SHOT-BORER. 189 



under the fanciful name of Ambrosia, up to the elaborate 

 observations given, with illustrations accompanying, by Mr. 

 H. G. Hubbard in his paper on the "Ambrosia Beetles," 

 published in 1897, and referred to below.* 



Some amount of correct observation was before the public, 

 as in an article published in 1844 by Theo. Hartig, in which 

 be recorded the *' Ambrosia " of X. dispar as being a fungoid 

 growth ; and in 1881 Herr Eichhoff made some degree of 

 observation of the fungoid growth as follows : — " The dispar 

 only uses the wood which is still fresh, and full of sap for the 

 brood ; this sap soaks (' sweats ') so constantly out of the 

 walls of the breeding galleries, that presently this thickens 

 into white-of-egg-like coagulations (called by Schmidberger 

 'Ambrosia'); and from these the coatings of fungi which 

 have been so often mentioned develop, whereby after a time 

 the surface of the circular galleries become stained black. 

 These coagulations, and occasionally the fungoid growths, 

 serve exclusively for the nourishment of the young larvse." t 



Those, however, who wish to go into the subject in detail 

 will find in Mr. Hubbard's paper, referred to below, much 

 useful information on Ambrosia Beetles and their habits, 

 together with figures of various kinds of "Ambrosia" fungus. 

 At p. 9 Mr. Hubbard states that "the term Ambrosia Beetles 

 is used as a convenient one to distinguish from the true 

 bark-borers and bark-eaters " [the Elm-bark Beetle, Scolytus 

 destructor, for example. — E. A. 0.] , "the timber-boring Scoly- 

 tidcs, which push their galleries deeply into the wood, and 

 which feed upon a substance called Ambrosia. . . . Their 

 food consists not of wood, but of certain minute and juicy 

 fungi propagated on the walls of their galleries." These 

 fungi, it is stated, are of different kinds, each species of 

 "Ambrosia Beetles" (or, if not strictly each species, only 

 those most closely allied) feeding on one kind, and one only, 

 of Ambrosia fungus. Also they vary in shape ; some, for 

 instance, are like a pile of beads in appearance, whilst the 

 fungus of Xylehorus saxeseni {= xylograpkus) , referred to 

 further on, is of upright stems set close together, with a 

 swollen cell at the end of each, and not unlike in general 

 appearance, when enormously magnified, to a great number 

 of short, very thick-stemmed pins, with round heads, set very 

 closely together. 



The scientific generic name of this beetle appears now, after 



* See "Ambrosia Beetles of the United States," by H. G. Hubbard, in 

 ' Some Miscellaneous Eesults of Work of the Division of Entomology,' United 

 States Department of Agriculture, Washington, 1897, p. "24. 



t ' Die Europiiischen Rorkenkafer,' von W. Eichholi', Kaiserl. Oberforster in 

 Mulhausen, Elsass. Berlin, 1881. 



