of Southern India. 121 



whole of the foliage. In advanced stages, the leaves 

 drop off, and, after a few abortive attempts to put forth 

 fresh buds, the plant withers and dies. After the leaves 

 have become yellow, a very slight force will break the 

 stem across, when the tunnels of the enemy, accurately 

 filled with the debris of the wood in a fine state of divi- 

 sion, will be observed. These are generally about the 

 diameter of a small quill, and are always confined to the 

 wood, never entering the bark until the larva has done 

 its work, passed through the pupa stage, and is about to 

 escape in the form of a beetle. It is the larva of the 

 insect that is called the Borer, and which proves so 

 destructive in its habits. The eggs from which it is 

 developed would appear to be deposited immediately 

 under the bark of a plant near the ground, by means of 

 a telescopic-looking strong ovipositor, with which the 

 abdomen of the female beetle is furnished. It has not 

 been ascertained whether, in performing this operation, 

 she takes advantage of one of the numerous cracks in 

 the outer bark, but it is probable that such is the case ; 

 as, by so doing, she would, without difficulty, reach the 

 tender inner layers which the ovipositor would easily 

 penetrate, and thus place the germs of her future pro- 

 geny in contact with the mucilaginous cambium, which 

 would supply them with nutriment, until they acquired 

 sufficient strength to commence tunnelling operations in 

 the wood. The tunnel made by the young Borer is but 

 small (about the diameter of a netting needle), and 

 entirely confined to the sapwood. It does not continue 

 long of that size, however, but gradually gets larger as 

 the insect increases in bulk and strength, and then the 

 hard central wood of the stem is attacked. As the Borer 

 works into the stem, it seals up the passage behind it 

 with the debris of the wood, so firmly agglutinated by 

 some mucilaginous fluid that it can be removed like a 

 cast of plaster of Paris on laying open the tunnel. This 

 occlusion seems to be necessary for the existence of the 

 larvae, for, on laying some of them bare, with the view 

 of watching operations, exposure to light and dry air 

 speedily proved fatal. A considerable number of Borers 

 are generally found in one stem, but, although their 

 passages are very intricate and eccentric in their course, 

 the tunnel of one very rarely communicates with that of 

 another. Roots are just as frequently destroyed by them 

 as stems, the larvee travelling downwards ; and when the 

 wood of the stem has become nearly exhausted, they 



