INSECTS INJURIOUS TO THE OAK. 21 
his larva being that of a Tenebrionid beetle, as stated by Riley. This 
interesting weevil may be found on the trunk and under the bark of 
the white oak in June and Julyin New England, or in May and June in 
New York and Missouri, having then assumed the imago or beetle con- 
dition. Riley states that it is equally common on the black, red, and 
post oaks, that it bores in all directions through the heart-wood, and is 
found most commonly in stumps or in felled trees the year after they 
are cut. 
The beetle differs from other weevils in that the snout projects straight 
out in front, not being curved downwards as in weevils in general. In 
the male the snout is much broader 
and flatter than in the female, but 
varies considerably, especially in the 
males, both in length and breadth. It 
is of a mahogany brown, the thorax 
smooth and highly polished, and the 
wing-covers strongly furrowed, shaded 
with deeper brown, and marked with 
narrow tawny-yellow spots. Itis from 
4 to a little over $ an inch in length. 
The males are, contrary to the general 
rule in insects, almost invariably the Fic. 4.—Northern Brenthian: a, larva; b, pu- 
larger. The males of the Brenthians  2j,6, yeti. female PE rei 
are known to fight desperately for the bead-/—Atter Riley. 
female, and as has been remarked by Mr. A. R. Wallace,* it is in- 
teresting “as bearing on the question of sexual selection, that in this 
case, as in the stag beetles, when the males fight together, they should 
be not only better armed, but also much larger than the females.” 
(Riely.) 
According to Riley, in Missouri the eggs are deposited during the 
months of May and June. The female bores a cylindrical hole in the 
bark with her slender snout, and pushes an egg to the bottom of the 
hole. 
It requires about a day to make a puncture and deposit the egg. During the time 
the puncture is being made the male stands guard, occasionally assisting the female 
in extracting her beak; this he does by stationing himself at a right angle with her 
body, and by pressing his heavy prosternum against the tip of her abdomen; her 
stout fore-legs serving as a fulerum and her long body as a lever. When the beak is 
extracted, the female uses her antenne for freeing the pincers or jaws of bits of wood 
or dust, the antenne being furnished with stiff hairs and forming an excellent brush. 
Should a strange male approach, a heavy contest at once ensues, and continues until 
one or the other is thrown from the tree. The successful party then takes his station 
as guard. (W. R. Howard, in Riley’s 6th Report. ) 
*The Malay Archipelago, p. 482. 
tThe line by the side of the insect in this and other cuts indicates the length of the 
insect, most of the sketches being enlarged views. 
