MAPL E BORER. Legged 1VIaple Borer. (.2Egeria Acerni.) This insect of late years has done extensive damage especially to shade maples in the West. Dr. C. V. Riley, in his sixth Missouri Report, says of this insect, that, vieing with the Flat-headed Borer in destructive ness, but generally following in its trail and ren dering naore conspicuous the damage which that species does to our shade maples, the insect under consideration deserves notice. It may be called the Legged Maple borer, because the pos session of sixteen legs, at once distinguishes it frorn the Flat-headed Borer. It is, indeed, in structure similar to, • and belongs to the same family as the common Peach-tree Borer, and the more common Current-stem Borer (2E. tipu liformis, Linn.). The cut shows that the worm burrows under the bark of our soft maples, feed ing on the inner bark and sap-wood and never penetrating deeply into the more solid heart wood. It is so numerous at times that it com pletely girdles, and thus kills outright, trees of consiaerable size; while smaller trees are weak ened, and rendered liable to be broken by wind, even where the worms are less nurnerous. The burrowings of the worm are filled with dark brown pellets of excrement, and cause the bark to crack open and loosen. The cocoon is loosely formed of white silk, and covered with the same brown excrement, and when about to give forth the moth, the chrysalis works its way partly out of the bark through a passage which, as larva, it has providently prepared, having left but the thin epidermis, which the chrysalis easily pushes through. The moth is a very pretty species,
particularly distinguished by the large anal tuft of bright orange-red hairs It appears to be very generally distributed over the country; though, as none of the older eastern writers on economic entomology refer to its injuries, we may infer that it does not attract the same attention in the Atlantic as it does in the Middle States. • The moths begin to issue from the trees the lat ter part of May, and continue to issue through out the summer. The worms are also found of all sizes, during this time, and throughout the win ter. I have always found the worms in such trees as have been injured, either by the work of the Flat-headed Borer, the rubhing of the tree against a post or board, or in some other way. Where the hark is kept smooth, they never seem to trouble it, the parent evidently preferring to consign her eggs to cracked or roughened parts. For this reason the worm is not found in the smoother branches, but solely in the main trunk. Whether the soap application will prevent the moth from depositing her eggs, is not known; judging from analogy, probably not. Yet it will tend to keep the bark smoother, and, in being used to shield the tree from the other borer, it will indirectly shield it from this one. Mr. Gen nadius recommends whitewashing the trunks, and filling up all holes and fissures with mortar, so as to render the bark as smooth as possible.