344 FAMILY CERAMBYCIDAE 



laying season of the insects, or when heavy snow-breaks result in a large 

 number of partially broken-down and sickly trees being present in the 

 forest. To such places this longicorn will invariably repair to oviposit. 



These are the same as already detailed for the buprestid pest {Sphenoptera 



atcrrima). At present my observations have not resulted 



rotec ive and -^^ discovering any parasitic foes of this longicorn. I am 



not aware whether the Ichneumon fly, Ephialtes, which 



parasitizes the buprestid grubs {vide p. 207) also infests the longicorn grubs. 



Ceresium. 

 The genus contains several Indian representatives. One is well known 

 as a serious pest to the casuarina plantations in Madras. 



Ceresium simplex, Gyll. 



References.' — Gyll. (Stenochoms), Schduh. Syn. /);s. app. ii, p. 178(1817); Arhopahis avihiguus,Nevfms.n, 

 Entomologist, i, p. 246 (1842) ; Stebbing, Depart. Notes, vol. i, p. 374 [Stromatutm sp. prox. 

 barbatum) {1906) ; Gahan, F.B.I. Ceramb. i, no. 175, p. 162 (1906). 



Habitat. — ^North Arcot, Cocanada. Gahan gives N. India; Burma; 

 Tenasserim ; Ceylon; Nicobar Islands; Philippine Islands; Sumatra and 

 Java to New Guinea; Mauritius and Madagascar. Recorded also from Mexico. 



Tree Attacked. — Casuarina {Casuarina e qui seti folia). North Arcot, 

 Cocanada. 



Beetle. — Brownish testaceous ; antennae and legs yellowish. 



Head rather densely covered above with pale yellowish pubescence. 



Antennae a little longer than the body in 



Description. (J, not quite so long as it in $ ; third 



joint not longer than tirst, distinctly longer 

 than fourth ; fifth and sixth sub-equal, each longer than third. 

 Prothora.x almost as broad as long, slightly rounded at sides, these 

 covered with greyish pubescence ; disk faintly covered with greyish 

 pubescence in the middle, marked with two spots or a longitudinal 

 band of dense tawny-yellow pubescence at each side ; a narrow 

 median and some small laterally placed callosities, smooth and yig ^-t 



glabrous ; the intervening spaces sparsely and irregularly punctured. Ceresium simplex 

 Elytra closely and strongly punctured from the base to the middle, Qyjj Madras 



the punctures nearest the base somewhat granulate, the punctures 



becoming feebler as they approach apex. Femora fusiform-clavate, thickened gradually almost 

 from the Ijase. Length, 1 1 mm. to 16 mm. ; breadth, 3 mm. to 41 mm. {Descr. after Gahan.) 



Larva. — Elongate, but slightly corrugated; white ; about i in. in length. 



The first notice of this insect occurring as a pest in Madras was furnished 

 by Mr. C. D. Thornton, I.F.S. Larvae were found in the 



Life History. cambium layer of casuarina-trees, occurring apparently 



more especially in old trees. The grubs eat out long 

 galleries which groove both bast and sapwood, and when in numbers thev 

 completely ring the tree, thus causing its death. Larvae were first taken in 

 December, about half-grown, the beetles issuing from the trees in June. 

 The grubs probably pupate about April, the following two months being 

 spent in the pupa and resting- beetle stages. The larval life, during which 



