FAMILY SCOLYTIDAE 



581 



In saplings the maximum amount of damage is observable, as the 

 girdling of the leading shoot and side shoots leads to misshapen trees 

 which are easily recognizable in plantations. Fig. 364 shows a young 

 sapling with its leading shoot cut off by this insect. The photograph was 

 taken in the forest by Mr. J. W. Oliver, I.F.S. Fig. 365 shows the top of 

 another sapling (from a photograph by Mr. H. Jackson, I.F.S.) in which 

 two side shoots have taken the place of the girdled leader. 



The work of the girdler is easily seen. If the end of the girdled branch 

 is examined a por- 

 tion of the groove 

 made by the beetle 

 is always discer- 

 nible. Also owing 

 to the deep groove 

 cut by the beetle 

 and the h e a vy 

 weight of the nee- 

 dle-bearing branch 

 above it, the latter 

 very soon bends 

 over and hangs 

 down (until it does 

 this there is no- 

 thing to show that 

 the branch has 

 been attacked, save 

 the small entrance- 

 hole from which 

 resin exudes), at- 

 tached by a few 

 shreds of bark and 

 woodtothe branch 

 below the cut, and 

 a certain amount 

 of resin exudes a- 

 round the groove. 

 This pendent posi- 

 tion of the green branches renders fresh attacks at once perceivable in the 

 forest, and more especially is it visible in young plantations. Conse- 

 quently, the amount of damage being done by the beetles, once the life 

 history is clearly understood, is easily discernible. 



A curious fact I have observed about the insect is that it appears 

 to be very local in its distribution, occurring year after year in certain 

 comparatively small areas of forest, and being apparently almost entirely 

 absent from other regions. This point is of importance, since if it 



Fig. 365. — A, Deodar branch girdled in two places at i and 2 by 

 the Deodar Branch Girdler (S. deodara). B, Leading shoot of a 

 10 in. deodar sapling girdled at 3 bv S. deodara. Two side shoots 

 are taking the girdled leader's place. Jaunsar, N.W. Himalaya. 

 (H. Jackson, photo.) 



