216 JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY [Vol. 1 



NOTES ON TROGODERMA TARSALE MELSH. 



By C. O. HouGiiTox, Newark, Delaware. 



In the fall of 1906 I found that a few shag-bark hickory nuts 

 {Hicoria ovata Mill.) which I had in my laboratory were more or less 

 infested with Dermestid larvie. Wishing to determine the species re- 

 sponsible for the injury, I placed a nut that I had cracked and foimd 

 infested in a shell \dal, which I tightly corked and set upon my office 

 desk, where I could frequently inspect it. I occasionally saw larvae 

 moving about in the vial and some time later observed one or more 

 adults of T. tarsale, which finally died therein and were evidently 

 eaten by the larvfe. 



Having determined the species and made a note of the injury and 

 identification of the insect responsible for it, I set the vial, which I 

 had not opened, aside and thought no more about it for several 

 months. On December 24, 1907, I noticed the vial again, and upon 

 making an examination of its contents was somewhat surprised to 

 find that it still contained living larvae. 



The shell of the nut had been broken into three or four pieces, and 

 I had supposed that the meat had been wholly removed from these 

 long before; at least it had appeared so from the previous examina- 

 tions I had made. Nevertheless, I removed therefrom no less than 

 fifty-eight living larvae of various sizes, and all, apparently, in the 

 best of condition. They were all within the pieces of shell and were 

 unquestionably feeding upon the inside of the shell itself, for this 

 was considerably eaten in places and not a trace of the meat of the 

 nut could be found. In the bottom of the vial there was a consid- 

 erable amount of dust and excrement, and I counted about fifty good- 

 sized cast larval skins, more or less perfect, therein. In addition, 

 there were numerous small pieces of skins, apparently the remains of 

 some that had been fed upon to some extent by the larvae. No trace 

 of any adults was to be found, however. 



The pieces of shell and the larvae were again placed in the vial, and 

 this Avas not examined again until January 18, 1908, when I found 

 fifty-six living larvae therein. 



Earl}' in February I noticed that one or more of the larvae were 

 entering the cork in the vial at a slight crack on the lower side, and a 

 short time later (February 19) I found four good-sized larvae snugly 

 ensconced therein, all lying close together. They had eaten, or at 

 least hollowed out, quite an opening at this point and I thought that 

 possibly they were preparing to pupate therein. 



