INSECTS AFKIiCTING PARK AND WCJODLANU TREES 487 



destrcninj; the infested trees and avoitliiij; so far as possible conditions 

 favorable to the brecdinj,^ of tliis borer; namely, a j^reat many stumjjs and 

 dead trees in wliich it can tlirixe. 



Lesser prionus 



Oithoso))ia brniniciiiii I'orst. 



A rather slender, brown beetle about 1 '_• iiK lu-s lonj; and less than ' _■ iiu h broad. 

 lives in tin- larval stage in decaying trees. 



This beetle is another rather common sjjecies fre(iiienll\ met with in 

 midsumnu:r and attracts notice larj^ely on account ol its size. Its larva 

 lives almost entirt;!)- in ilecayino wood, ami as a conseqtience this form is of 

 comparatively slii.,dit economic importance. 1 he adult beetle is about i "/^ 

 inches lono- with powerful mandibles, and ta])erini; antennae a little over 

 one half the bod\- lenoth. I'he laru;e e\es are comparatively inconspicuous, 

 finely <franulale, and the thorax is prolon^jed laterally into a series of two 

 or more irregular teeth. The wint^ covers are very lon^', rather slender, 

 with jjarallel sides, irrt;ij;^idarl\- and finely jjunctured and ornamenletl with 

 sextral rather prominent ridojes. Tht; larva of this species has been 

 recorded as boring in decavini^r j)ine, hemlock, hickor\-, walnut, oak, chest- 

 nut, and I )i- Hopkins states that it inhabits the decaying- loy-s and slumps 

 of nearly all loi'est trees. 



Description. Ihe lar\a and pu])a ha\c been described b\ 1 )r Packard 

 as follows : 



Larva. Descrilxnl while alive. Body cylindrical, not flattened, the 

 seoments ver\- distinct, as the sutures are deeper than usual ; head moder- 

 ately broad ; prothorax lar^c and broad and rather loni^, beino^ 9 mm broad 

 arKl ^Yz mm lonj.,'^ ; surface rouo^h on the posterior two thirds. On each of 

 the first to seventh abdominal se<,Miients is a transverse oval cylindrical 

 fleshy an;a, each with three transverse foUls, the area on the seventh rins.^ 

 beino; nearl\- twice as lonij (antero-posteriorh ) as that on the first, the areas 

 becoming longer and narrower, i. e. more rounded, going backwanl towarils 

 the seventh segment; the vx\(\ of thi- abdomen smooth ami shining ; each 

 thoracic segment with a pair of slender three-jointeil feet. Length. 35 mm 

 (lAx inches). 



/'///>(?(•. .\ntennae bent near their end at right angles and laid across 

 the end of tln' elytra, the latter reaching to the middle of the hind tarsi. 



