76 FOREST ENTOMOLOGY. 



long basal joint almost reaching the small, slightly-projecting eyes. 

 The prothorax is narrowed in front, and its posterior margin, on 

 examination with a lens, may show two slight excavations. The 

 scutellum is round and raised. The elytra quite cover the abdomen. 

 Femur untoothed, tibia straight, and with a curved hook at the point. 

 The third joint of the tarsus is broad and two-lobed, and the terminal 

 fifth joint ends in two simple claws." 



Synopsis of the Species. 



I. Size larger : thorax short in proportion with the sides, more 

 rounded ; elytra with narrow transverse band behind the 

 middle . . . ... . . P. pini. 



II. Size smaller : thorax large in proportion with the sides, less 

 rounded ; elytra with a broad though not over-distinct trans- 

 verse band behind their middle . P. notatus. 



Pissodes pini (Linn.) 



This species is very closely allied to Hylobius abietis, and to the 

 young student very much like small specimens of the latter, inasmuch 

 as both species may be found together in the mornings in the fresh 

 sawdust pit underneath the circular saw. Where a temporary sawmill 

 is erected in a Scots pine wood, it may be well to try and distinguish 

 the two species. As many specimens of H. abietis are comparatively 

 small, it is well, for the sake of distinction, to bear in mind that the 

 chief difference lies in the position of the antennae. In H. abietis, as 

 already mentioned, the antennae are inserted on the rostrum near its 

 apex ; and in the genus Pissodes the antennae are inserted about the 

 middle of the rostrum. 



Apart from the sawdust heaps, this species is found most abundantly 

 in the larval stage. As a rule we may look for the larvae in dead 

 standing Scots pine-trees from twenty to thirty years of age, more 

 especially under the rough portion of bark. At times they may be 

 found on cut trees lying on the ground, but not so plentifully as on 

 dead standing trees. Nitsche gives spruce and "Weymouth pine as 

 food-trees. In the winter season the presence of the larvae may be 

 recognised by the bark being very much torn about, from the ravages 

 of insectivorous birds in search of the larvae as food. 



