96 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



and divided in two halves by a transverse fold ; the latter half has the anal 

 opening at the tip. All these segments are beset with short golden hairs on 

 the sides. There are no feet, as in the L a m i i. Osfcii Sackcn 



The borings of this pest are very characteristic and are usually indi- 

 cated externally by Irregular areas of exposed dead wood, more or less 

 riddled by galleries about y^ inch in diameter. The inner portion of the 

 trunk of an infested tree is frequently nearly honeycombed by the larvae. 

 The galleries for the most part run longitudinally in the heartwood. The 

 galleries are terminated in some cases by a very characteristic upward 

 broad curve which extends down to the exit hole [pi. 5]. 



Life history and habits. The life history and habits of this insect 



have been very well described by Dr Harris as follows : 



In the month of September these beetles gather on the locust trees, 

 where they may be seen glittering in the sunbeams with their gorgeous 

 livery of black velvet and gold, coursing up and down the trunks in pursuit 

 of their mates, or to drive away their rivals, and stopping every now and 

 then to salute those they meet with a rapid bowing of the shoulders, acom- 

 panied by a creaking sound, indicative of recognition or defiance. Having 

 paired, the female, attended by her partner creeps over the bark, searching 

 the crevices with her antennae, and dropping therein her snow white eggs, 

 in clusters of seven or eight together, and at intervals of five or six minutes, 

 till her whole stock is safely stored. The eggs are soon hatched, and the 

 grubs immediately burrow into the bark, devouring the soft inner substance 

 that suffices for their nourishment till the approach of winter, during which 

 they remain at rest in a torpid state. In the spring they bore through the 

 sapwood, more or less deeply into the trunk, the general course of their 

 winding and irregular passages being in an upward direction from the place 

 of their entrance. For a time they cast their chips out of their holes as fast 

 as they are made, but after a while the passage becomes clogged and the 

 burrow more or less filled with the coarse and fibrous fragments of wood, to 

 get rid of which the grubs are often obliged to open new holes through the 

 bark. The seat of their operations is known by the oozing of the sap and 

 the droppmg of the sawdust from the holes. The bark around the part 

 attacked begins to swell, and in a few years the trunks and limbs will become 

 disfigured and weakened by large porous tumors, caused by the efforts of the 

 trees to repair the injuries they have suffered. According to the observa- 

 tions of Gen. H. A. S. Dearborn, who has given an excellent account of 

 this insect, the grubs attain their full size by the 20th of July, soon become 

 pupae, and are changed to beetles and all leave the tree early in September. 

 Thus the existence of this species is limited to one year. 



