1919.] 177 



xliii, J). •").■), 11)18) liiidiiin' ntiiiil>ors of the Irnvac in a fiilli-n ])u]ila!' 1i-unk 

 at Ohavillc, near Paris : he also sfates that the adults were numerous in 

 the locality from spring to autumn. Dr. Keilin found the larvae very 

 numerous under the bark of a dead oak at Mildenhall, Suffolk. 



G. trlpudinns is one of the largest of the British Eriopteriui, and, 

 apart from its structural differences in venation, can easily be separated 

 from every other member of the group in this country by the deep colour 

 of the whole body, including tlie legs, and the strongly infuscated wings. 

 It is somewhat reniai'kable that so conspicuous an insect should have 

 remained so long undiscovered, but as every breeder of insects knows, 

 many species which are abundant as larvae are only rarely seen as 

 adults, and so far as this country is concerned, this may be a case in 

 point ; amongst other instances might be mentioned the fungus-gnats 

 Dltomyia fasciata Mg., Geroplatiis Uneatiis F., and Leplomorphus 

 walkei'l Curt. — all conspicuous flies which the writer finds conuuonly 

 as larvae, but lias seldom seen on the wing. 



London. 



July ?,rd, 1919. 



Another /lotc i>n l/ic habits of Melanuphila avUDiinota De Geev. — Apropos of 

 Dr. Nicholison's remarks nu the habits of this species {ante, pp. 156, lo7), and 

 of those of the late W. E. Sharp on the same subject (oji. cit. liv, 1918, pp. 244, 

 24o), it is ijerhiips worth while calling attention to a recently published paper 

 by Mr. H. E. Burke, entitled "Biological Xotes on some Flat-headed Bark-borers 

 of the (lenus MelanojjhUa'" (Jouru. Econ. Ent., Concord, N. II., xii, pp. 105- 

 108, Febr. 1919). This article deals witji several American species of tlie genus 

 Melanophila, including the holarctic M. acuminata. Mr. Burke writes as 

 follows: — " Generally there is one generation in a year. Adult beetles emerging 

 from tlie trees in spring and summer of one year lay eggs that hatch into larvae 

 which live through the winter and pupate, emerging as adults in the spring or 

 summer of the following year. Sometimes, however, a number of larvae of 

 one generation will remain in the pupal cells for several years beibre pupating. 

 The birvae of these beetles mine the inner bark and outer wood and pupate 

 there, the eggs 'being laid in tlie crevices of the bark. The adults usually feed 

 on the bark ox foliage of the host-trees, but M. consputa has been observed 

 devouring scorched termites. With the exception of one individual of M. acu- 

 minata reared from Monterey cypress, all the American sp^ies of Melanophila 

 appear to be confined to food-plants of the family Pinnceae. The larval cha- 

 racters indicate that the genus should be divided into two. . . . M. ncuminata 

 De G., with which M. longipcs Say and M. atropurpnrea Say are apparently 

 identical,* ])refers to attack dead or dying trees scorched by fire. . . . The 

 only known method of dealing with these beetles in the forests is the burning 

 the infested wood and bark before the adults emerge." liarvae were found by 



AiKjthei- synonym is M. obscurata Lewis, from Jai.an («/. Ent. Mo. Mag. liv, p. 200, 1018). 



