586 FAMILY SCOLYTIDAE 



identifies the species tunnelling into half-dry and green sal wood in the 

 Sivvaliks and Goalpara (two localities with very different climates), green 

 AnogeissHS in Tharrawaddy, and green Areca in xMysore, as perforans, con- 

 siderably complicates the question of the true habits of the species. From 

 the study of the habits so far as carried at present, I incline to the belief 

 that the insect here given as pcvfovans may possibly be found to consist of 

 two or more distinct species or sub-species. 



Xyleborus gravidas, Blandford. 



Reference.— Blandford, Trans. Ent. Soc. Loud. 427 (1898). 



Habitat. — Chittagong Hill Tracts. 



Tree Attacked.— Mahogany {Swietenia inahogaiii, Linn.). Kaptai. 



Beetle.— $ Short, robust, very convex, somewhat shining, bright reddish testaceous, the 

 elytra ferruginous, darker posteriorly ; pubescence sparse, fulvous. Head very large, globose ; 



front more shining towards the mouth, with scattered rather large 

 Description. punctures ; eyes oblong. Prothorax ample, broader than long, 



strongly convex, the sides slightly, the apex more strongly rounded, 

 the latter with two prominent median blackish tubercles ; surface with large transverse 

 asperities anteriorly, closer towards the middle, posteriorly punctured closely and distinctly on 

 sides, obsoletely medianly, where there is a dense tuft of short upstanding hairs just above the 

 scutellum, the remaining pubescence scanty. Elytra strongly declivous and retuse from before 

 the middle to the apex, about a third longer than prothorax, separately rounded at base ; 

 surface convex from the base to the declivity, with indistinct rows of feeble punctures, the flat 

 interstices with finer scattered irregular punctures ; declivity sub-abruptly rounded above into 

 the cylindrical portion, margined at the sides and apex with an acute ridge ; surface of 

 declivity with sub-impressed rows of shallow punctures carrying long fine hairs, interstices flat. 

 Under-side and legs testaceous, the tibiae closely and finely serrate. Length, 4.5 mm. 



Mr. Blandford mentions that it is possible that the specimens from which he described 

 the insect were immature, and that the colour of the beetle may be blackish. 



Specimens of this beetle, together with Scolytoplatypus hrahma (p. 607), 



were sent to the Indian Museum from the Chittagong 



Life History. Hill Tracts by the Divisional Forest Officer with the 



report that they were destructive to mahogany-trees. 



I have been unable to trace the further history of the specimens. They in 



all probability came from Kaptai on the Karnafuli River, where there is a 



small mahogany plantation. I was never able, however, to find the insect 



there myself, although I searched for it on several occasions in 1899-igoo. 



The insects were sent from the Indian Museum amongst some 

 Bostrychidae to M. Lesne at the Paris Museum for identification, and by 

 him were forwarded to Mr. Blandford. 



The insect may be identical with a scolytid which infests the mahogany 

 at Nilumbur in Madras, but that has yet to be proved. 



