/4 9* G ' f$/c*irf+'*J U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY— BULLETIN No. 94. L. O. HOWARD, Entomologist and Chief of Bureau. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS. CONTENTS AND INDEX Issued September 9, 1916. UNIV. OF FL LIB. DOCUMENTS DEPT. SKIN «fc U.S. DEPOSITORY WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1916, ADDITIONAL COPIES OF THIS PUBLICATION MAY BE PROCURED FBOM THE SUPERINTENDENT OF DOCUMENTS GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON, D. C. AT 5 CENTS PER COPY U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY— BULLETIN No. 94. L. O. HOWARD, Entomologist and Chief of Bureau. INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FORESTS AND FOREST PRODUCTS. DAMAGE TO CHESTNUT TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH POLES BY WOOD-BORING INSECTS. ' By THOMAS E. SNYDER, M. F., Agent and Expert. II. BIOLOGY OF THE TERMITES OF THE EASTERN UNITED STATES. WITH PREVENTIVE AND REMEDIAL MEASURES, By THOMAS E> SNYDER, M. F., Entomological Assistant Forest Insect Investigations. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1916. BUREAU OF ENTOMOLOGY. L. 0. Howard, Entomologist and Chief of Bureau. C. L. Marlatt, Entomologist and Assistant Chief of Bureau. E. B. O'Leary, Chief Clerk and Executive Assistant. F. H. Chittenden, in charge of truck crop and stored product insect investigations. A. D. Hopkins, in charge of forest insect investigations. W. D. Hunter, in charge of southern field crop insect investigations. , in charge of cereal and forage insect investigations. A. L. Quaintance, in charge of deciduous fruit insect investigations. E. F. Phillips, in charge of bee culture. A. F. Burgess, in charge of gipsy moth and brown-tail moth investigations. Rolla P. Currie, in charge of editorial work. Mabel Colcord, in charge of library. Forest Insect Investigations. A. D. Hopkins, Forest Entomologist in charge. H. E. Burke (in charge of Pacific Slope Station at Placerville, Gal.), Josef Brun- ner (in charge of Northern Rocky Mountain Station at Missoula, Mont.), T. E. Snyder, W. D. Edmonston (in charge of Southern Rocky Mountain Station at Colorado Springs, Colo.), F. C. Craighead, J. M. Miller (in charge of seed insect station at Ashland, Oreg.), and A. B. Champlain, assistants in forest entomology. L. C. Griffith, assistant in shade tree insects. S. A. Rohwer, specialist on forest Hymenoptera (in charge of Eastern Station at East Falls Church, Va.). A. G. Boving, specialist. C. T. Greene, specialist on forest Diptera. W. S. Fisher, specialist on forest Coleoptera. Carl Heinrich, specialist on forest Lepidoptera. Jacob Kotinsky, entomological assistant. William Middleton, scientific assistant. II PREFACE. Bulletin 94, entitled "Insects Injurious to Forests and Forest Products," consists of two parts and an index. Part I, "Damage to Chestnut Telephone and Telegraph Poles by Wood-Boring Insects,' ' by Thomas E. Snyder, comprises the results of a special study of a serious damage to the base of standing chestnut telephone and telegraph poles by the wood-boring larva of a beetle designated by the author as the chestnut telephone-pole borer (Parandra brunnea Fab.). Part II, "Biology of the Termites of the Eastern United States, with Preventive and Remedial Measures," by Thomas E. Snyder, is based mainly on investigations and experiments conducted during the past three years by Mr. Snyder in connection with his work in the Branch of Forest Insect Investigations. It also includes unpublished notes by Messrs. H. G. Hubbard and F. L. Odenbach. Termites are among the most destructive insects to both crude and finished forest products in North America, among which may be listed construction timbers in bridges and wharves, telephone and telegraph poles, hop poles, mine props, fence posts, lumber piled on the ground, railroad ties, and the woodwork of buildings. The sudden crumbling of bridges and wharves, the caving in of mines, and the settling of floors in buildings, are sometimes directly due to the concealed work of these insects. The use of untreated wood-pulp products, such as the various composition-board substitutes for lath, etc., is restricted in the Tropics and southern United States because of the ravages of termites. In the cities of Washington, Baltimore, St. Louis, Cleve- land, New York, and Boston, and throughout the eastern and south- ern United States, damage by termites to the woodwork of buildings is occasionally serious. Methods of prevention and control against injuries to finished and utilized forest products, etc., are based on the results of experiments conducted by this branch of the bureau. A. D. Hopkins, Forest Entomologist. CONTENTS. I. Damage to chestnut telephone and telegraph poles by wood-boring in- Page. sects Thomas E. Snyder. . 1 Object of paper 1 Historical data 1 The chestnut telephone-pole borer (Parandra brunnea Fab.) 3 Character of the insect 3 Distribution 4 Character of the injury 4 Importance of the problem 5 Extent of damage and loss 6 Favorable and unfavorable conditions for destructive work 6 Associated wood-boring insects 7 Prevention of the injury 8 Publications on wood preservation and statistics on poles 11 II. Biology of the termites of the eastern United States, with preventive and remedial measures Thomas E. Snyder. . 