certain locality in Massachusetts, and
it may be the case here, unless a more Sys-
tematic effort to destroy them is made
| than has obtained heretofore, or their
career is brought to an end through the
intervetiOn of some meteorological or eli
matte phenomenon independent of hunitn
| effort