FEATHERY-HORNED YELLOW-BOX BORER. 97 



CHAPTER CXXIII. 



Feathery-Horned Yellow-box Borer. 



(Distichocera Macleayi, Newman.) 



Order : Coleoptera. Family : Ceramhycidce. 



This is a very handsome beetle, the larvae of which feed 

 on the wood of the Yellow Box, and frequently also on the 

 wood of the White Gum (E. Stuartiana). The eggs are 

 deposited either upon or in crevices of the bark, and, 

 when hatched, commence to feed and bore into the wood. 

 It is quite certain, however, that the breeding place of 

 this insect is not confined to the two trees mentioned, as 

 it has been taken where neither of these two Eucalypts 

 is known to grow. The larva is of a dull, yellowish- 

 white colour, and somewhat unusually tapers slightly at 

 the extreme end. The female (see Fig. IV.) is reddish- 

 brown in colour, and altogether a much larger insect than 

 the male, which is black, with beautiful feather-like 

 antennae (see Fig. III.). The pupa, which is shown on 

 Fig. II., is soft and mummy-like, but is soon hardened on 

 exposure to the weather. 



In Victoria, at least, this destructive beetle is considered 

 somewhat of a rarity, but in reality, and as the timber 

 shows, it is but too plentiful. The reason of its apparent 

 rarity is that as soon as the beetles are sufficiently strong 

 to crawl they ascend to the tops of the trees. It is sup- 

 posed that this beetle is a night-flier, but both sexes have 

 been frequently found feeding in the flowers of the Leptos- 

 permum bushes, especially on very hot days. In some 

 parts of New South Wales it appears to be more commonly 

 met with, and, although it is so destructive, it is eagerly 



18720. D 



