REPORT OF THE STATE ENTOMOLOGIST 339 



states that 'nearly all occur in Canada. They are widely distributed 

 throughout the Dominion from Nova Scotia to Vancouver island, and 

 very far northward. The larvae of these insects are borers in coniferous 

 trees, and their distribution is probably coextensive with the trees that 

 they infest.' 



The species named above is the one that more frequently comes under 

 observation in the eastern United States, although it is far from common, 

 and the male appears to be quite rare. Not a single example of the 

 male has ever been taken by me or brought to my notice. 



An example of the female was received August 31, from Carthage, 



N, Y., with the following statement : 



The inclosed fiy was seen a few days ago at a saw mill in Carthage, 

 alighting on some freshly sawed spruce lumber, in the face of which it 

 presently sank its ovipositor. The instrument was an inch or more long, 

 fine as a needle, and went straight from the center of the body into the 

 wood, taking six or eight minutes. It seemed operated by a lever move- 

 ment of two thicker, shorter arms, and was drawn out by a reverse 

 action. 



Description and habits. The female may be easily recognized 



from the accompanying figure and the description given of it by Dr 



Harris as follows : 



The white-horned Urocerus has white antennae, longer and more ta]-)er- 

 ing than those of the pigeon Tremex, and black at each end. The female 

 is of a deep blue-black color, with an oval white spot behind each eye, 

 and another on each side of the hinder part of the abdomen. The horn 

 on the tail is long, and shaped like the head of a lance. The wings are 

 smoky brown, and semitransparent. The legs are black, with white 

 joints. The body measures about an inch in length, and the wings 

 expand nearly two inches (see plate i, fig. 3). 



Dr Harris has appended to the above a few words descriptive of the 

 male, but it is doubtful if they pertain to this species. The males are 

 not often met with, and from being seldom taken in association with the 

 females, their proper reference is always doubtful. Mr Norton has 

 remarked (see citation) of the examples of a male described by Dr 

 Harris as Urocerus abdominalis which is found in the trunks of the 

 white pine in July, that it may be U. albiconus or U.Jiavicornis (plate i, 

 fig. 4), but it is more probably the former. For its description, see the 

 citation given above. 



The several members of this genus are commonly known as horn-tails, 

 from the horn-like projection at the end of the abdomen. The adults 

 are usually found on the trunks of coniferous trees on bright days. The 

 females are provided with an extended ovipositor designed to bore into 

 wood. I'his organ consists of two guides about half an inch long and a 



