154 Journal New York Entomological Society. [Voi. xxviii. 



A piece of wood containing larvae of C. sylz'a)iia was collected in 

 March and put in a breeding cage. On April 7, the wood was opened 

 to get larvae for study and the first specimen encountered was dead, 

 shriveled and covered with mites. Upon further examination 12 

 larvae and 4 pupae were found, all dead and literally covered with 

 mites. Another specimen of wood collected in the same locality at 

 about the same time contained fourteen larvae, ten of which were 

 either dead or in a dying condition due to the mites. Two were unin- 

 fested and emerged April 22 and April 24 as male beetles; of the 

 remaining two, one died from no apparent cause and the other was 

 parasitized by an ichneumon fly. Three undetermined species of 

 Ichneumonidae were found to be parasitic upon the beetles. The 

 largest species was found to be quite common in certain infested logs. 

 Breeding experiments indicate that about 20 per cent, of the beetles 

 are destroyed by these ichneumon flies. 



Melasis rufipennis Horn. 



Of this species I am able to find no reference in our literature other than 

 the original description by Dr. Horn* followed by the statement that it occurs 

 in Nevada and Washington Territory. 



There are two species of this genus found in our fauna M. pectinicornis 

 Mels. being the eastern representative and M. rufipennis Horn, the western. 

 Both species seem to be quite rare. 



Original description : 



" M. rufipennis n. sp. — Form elongate, subcylindrical, slightly narrowed 

 behind, piceous, subopaque ; pubescence fulvous, scarcely visible, elytra and 

 antennze rufo-ferruginous ; antennae atttaining the middle of the thorax, the 

 third joint nearly twice as long as the visible (in front) portion of the second, 

 joint four triangular, broader than long, five to ten gradually more prolonged 

 anteriorly, but less so than in pectinicornis: eyes small, round, feebly convex; 

 head densely and rather coarsely punctate, not rough, clypeus slightly concave, 

 front sometimes with a slight transverse carina ; thorax a little wider than 

 long, slightly narrower behind, sides straight, slightly arcuate at the apical 

 angles and with a feeble sinuation in front of the hind angles, which are acute 

 and slightly divergent ; disc moderately convex, densely punctured and roughly 

 granulate, with a narrow median smooth line very distinctly impressed pos- 

 teriorly ; elytra gradually narrowed posteriorly, the apices, acute, disc deeply 

 striate with coarse punctures, the intervals convex, densely punctured, but 

 more shining than above: legs piceous, tibis and tarsi brown. Length .36-. 42 

 inch ; 9-19.5 mm." 



* Trans. Amer. Ent. Soc, Vol. XIII, p. 7 (1886). 



