THE PINE DESTROYER. 213 



the name Jlyiurgiis, a name which Latreille had already employed 

 in the earlier years of this century. This term means simply a 

 carpenter, woodman, or worker in wood (from the Greek substan- 

 tive, vXovpyog)^ and, while scarcely as expressive as Hylesimis when 

 applied to our particular species, it is a good designation for the 

 genus as a whole. 



With reference to the trivial name there has never been any 

 difficulty so far as I can learn. The insect was called Dermestes 

 pifiipei'da by Linnaeus ; it is called Hylurgus pmiperda or 

 Hylesiims pinipe?'da to-day, and the reference to its destructive 

 operations among the pine trees is sufficient explanation of the 

 persistency of the epithet. 



Habits and Economy. 



We are now in a position to consider the habits of this destruc- 

 tive insect and make some enquiries into its economy. When we 

 remember that the Coleoptera, as a whole, are Nature's scavengers 

 and undertakers, removing animal and vegetable matter which is 

 in danger of breeding putrefaction and disease, we shall not be too 

 hasty in our conclusions respecting those species which seem at 

 first sight to be inimical to human interests. No doubt many 

 insects are at present rightly regarded as pests and enemies to 

 mankind, but it is always found that when their mission in Nature 

 is properly understood they have a place to fill, which is usually 

 of great importance ; and all we need to know is how to obey 

 the laws of Nature so as to make all her thousand busy workers 

 subserve the highest interests of man in the fullest degree. 



First, then, we know that the female beetle deposits her eggs 

 under the bark of timber which has been felled by the woodman 

 or the storm. Here, in due course, the eggs are hatched, and 

 the grubs begin their work. Evidently their mission is to clear 

 the forest of dead and waste material by letting the light, air, and 

 moisture into the timber. Having worked and tunnelled far and 

 wide, it by and bye changes into the pupa stage, and when the 

 pupa emerges the bark of the tree will be found loose and hollow. 

 The bark now readily falls off, and the atmospheric, fungoid, and 

 other agencies soon cause the timber to decompose. Clearly, 

 then, the moral is, leave no pine trees lying all the year round in 



