THE "apricot beetle." 45 



CHAPTER XLV. 



the "ArRICOT BEETLE." 



{Belus bidentatus^ Donovan.) 



Order : Coleoptera. Family : CurcuUonidce. 



We have now to deal with a most destructive pest, 

 which, as shown in the plate, does great damage to apri- 

 cot trees by boring and tunnelling into the wood, and thus 

 killing the trees. 



The genus Belus, five species of which are here figured, 

 in their native state are usually found on young wattles 

 (^Acacia dealbata)^ and are easily shaken otf into an ex- 

 panded umbrella, the latter article being in constant use 

 by the insect collector. These insects, the natural size 

 and colours of which are given on our plate, first bores a 

 hole with her snout, then deposits an egg into this hole, 

 and finally pushes the e^^ to the bottom. In this genus 

 it will be seen by the plate that the snout is much ex- 

 tended, and is highly favorable for the purpose of boring. 

 The larvae are soft, yellowish-white grubs without feet, 

 and upon hatching from the Qg^ at once commence to 

 bore and tunnel, as shown on Figure I. In splitting off a 

 portion of an infested stem or branch the insects may be 

 found in nearly all stages of development, from the newly- 

 hatched grab to the pupse (see Fig. IV.) to the perfect 

 insect, the pupa bearing a striking resemblance to the 

 perfect beetle which is to follow. This is another illus- 

 tration of our insects havins; forsaken their natural food 

 for our introduced trees ; why we cannot say, unless it 

 be that the latter plants are more to their liking. In this 

 large family, which comprises many thousands of known 



