1900] COMMON ASH-BARK BEETLE. 13 



in 1882, with the observations pubhshed by Herr Eichhoff in the 

 previous year, I find the complete difference in character of these 

 winter tunnellings from the summer attack to agree excellently with 

 Herr Eichhoff's description of the nature of the tunnellings which he 

 considers to show habitat for winter shelter- of the second brood. 



He mentions,* after some remarks regarding a second brood, that 

 it is only the second generation which bore for themselves separate 

 winter quarters. For this the beetles gnaw each for themselves slightly 

 waving cylindrical galleries, directed somewhat upwards in the thick 

 bark so as not to penetrate into the splint, wliich is a very important 

 observation, as the region between the "splint" and the "bast" — 

 that is, the region between the outside forming wood or alburnum, "the 

 splint" ; and the inner part of the bark, "the bast" — is the especial 

 locality for breeding. The length of these winter galleries, taken by 

 measurement from Herr Eichhoff's figure, is from about three- to five- 

 eighths of an inch. 



The specimens which I received on March 16th from Llanelly, 

 South Wales, were forwarded with some observations accompanying 

 by Mr. Angus M'Intosh in 1882. 



These were of rough thick Ash bark, just taken from living trees, 

 bored into by Ash-bark Beetles {R. fraxini), which were then in their 

 winter holes. These bores, or tunnels, resembled small shot-holes, 

 and ran indifferently up, down, or to either side, but were all single — 

 that is to say, they never branched like the breeding-galleries (see 

 figure, p. 9) ; so far as I examined, they were seldom more than about 

 three times as long as the beetle, and at the end of these tunnels the 

 beetles had been passing the winter, as about the middle of February 

 beetles had been found in them, some alive although not active, and 

 some dead ; and the specimens of bark sent me on March 10th 

 similarly contained Ash-bark Beetles, some alive, some dead, in the 

 borings. 



Hybernation appeared to begin towards the end of September, as 

 on the 22nd of that month beetles were found making their way into 

 healthy bark ; also specimens were sent me in which the beetles (then 

 developing), instead of having escaped as usual by a hole through the 

 bark at the end of the borings which they had eaten out while maggots, 

 were to be found turned in the other direction (in short borings like 

 the winter ones) into the solid wood. 



The beetles infested trees of all sizes for these winter tunnellings, 

 and did much damage in the locality, as they worked into healthy as 

 well as sickly trees for the purpose. 



Further observations were sent me of infestation of H. fraxini for 



* ' Europaischen Borkenkafer,' von W. Eichhoff, pp. 138, 139. 