13 Introduction 13 Classification : 14 Historical 16 Biological experiments 20 The termitarium 20 Communal organization 22 Situation of the nests 22 Number of individuals in colonies 25 The different castes — polymorphism 27 The sense organs 31 The functions of the castes 32 The life cycle 33 The metamorphosis — caste differentiation 33 Progressive development of nymphs 36 Seasonal variations in the colony 43 Eggs 43 Nymphs of reproductive forms 43 "Neoteinic reproductive forms 44 Workers 44 Soldiers 45 Location of the colony in winter 45 Duration of development and life 46 Cannibalism 46 Situation of the different forms in the nest 47 The swarm, or so-called nuptial flight 48 The establishment of the new colonies 49 Copulation and the rate of egg laying 50 v VI INSECTS INJURIOUS TO FOREST PRODUCTS. II. Biology of the termites of the eastern United States, with preventive and remedial measures — Continued. Page. The royal pair and other reproductive forms 53 Occurrence in the United States : 53 Historical 54 Description of the reproductive forms 65 Dates of the swarming of Leucotermes 68 Association with ants 70 Termitophilous insects 71 Parasites 72 Summary and conclusions based on the results of the experiments 72 The damage to forest products 75 Preventives, remedies, and "immune" woods 76 Method of obtaining photographs for the illustrations 82 Bibliography 83 Index 87 ILLUSTRATIONS. PLATES. Page. Plate I. Fig. 1. — The chestnut telephone-pole borer (Parandra brunnea): Male and female beetles. Fig. 2. — The chestnut telephone-pole borer: Young larvae, dorsal and lateral views. Fig. 3. — Damage to an untreated chestnut telegraph pole near surface of ground by the chestnut telephone-pole borer 2 II. Work of the chestnut telephone-pole borer.' Fig. 1. — Gallery of the chestnut telephone-pole borer showing pupal chamber with the entrance plugged with excelsior-like wood fibers; work near base of pole below ground. Fig. 2. — Mines of the chestnut telephone- pole borer near surface of ground 4 III. All castes of Leucotermes virginicus in heartwood of a maple tree infested by Parandra brunnea 22 IV. Book destroyed by termites 22 V. Pine barn sill cut into ribbons by termites 22 VI. Living, stag-headed chestnut tree infested for entire length by ter- mites; the insects entered the tree at the base through a lightning scar and honeycombed the heartwood 22 VII. Views of sheds constructed by Leucotermes virginicus to cover up galleries exposed on cross sections of logs sawn from an infested maple tree « 26 VIII. Lateral views of fully developed nymphs of the first and second forms, and lateral and dorsal views of neoteinic kings of Leuco- termes flavipes 30 IX. The evolution of the soldiers of Leucotermes virginicus and L. flavipes from the large-headed worker-like larvae, showing the changes at the molts 34 X. Quiescent stages during the final molt of nymphs of the first form of Leucotermes flavipes and the active molted nymph with wings unfolding, lateral and dorsal views 38 XI. Quiescent stages during the final molt of nymphs of the second form of Leucotermes flavipes and the pigmented neoteinic king, lateral and dorsal views 38 XII. Fig. 1. — "Royal cells," in which true queens of Leucotermes flavipes were found. Fig. 2. — Royal chamber excavated in solid chestnut wood, in which 40 neoteinic reproductive forms of Leucotermes flavipes were found 46 XIII. Comparison of true and neoteinic or supplementary queens of Leuco- termes flavipes 58 XIV. Neoteinic reproductive forms of Leucotermes virginicus ._ 58 XV. Dorsal, lateral, and ventral views of neoteinic nymphal or supple- mentary queens of Leucotermes flavipes 62 XVI. Comparison of abdomens of young, fertilized, true queen and young and old mature kings of the same type of Leucotermes flavipes 62 XVII. Fig. 1. — Telegraph pole, with base charred, mined by termites. Fig. 2. — Pine flooring honeycombed by termites 74 VII Vni IXSKCTS INJURIOUS TO FOREST PRODUCTS. TEXT FIGURES. Page. Fig. 1. The chestnut telephone-pole borer {Parandra brunnea): Full-grown larva 3 2. The chestnut telephone-pole borer: Female beetle, head and pro- notum of male beetle ■ 4 3. The chestnut telephone-pole borer: Pupa 5 4. View of a portion of the large number of treated experimental stakes under test as to the relative effectiveness of various preventives against termite attack 19 5. Views of unfinished and finished termitarium, showing structure and interior with termite-infested wood 21 0. Wood of outer layers at base of insect-killed southern yellow pine honeycombed by termites . 24 7. Suspended tubes constructed by termites of earth and excreted wood. 26 8. Broken-off pine sapling from basal end of which tubes in figure 7 were suspended toward stump 27 9. Nymphs and soldiers of Leucotermes virginicus; young nymphs, and grayish-black bands on abdomen of worker of flavipes 29 10. Molting larvae of Leucotermes flavipes in the quiescent stage 34 11. Molting nymph of the first form of Termopsis angusticollis in the quiescent stage 39 12. View of a swarm of Leucotermes flavipes showing a portion of the enor- mous number of winged, colonizing sexed adults that constitute a swarm, emerging from an infested stump 48 13. Dorsal, ventral, and lateral views of a fertilized, mature, true queen of Leucotermes flavipes, showing the position of the spiracles 67 14. Red-oak block impregnated with paraffin wax honeycombed by ter- mites after a five months' test 78 ERRATUM. Page 10, footnote a. for Priorus read Prionus. UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 3 1262 09216 6221