Show controlling THE APPLE BORER worming and painting the trunks of the trees are recommended to owners of apple orchards as efficient methods of dealing with the appletree apple tree borer in a new farmers bulletin no of the U S department of agriculture A heavy application oi of home paint that will not injure the trees but will remain in in i an all unbroken coat on thin the bark for two or three months Is effiec tive in preventing the female from laying her eggs in the tree and i greatly reduces the amount of worming or the removal of the insects with a knife and wire e done the ro gAd headed appletree apple tree borer the most destructive of a number 61 efi Amilar milar pest says its eggs in or under the bark of apple trees after hatching the larvae feed upon the inner triner bark and wood to ilich auch an extent that the tree is seriously we weakened or killed the pest is found over the whole of the eastern portion of the united states and as far west as nebraska kansas and new mexico in addition to fruit trees it feeds on service wild crab and mountain ash trees which makes it advisable for or chardis chartists ts to remove their orchard the female lays her eggs one at a time in an incision she has made in the bark usually just above the surface of the ground about 15 or 20 days later the eggs hatch and the larvae appear when full grown these are nearly an inch and a half in length they first attack the inner bark eating out broad more or less circular galleries and thrusting out through small holes in iii the bark castings which form little heaps of reddish wood fragments around the base of the tree during the wint ertho borers are quiescent but early in the following spring they attack the solid wood while some of them work their way up the trunk these last spend one more winter in the tree and then having passed through the stage dig their way out and emer emerge ge as adult beetles three years are required for the insect to complete its development from egg to adult ordinarily the beetle lives about 40 dr 50 days it is about three fourths of an inch in length likht light brown in color above with two broad white bands join joined ed in front extending the full length of the back the underpants under parts and front of the head are white the females rarely fly any considerable distance so that if the immediate vicinity of an orchard can be kept free from them there is little danger of a serious infesta infests tion the most common method of ridding an orchard of these pests is to cut away the bark sufficiently to trace the burrows made by the borer A hooked wire is then gen inserted into the burrow arid the insect pulled out if maie mace with care the wound in the tree caused by this process will heil heal readily the castings at the basat baab ol of the tree serve as an indication of the presence of the borers where the burrows are curved or obstructed in in some way so that the wire can not be inserted cotton batting dipped in carbon should be inserted and the hole then plugged with moist earth the gas from the carbon will penetrate all parts of the burrow and kill the borer in a addition to worming as this process is is called paint is often used to prevent the beetles laying their eggs pure white lead and raw linseed oil mixed rather thick will not injure the trees and when applied to young smooth bark will form a protective coat during the egg lay ing season it is probable that this i is s a more effective method than wrapping the trees with building paper cotton batting cloth or other materials sometimes used for this purpose before painting however the earth should bo removed from the base of the tree for a depth of from 3 to 4 inches the surface of the trunk thus exposed should be first scraped and painted and the earth then replaced this is necessary for the beetle occasionally sio nally lays her eggs under instead of above the ground 9 |