apple tree borer

noun

Also called flatheaded apple tree borer. the larva of a metallic wood-boring beetle, Chrysobothris femorata, that bores into the wood of apple and other fruit trees.
Also called roundheaded apple tree borer. the larva of a long-horned beetle, Saperda candida, that bores into the wood of apple and other fruit trees.

Origin of apple tree borer

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

The round-headed apple-tree borer eats into the wood at the crown.
The Practical Garden-Book | C. E. Hunn
The flat-headed apple-tree borer works just underneath the bark on any part of the trunk or large branches.
The Practical Garden-Book | C. E. Hunn
June is the month of all months for the prudent orchardist to go thus armed, for the apple-tree borer is abroad in the land.
The Fat of the Land | John Williams Streeter
The flat-headed apple tree borer, Chrysobothris femorata, is also a native of this country.
Scientific American Supplement, No. 443, June 28, 1884 | Various
The flat-headed apple-tree borer works in the sap wood of the pear as in the apple.
The Pears of New York | U. P. Hedrick

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