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Show r 1 UNDESIRABLE OAK PRUNING Watchful Care in Summer When Insec.s Lay Their Eggs May Save Our Shade Ttees. However desirable It may be to have n judicious pruning of our oak, we can hardly tmt to beetles to do he work as wo wish It done, and during the summer, of WOS Klaphidion certainly cer-tainly exceeded tho limit and caused . much anxiety to owners of oak trees In various parts of the country. Further, since' It sometimes attacks the apple and other quite valuable trees, it calls for some attention. During July one may observe beneath , oak trees many fallen twigs and in some instances sma. branches, with leaves still attached and generally withered, though sometimes still green. A glance into the tree will reveal possibly pos-sibly other twigs hanging suspended with wilting or wilted leaves, not yet dislodged by the wind. The pieces on tho ground, when examined, exhibit a clean cut or break at the v large end, and It one cuts Into tho twig with a knlfa a whitish worm is disclosed lying l;n tha burrow thus opened. This is the larva ot tho oak pruner, which when full grown la.a lllUe moro than onc-I onc-I holf'ln.ch long, and transforms into a tlackrsil or brownish black beetle of j about the eajne longth. Tho life history of this pest is such, r evidencing1 apparently marvelous in-! in-! Btina that it commands our admiration. admira-tion. ThO femalo beotle, acoording to XTttd-ntfrmaUy, lays her eggs in spring of rammer ona gTeen sucoulent twig Jirajo ajiglobstween leaf twig and leaf ;pfplk. T-bis dXIon afCc-cds tho youn? Wilder fooa of '.tho ruxht naturo, easily qbtAfittml. As tho larva grows older it i viofia into the- older wood. At this atone flra "Verm" la about half grown. According to the cbove writer and .ejthtrx this larva needs moisture to go thxough with its transformations to the pupal and later to tho imago stage. : tTttta evidently it could not obtain If CI6 twig reraaJned on tho tree. It tttctefOTO proceeds to cut off the twig 1 -itfitfth has afforded it a home so that ' fbJ;srin lie on the moist earth during aUtumn and winter. This is a very fafco operation, evidencing apparently, h& etated above, remarkablo instinct. ITftch claims that the entire larval Kid pupal stage is passed within tho twig. From personal observations, however, we arc led to believe that eucn may not always bo the case. . Our attention was called by a correspondent corre-spondent last August to the fact that many fallen twigs examined contained no worms. Later, in September, we noted this also, andwero not able to find a single larva in any twigs examined, ex-amined, a large number being cut open for examination. This con hardly be accounted for by the work of insectivorous birds,, since they would be unable to reach them in their burrows. In any event, tho larva Is In its burrow when tho twig first falls and can then be easily cared for. We therefore suggest tho following remedy: Colleot and burn all twigs cut off by this insect as soon as they are found on the ground in July or August Do not leave this work until the following fol-lowing spring. |