356 



NATURAL IIlSTdliY OF AliTUHOPODS. 



anatdinist, over tw.i liuiidri'il years auvi, .-111(1 lias since heen ilescrilied In- several 

 naturalists. The ra]i|iint;- is caiiseii l)_y a loi-rilile iKmiinerinu- of the lianl wnoil with the 

 head (if the beetle, anil it is noticeable that the beetle selects places wliere the -vvtinil 

 will act as a soiinilinii--l>oar(l for its curious sonifaction. 



The iar\ a of Aiiohli(m is cylimli-ieal, short, often sliiihtly dilated toward ihe 

 posterior extremity, and has six legs; it has no ocelli, short antennw, a labrnm which 

 reac-hes ne.-irlv t" llic extremity of the short, stout mandibles; its anal ojiening is 

 lonaitudiii.-il. The lai-\:e sometimes de\'elii|i in ime year, and sometimes require 

 lonn-er. liulli beetles and lai-\-a' often do iiiuc-li damaf;-e tci furniture, books, drugs, 

 and pro\isi(iiis. f.iniKeus fomid that A. juiiijnix destroyed his chairs; Kirby and 

 Spencc coni]ilain that A. striatum has the same haliit, and also injures ]iicture-frames 

 and the boards nf flours. Both of tliese species of Auvhtum attack liooks, not only 

 for the leath(-r with which they are bound, but also fur the ]iaste used in their binding. 

 Spencc mentions wholesale destruction of oaken beams \ised to sujiport tlooi-s in the 

 old mode of building houses in Belgium, necessitating renewal of these beams at great 

 ex]>ensc. 



SifoiJirjiK jHdiicca, a cosmojiolitan species often mentioned under the name of 

 Aiiobi'inii jiiini'-r>i)/i. differs from Aiioliiuni. by not having the metasternum excavated 

 in front. It is .-i bi-o-vvn lieetle densely covered with light brown pubescence, and 

 aliout 0.1 -J ol' an inch long. The earlier stages of this lieetle were described in 1721 

 by Fris(-li, w lio found the larvie d<'youriug the inside of a piece of rye-bread. Later 

 the sami- author writes that this inse(-t injures books, and attacks many kinds of dead 

 animal matter. Prof. A. S. Packard mentions linding this species in wasjis' nests 

 jireserveil in museunis, where it ]irobably ate the iliieil wasps left in the nests. Dr. 

 H. Shimer h.-is raised this species from larva' feeding in red beads " m;ide of sonu' 

 kind of colored pa.ste." 



The genus PtluKC, of w hii-h /'. fur is a widely ilift'used re|iresentative, differs from 

 Anohiiiin both in form and in having tlie long filiform anteinia» 

 inserted closely together iijion the fi-ont. Pthiint fur is of an 

 uniform brown color, .-uid is jnibesc-ent ; it is only about tM of 

 an inch long. De (ieer desi-ribed and figured tlie jireparatory 

 stages of this species in 1774. This species is known as a 

 museum pe.st, att.-ickiiig inse(-ts .-ind other animals preserved in 

 collections. I have found it swarming in barrels of wool which 

 had been i-li]i]icd off the fleece and thrown aside because it was 

 full of sheejis' dung and other dirt. According to E. Perris 

 the female of P. diililiis^ a Kreiu-h species, oviposits in tlie male 

 blossoms of PiiixK tiKiriliiiKi. The larva grows rapidly, feeding 

 upon the ]iollen of the pine, and forms its cocoon of pollen-grains cemented too-ether 

 by a nnu-ilaginous secretion. /■*. lirunncus, a species found in 

 Eurojie and in the Ignited States, sometimes attacks the binding 

 of books. 



The diversity of habits of the larv;e of I'tiuida- i-an be e.-isijy 

 seen by the above selections from what is known of tlieir life 

 history. They are generally easily destroyed by subjecting the 

 materials in which tliey feed to heat, or to the action of benzine vapor in .-i (-losed tin 

 box. A convenient way of destroying these and other insects in books, in such drugs 

 as are not injured liy subjecting them to a dry heat of 1(M»° C\ in (-lotliing, and in 



J'tiinis fur 



Fi(^ 400. —Larva Of 

 Pfinus fur. 



