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Breeding Habits of Amphicerus bicaudatus. 



By H. (i. Hubbard. 



I 



The larva of this beetle, as observed by me at Crescent City, Fla., 

 lives in the underground stems of a species of Smilax. This plant is a 

 strong-growing vine, forming at or just below the surface of the ground 

 immense tangles of thickened rhizomes which receive the local name 

 "briar root." The living roola are receptacles in which the plant stores 

 upon abundant supply of starch for the nourishment of the vigorous 

 young shoots. At the periods of grtnvth these exhaust certain portions 

 of the subterranean stem which then die and become dry and pithy. The 

 deatl "roots " are dark red i'n color and appear to contain a large amount 

 of tannin. In this condition they form favorite nesting places for Amphi- 

 cerus bicaudatus and are riddled wiih their burrows. The larvai ma\ be 

 found in large numbers, excavating cylindrical galleries in the pith, and 

 traversing its substance in every direction. They were first observed at 

 Crescent City in the Spring and early Summer 1884, boring into a large 

 mass of roots which had been grubbed from the woods the year before 

 and fastened up under the shelter of a veranda roof to form a rustic orna- 

 ment. During the Summer of 1884 a large amount of fine sawdust was 

 thrown out from the burrows by the larvae, but the latter did not attain 

 their full growth until the following year, and at the time of pupating 

 were certainly two, and very probably three years from the Qg%. Pupas 

 were found in March and April 18S5, and imagos appeared a month 

 later. 



A description of the larva which, in general appearance, resembles 

 that of Apaie, Dinapate and allied species, I hope to give at another oc- 

 casion. The pupae were found naked in the galleries made by the larva:- 

 or by the perfect insects. A. bicaudatus is a rather common insect in the 

 Southern States and still more abundant in the North. The imago ha^ 

 long been known to bore into the living twigs of cultivated trees, and the 

 injury thus done is frequently described in works on economic Entomo- 

 logy but the habits of the larva have hitherto remained unknown. 



I firmly believe that in the more Northern States A. bicaudatus will 

 likewise be found to breed in the subterranean stems of Smilax whic'i 

 abounds in our woods. That allied Bostrychid beetles have similar 

 habits has been proven by Mr. E. A. Schwarz, and I append here the 

 following notes which he placed at my disposal upon his return from a 

 visit to South-eastern Florida : 



"On the island of Key West and on the mainland a few miles south 

 of Miami River I found in the months of April and May the imagos of 

 Amphicerus punctipennis and Tetrapriocera longicornis, the former ver\- 



