Destructive Forest Insects of Dumfriesshire. 261 



etc., are often very effective in getting rid of the larvae. To 

 prevent tlie beetle laying her eggs in the nur.sery the ground 

 should be sprinkled with flour of sulphur or sprayed with paraffin 

 emulsion. This makes the ground distasteful to the female for 

 egg deposition. The mature beetles may be shaken from the 

 trees and destroyed. 



Aiiobium Domesiiciim. — Anyone who has wormeaten furniture 

 may blame or thank this insect — or the furniture doctor. It is a 

 little brown beetle, not a worm, about J inch long. The damage 

 needs no description. 



Rhagium Bifasciatum. — This can hardly be called a destruc- 

 tive insect, compared with many others, as it confines its attacks 

 to dead Scots Pine or Spruce that have been left standing in a 

 wood, but it aids the decay of the wood by boring into the timber. 

 The insect is very pretty, presenting a dark mottled appearance, 

 with two yellow spots or stripes on each wing-case. 



Melasoma Popiili (Poplar Leaf Beetle). — I have no specimen 

 of this insect at present, having dissected the only two that I 

 found, hoping to find more. It does damage in the larval stage, 

 and also as a mature insect. The lar\'3e completely skeletonize 

 the leaves and the beetle eats holes in them. The beetle has a 

 blueish-black thorax, Avith brick-red elytra, the tips of which are 

 black. 



Fhyllodccta Vitellinae (Willow Beetle). — The metallic lustre 

 of the wing-cases of this insect gives it a very uncommon appear- 

 ance. The mature 'beetle eats the extreme point of the buds of 

 willows and poplars, which causes the plants to throw out side 

 branches, thereby spoiling the marketable value, especially when 

 willoAvs are grown for basketmaking, as the rods then are required 

 clean and straight. The larva;, 5 or 6 in number, move about 

 in line, like soldiers, eating the green portions of the leaves. 



Deporaus Betula (Birch Leaf -roller). — The work done by 

 this insect in rolling the leaves is really wonderful. It rolls them 

 into a cone shape, like the paper that sweets are done up in by 

 the grocer. Each leaf seems to be cut exactly to pattern, and 

 the eggs (one in each case) laid exactly in the same position on 

 each leaf. The female starts cutting the leaf on one side and 

 works to the mid-rib, she then crosses over to the opposite side 

 and again works towards the centre, making each time an S-shaped 

 cut, which seems necessary to the correct rolling of the leaf. An 



