FOREST PROTECTION 79 



latter are absent at the hinder end of the second row, count- 

 ing from the suture between the elytra. The want of these 

 few tubercles serves to determine this insect from the less fre- 

 quently occurring Hylesinus minor. 



Eggs are laid in March and April in felled stems and 

 sickly and dying trees of Scots Pine, in galleries bored under- 

 neath the bark. The larvae hatch out in a few weeks, and 

 feed between the bark and wood until about the end of June 

 when they pupate. In July or August the beetles appear, and 

 at once fly to the crowns of the Scots Pine. There they bore 

 straight into the pith of the youngest shoots at a distance of 

 about two or three inches from the terminal bud. Either 

 leaders or side branches may be chosen, and from the place 

 of entrance the insect proceeds to work its way, in the centre 

 of the shoot, towards the end bud. The hollowed shoots 

 are easily broken over by high wind, and may be found lying 

 under the trees, frequently in large numbers. The loss of 

 these often gives the tree a curious appearance, as though it 

 had been pruned which, indeed, it has been, by the boring 

 insect. In warm localities there may be two generations in 

 the same year. Hibernation takes place under thick bark at 

 the base of older Scots Pine. 



As prevention, sickly trees should be felled and barked in 

 May, before which time they will have attracted beetles to 

 lay their eggs, and the larvae will be destroyed upon exposure. 

 When possible, Pines felled in winter should be allowed to 

 lie in the forest until after the beetle's breeding season (March 

 and April) ; then about May they must be barked to destroy 

 the developing insects. If this manoeuvre be impracticable, 

 early removal of Pine timber and the use of trap-trees is the 

 best measure to adopt. 



The insect is one of the commonest and most destructive 

 in this country. 



SPRUCE-BARK BEETLE, Bostrichus (Tomicus) typographus. Both 

 as beetle and larva, this insect destroys Spruce trees by tun- 

 nelling just below the bark. As a rule, only trees in a non- 

 flourishing condition, half uprooted and so forth, are selected, 



