Insects Bred from American Larch 87 
Serropalpus barbatus* Schall (striatus Hell.) 
According to Hamilton (1889, p. 152; 1894 a, p. 33) 
Serropalpus barbatus is distributed throughout Central and 
Northern Europe, Siberia and the Northern part of North 
America, extending through the Rocky Mountains as far as 
New Mexico. In the East it occurs at least as far south as 
West Virginia (Hopkins, 1893, p. 203). 
The European hosts recorded for this melandryid by 
Judeich and Nitsche (2895, p. 1304) are silver fir, Scotch 
fir and pine. In America Hopkins has taken it from spruce 
(1893, p. 203) and from balsam (Felt, 1906, p. 671), and 
Smith (1909, p. 365) reports having taken it “ at light and 
from dry fungus.” The senior author has cut larvee, pup 
~ and adults from the wood of balsam, spruce and hemlock in 
the vicinity of Cranberry Lake, N. Y. We bred numerous 
specimens from larch, which tree apparently has not pre- 
viously been recorded as a host. 
S. barbatus was first mentioned in forestry literature by 
Ratzeburg in 1863, but its work was not adequately described 
and illustrated until Erne gave a rather complete account 
of its habits in 1892. According to the latter’s observations 
(Judeich and Nitsche, 1895, p. 1804), the adult is nocturnal 
in its habits and at this time all of its activities are carried 
on. In the daytime it conceals itself in the moss on the 
trees and in the ground cover. Erne believed that the life 
history required three years, while Wachtel (also cited by 
Judeich and Nitsche) states that the life cycle is completed 
in two years. Our own observations show that under the 
climatic conditions of Central New York two years is suf- 
ficient. We have, however, already pointed out the danger 
in making dogmatic statements regarding duration of life 
history, as such processes are subject to much variation even 
in the same general locality, being dependent upon the actual 
temperature and moisture conditions existing in the particu- 
lar tree or other material infested. 
* Descriptions of the adult, larva and pupa of this species are given by 
Judeich and Nitsche (1895, p. 1303). 
