FAMILY CUCUJIDAE 



119 



PSAMMOECUS. 



Psammoecus trimaculatus, Motsch. 



Habitat.— South Coimbatore, Madras. 



Tree Infested.— 15;unl)oo {Dendrocalainus strictits). 



Coimbatore. 



Beetle.— Small, elongate, yellow to yellowish 

 brown, covered with spiny hairs; under - surface 



darker - coloured. Head 



Description. small, punctate. Prothorax 



convex, the edges with seve- 

 lal sharp teeth, largest medianly ; disk punctate. 

 Scutellum small. Elytra broader than thorax, base 

 straight, humeral angles rounded, widest at posterior 

 coxae, constricted apically and rounded ; longitudi- 

 nally and finely striate and punctate. Antennae and 

 legs set with spiny setae. Length, 2.4 mm. to 2.8 mm. 



I cut out some specimens of this small 

 beetle from galleries in the wood structure 

 of bamboos (D. stridiis) in the forests round 

 Mount Stuart in South Coimbatore. The 

 beetles were taken at the end of July 1902. 



Mount Stuart, South 



Fig. 82. — Psammoecus irimacu/a/ us, 

 Motsch. Coimbatore, Madras. 



SiLVANUS. 

 Silvanus surinamensis, Linn. 



References.— Linn. Syst. Nat. i, 2, p. 565; Lefroy, Ind. Ins. Life, p. 300 (1909). 



Habitat.— Northern India. 



Tree Infested.— Mohwa (Bassia latifolia). Western India (Lefroy). 



Beetle.-Elongate, smoky brown, dull. Head large, punctate ; eyes placed at sides a 

 little above base : antennae long and clubbed. Prothorax longer than wide, with three promi- 

 nent longitudinal ridges, one median and two lateral, bounding two 

 Description. elongate depressed channels, the sides toothed. Elytra elongate, 



parallel, slightly constricting at apex, striate-punctate, the striae most 

 prominent at base. Under-surface brown, legs lighter-coloured, abdominal segments clothed 

 with a fine golden pubescence. Length, 4.3 mm. 



Larva.— Elongate, whitish yellow, with prominent head and prothoracic segments. 

 Antennae and three pairs of legs jointed. Abdominal segments but slightly smaller than 

 thoracic, save last four, which taper, the last being small. Length, 6.5 mm. 



This insect passes through several generations in the year. Lefroy 

 in Indian Insect Life has the following note on its 



Life History. habits : — 



" The larva Hves in dried fruit, flour, dried mohwa 

 (the calyx oi Basmi latifolia), and similar vegetable matter. The complete 

 life history occupies about seven weeks ; the eggs are laid in the food, the 

 larvae feed inside or between two pieces, and pupate in a chamber closed m 



