cxxvni 



FA I 'XA HA J J A/IEXSIS 



the wood in time to a powdery condition, by their numerous burrows. Bosfn'ckus 

 mi<rrator Sh.. a species we have found in Mexico, has proved destructive to wooden 

 tanks and even to the wood of some houses. Xylothrips religiosa and, I beHeve, some 

 of the other species are attacked by the introduced Braconid, described by me as 

 Hormius (?) peregrimis, which apparently really belongs to the little known Helconine 

 srenus Euscelinus of Westwood. 



LvcTiDAE. — Two imported species of Lyctiis, one being the well-known European 

 L. bmrnneus, are of no particular interest. V<& have seen L. brunneus in great numbers 

 beneath the bark of large trees injured by fire. 



Anobiidae. — The imported insects of the genera Catorama, Anobium and Lasio- 

 derma are importations by man and of no special interest, except to the economic 

 entomologist. Hokobius with 12 and Xyletobius with 52 species are endemic and allied 

 to one another. The species of the former are nocturnal, those of the latter diurnal and 

 sun-loving, and often seen in numbers basking on the leaves of forest trees. Hokobius 

 may be found sitting near their burrows on the trunks of dead trees after dark. Some 

 of the species of Xyletobius are ver)^ abundant and of wide distribution. They breed in 

 dead wood as a rule, but some of the species have been taken ovipositing in sickly trees, 

 which, however, were by no means dead. It appears that some and perhaps many of 

 them are particular in their choice of food, feeding only on one species of tree. Some 

 of the larger species are known to be parasitized in the larval condition by the Encyrtid 

 genus Eupebmis, and they are occasionally found in the stomach of insectivorous birds. 

 They do not thrive in the densest wet forests and sometimes are quite absent from 

 these, but are most abundant in more open and drier woodlands. In their company one 

 frequently finds the endemic Dermestidae which seem very regularly to be associated 

 with them, and sometimes considerably resemble them in superficial appearance. The 

 definite variations in the pattern of many Xyktobius is of an interesting nature\ Some- 

 times these distinct varieties of a species are all found in company, but sometimes they 

 appear to be of local occurrence. The larger insects of the genus Hokobius are some- 

 times found on tree ferns, but it is not known whether they breed in these. Some 

 species have been bred verj- freely from very dry dead wood, e.g. from posts used as 

 supports of an outhouse. Occasionally examples are attracted to light at night. 



The species of Mirostenius are very numerous, no less than 70 apparentl)- distinct 

 forms having been distinguished. The discrimination of the species is extremely 

 difficult, since man)- are closely allied to one another, some are variable, and whereas 

 some present extreme sexual differences, others hardly differ in external sexual characters. 

 Consequently the number of species given is likely to need some modification. In their 

 habits the Mirostenius resemble Xyktobius, being sun-loving insects, and very sparsely 

 represented in the wettest or densest forests, but in more open woods some species are 

 ' See Plate XVI, figs. 11 — 16, for varieties of X. proteus. 



