Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1882-08-04
ENTOMOLOGY.
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ENTOMOLOGY.
To the Geor0id State Horticultural SOcietu:
GENTLEMEN-In the discussion of nuts in the
catalogue at our last meeting several members
of the society concurred In the fact that many
of the pecan trees die down to the ground every
year and put up again the next year, and that
from this Interrupted growth many trees have
not borne fruir. 1t was suggested that the in
jury was caused by a worm.
was not prepared at that time to give the
true solution to the matter. In reply to my re-
quest Of members to observe and endeavor to
get the specimens of the insect am happy to
say that Mr.. A. J. Yates Of Pike county, and
Dir T. L. Kinsey. of Savannah, were very sue
cessful in procuring the beetles, and in sending
them to me with specimens of the twies in
which they had deposited their eggs. return
my thanks to these gentlemen for their kind
Subsequently Prof. T.. A. Steed, of Mercer
University, caught beetle on a hickory tree,
whose twigs were girdled and contained many
eggs. He brought me the beetle and samp. es
of the twigs.
MANY tWigs of a persimmon tree, on the
campus of Mercer University, were found lying
on the ground having fallen from being Cir
died, and containing many eggs.
Mr., Yates found them on English walnuts
and pecans, Mr. Kinsey on pears, Prof. Steed
on the hickory, and l gathered the girdled
twigs Of the persimmon. These are the only
trees which they are known to infest.
The beetle from the English walnut for
warded to Prof. G. Y. Riley, Entomologist OF
the Department of Agriculture at Washington.
He pronounced it the girdler, or OTctderes ctTs-
sltLGtus.
1t was first described by Say, the veteran
American enuomologist, in 1925, but its curious
habits were first observed and published by
Prof. Haldemau, Of Pennsylvania, in 1887. 1t
has been studied since by Messrs. Walsh and
Riley.
The girdler. or hickory twig girdler, as Prof
Packard calls it in his late bulletin No. z, is a
thick-bodied, long-horned, dark gray beetle,
sprinkled with tawny yellow dots. 1t belongs
to the family cerambycid9 of beetles, which
family includes most of the true wood borers.
1t is nearly allied to the apple tree borer, sap
erda bivlttata.
Prof. Haldeman says the beetles are found
in Pennsylvania during the last two weeks In
August and the first week ia September. Mr..
Yates forwarded me four beetles October II,
1881, and Mr. Kinsey two November z, and four
November ID, 1881. Their times Of appearance
are doubtless governed by the time of the first
frosts at various places. Mr.. Yates found at
least one pair together, and Mr. Kinsey says:
Il have always found them working in pairs,
never singly." Their iointed antenna are
quite as long as the bodyof the beetle, and are
USUALLY curved over above forward. The face
is verV long and nearly vertical. they are slow
motioned and their grave colors. long sober
faces and inouiring antenne glvs them a very
comical look They are usually engaged IN de-
posting their eggs when seen IN pairs on Vrees.
To effect this the female makes perforations In
the bark Of the small twigs, generally just below
the buds or side twigs. The editors OF the An1eTt
can E5atOJnoLO0iSt have counted IN perslm-
men branch not more than Two teet long, as
MANY sc eioht eggs, while they have found
seven ayos ali crowded together in a small
hickory Branch only three inches long" After
depOsiting an egg in eacn perIoraOon' he Ie-
male proceeds to gnaw groove around the
twe below the lowest egg tn the Nth tbe This
kills the limb above the groove, and, II sutd-
cientlv severed. the limb may fall to the ground
with the first high wind. some nmbs hang
longer on the trees so Ss,iI orII
tiOnS one that did NOT Tau unViA HOAA'y JOoV
Tn a short time the eggs hatch and the little
grubs begin to mine into the bark and wood.
found them thus engaged IN the t"lgs sent
me.
They eat away the sap wood in the early
wi ter and burrow up and down under the
bark, sometimes in small tw1gs, consuming all
W The Iapvsa are white, footless with strong
hIack mandates or jaws. By meas OF their
well-developed ring or segments tney are en-
abled 10 move quite rapidly In their noles. Inc
larvss in my twigs of walnut, pear perslmmon
and hickory have all disappeared, and proba-
hIv have died from the twigs becoming very
drv in the house. Two or three dozen round IN
the last week in persimmon ana nicKory wigs
taken from the ground under the trees are
naarlv tbraa- fourths of an inch long, hattened
EoIlovi3y the habits of the family, the larv %
finally construct sort OF eocVon VI ctlps az
the end of their burrows ana become pupee,
with their heads next place where VIII q they have
gnawed away the wood out 70 tlle IafA' nIoln
these nunaa issues the mature oeetle.
object Of Che dHgS s e he ia SrT 0e mST
bo1e jaaS ,Tood as food; they may not be
fitted to live on living wood Sec Sndly 60 cause cause
the limbs 10 fall to the earth, where she WOOD
NAV he Sant damp and commence to decay,
such habits Of this t yeTy y sngq tig In
sect By chipping every Iai 'nS yoJnS
in the limbs they calculated tSs to se esSnGt
fa{i - aS,.i their wonderful instincts. In
man we should cali this provision for young ing
fair degree Of reason, OF forethousnts u t ~
sign. the insect has not reason. but wnen gne
parent LAYS her eggs in green WOOD whicn I hsT
young cannot eat. and tlen ~ 81 80 * shaIi
fall, that the wood may keep damp and eeg IN
to moulder; and when the larys sess 1e1u yhS ~
the outcoming beetle may escape easny sa ~
all this without memory or reason c9,. ~ y. y
the aid-We are compelled 10 reiet al ealAS W
Heaven-given INSTINCT