376 



lie gave me a saiii})le from some hales of dried eod, which 

 were found in the tishmarket so hadly infested that the whole 

 consignment had to he destroyed. 



In looking np the food hahits of this hcetle I find that it 

 has l)ecome notorious as a hoot and leather pest, particularly 

 in the United States, where it shows a fondness for sole- 

 leather. At one time this species hecame so destructive in the 

 large skin warehouses in London that a reward of £2,000 was 

 ottered for a remedy, without any heing discovered. There is 

 also a re]iort that considerahk> damage was done to hams in 

 ^\ji'izona, and that the larvae sometimes destroy entomological 

 specimens. Furthermore, this heetle is said to injure both 

 corks and hard-wood ]danks; the larvae hore these substances, 

 however, only when searching for a safe retreat to pupate. 



I,!I''K 1IIST()1;V. 



Xewly emerged beetles were confined in glass jars for a 

 ]M'rio<l of fourteen days l)efore young. freshly-hatch(Ml larvae 

 were discovered. Since it was foimd that the eggs require an 

 incubation period of three days, the preovipositino' period of 

 the l)eetles is about ten or eleven days. 



The several stages in the life history have been well de- 

 scribed by Tiiley (ISS,")), but it is interesting to comi)are obser- 

 vations taken under ti'0]Mcal conditions. 



E(i(j: — The freshly laid, cyliudi'ical eg'js lack the traus- 

 v(M'se impressed lines that Tiihy descrilx-s, tho we found that 

 just before liat(diing, the segmeutation of the larva, within, 

 gave this a]i]iearance. 



It was found that the be(^tles ])lace the e-^gs in any available 

 crexice, hence tluy are rathei- difficult to hicate at tirst. Tho 

 incubation ])eriod we found lo be a])pro.\iuuitely tliree days, 

 in ]>hice of four to seven days as obsei-\-ed by Riley. 



Laird: — The uev. lydiatcdied hn'Aa is at first \-erv liiiht cob 

 oi'ecb but soon darkens; thei'e is a uoticealtle lighter area on 

 the median dorsal line, which branches on the head in the form 



